BUT WHAT DO “THEY” REALLY THINK?

The meeting last night went so well, I think we nailed our product launch, our customers are going to love the changes to our software platform….I hear these types of statements from my clients everyday but then a week goes by or maybe a month and they aren’t seeing the results they expected.  People are not renewing their memberships, the water cooler is not buzzing with positive feedback, and the reality is that my clients typically have no idea what happened or why the results don’t seem to match their gut instincts following a product launch or a new program in the office.

It seems easy enough to just ask your customers how they feel, but will they be honest with their actions fall in line with their responses?  Probably not.  A lot of times a customer is intimidated to be completely honest about their experience when speaking in person with a customer service rep or their actual personal account rep, at PollMakers we provide a safe and easy way to get the answers that are hard to hear and hard to deliver.  We will help you setup an inbound or outbound survey line that allows your customer, clients, or employees to share their real perception of the events that have transpired.  But we can also provide you with an easy platform to be ahead of the game, by allowing your market to speak with you before you decide which route you are going to take.

For example when Volkswagen was deciding which features they needed to keep in a basic package they wanted to hear from their current drivers what really mattered to them.  Is a drawer under the driver’s seat a big deal?  What type of emotions did specific features generate in their target market?  After working with their marketing firm and advertising agency they came to me and we discussed what type of questions they wanted to ask, what information would be beneficial in deciding their next move.  We designed a survey that was based on emotions and personality traits then they were able to say single mothers felt this way about this feature and that feature and then built a micro-targeted ad campaign based on the results.

Volkswagen is an extreme example they have a marketing budget in the millions and a diverse target market but PollMakers can help with even the smallest campaign.  Do you own a small gymnastics studio, how do your parents feel about the new coach?  What would make your parents refer their best friends to your studio?  By talking through your business and your goals our team should be able to help you create a survey that can assist you in finding out the real answers to your questions.

Facebook + Commerce

I have an addiction or more like a passion to create and make art. The current medium I have been working with is Acrylic and Oil paints, which are ridiculously expensive. Last year at this time my employer limited my hours to a maximum of 30 a week. Giving me more time to do what I enjoy but less money to meet financial responsibilities. Well here I have this addiction to create and make art using paint. When I am done with an artwork I either stack it up in a corner somewhere or hang it on my walls. So I thought maybe if I can sell a few of my artworks that will help make up for the lost hours of pay at work and help fund more art projects. Wrong, well kind of. Like anything there is always more to get more to buy more to fix and more to do. I have had sales, but I also have had expenses.

My current outlets for sales is an online presence on Etsy.com which is a website that allows sales of anything handmade or vintage. Etsy.com is basically the only site you need if you wake up one day and want to be a hipster. I have my "shop" on Etsy and just need to maximize exposure to maximize the odds of sales. Online sales of artwork is much harder than one might think and with the cost of shipping for an artwork that is gallery wrapped beyond a certain size is astronomical. Unfortunately I did not discover a technology that helps reduce shipping costs. However I did come across an article that helped me realize that there is more I can do to integrate my Etsy shop and my facebook fan page. The article is here http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-companies-doing-social-media-right-and-why/ .

I had no idea that with Facebook + Commerce and other third party apps I can redesign my facebook fan page to stand out from the crowd and show my Etsy shop items on my fan page. I have used twitter, and instagram so far to promote some of my new stuff. I am refining my skills with this course to not be the annoying guy at the cocktail party that only talks about himself. That can be a challenge when you become frustrated and desperate. I have some ideas and new skills to apply to my development of my social media campaigns to expose my art to the masses. It is so much easier to be an artist in the real world. So far I have been featured in three galleries and have sold my artwork to a gallery owner for their private collection. Unfortunately I need to use new technologies to stay informed of when shows and exhibits are accepting applications. Well wish me luck, and thank you in advance for any additional information on how to grow my brand.

The Virtual Garage Band

The band has a gig. Great! There’s only one dilemma. The singer is in San Francisco, the keyboardist in California, and the guitarist in Chicago. This was the case with a project I worked on last year. The immediate question was: How do we get together to write and rehearse? The first thing that came to mind was "Skype", a word that has now become a verb similar to "Googling". However, the capabilities of regular videoconferencing platforms are limited when it comes to handling issues such as latency, audio interference, and audio interface compatibility that can occur while playing music together in the virtual world.

