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Insanely simple team management app

Charlene Jimenez
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Insanely simple team management app

The challenge of managing a team

If you manage a team, it may seem that a good majority of your time is spent following up on what your employees have accomplished and then compiling reports for your boss or clients. And if you manage a remote team or even a team spread across many locations, it can be frustrating to try to stay aware of what they’ve accomplished each day. Think of how much time you’d save, and time that you could devote to your other duties and responsibilities, if you didn’t have to track down and collect each one of your team members’ reports at the end of each day or week.

Imagine what it would be like to have a daily reporting tool that encourages collaboration, openness, friendliness, and gratitude. Well, you don’t have to imagine it any more. IDoneThis.com has made it a reality, a reality that’s bound to streamline and improve your daily work experience.

Improving everyone’s productivity levels

IDoneThis makes getting and compiling daily reports from your team easy. All you have to do is add every team member’s email and let IDoneThis do the rest. Every evening, or at the close of business, every member of your team, including yourself, will receive an email from IDoneThis. This email will ask a simple question: “What’d you get done today?” All you and your team members have to do is hit reply and answer the question. When you get to work the next morning, IDoneThis will email you with a daily digest from the previous day, making daily progress easy to track, manage, and compile.

If you want to respond to a team member’s daily report, just click on it and you can reply directly to that employee. IDoneThis enables you to “share gratitude, celebrate accomplishments, and start a conversation with a single click in your email digest.” Also, if you need to see a week, month, or year’s worth of reports, you just have to login online.

IDonethis opens the way for easy, friendly, and productive communication, no matter where your team lives or works. It also cuts out those painfully ineffective and unproductive meetings, which provides you and your team with even more time to focus on what’s important. IDoneThis can be used through email, apps, extensions, on a computer, or even on your phone. So, you and your team can stay connected, up-to-date, and productive. Managing virtual teams across the city, nation, or even the world just got a whole lot easier.

Comparing cloud storage solutions, SkyDrive looks good

Marti Trewe
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5
Comparing cloud storage solutions, SkyDrive looks good

Skydrive Cloud Storage

SkyDrive cloud storage

Skydrive is an online (or in “the cloud” as it is called) file storage service by Microsoft that is password-protected, allowing users to sign in by using their Windows Live IDs, or by setting up a new account. Each user receives 7 GB of free storage for personal, public, and/or shared folders, and users can decide who can have access to each folder and how much access they get. The amount of storage offered for free is much larger than most cloud solutions, and paid space after that point is considerably less expensive than most.

Windows Live SkyDrive works on any Windows or Macintosh computer with Firefox 1.5 or higher, or Internet Explorer 6 or higher, and is quickly outdoing the competition when it comes to features and their offering. Below is a comparison chart from April, and Dropbox and others have made size allowance changes, but most of the information remains true today:

Microsoft Skydrive comparison chart

One major option that SkyDrive offers that others do not is that it integrates into Microsoft Office seamlessly, so that you can save a document directly from Microsoft Word to your SkyDrive folder as a save option, and there are no conversions, no formatting issues, and no extra step, which saves offices using Microsoft a great deal of time and reduces the learning curve for staff.

Additionally, users can access and save to their SkyDrive from any app in Windows 8, automatically. Although Mac is the media darling, many businesses are still PC and using Windows and Microsoft products, making this a feasible option for cloud storage of company files, particularly when looking to save money. Below is a comparison of SkyDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox, according to MakeUseOf:

  • 20GB: SkyDrive $0.83/month, Google Drive $2.49/month, Dropbox N/A (no such plan)
  • 50GB: SkyDrive $2.08/month, Google Drive N/A (no such plan), Dropbox $9.99/month
  • 100GB: SkyDrive $4.16/month, Google Drive $10/month, Dropbox $20/month

MakeUseOf says, “As you can see, Microsoft is seriously undercutting the market here, and is significantly cheaper than Google Drive, not to mention Dropbox. In fact, Dropbox is almost five times as expensive as SkyDrive – a crazy price gap for a service that’s virtually identical, at least when used on Windows.”

Mortgage application volume propped up by refinances

Tara Steele, Staff Writer
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Mortgage application volume propped up by refinances

No major spikes in 2012

Although we have seen some single digit increases and decreases in the volume of mortgage applications this year, no week has produced a shocking increase or decrease, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. For the week ending in June 1st, applications increased 1.3 percent from the week prior, including adjustments for the Memorial Day holiday. The Refinance Index rose 2.0 percent for the week as the Purchase Index fell “slightly” for the week.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 78 percent of total applications from 77 percent the previous week, hitting the highest refinance share since February 24, 2012. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained at roughly 5.0 percent of total applications.

