Internet SOPA, Copyright and getting more out of Google

Posted on January 19, 2012 by dmaster

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation is the big topic of the Internet right now. Totally understandable as it will have significant impact on what the future of Internet becomes. The whole Piracy topic can be a bit confusing and complex (CLICK HERE to see various articles about SOPA) but ultimately it deals a lot with Copyright law as applied to the Internet.

Reading about SOPA helped me learn about something I was not aware existed, the ”Creative Commons License“. The group’s mission statement says: “Creative Commons develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.” Essentially they’ve developed tools that allow artists, authors and creators multiple levels of copyright restriction regarding their content on the Internet. Instead of applying the single traditional Copyright standard of “All Rights Reserved” – these tools give everyone (from individual creators to companies and institutions) a simple, standardized way to retain their copyright while allowing certain uses of their work — a “some rights reserved” approach to copyright.

The Info-graphic viewable by clicking on the image to the right contains very useful “How To” steps for Google search users. This creative work was established and copyrighted by a university using this “some rights reserved” approach.

Of the 6 different licenses available it is being shared under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the details of which are explained here. So while the future of Copyright law regarding Internet content continues to be determined by politicians, click on the image to access a very useful Info-graphic about “Getting More Out Of Google”. And after you seek out the details via Google – be sure to contact your elected representative and express your opinion of how the Internet should be governed.

Posted in Anytime Access, Free, IP, Legal, Privacy, Security, change in IT | Leave a comment

Adaptable & Affordable – Google Apps (SAAS Cloud computing)

Posted on December 23, 2011 by dmaster

As 2011 speeds to a close I wanted to take opportunity to describe some current technology-terms from the practical and realistic business perspective. Many still wonder why they should consider or what the benefits are of:

Cloud Computing – using the internet to access remote based computing resources that include the server computers, all storage and software applications.
SAAS – Software As A Service – a business model that allows “pay as you go, only for what you use” versus large capital costs to purchase capacity in advance.
Google Apps For Business – Google’s bundled group of “cloud based computing services” offered for Private Domains via SAAS business model. Highly affordable and available for all desktop or mobile devices and comes with a 99.9% uptime SLA.

We hear others say these terms, we see them in articles and even use versions of them (often without knowing it) but people still wonder. Who is this stuff for ? How does it work? Answer to Ques 1 is; “this stuff is for anyone that needs affordable, flexible, available from anywhere reliable computing capacity”. Answer to Ques 2 is “you don’t need to know how it works to get the benefit”.

Below are 3 recent adopters of Google Apps. Highly diverse in their location, users and needs – ranging from government to education to private business. But all using the same solution to meet their needs, it illustrates how adaptable this new form of computing is. It may help to think of Google Apps (SAAS/Cloud computing) as buying electricity from an Electric Power Utility company. Every customer gets the same kind of electricity, but how they put it to work to meet their unique requirements is what makes them different. The same is true with cloud computing.

Lake Havasu AZ (city known as the American home of the historic London Bridge) Police Department dedicates itself to creating a safe and secure local resort, business and residential community. Most officers are primarily on the road of water doing patrol – being mobile is critical.

However staff could only check email before they started a shift or after they returned. Mobile computing demands combined with a need for easy fluid information exchange between 24×7 work shift people and typical 8 hour day shift office personnel drove them to look for new solutions. Regarding the question “is data secure in the cloud” which the Police Chief was asked repeatedly, he response is “By moving our data to the Google cloud, we are able to take advantage of Google’s FISMA certified security infrastructure. A far more robust system than most mid to small agencies (like ours) are able to build and maintain.

Utah K-12 Schools in all Districts is being encouraged by the Utah State Board of Education to offer support for Google Apps (for Education edition) to all K-12 schools across 42 state school districts, with full support of the Utah Technology Coordinators Council (TCC). Terms were worked out with Google for providing Google Apps to over 575,000 students and 25,000 teachers statewide.

Utah joins eight other states with statewide support for Google Apps for Education: Colorado (was state #3), Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.

This for-profit company sets-up, manages and promotes over 300,000 events annually. While based in Harlowton, Montana, their teams are distributed across North America and Argentina plus have fulfillment partners in Australia and the U.K.

