Due to lack of time to develop these to the full potential, I am selling these great digital signage domains. Please visit each site for information.

http://www.digitalsignagecertification.com (see site for details)
http://www.digitalsignagebooks.com (see site for details)
http://www.digitalsignagemagazines.com ( see site for details)
http://www.digitalsignagedaily.com (make an offer on this one)

All offers will be considered. I do not have time for auctions so if you would like
let me know. Payments may be accepted if needed. I will be listing more soon.
http://www.digitalsignageuniversity.com and digitalsignageuniversity.org
is pending a sale this week.

Contact me lisa@digitalsignageforum.com

OM Software Internet Solutions Private Limited is offering special Thanksgiving discounts for US customers. Customers from all around US can enjoy this special Thanksgiving offer.

OM Software Internet Solutions Private Limited is offering special Thanksgiving discounts for US customers. In order to maximize the pleasure of Thanksgiving celebration, OM Software is offering a flat 20% discount on all services being offered. Customers from all around United States can enjoy this special Thanksgiving offer.

OM Software has been a trusted partner of several global organizations for IT and web development services. When it comes to IT services, they have everything to offer their customers. OM Software has been first choice of its customers with a wide array of services ranging from website design & development, e-commerce development, ERP & CMS solutions, open source customization, and SEO & SEM services.

On eve of Thanksgiving, customers can enjoy the aforementioned discount of 20% on all services. To know about all services offered by OM Software in detail, you can visit the website of OM Software Internet Solutions and place your query.

It’s really a golden chance of getting best quality services on most affordable prices. So, hurry up and order before the offer ends.

OM Software Internet Solutions Private Limited is comprehensive IT and computing services provider. With excellent service delivery across different technical domains OM Software is a trusted outsourcing partner for several reputed global organizations

Contact Info:

Website – http://www.omsoftware.net

Email – contact@omsoftware.net

Contact – (+1)-818-433-4047

Congratulations to the City of Richland, Washington.  Their ECM solution deployed earlier this year has earned  two prestigious awards within the past month. 

In early November, the City of Richland won the   ImageSource Customer Partner Award for best return  on investment.  The award was presented to Jon Amundson, Assistant City Manager and Christina Palmer, Project Manager at Nexus 2009 www.nexusecm.com. 

Last week it was announced that the City of Richland was also named to the Info World top 100 list of IT projects.  The solution consisted of Oracle IPM, Cardiff Liquid Office,  a Bundle of ILINX products http://www.imagesourceinc.com/Products/ILINXProducts/index.htm which were used to extend the capabilities of the Off The Shelf Software.

The vision, professionalism and standard of excellence exhibited by the Richland team is to be commended.  Congratulations, City of Richland!

Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today announced the immediate availability of Portfolio NetMediaMAX, an add-on for Portfolio Server 9. This media-processing software lets digital imaging professionals automate their media workflows for increased productivity and faster turn-around times.

Seasoned designers and marketers spend significant time performing repetitive production tasks as part of their imaging workflow. The NetMediaMAX add-on for Portfolio Server manages this repetitive work for faster production. Complex export operations no longer require manual work and multiple applications, meaning users spend more time on their core tasks, translating into faster output and profits for organizations.

“We have heard from many of our customers that their creative teams spend too much time doing repetitive, non-value added activities,” says Martin Stein, VP of Products and Services at Extensis. “NetMediaMAX is designed to automate manual processes, eliminate routine tasks, create consistency and standardize processes, resulting in individuals focusing back on their creative tasks.”

Converting batches of images into derivatives for use on the Web and in print would typically take many hours. With NetMediaMAX, which offers graphical tools to simplify processing tasks, file conversions are created on the fly for faster output. Templates can be utilized to accomplish common batch-processing operations-such as file resizing and format conversion-to ensure standardization and eliminate errors.

NetMediaMAX Highlights:

” Automates repetitive image production tasks

” Increases efficiency, quality and output

” On-demand generation of digital assets

” Download files and ’save as’ many file types as you choose-on the fly

” Batch-convert images and other files into any standard format

” Utilizes MediaScript™, an open, standards-based scripting language to automate and customize for many different workflow needs

” Publish web portals that allow users to download files in a variety of file types

” Distributed processing for high-volume environments with multiple media engines

NetMediaMAX is built on the Portfolio Server platform that provides support for Windows® and Macintosh® environments and utilizes server-side processing, freeing up desktops from media-processing tasks. The MediaRich® technology inside NetMediaMAX provides organizations with heavy workloads the ability to process media-related tasks dynamically and automatically, saving significant time and manual effort. Organizations can distribute media-processing tasks to one or more external servers for even faster performance.

NetMediaMAX provides support for a wide range of image file formats. Users can convert to the most popular file types such as TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, PSD, TGA, BMP, PDF and EPS.