After a bit of research, our keyboardist (and also IT guru), suggested eJamming and Musician Link, two different platforms that could deliver low latency and handle the more complex technical requirements for musicians. Both Musician Link and eJamming work similarly, and with very few competitors, they are forerunners of this new evolving technology that helps connect musicians around the world online.

The easiest way to understand this is to imagine that instead of a garage or rehearsal space with drums, guitars, and microphones strewn about, musicians have access to a virtual rehearsal room. The musician at home, or anywhere in the world, would use an audio interface to plug their instrument or microphone into the computer, log on to the platform, and play with others while listening through headphones or speakers.

Musician Link has a proprietary interface, which they sell for a one-time fee with discounts on multiple unit purchases. There can be up to four users five hundred miles away playing at once without significant latency issues. There is no subscription fee and all one must do is purchase the device and create an account on their website. 

eJamming does not sell a proprietary interface. Rather, it is a platform with proprietary software that would be installed on one’s computer. The software provides access to your computer and audio interface drivers as a peer-to-peer network with the platform. This also allows for compatibility of third party audio interfaces such as Presonus or M-Audio. Another feature of eJamming is that it has a recording function. There is a subscription fee of $10 per month for eJamming services.

Both companies have the same objective – to get people playing music over great distances. They also have the same issues to overcome, mainly, physics and the speed of light. Regardless of the device used to connect, there will always be minimal latency with audio signals. Though anything beyond a 20ms delay can be quite annoying to people trying to play “together.” Additionally, Internet connections must have enough bandwidth to handle a jam session. The minimum recommended upstream and downstream speeds are 1000 Kbps (1Mbps), which must increase as more players are added.

With the advent of this technology, more music groups and instructors are creating a demand for virtual solutions to instruct, rehearse, and perform online. We’re only at the frontier for the possibility of uses, and as demand increases, so will the technological advancement. This new technology is great for helping the traveling artist stay in touch with artists back home, and helping the artist back home stay connected to the world.

Fingerprint Scanner

With the release of the new Iphone, a new technology that has been around for a while has been brought into the spotlight.  By securing a phone with a fingerprint, users have added security, and don't need to worry about remembering passwords.  For businesses, this is a technology that can bring a peace of mind that has long been needed. 

                Frequently in the news, we see that a laptop was stolen from a major corporation putting at risk thousands if not millions of customer's personal information.  To solve this problem, several years ago my own workplace issued laptops with fingerprint secure technology.  But, with more people using their phones, this same type of data is now stored on pocket sized devices that are frequently lost, damaged, or stolen.  We now use our phones to gain access to customer data, log onto to the company website to view internal use only type information, as well as viewing company email.  Employees are instructed on how to store passwords and keep our phones secure, but I know many people that have a "sticky note" on their phone with a list of their passwords.  By using a fingerprint to secure the phone, there is a much better chance that sensitive data stays secure.

                This type of technology almost sells itself to businesses.  Everyone wants to avoid the type of costly security leaks that have happened in the past.  Social media can be used to target ads promoting this feature to purchasing agents of companies with an offsite presence such as a mobile sales force.  Social media could also be used to promote this technology to mobile phone manufacturers, showing how companies might be more likely to buy their product if they incorporated this feature into their phones.

RUN: An Innovative Way to Process Payroll

Back in 2001, I started as a Tax Data Representative with ADP, Inc. in the Small Business Services department. I worked on a team and we were responsible for entering tax liabilities into ADP's tax system, along with new client's tax deposits. In 2005, I was on my third promotion at ADP as a New Account Coordinator when I started processing payroll utilizing ADP's AS400 system. AS400 (Application Systems/400) was first unvieled by IBM in 1998. One of IBM's first operating systems; the AS400 supported various business platforms at one time. In the case of ADP, ADP used the AS400 for it's tax filing and payroll services. The AS400 is a MS-DOS type of system. You couldn't use a mouse to navigate; you had to use DOS commands to get to a page or action you wanted to perform. The AS400 did not include any pictures or links, whereas today's operating systems and softwares "WOW" you with high definition pictures and useful links. When processing payroll and taxes, we processed them through the AS400 and the process was a bit lengthy at times because of the outdated technology, but since then ADP has excelled right along with technology and today they offer a payroll processing software by the name of RUN.