They develop and built their proprietary LOB (Line of Business) software to be used from “the cloud” but they didn’t want to build their own email system. Their Microsoft® Exchange system was becoming more of a constraint and expense, by having to maintain their own systems. As a relatively small business with teams spread across six countries on three continents, Google Apps enabled them to be much more efficient in communicating across time zones and continents

Employees now have easy access to email on Androids, iPhones and iPads allowing them to be on top of important issues regardless of location with little or no IT support. It gave a 38% reduction in the average number of responses needed to resolve a customer issue, decreased the IT operating budget by about 28%.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Google Apps, Microsoft, Privacy, Web Presence, change in IT, cloud computing, iPhone, mobility | Leave a comment

Gmail’s new left navigation panel

Posted on December 6, 2011 by dmaster

As most every Gmail user knows by now the @Gmail.com service (and the mail service within Google Apps) has been going through changes. Menu items have been changed to icons, color and font theme changed, menus accordian to expand or constrict and what scrolls versus stays in place are all part of the changes.

This image of the new left panel reflects some of the obvious cosmetic changes in appearance. But one image can hardly show the new dynamic functional changes. Google is making too many changes, and making them to quickly for my liking but alas there is a sound reason behind them. Automatic “Device Adaptation” is one of the most core reasons

New computing devices – desktop, mobile and everything inbetween are being introduced to market with unprecidented speed and variety. Given that AAA computing (Anywhere, Anytime, Any device) is a basic objective for Gmail and all other Google Apps services, the software must be designed to work effectively on a large variety of devices and form factors.

It is no small effort to design a single program and user interface that makes sense and is useable on everything from a big 24” wide screen PC monitor to a 10” tablet screen to a 3.5” mobile phone screen. But these changes are an effort to move in that direction.

The list of changes is rather extensive, some very obvious, others so subtle you’ll never notice them. The navigation panel is a critical part of Gmail so I thought it useful to highlight its functional changes -best explained in this Google gmailBlog Post which closes saying;

“The end result is a system that is more flexible, more responsive, and always keeps your chat contacts and unread count visible without adding a lot of complexity or requiring too much clicking around.”

Hopefully you agree and the changes aren’t making you as cranky as they make me sometimes. I know we all have our “limits for change” and I’m reaching my limit, but things will settle down. Overall my time and learning investment will have a big payoff, I’ll be able to access my data on a wide variety of devices without relearning the app to do so.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Smartphone, cloud computing, iPhone, mobility | Leave a comment

Radical Change, it’s not limited to the technology

Posted on November 29, 2011 by dmaster

We’ve become accustomed to radical change in Hardware and Software technology. Smart-phones, tablets, netbooks and other hardware are virtually reinvented annually, plus “cloud computing” allows major software updates to roll out to users every few months. But the radical change can also extend into the fiscal fortune of companies which produce (or make use of) these technologies.

2007 D5 Conference - historic joint appearance of Steve Job's and Bill Gates

“…If there was a single moment where the destinies of Microsoft and Apple diverged, it was D5. Nearly all of the buzz of D5 was centered around two products: 1.) The Microsoft Surface, which Steve Ballmer unveiled to the public on the opening day of the event, and 2.) The iPhone, which Apple had announced earlier in the year and which was about to go on sale a month later…”

The above quote is from; iPhone and Surface: The moment Apple and Microsoft diverged (from TechRepbulic by Jasson Hineron Hiner Nov 21, 2011) and highlights how dramatically the scales of fortune can shift. The article details how similar changes have happened in both revenue and Market Cap.

The “Market Cap line chart” below illustrates how extraordinary the shift has been – in 4 years a reversal of value to the tune of $300B (Apple up $250B and Microsoft down $50-75B). If the rate and direction of the trend during those 4 years continues for a 5th year – the result may be a complete reversal of position:

from 2007 where Microsoft’s Market Cap exceeded Apple’s by $200B
to 2012 where Apple’s Market Cap may exceed Microsoft’s by $200B or more!