For enhanced capabilities, IT professionals can create limitless customizations by enabling custom scripts to automate steps such as transferring multiple digital assets, updating metadata, building composite logos, colorizing, resizing and more. NetMediaMAX comes with sample scripts to get you started. Scripts can be easily customized using MediaScript, Equilibrium’s easy-to-learn ECMAScript-based scripting language (like JavaScript) that is uniquely designed for media-processing environments.

Pricing and Availability

NetMediaMAX is available immediately. Current Portfolio Server 9 customers can purchase NetMediaMAX as an add-on to their existing installation for USD $2,964.50. A full NetMediaMAX Bundle is available for USD $9,161.64 and includes Portfolio Server 9 and three clients. All prices include an annual service agreement. Academic pricing is also available.

NetMediaMAX will be available in English, French, German, and Japanese. For more information visit www.NetMediaMAX.com

About NetMediaMAX

NetMediaMAX is an extensible media-processing engine that allows organizations to automate media-centric workflows and edit, update and convert digital assets on demand. It’s a turnkey solution that can be set up in hours to automate routine jobs and distribute media processing tasks. It is an open system built on trusted technologies such as Java™ J2EE™, Adobe® FLEX®, JBoss and OpenOffice.org. For end users, this translates into superior usability and unique integration with their existing workflow. For IT managers, it delivers power and efficiency with central and remote web-based administration. In addition, the optional SQL Connect module provides greater scalability, superior data integration and advanced administration.

SOA non è solo una promessa, ma piuttosto una soluzione pratica oggi disponibile per consentire alle aziende di riutilizzare i propri preziosi processi di business per la gestione dei contenuti aziendali. Le aziende  ricercano con sempre maggiore attenzione le possibilità pratiche di utilizzo  dei protocolli SOA per l’integrazione di applicazioni di Content Management all’interno delle loro organizzazioni.

Adottando un approccio interoperabile – al di là della mera integrazione – con SOA si aggiunge del valore specifico al business,  le organizzazioni focalizzate sul cliente possono ora utilizzare i dati provenienti dalle applicazioni legacy aziendali per definire comunicazioni commerciali personalizzate che trasformano le transazioni in interazioni 1:1 con i clienti.

Utilizzando Papyrus, le modifiche nella corrispondenza commerciale non richiedono cambiamenti nelle applicazioni legacy, perché il repository di metadati della piattaforma gestisce tutti gli accessi e le interazioni con i contenuti provenienti da questi sistemi esistenti.

Leggi qui l’intero articolo (PDF) che include un interessante esempio di applicazione.

HP today announced at Paris Photo 2009, the European launch of ARTtrust, a simple, self-certification system that allows photographers and artists to provide individual identity to any Digital Fine Art Collection Pigment Print (Pigment Print), produced on HP Designjet Z series printers using HP Vivera pigment inks with any compatible media.

A joint development between HP and Prooftag™, and endorsed by Wilhelm Imaging Research, ARTtrust is specifically designed to meet the need for artwork traceability and authenticity. With increased control and availability of information online, artists, photographers and end-customers can be assured of artwork provenance, protect investments and ensure future value.

ARTtrust users include creators (photographers, designers, digital or traditional artists), printmakers (artists who print themselves, pro photo labs, specialised fine art print makers print service providers), art retailers (galleries, auction houses) and owners (private collections and public institutions or museums).

The ARTtrust solution comprises a set of three labels and a website. Labels carry a unique Bubble Tag™ (1), a reference number and datamatrix. Each label has a different function: the silver one goes on the back of artwork, the golden one on the certificate or accompanying document, the blue one for the artist to keep in his file or dossier. Any buyer can control authenticity of the artwork, on the website, by typing from his mobile the number of the silver or gold tag. He will then see a picture of the Bubble Tag™ and can compare visually. As the tags are tamper-proof, authenticity is assured.

Specifically designed for the art community, ARTtrust pigment prints are produced using HP Designjet Z series printers and HP Vivera pigment inks. With image permanence of more than 200 years(2), pigment prints are not only assured of HP longevity, but used in combination with a range of HP photo, fine art and specialty papers, of also market leading image quality.

Thierry Dupasquier, business development manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP, said, “HP Designjet Z series printers deliver gallery-quality, black-and-white and colour photographs, art enlargements, large-format designs and high-accuracy proofs that stand out and long lasting.”

The development of ARTtrust began more than two years ago, involving photographers and artists of the HP Experts and Mentors network. Once the availability and capability of the Prooftag technology was known, the solution was quickly established as the most suitable system to deliver the projects objectives.

“HP is committed to bringing solutions to the creative and design communities, that improve how artists produce and protect their work,” said Santi Morera, vice president and general manager, Large-Format Printing Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “We are working with artists to help them bring their work to life in vivid colour and rich detail, and deliver innovative solutions, like ARTtrust, which preserve artistic integrity and add value.”