RUN by ADP is its new, innovation payroll processing software that can be utilized from a PC or mobile phone. Clients have the convenience of processing payroll and taxes from their smartphones if they wish, while employees have the convenience of reviewing their checkstubs from their smartphones if they wish to or even changing their direct deposit or W4 information. Back in the day, when I first started working for ADP, clients would submit their payroll via fax, over the telephone, or by processing it themselves utilizing one of ADP's payroll processing software. Once the client transmitted their payrolls via fax, telephone, or by computer, we'd (Payroll Specialists or New Account Coordinators) processed the payroll by entering the hours worked into the system manually. But now, small business owners can process their own payrolls with back-up support from ADP. Not only does the RUN product service payroll and tax needs, but it also services a client's human resource needs.

Oh, by the way, ADP is a leading PEO; Professional Employer Organization. Most of the American workforce had heard of ADP because of the initials on their paystubs. ADP stands for Automatic Data Processing and I must say ADP is very automatic. Upon departing from ADP in 2007 and working other tax or payroll roles with other companies, I was so surprised at how a lot of the processes were manual. ADP is a leader in innovative technology as well and provides software for small businesses, retirement planning, and dealership services. To date, I have not heard of any other PEOs developing software that compares to ADP's. Companies like Paylocity, SurePayroll, and Payroll 1 are still playing catch-up! They better RUN for it!

Technology that helps you get fit and stay motivated!

Have you heard of the iPhone accelerometer? Neither had I. An accelerometer is a tool that measures the force of acceleration either caused by gravity or movement. This was introduced in technologies such as Nike+ which coordinated “smart shoes” with an IPod. The piezoelectric sensors could tell if the shoe was moving and when it was not by how much time the shoe was on the ground versus when it was not moving. Information from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/iphone-accelerometer.htm This article points out that the accelerometer is also how the iPhone determines which way it is being held to rotate the screen. This suggests that the iPhone accelerometer is more advanced then the Nike+ running shoes, and is more like the Nintendo Wii controllers that make games interactive.

I discovered this technology because I am always looking for new and fun ways to work out and stay motivated. A company called Gympact designed a way to use the iPhone’s accelerometer to detect movement to ensure honesty in their mission to motive people to work out. In a combination of a timer and use of the iPhone’s accelerometer a customer must register a certain level of movement for a minimum of thirty minutes in order to get credit for their work out. Gympact incorporates other technologies into their application such as runkeeper which is a gps coordinated app that tracks how far you have run and in the time you have done it.

So I saw a advertisement on Facebook that was targeted towards me because I list “working out” as an interest. Gympact requires you to set up a pact to work out however many times you plan on working out a week. For each day you miss you are required to pay (minimum $5.00) to Gympact. However by completing each week successfully you earn approximately $0.50 per work out. So therefore I currently earn about $2.50 per week for working out. Since I decided to sign up through PayPal as an added layer of consumer protection I can cash out the money I have earned when I reach $10.00 to avoid lots of PayPal fees.

I was amazed at the target specific advertising that was talked about in this week’s readings. I was more surprised that I even paid attention to the advertisement. In another class I had previously taken I discovered “banner blindness” which is essentially social media users training their minds to ignore the ads on the sides of the screens.  Banner blindness is probably why Facebook constantly has layout changes to counter act that banner blindness issue.

The Assignment

The Assignment

Examples of Web 2.0 technology being used for social and business application are all around us. New technologies are appearing all the time.Everyone in this course is responsible for writing 2 blog posts, with each being about 3-4 paragraphs long. Dates will be communicated to you and will be randomly assigned.

Your post should introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application OR summarize and reflect upon an innovative technique using an already established Web 2.0 technology (like the Wheat Thins campaign.)

Be sure to read your classmates blog posts and comment as well!