Change of this magnitude can completely re-define who dictates market direction and who sets design criteria for the future. Yet we all know the tech industry is fickle – nothing is totally predictable – other than 2012 promises to be more of the same – large amounts of change in how we use and benefit from technology in our daily lives.

Radical changes as significant as the iPhone introduction are again underway – known as Cloud Computing and SAAS (Software As A Service). They hold potential to radically shift or impact the fortunes of key companies – including your company!

Have you considered the impact on your company if you don’t incorporate or adopt at least some key elements of Cloud Computing?
Do you have a strategy for evaluating or reviewing its benefits for you?
What about the impact it has on your mobile computing?

To reap maximum benefit from “riding a wave of change” (do you wish you bought Apple stock in 2007?) you must not wait until it has already passed. If you have questions or want information about Cloud Computing and Google’s “Google Apps For Business” solution from people that have been doing it for years – call Tom at 303-932-8146, creator of GAFYD.net (Google Apps For Your Domain).

Posted in Chromebook, Microsoft, change in IT, cloud computing, iPhone | 2 Comments

iPhone & Google Apps For Business (GAFYD.net) are BFF

Posted on November 14, 2011 by dmaster

Stories with “high drama about competitors” are good for selling news. So the general media often will focus on stories where Apple and Google are pitted against each other in some manner.

Yet, certain products of these companies can be described as BFF (Best Friends Forever). Consider how well Apple’s iPhone, iPad and IOS 5 based MAC products work with the Google Apps For Business cloud computing solution. Google Apps brings enterprise quality multi-user app integration across all the platforms while also allowing companies to support a mix of Apple and non-Apple hardware devices. Here are some reasons why.

Eric Schmidt Google’s CEO from 2001-2011 (now Executive Chairman) often refers to himself as a “Proud Former Member” of Apple’s Board of Directors, a role he held for 3 years. And he holds the work of Steve Jobs in high regard.

What Steve has done at Apple is certainly the best performance of a CEO for over fifty years, maybe a hundred years,” Schmidt proclaimed

Equally, Larry Page, Google co-founder and current CEO, is not shy about expressing respect and admiration of Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and creator of the iPhone.

The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs reached out to offer Google CEO Larry Page support as he took the reins at Google. The classy move showed strength of his character, despite the rivalries between Google and Apple.

Another demonstration of this is the technology market itself, as outlined in this GIGOOM.com article. It’s not Google vs. Apple. It is Apple & Google vs. the old way highlights how rapid adoption of smart-phones with Internet connectivity as a core element of their genetic make-up play a role in causing Apple and Google to often think alike vs differently. Yet each company has its own market focus – Apple is primarily a device and product company, while Google more a software and services company.

Ultimately this is all good news for users of Cloud Computing solutions. Particularly Google Apps For Business – today’s leading Cloud-based productivity apps offering for businesses. Availability of advanced standard protocols has allowed iPhone users to reap benefit of “enterprise category” services made available on their iPhone with no additional carrier service costs. When properly configured, iPhone users can the device’s native mail, contact and calendar apps while still gaining 100% wireless sync of Google Apps for Business data between all desktop and/or mobile devices.

This critical synchronization process of daily operations data (Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Docs, Videos, Map and more) can all be layered under protection of the company’s private Domain. Using GAFYD.net – Google Apps For Your Domain gives benefit of centralized administrative management and control of all cloud resources no matter what size the user community is. Data is current and consistent, regardless of the mobile device (iPhone or Android), the wireless carrier used or the PC operating system.

For example, the enterprise quality sharing Calendaring adjusts appointment times for any global time-zone a traveler might visit, and phone numbers are immediately available even if just a WiFi connection exists. Companies using “Google Apps For Business” as their foundation data communication system even provide their individual employees automatic backup of their critical data for when their mobile device is lost, stolen or inoperable.

As we do more mobile computing with unending variety of new devices you want to have a strategy for keeping data secure, consistently synchronized and recoverable! Be sure to obtain professional guidance and advice about what the best solution is for your company.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Google Apps, Security, Solo Practitioner, Web Presence, iPhone, mobility | Leave a comment

Multi-Mobile Device Challenges for Road Warrior Sales Professionals

Posted on October 25, 2011 by dmaster

Laptop / iPad / iPhone - courtesy of "House & Home - Digital" 3 formats

For those who think “required logins” on desktop PC’s to assure good security can be annoying – check out what highly mobile users deal with. Think about the synchronization and data backup issues that arise when you have multiple access points to related data.