With commercial availability expected in January 2010, Prooftag will be responsible for introducing ARTtrust to the worldwide art markets. HP will continue to support the solution and promote it to customers, whether they are print service providers or from the printers retail network.

“ARTtrust is the first fine art certification program that requires the use of permanence tested, high-stability pigment inks and media, and identifies and registers each individual print in a secure and easily traceable way,” said Henry Wilhelm, co-founder of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. “The ARTtrust program sets a new standard for print quality, permanence, and integrity.”

Following its worldwide launch at PhotoPlus Expo 2009, ARTtrust has already received positive feedback from individual photographers, such as Joel Meyerowitz and international photo agencies including Magnum.

“With the transition from silver halide to digital, the creative community has seen important changes to printing technology in the past few years,” explains François Martin, marketing director, Graphic Solution Business, HP. “At HP, we strive to provide high quality products and services, to create a complete and secure digital production process. We believe that ARTtrust represents a significant step in achieving this aim.”

For additional information about ARTtrust, visit: www.ARTtrustonline.com.

(1) Bubble Tags™ are made with a transparent polymer containing random bubbles and issued to the artist as proof of membership of the scheme. Images of this Bubble Tag on labels identify the artist’s work.

(2) Image permanence estimates by HP Image Permanence Lab based on testing on a range of HP photo, fine art and specialty papers. Confirmation tests in progress at Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc. Details are available at www.hp.com/go/supplies/printpermanence.

PagePath Technologies announced today that it has enhanced the storefront features of MyOrderDesk with added shopping cart and check out capabilities.

On October 15, 2009 PagePath released the much anticipated Beta version of the shopping cart. Immediately companies began embracing the new features and are using it efficiently within their current workflow.

Customer responses to the updates have been overwhelming. Below is a list of some of the features that are currently available with the shopping cart system.

UPS live integration

FedEx live integration

Comprehensive tax data tables

Customers can save carts and add items

Personal database of shipping/billing locations

Streamlined Job Management

Improved Simple File Transfer

Multiple ezMerge jobs within a single order

Multiple saved carts

Mix Simple Send, PDF2u and ezMerge jobs within a single order

If you have any questions on how MyOrderDesk or the storefront features can work for you, please call 866-770-7561 or email Sales@PagePath.com

Overall Purpose of Role:

The Content Manager will be responsible for managing all content for all Full Tilt Poker web properties. Primary responsibility is to work with the web team, copywriting team, graphics team, Marketing, and Business Intelligence to create compelling web content that provides a fulfilling user experience and achieves business goals.

 Responsibilities / Accountabilities:

• Coordinate and facilitate the publishing activities regarding design, creation, and production of the web site
• Support the seamless integration of the content management system with other disparate systems
• Research and identify or develop new products, platforms, tools, and processes to enhance current services or to deliver new services
• Provide support to users, including resolution of conflicts between business areas
• Coordinate with publishers to organize website materials
• Organizes and maintains the content infrastructure of a web site
• Provides leadership and work guidance to less experienced personnel

 Skills / Experience Required:

• Must have an understanding of new web design, human-computer interaction, and content management systems
• Must be able to handle multiple projects at the same time
• Must show ability to work well as part of a team in a collaborative environment
• Must show excellent attention to detail
• Must display a strong interest in poker and have a solid understanding of the game
• Possess excellent communication skills
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities and to thrive in a fast-paced work environment

Hur påverkar exempelvis Googles nya produkter oss webbyårer? Eller andra företags tjänster för den delen?! Är det så kanske att alla tjänster och produkter som utvecklas blir en bit i ett stort pussel som ger en bättre digital upplevelse? Eller är det resan dit som blir en bättre upplevelse, eller kanske resultatet av resan rent av!? Det jag tänker främst på är begreppet sökmotoroptimering, det som även i Sverige benämns som SEO – Search Engine Optimization.

Jag vill tro att SEO inte längre är en ”produkt” man knyter an på sin sajt. Det finns bolag som har detta som sin yttersta expertis och som tar redigt betalt för detta. Idag så finns SEO-tänket med redan i ett tidigt stadium i ett projekt, vilket ju är tacksamt. Implementationen av SEO-produkten dessa företag erbjuder innebär ofta strukturella ingrepp i en sajt, vilket ofta medför stora utvecklingskostnader. Jag tror dessutom att även beställare börjar bli medvetna om detta och det är därför inte så svårt att argumentera för det i projekt som berör hela sajten.

Gammal arbetsmodell

Den ”gamla” arbetsmodellen var antagligen ganska platt och bestod (förmodligen aningen förenklat) av följande moment:

1. Teknisk plattform (om kunden har en befintlig)
2. Design (Photoshopskisser)
3. Implementation (HTML och annan nödvändig utveckling för att visa sidan)
4. Eventuell copy
5. Inmatning av textinnehåll och bilder

Detta är en ganska teknisk och odynamisk modell. Alternativt kan punkt 1 och 2 byta plats om kunden inte redan har en befintlig plattform. Jag skulle vilja påstå att det åtminstone i många fall ser ut på detta viset eftersom ”man inte kan bygga taket på ett hus innan väggarna och grunden står där”.