Recently I chatted with two successful VP level sales professionals from large well known companies (Polycom and Tellabs). Both are tenured pros, having lots of “travel miles” and laptop computing time in their history. How surprised was I to find that today, being mobile means carrying 3, even 4 mobile computing devices – not just a laptop PC.

This reality was further driven home by some other events. As the above picture illustrates, today “House & Home” magazine found they must develop 3 presentation formats for one E-magazine (PC/Laptop, Pad/Tablet, Smartphone). Also the Road Warrior 2.0 Challenge contest, sponsored by Hyatt Place (asking real-world business travelers to help redefine today’s Road Warrior)! In addition to the expected Free plane tickets, 10 Free nights at their hotel etc. the prize package included – you guessed it, 3 mobile devices:

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 / Apple iPad 2 / Samsung Infuse 4G smartphone

The only item missing was a wireless carrier’s portable Aircard / WiFi Hotspot device (the 4^th item one of the above mentioned sales professionals sometimes carries). I’m not going to argue the logic of the approach one way or the other – I’m just presenting that it’s a fact of life for today’s highly mobile professional. Plus it is amazing what the combination of devices allows them to achieve.

Example: the Tellabs gentlemen uses his portable Verizon Aircard to give Internet access to ALL his WiFi enabled devices anywhere he wants while paying only one service carrier charge. The laptop PC, iPad (and Blackberry if desired) each have unique device benefits – but can all be online anywhere his cell service signal exists. On occasion he has provided internet access (WiFi) to 2-3 client visitors during a quick meeting in an airport lobby. Thus allowing each guest to avoid paying for a generic public WiFi signal – and making Internet login quick and easy for all.

Yet, the even BIGGER question is – how does one keep their address book, calendar and docs (Contracts, Presentations etc) files synchronized across all those mobile devices? Knowing you may need the latest data from any one device at any given moment in a day?Even more important – how do you successfully backup all your data routinely on 3 different mobile devices? Many people find themselves strained to routinely backup just their desktop PC.

Since Halloween is close let me give you the SCARY ANSWER first – buy some big multi-legged Octopus type sync cable that might fit all the different devices, then spend hours plugging and unplugging cables prior to and after each trip to keep everything in order!

A much less scary answer is - implement a Cloud Computing solution of enterprise quality, that handles not only sharing files (i.e. Dropbox, Box.net etc) – but also contacts, calendars and applications that also comes with a SLA (Service Level Agreement guarantee). Get everything fully synchronized in wireless fashion, regardless of where you are in the world and achieved via a single sign-on account. Google Apps For Business (GAFYD.net a professionally “managed services” version) will provide these features.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Google Apps, Independence, Smartphone, Web 2.0, change in IT, cloud computing, iPhone, mobility | Leave a comment

GAFYD.net* can redefine CELL PHONE messaging – PART 3

Posted on October 3, 2011 by dmaster

Big, bigger and biggest — we see it a lot in product offerings. But as this picture hints – the age of the person connected to the feet is unknown. Is it a Child, Teen and Adult – or just 3 different kids? The point is size alone doesn’t reveal ability, capabilities of each pair of feet depends on the body they are connected to.

The same truth holds for messaging systems. Increasing announcement length or message count storage alone adds limited value to a messaging product. I imagine all the feet shown can stand and walk – we’ll just assume that basic. But which ones can sprint, run great distance, play complex sports or maybe do ballet steps or other dance? That all depends on what body they are attached to.

What’s your mobile device messaging system attached to? If only your wireless carrier facility, then it’s limited by definition. If connected (integrated) into the Web, it gains virtually unlimited storage, software sophistication, global connectivity and becomes part of an ever expanding and improving environment. If your mobile messaging isn’t integrated (connected) to the Web – then like the feet shown above you have to assume it only does the basics, stand and walk (or even less!)