Ny arbetsmodell

Den ”nya” arbetsmodellen, påverkad av hur SEO har förändrats de senaste åren, tror jag snarare har dessa moment:

1. Undersökning/analys av ex. målgrupp
2. Koncept
   • Copy
   • Design
   • Arkitektur
3. Design
   • Formgivning
   • Struktur/upplägg
4. Teknisk grund
   • Systemutveckling
5. Implementation
   • GUI (HTML/Javascript/Animation/Film/etc…)
   • Kopplingar mellan GUI och SU (ex Ajax, databasanrop, etc.)
   • Inmatning av innehåll
6. Uppföljning och komplettering

I andra punkten avverkas de viktigaste delarna i bygget, sjäva ritningen för huset. Här identifierar man vilka delar som är viktiga och bör prioriteras utifrån analysen i punkt 1. Och här kan vi faktiskt rita taket först om vi skulle vilja göra det, för att sedan låta grunden baseras på att taket har den här stommen eller den där vinkeln. Informationsarkitekturen ligger till grund för hur texter formuleras och vilka element som skall finnas med i designen. Redan här kan man om projektet behöver det göra användartester som visar på strukturella missar, tankefel, etc.

Att ta fram en design i det här läget ger mycket större möjligheter än i föregående modell. Här gäller det att skapa yta i symbios med textförfattaren med ritningen som inparameter.

När det strukturella arbetet är klart och man har hittat rätt ”tone of voice” kan arbetet med den tekniska plattformen börja bearbetas. Funktioner i sajten är identifierade och rätt underlag för att börja utveckla dessa finns beskrivet i en teknisk specifikation och dokumenterat i designen.

Sista momentet i själva bygget. Sidan skall HTML-kodas, visuella funktioner som effekter och stilmallar ska skrivas. Eventuella animationer och interaktiva delar skall tas fram. Kopplingar till sociala medier görs, etc. Man kan (och bör) avsluta detta steg med en testfas för att identifiera buggar. Strukturella missar borde ha identifierats tidigare. Annars är projektet klart för lansering.

En uppföljning är ofta på sin plats. Detta är dock något som alldeles för ofta glöms bort, man levererar och går vidare. Några månader efter en sajt sjösatts kan man lätt se om det är något som saknas eller är överflödigt.

Med denna modell identifierar man tidigt vilken typ av innehåll man ska ha på sajten, anpassar innehållet därefter och ger sökmotorerna bättre förutsättningar till att indexera innehållet. För det är just det som är nyckeln till en välbesökt sajt. Det och användarvänlighet får jag väl tillägga, men det är sådant som tas upp och beskrivs i steg 2 och 3.

Jag tror och hoppas att modeller likt den “nya” är något som blir allt vanligare hos webbyråer. Det är något som kräver expertiskunskap i alla delar och tyvärr finns det för många aktörer på marknaden som påstår att de “kan webben” , och då är det inte främst webbyårer jag tänker på…

Mehr als die Hälfte der 300 Unternehmen, die im Rahmen einer aktuellen Studie befragt wurden, beschäftigt sich höchstens punktuell mit ihren inaktiven Bestandskunden – über ein Drittel vergessen ihre Altkunden komplett oder löschen gar die Kundendaten. Die 12 Prozent der deutschen Unternehmen, die systematisches Kundenrückgewinnungsmanagement betreiben, so die Studie, profitieren jedoch gerade in der Krise von niedrigeren Kosten im Vergleich zur schwierigen Neukundenakquise und müssen sich vor allem keinem Preiswettbewerb stellen, weil ihre loyalen Kunden aus anderen als Kostengründen bei ihnen kaufen. Neben „ignoranten“ Managern machen Experten vor allem mangelnde Integration von Marketing-Tools und –IT für die schwache Kundenpflegeperformance der Unternehmen verantwortlich.

Düsseldorf, 23.11.2009, von Sebastian Paulke – In der Krise ist erfolgreiches Kundenbeziehungsmanagement eine besonders wirksame Erfolgsstrategie und ein echter Wettbewerbsvorteil zugleich – zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine aktuelle Sonderstudie aus dem Excellence Barometer (ExBa) 2009 der forum! Marktforschung GmbH, die in Zusammenarbeit mit der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Qualität e.V. (DGQ) Anfang dieses Monats publiziert wurde. Dennoch, so zeigen aktuelle Studien, setzen gerade mal ein gutes Zehntel der Unternehmen hierzulande darauf, Umsatzeinbrüche und Kaufzurückhaltung durch gezielte Bestandskundenpflege, analytische Kundenwertsegmentierung und integriertes Dialogmarketing zu kompensieren – obwohl die Zahlen belegen, dass Unternehmen, die dies tun, insgesamt eine bessere Bottom Line schaffen als die Kundenpflegemuffel der deutschen Wirtschaft.