My first post (9/13/11) on this topic referenced specific wireless carrier messaging limitations. My Part 2 post (9/22/11) identified how Google Maps (Internet Integrated App) on a mobile devices advances a simple App to levels of “Super App and On Steriods” App. Using an Internet based messaging system for your Cell (mobile) Phones can do the same thing.

As a Simple Mobile Messaging App (use wireless carrier facility)

1 announcement, voice mails are 2 min duration max, only retained for 30 days
requires a telephone to hear voice messages, must play messages in fixed sequence
memorize telephone keypad commands, no search ability, overseas retrieval adds cost
no management tools for locating or archiving historic (or lost) text messages
no access to text messages if mobile device isn’t powered and present

As a Super Mobile Messaging App (incorporate basic Internet integration)

use home, work or other phone to directly access voice messages
receive voice message via email (audio file) or text message (transcribed to written form)
have inbound call options (announcement based on caller id), extended length messages allowed, listen in / cut in on active message, read transcribed messages
retrieve messages from telephone, PC or other mobile device (i.e. tablet, iPad etc)
archive messages to save for any length of time
one calling directory for voice and text messaging
“visual voicemail” directly play any message, in sequence play not required

As a Mobile Messaging App On Steriods (Full Internet and Voice Cloud integration)

Equal access to all messages from Mobile Device(s) or password protected desktop device
Contacts directory wireless sync’ed between all desktop and mobile devices
Ability to redirect calls to other phones (mobile or land) prior to forcing to voice mail
Multi Party conferencing and Call Recording (to voice mail inbox)
Full visual viewing, word search and external archiving of voice and/or text messages
Message Sharing – via download to MP3, send via email or embed on a web page
Annotate stored voice messages with personal notes or reminders
Automatic disaster recovery and backup (of Contacts Directory and all messages)
Easily block (mark as Spam) calls you never want to get again
Can establish password protected “limited delegation” to admin assistant

The On Steriods feature list is hardly exhaustive. In addition, creative combination of listed features establishes unique never thought of business solutions for tough problems. These features have be called life saving by highly mobile “solo professional practitioners”, and at minimum handy for personal cell phone users.

Benefits are further multiplied when implemented under a company domain via *GAFYD.net (Google Apps For Your Domain). WHY? Services (powered by Google Voice) are centrally managed and ALL mobile messaging is retained under Domain protection regardless of wireless carrier or mobile device used. Company owners are assured critical and/or proprietary data exchanged via voice and text messages will always be accessible to them, even if when employees leave or devices are lost or stolen.

Just like Google Maps continues revolutionizing how we find our way from point A to point B, Web integrated mobile messaging will revolutionize business use of Cell (mobile) phone messaging. Whether for personal or business communication, the fact these features can now be added to even inexpensive and basic cell phones (smart phone NOT required) further assures Cell Phone messaging will continue to change how we communicate and live.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Google Apps, Google Voice, Smartphone, Solo Practitioner, Text Messaging, cloud computing, mobility | Leave a comment

GAFYD.net* can redefine CELL PHONE messaging – PART 2

Posted on September 22, 2011 by dmaster

A recent article in the United Kingdom sheds light on a basic truth Mobile phone bonanza ‘over’, despite demand in developing markets (The Guardian, Sunday 18 Sep 2011, by Juliette Garside)

Highlights from the article

Much of the mobile companies’ new business will come from the developing world, where they are unable to charge the same level of fees as they do in western markets… Delusions that this industry will continue to grow astronomically have to be thrown out of the window now… We can safely say that the telecoms industry is now mature, and what we have here is a utility sector… Western Europe is predicted to be the worst performing region and the only one to experience revenue decline… It is time for operators to embrace the fact that their data revenues are going to replace their voice revenues”

So while phone connections may grow by nearly 30%, total new revenue is predicted to grow less than 10%. This places pressure on profit margins and all but eliminates R&D dollars for non-direct revenue services (like voice mail). So how do customers overcome inadequacies and limitations of the wireless carrier aging voice mail / messaging services? ANSWER: Use a mobile phone’s “data (internet) connection” to tap into and integrate the mobile device with advanced data / messaging systems that are integrated with the Internet.

In a word – Apps! think Simple, Super and On Steroids Apps. Smart-phones have access to 10,000s of apps (standalone and Internet based) that are independent of wireless carrier offerings. They dramatically enhance the value of your mobile phone, are low cost (many are Free) and can even have complementary versions available on the PC. Google Maps is a great example.

as a Simple App, Google Maps provides instant access to an enormous database of classic road and terrain information for nearly the entire Globe.
as a Super App, it adds the ability to search those Maps (even by voice) to find places, businesses and get directions to any location
with the mobile device GPS location feature you get an App on Steroids. The app can now provide detailed voice guided navigation while you are driving

Wireless mobile phone carriers cannot afford the cost of creating advanced mapping / navigation systems like Google has (provided FREE via being subsidized by Google Ads). Google also specifically built a mobile version of this extremely complex and data-intensive Maps app. It works seamlessly on a wide variety of mobile phones.

This approach of seamless integration to advanced Internet technology (i.e. Google Apps related) will give mobile devices Simple / Super / on Steroids Apps for Cell Phone messaging. In my first post (AllThingsIp.com 9/13/11) I referenced specific limitations of today’s wireless carrier mail / messaging systems. The following excerpt from AT&T’s – Voice Mail Quick Start Guide / Terms And Conditions (para 4, page 10) pretty much sums up the whole situation.

– your Service will retain only a limited number of messages and will store messages only for a limited number of days. AT&T retains the right, at AT&T’s sole discretion and at any time, to change any of the capacity limits on message exchange and storage.

* GAFYD.net – Google Apps For Your Domain added to your mobile system will not only provide better voice mail and text services but will do so under the branding and protection of a company’s private domain. Read our coming PART 3 post to learn more about the specific features.

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Anytime Access, Google Apps, Maps / Geocoding, Smartphone, Text Messaging, cloud computing, iPhone, mobility | Leave a comment

GAFYD.net* can redefine CELL PHONE messaging

Posted on September 13, 2011 by dmaster

Voice mails and text messages are a critical part of everyday communication. Billions of text messages are sent daily. Yet, the paying customer has limited access and control over storage management, viewing and retention of their own messages. Consider the following facts.

Voice Mail was introduced commercially by IBM in the late 70’s. Gained wide acceptance in the 80’s, became pervasive in the 90’s and is used everywhere today. It’s so prevalent, the leading wireless Mobile phone providers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) just include it automatically in their service plans. But remember their main business is “wireless signal transmission” NOT voice mail systems. Their fiscal investment in the research or feature capability of voice mail is the bare minimum. Voice mail is offered primarily as “competitive necessity – the other vendor has it so we have to have it”.

What does that mean for the customer? You buy a “state-of-the-art” iPhone, Droid, HTC Evo Smart-phone / Web Device which ends up using 10+ year old voice mail techniques and policies. Systems designed to assure they would work no matter how in-expensive your cell phone was. This was good for the vendors, it assured they could provide some level of service to every customer. How else would you explain these limitations that people live with today:

you are limited to a 2 minute message (maximum)
only allowed to keep 20 stored messages at any given time
each message is permanently deleted 30 days after its creation regardless of space being available
having to pay $5-6.00 to the vendor and wait 3-5 days to get a permanent recorded copy of 1 voice mail message?

Each of the above is an actual condition that exists in the Terms of Service contracts of at least one of the leading providers. Would you possibly accept anything even remotely close to those limitations in your email messaging service? Never!

The wireless mobile phone industry effectively invented “Text Messaging”, a type of messaging that people today are madly in Love with (2.5 billion text messages are sent each day in the USA, more text messages are sent per phone than phone calls). Yet do you know the limitations? How many you can keep? Can you easily find 30 day or 1 year old messages with a simple Search command? Can you easily broadcast a text message to a list of people in your email contact list? (without having to have a Twitter account).

Texting is known as a $$Profit gold mine for wireless providers – yet the service retains some major limitations. All impacting the customer that pays for them. Consider what happens to your critical business text messages — if — you lose your mobile phone? Can you just call the provider and have them instantly restored, or access them immediately from any available internet connected PC? Yea, I don’t think so, forget about doing that.