Die Studienherausgeber erläutern: „ Für ein differenziert funktionierendes Maßnahmenpaket in diesem Bereich ist die Klassifizierung der Kunden bzw. der einzelnen Kundengruppen Grundlage für eine Ressourcen schonende, abgestufte Vorgehensweise in Marketing, Kommunikation, Vertrieb und Kundenbetreuung. Eine solche Klassifizierung findet den Erhebungen zufolge bei etwa der Hälfte der Unternehmen bereits statt. Ein systematisches Customer Relationship Management (CRM) als Basis für eine individuelle, bedarfsgerechte Kundenbetreuung ist dagegen bei weitem noch nicht die unternehmerische Regel.“

Florian Haarhaus, Deutschlandchef von Alterian, Anbieter einer Integrierten Dialogmarketingplattfom, erklärt den Wirkmechanismus erfolgreicher Bestandskundenpflege: „Erfolgreiche Unternehmen gestalten selber die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Kunden, Mitarbeitern, Führung und Marketing/Kommunikation nach strategischen Kriterien auf Basis einer ganzheitlichen Betrachtung aller Kundenbeziehungen und -interaktionen. Um jedoch erfolgreich auf die Bedürfnisse der Kunden einzugehen, sollte das Customer Relationship Management für alle Kundenbindungs- und Entwicklungsprogramme auf Basis einer detaillierten Kundensegmentierung erfolgen, in die laufend alle Informationen aus den Kundenkontakten und –reaktionen eingespeist werden.“

Dazu sei entsprechende IT-Unterstützung erforderlich: „Aufgrund der hohen Anspruchshaltung und Kanalflexibilität des ‚mündigen’ Kunden im Social Web-Zeitalter muss eine Interaktion über die verschiedenen Kanäle wie Call Center, Webseiten, eMails etc. hinweg möglich sein, in der Intensität und mit den Inhalten, wie vom Kunden gewünscht und wie es seinem Kundenwertsegment entspricht. Moderne integrierte Marketingplattformen, bei denen alle Kanäle in einer Plattform nachverfolgbar sind, erlauben es, die einzelnen Interaktionen von der eMail über Landing Pages bis hin zur Ansprache im Call Center oder auch bei Twitter zu minimalen Kosten zu führen – und das in beliebig ‚individualisierter’ Form, theoretisch bis hinunter zum einzelnen Kunden. Das macht besonderen Sinn, wenn die Analyse der Kundeninteraktionen auf der Marketingplattform eine möglichst feine Kundensegmentierung ermöglicht, weil dann gezielt der Aufwand in ein ideales Verhältnis zum Ergebnis gebracht werden kann“, so Haarhaus.

Zum selben Fazit kommt auch die ExBA-Studie: „Arbeiten Unternehmen nach diesen Vorgaben,“ heißt es dort, „werden sie aller Voraussicht nach auch die aktuelle Krise sehr viel besser, strukturierter und kosteneffizienter meistern – weil emotionale Kundenbindungen vorhanden sind, die das Portfolio der ‚Fan-Kunden’ zusammenhalten.“

Why is it that some people are passionate about certain media services and some people hate them? Any Englishman’s selective use of a  few well chosen Anglo-Saxon words to describe Robbie Savage; an extravagantly paid but limited and rather aggressive footballer will tell you the popular opinion of the crowd. Marmite has made an advertising theme about the fact that people either love or hate their beefy paste.  And Robbie has built a great career and is now moving into being a controversial football pundit too. He does not have to be a Torres or a Ronaldo – he needs to do enough to be more successful than 99.9% of anyone who has kicked a ball. The latest Nielsen data on Twitter (http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007388) shows that there has been a 27% decline in visitors to Twitter between September and October. Part of the decline in site visits is said to be due to people using apps and alternative channels but the fact remains that despite their growth – not everyone Tweets or likes or stays with Twitter. And that’s OK. Some writers or marketers like things to be simple and it seems they want to find the killer app and big idea that will change everything and everyone. But media is like any other consumer good and instead of being one size fits all it is about diversity, speciality and change. Not everyone likes Marmite. And not every web innovation will become a Google. The decline of entry barriers suggests that whilst there may be a few gigantic players in any market, there will be many smaller, specialist competitors and challengers who will be more agile and able to carve a story for themselves. I actually like Twitter and LinkedIn and I find it interesting  that my friends are divided equally between those that think I waste my time on them and those that find it odd I do not engage with social networking more. Social Networks are not going to be the silver bullet for marketers and nor are they going to be to everyone’s taste – but like Robbie Savage and Marmite, used in the right way and managed well, they can be loved by many.

Making Friends & Influencing People

Love Or Hate?

Love It Or Hate It?

You’re at a mixer.  You’ve been introduced to someone and you try in earnest to get to know him.  You ask his name, he tells you. You ask him what he does, he answers.  He seems nice, but he’s not forthcoming and when he does answer your questions, you aren’t impressed.  You think, “Well, not much here,” and you excuse yourself and move on.  You’re pretty sure there’s more of a story there, but you’re hard pressed to figure out what that is and you don’t really care to help him figure it out.  

There are websites like this as well.  You arrive on the homepage and you read the content, but you aren’t impressed.  You even click on a few links, which lead to new pages of less information and no reason to stick around and learn more.  You think, “Well, not much here” and you move on.  Again, this may be a great company with something to offer you, but you don’t know what that is and you are in research mode, trying to learn, maybe make a decision or purchase a product.  

If you are responsible for your website, here’s how to bore someone with your homepage:

Wordiness, use of passive voice, needless directions, use of industry jargon

There are more, but these rise to the top.  Here are some web examples I found:

Examples of Wordiness and Passive Voice:

“Our goal is to enable our customers to focus on their core mission by providing technology solutions that increase growth and outreach while managing time and critical resources in a more efficient and productive way.” 

If you have to read a sentence three times to get the meaning, it’s too long.  By now, your web visitor has surfed on to another site.  The organization’s goal should be crystal clear, particularly on the homepage.   One could argue that rather than write the whole goal or mission statement, they should state it in a catchy, short tagline.  Also, don’t use passive voice or too many words.  A better sentence for this site might be: Focus on what you do best; leave the technology to us. (Then put the full mission on a secondary page).

On to another example:

“…is an IT consultancy and systems integrator specializing in e-discovery, email management, and records management solutions.” 

Hmm…is consultancy even a word?  Okay, I looked it up and it is, but who says “consultancy”?  And what is systems integrator?  To be fair, if you are in the technical industry, these phrases may make sense to you, but a business manager or director looking for someone to help them manage their email may miss what you do and how to connect with you. Use familiar, readable words.  A better statement could be: “…an IT consulting firm specializing in… ”

Example of needless information/directions:

“Here you will find information about the four hospitals that serve our…community…To learn more about each of the … hospitals, follow the links below”  and then below this text they have four pictures of the four hospitals, which you can click for more information. 

When you put your page together, assume we are savvy consumers and don’t need you to give us instructions on what to do with the four photos at the bottom of the page. This company wastes a lot of real estate with wordiness and instructions that are unnecessary.  In fact, the information you may truly be seeking (ie. H1N1 updates) are so far at the bottom of the page, you’d miss them if you were scanning. To be fair, there is an art to directing the visitor to click on the links and I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, but don’t waste the reader’s time or your precious real estate giving instructions on how to use the site.

Example of using Industry Jargon:

“…sustainable design is much more than LEED or a USGBC membership and a logo on a website.”

I have no idea what LEEDS or USGBC is, but I shouldn’t need to know just to read the homepage.   These industry words don’t create trust and impress me, they make me stumble, recognize how little I know and surf off their site on to fine someone else in the same industry.   Don’t use industry jargon on your homepage.

The list above is not all inclusive. There are more ways to bore your reader, but these dominate.  Content editing your website is critical to communicating with your potential and current clients.  You are never done; there is always more to do.

Next Steps:
Take a look at the homepage for www.zcsengineering.com.  I am not crazy about their secondary pages, but the homepage tells me just what I need to know to continue asking questions (meaning, click for more information).

Now, study your website.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What sentence or paragraph on my homepage needs to be shorter?
• Do I needlessly say “click here for more information”?
• Do I use any industry jargon?
• Do I use words that need explaining or words that are not used in daily conversation?

As always, if you can’t answer these questions (sometimes we’re too close to the subject), then ask a friend not related to your business and see what he/she thinks.

Please, share any website blunders you find!

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I just realized that Plone was missing from the A reality check for vendors by Kas Thomas (CMS Watch).

So here it is, the

Plone CHECKLIST

1. Our software comes with an installer program.

Yes, the Plone Universal installer.

2. Installing or uninstalling our software does not require a reboot of your machine.

Yes. Moreover the software is platform independent.

3. You can choose your locale and language at install time, and never have to see English again after that.

No. Installation is in english only (although the CMS user interface is available in about 50 languages).

4. Eval versions of the latest edition(s) of our software are always available for download from the company website.

Yes. As a full open source product the entire latest version is always available (also unreleased and in-development versions are).

5. Our WCM software comes with a fully templated “sample web site” and sample workflows, which work out-of-the-box.

Yes. Plone comes with one sample web site and four different sample workflows out-of-the-box

6. We ship a tutorial.

Yes. Tutorials are always available on Plone.org

7. You can raise a support issue via a button, link, or menu command in our administrative interface.

No. Not there, yet. Open Source Community support can be obtained for free, Professional support depends on the Plone Provider selected.