This is a big topic and will take more than one post to cover. Come back in a few days and read about how you can not only overcome these problems and limitations – but get features you haven’t even thought about. Plus you CAN DO IT ALL using your existing cell phone number, existing mobile phone (any brand) and your existing email accounts.

* GAFYD.net – Google Apps For Your Domain

Posted in AAA Computing, Android, Blackberry, Independence, Smartphone, Text Messaging, cloud computing, eMail, iPhone, mobility | 1 Comment

Using Google Apps (For Business) to help save email marketing costs – PART 2

Posted on August 22, 2011 by dmaster

"article by B. Eric Rhoad...says that the power of marketing lies in repetition."

Do What Works, Repeat – Do What Works, then Repeat. A simple marketing concept, not complex but often easier said than done. Because it takes discipline and a vigilance for consistency and detail – tasks well suited to software, such as Google Apps for Business.

Everyone likes to be recognized, that is why timely replies to prospect inquires are a successful way of building positive relationships. But lets face it, first time inquires from total strangers are hard to gauge regarding potential value – and how much time to invest. Using automated “canned responses” can provide a lot of value – by assuring the prospect you respect their time and interest, plus it provides opportunity to further qualify an opportunity – all in a professional yet low cost manner.

Google Apps For Business includes Google’s 3 core Message/Collaboration apps (Mail, Calendar, Docs) plus multiple others (i.e. Talk, Groups, Sites, Video etc). What really makes them powerful is the the ability to have them professionally administered and operating under privacy of your company’s WWW domain.

Here’s one way to use these services in an integrated manner to perform a sophisticated followup to a marketing campaign without any additional Google Apps monthly costs, regardless of volume of responses. Sample scenario:

REQUIREMENT	SOLUTION
Your company receives inbound email as result of a marketing campaign	Use Gmail “trigger filters” to reply with timely automatic responses
Company needs to send timely / immediate “pre-scripted email reply” based on the inquiry	Use a Gmail “canned response” to provide a professionally pre-scripted and signed reply.
Include simple 2-5 question online survey in reply to prospect, get fast and simple prospect qualification	Use “Docs / Forms” to include survey questions or an online link right in the auto-reply.
Digitally compile survey results without having to gather, process or print paper forms	Use “Docs / Spreadsheet” to auto capture survey reply data plus review & tabulate right online.

Timely followup is a critical component to successful marketing campaigns, yet seldom happens due to the complexity, effort and cost. This automated approach;

is performed 100% via standard Google Apps For Business – no special software.
captures Prospect replies in a database absent of storage space concerns,
sends data over an encrypted connection and data gains company Domain privacy protection (versus stored with another third party),
not to mention the value of Google Apps storage disaster recovery benefits.

The referenced features are included in the standard monthly subscription cost for a registered Domain. Any employee with some macro and file processing knowledge can develop the process, or it can be pre-built by an Google Apps authorized reseller (i.e. GAFYD.net) and loaded to the company’s Domain for private use.

———- Part 1 and Part 2 SUMMARY ———–

Specialized email services like Constant Contact, MailChimp, Vertical Response and others do more than enable sending large volume emails and basic survey emails. Their monthly subscriptions reflect this, $15-$50/mo would be a fair range to support a mailing list of say 2500 names.

Considering the same dollar amounts would cover FULL Google Apps for Business subscriptions for 3-10 employees ($4.17/person/mo) one has to strongly consider the Google Apps option. Not only do you get Google’s amazing Gmail, fully branded with your Logo and Private Company Domain but also the Calendar / Docs / Talk / Sites / Groups and Video cloud apps. Industry leading Web based email, plus “collaboration services that just work”, for marketing as well as every other company department.

A managed services approach to using Google Apps For Business

It’s even available in a “Managed Services” package offer – GAFYD.net (Google Apps For Your Domain) frees you of all administrative tasks. A modest monthly Domain maintenance fee assures they are handled by the qualified experts of an authorized Google Apps reseller.

Posted in Google Apps, Legal, Privacy, Security, cloud computing, eMail | 1 Comment