8. All help files and documentation for the product are laid down as part of the install.

We don’t ship end-user documentation as part of the install. But all the documentation is available online and there are several end-user, integrator and developer books.

9. We run our entire company website using the latest version of our own WCM products.

Yes, sure!

10. Our salespeople understand how our products work.

Yes, they usually do. And many of them are developers of the core software itself and in general they are fans of the product.

11. Our software does what we say it does.

Yes it does. It also sometimes does something no one has advertised, unfortunately. Being Open Source, you can also independently verify it does exactly what it claims.

12. We don’t charge extra for our SDK.

Yes. We don’t charge.

13. Our licensing model is simple enough for a 5-year-old to understand.

Yes. Not sure everybody really understand how free software works. But they should and my 5 year old son at least knows that I do a real job.

14. We have one price sheet for all customers.

Everything is free but the customization, support or hosting services. Plone has about 300 integrators / providers worldwide.

15. Our top executives are on Skype, Twitter, or some similar channel, and: Feel free to contact them directly at any time.

Yes they are. The whole community is there.

To the Plone Community: Did I forgot something? Please comment.

Long live to my favourite Web CMS.

I’ve heard many comments from individuals summing up their ‘NEXUS ECM Experience’ over the past week following the show’s November 2nd close.  From my perspective, the tweets and blogs captured the momentum and attendance at the show was greater than last year.  I think this is because the quality and value of the show in general was up.  Attendees this year definitely had an agenda, and most were actively seeking solutions, as compared to years passed.  The companies that will be on top when the economy turns will be those who have a strong ECM foundation for business processes.  It was encouraging to see the excitement and drive to get back to work and start retooling for a more efficient future.   If you missed out this year, make sure to register for Nexus 2010 and lock in the reduced rate of $195! Use code NEXUS10SPL

Leigh Woody

Program Manager

ImageSource, Inc.

No entries since June, in fact the year has been a bit of blur. We were playing foosball in January and then February hit and the business went into overdrive. This wasn’t unexpected but the sudden intensity was a bit of a shock to the system. From all accounts the rapid uptick in enterprise Web Content Management projects has been widespread with many vendors reporting triple digit revenue growth.  It seems the web may have been the antidote for the GFC.  After all, the Web channel is a relatively inexpensive medium compared to TV, print and radio and if it’s done well it can be a lot more effective.

This got me thinking. In a market which is full of vendors and potential customers how do you target your offering, what is your point of differentiation and where is your sweet spot? I love graphs and I visualised this 2 x 2…

Right now in the year 2009 there are still many organisations that are just discovering that they can manage their own website. On the other hand, there are many organisations with in-house web teams embracing social media and forging concepts that may indeed become known as “web 3.0”.

In the middle of these diametrically opposed organisations (technologically speaking) is corporate middle Australia. These are organisations with moderate web maturity. They’ve learnt some hard lessons and are only beginning to implement 2nd and 3rd generation solutions. They tend to outsource their web requirements but have moved to bring in limited web resources, moving responsibility away from I.T into the hands of marketing (or should I say, marketing has wrested control from I.T.)

These organisations are quickly developing an appetite for online marketing and ecommerce. High end vendors may scoff at these relative newbies as “difficult” but they do so at their peril.

These are the organisations we love to help and this is where our technology offering excels. This is our sweet spot!

Ignite Technologies, Inc., http://www.ignitetech.com, the leader in providing secure and Enterprise Content Delivery Solutions enabling customers to efficiently publish, deliver and manage digital assets, today announced version 7.10 for the Ignite Content Delivery Solution, supporting live streaming video and on demand downloads. The new release further underscores Ignite’s ability to deliver any content, anywhere, at any time with new features enriching the use of both live and pre-recorded content.

Ignite’s Enterprise Content Delivery Solution

Ignite v7.10 establishes the Ignite Content Delivery Solution as a comprehensive delivery platform that supports live streaming video, on demand download or instant view, and targeted push delivery. These delivery methods are demanded by today’s enterprises to securely and efficiently deliver video and rich media for corporate communications, e-learning, and sales.

“To successfully leverage video in the enterprise, large organizations need a comprehensive delivery platform that can integrate with their new and existing corporate communications technologies and devices,” said Melissa Webster, program vice president, content & digital media technologies at IDC. “As our research shows, more than three quarters of large organizations are delivering video on demand to employee desktops today, and by the end of 2010, that will rise to more than 90%, with 80% also delivering live streaming video to the desktop.”

In v7.10, Ignite enhanced its Enterprise Streaming solution to include the ability for viewers of live events to submit questions to the presenter directly from the end user interface. Moderators or event producers can view submitted questions in real-time along with context information about the employee who submitted the question such as geographic location, department and other imported information from the company’s user directory.

The moderator can filter questions using custom criteria, prioritize, edit and submit notes concerning the questions to assist the presenter. Presenters can view the questions forwarded by the moderator and choose which questions to address. Following the live event, all the questions are archived to be accessed later in reports, and answers can be pushed to users or made available via on-demand.

“In today’s environment immediate feedback after town hall meetings or quarterly updates is critical in helping to gauge the reactions and concerns of employees,” said Brian Jensen, managing director of global communications for Cushman & Wakefield. “Our executives want employees to be able to submit questions during the live event providing a more engaging, face-to-face experience for the employees.”

In v7.10, Ignite also introduces an Ignite ‘clientless’ capability that greatly extends the reach for Ignite’s audience by providing the ability to view content from devices without requiring the Ignite native client application. For example, when a user requests to view content from a corporate website, if the Ignite client is detected, the user has the option to either download and view the high-quality version or immediately view a lower-quality version online. The viewing option is ideal for enterprises’ partners, customers or employees that often need access to video or rich content from non-enterprise standard computers such as Macintosh, Linux, home and personal computers or mobile devices.

Companies can also leverage this new feature to offer a short preview or trailer of the content to enable the user to determine if they want to download the high-quality version.

“The “YouTube-like’ experience where immediate viewing of the video online from a company’s internet or intranet portals, Microsoft’s SharePoint sites or other media portals further expands on Ignite’s ability to deliver rich media corporate communications anywhere, at any time to any device,” said Vasu Avadhanula, vice president of product management at Ignite.

More information about the Ignite Content Delivery Solution and a multi-media presentation of v7.10 new features is available at www.ignitetech.com.

Again this year Janus Boye & friends have repeated the magic with their JBoye09 conference.

In the informal enough context of the conference some of the best CMS analysts, project managers, consultants and, of course, vendors and web / intranet managers met to exchange an incredible amount of experience, knowledge and have some good time together.

In the afternoon of the second conference day there was a slot reserved to roundtable discussions: a moment for an open debate on many diffrent topics, proposed by the participants.

I attended the roundtable proposed by our very Master of Cerimonies, Mr. Janus, on: “Emerging problems, emerging technologies, and emerging approaches to Web Content Management“.

And I was appointed as “volunteer” to take note and report on the outcomes of the discussion, so here are the…

Emerging Best Practices for WCM

1) Divide selection in two phases:

a) vendor and product checklist-filtering
b) in depth look at the VALUE provided by the different remaining vendors/products

Note: care about the project, not the product.

2) Have a content strategy ready before vendor selection

Not a full Information Architecture but a good part of it should be ready before you move forward.

3) Talk to peers, exchange experiences with your peers community

Hint: one of the best places for this are the communities of practice and conferences like the JBoye, of course.

4) Test drive with users

Users are very often still the least considered stakeholder of WCM projects.

5) Make sure that content management is recognized as a task within your organization

Note: put effort in training and other similar activities.

6) Measure, measure, measure

To define goals and measure success (and failure), and to improve the project in a later phase.

Credits go to all the participants to this roundtable:

Stephanie Lemieux, Simon Lande, Richard Hare, Silvia Bombardone, Philippe Parker, Rory McClelland, Miklos Gaspar, Janus Boye, and Francesco Ciriaci.

And if you are interested in WCM future don’t miss the great #fixwcm thread.

Korolov, Hypergrid Business: OpenSim Content Management Wishlist; http://j.mp/1QeMkg

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone say “it’s easy to post content to the website with the CMS, anyone can do it”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to this. It’s good to have tools that make it easy to work with web-based content. But along with tools, you need to have rules…

Rules of the CMS road

Yesterday a client of mine expressed frustration with this issue because her experience confirms that yes, anyone can post content to the websites using the CMS but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Over the years, the sites at the organization she manages have grown organically and without operational oversight. There haven’t been any rules to follow so they’re like gardens in great need of weeding.

How can you avoid this in your organization or with a website project you’re managing? Forget the garden, think of it as a busy intersection.

Lights and signs: you need rules of the road, clear direction for what goes on the site and what doesn’t. Established roles; who writes, who makes changes, who publishes, etc.?

The traffic cop: there has to be someone who sees the whole intersection. A strong, empowered manager needs to be assigned to the sites. She’s the one who will keep things from crashing.

Crossing guards: good web management also needs people who keep things moving. The writers and the editors, the people who keep an eye out for stories and news. The traffic cop and the crossing guards work very closely together.

Civil engineering, infrastructure: while a website is under construction, that’s the time for building a management plan. Make sure the infrastructure is there to keep it going well into the future. Allocate a budget, know who your resources are.

No one wants to let just anyone driving their content management system. I’ve seen many that cost a pretty penny and there’s nothing I enjoy more than helping clients figure out how to make the most of their investment for as long as they possibly can.