In May 2012, among home purchase applications, 85 percent were for fixed-rate 30-year loans, 7.0 percent for 15-year fixed loans and 6.0 percent for ARMs. The share of purchase applications for “other” fixed-rate mortgages with amortization schedules other than 15 and 30-year terms was 2 percent of all purchase applications. The number of home purchase applications with a 15-year fixed term is at its highest level of the year as a share of all home purchase applications, but the number of 15-year fixed refinance applications is at its second lowest level of the year as a share of all refinance applications.

Mortgage rate trends

According to the MBA:

  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.87 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.91 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 4.13 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 4.23 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 3.70 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, with points increasing to 0.60 from 0.59 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
  • The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.20 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.23 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
  • The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.78 percent from 2.77 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

Vacant lad, and other empty MLS promises

Gwen Banta
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Vacant lad, and other empty MLS promises


If selling houses is like selling dreams, then welcome to my nightmare. Check out these hilarious bloopers that may convince buyers NOT to buy a home:

Interpreter, Please?

“Iv covered walls” (It seems someone is trying to sell Cedars Sinai…)

“No night hors” (Try telling that to the gals working Hollywood Blvd.)

“Wall rocks in kitch” (Those crazy Italians must be selling Pompeii.)

“Wired for cabal” (Epitaph on the Saddams’ Headstone.)

“Pls see tim change” (If Tim is cute, may I also take photos?)

Did You Pay For This Ad?

“Vacant lad” (Good for you – I highly endorse self-assessment.)

“A book runs through the backyard” (Hmmm, finally some writing that has legs…)

“WiFe included” (I suppose selling her is cheaper than divorce…)

“Has good resistance” (Whined the Wehrmacht pansies when ordered to invade Paris during WWII.)

“Lots of widelife in area” (Welcome sign at Fran’s Fulminating-Fat Camp.)

Get Out of Sales

“Not open on Faters day” (Why, will everyone be chowing down at Fran’s?)

“Orange, tambourines” (Pssst – Sister Sunshine – the 2nd batch of brownies is ready.)

“Drawing for spat day” (Proudly offered by Phil Phlegm and the American Tobacco Chewers Association.)

Being Free Doesn’t Mean It’s Good

“Free appraisal of your hoe” (Under “Other Talents” on Elliott Spitzer’s resume.)

That’s it for this week, folks. Remember: Spell Well And Sell!

Anti-war activist denies housing to combat veteran

The American Genius Staff Writers
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Anti-war activist denies housing to combat veteran
Military Salute
Change of command photo courtesy of The U.S. Army.

Veteran denied housing

Sgt. Joel Morgan has served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan alleges that his service protecting America has kept him from renting an apartment, as he was turned down for housing by 63 year old anti-war activist, Janice Roberts, according to CBS Boston1.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]Sgt. Morgan was told that he should find somewhere else to live in Boston that is “less politically active.”[/ba-pullquote]The landlord left a voicemail for the 29 year old divorced father, explaining why he would not be suitable for the apartment, and that he should find somewhere else to live in Boston that is “less politically active.”

CBS Boston cites voicemails shared by Sgt. Morgan’s lawyer in which Roberts said, “Because of what you told me about the Iraq war… we are very adamant about our beliefs… it’s just not comfortable for us… and I’m sure now that you know this, it would not be comfortable for you,” [the landlord] said in a voicemail to [the veteran]. I would suggest you do the right thing and look for a place less politically active or controversial.”

Divorced father training to be a Boston firefighter

Sgt. Morgan was rightfully stunned, saying that “I’ve been deployed so many times, I really haven’t had much of a home.” His apartment search led him to an ideal location as he trains to be a Boston firefighter. He says all he wanted to do was give her a check, and rent an apartment, but now he is confused.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”Should I not let people know that I’m a combat vet?” Sgt. Morgan asks.[/ba-pullquote]”It really freaked me out that ‘Is this what I’m going to be facing? Should I not let people know that I’m a combat vet?'” Sgt. Morgan asks.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status and national orientation with the National Association of Realtors amending their own Code of Ethics this year to include sexual orientation as a protected class. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) offers a variety of protections, including certain protections from foreclosure while on duty.

Neither Fair Housing nor the SCRA protect renters from being denied housing, but under Massachusetts state laws, military service members and veterans are part of a protected class and cannot be discriminated against. Despite finding another apartment to rent, Sgt. Morgan’s rights were allegedly violated, and he plans to sue Roberts.

Earlier this week, another American war veteran was threatened with eviction for needing a companion dog to help treat his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an increasingly common method of PTSD treatment.

[ba-quote]Note from the COO of AGBeat: AG has long stated that we support housing as a human right, regardless of laws, and we will not tolerate discrimination like this in any part of our nation, especially against those who have risked their lives to keep our nation safe.

We invite you to leave comments to Sgt. Morgan and/or Janice Roberts below, which we will send to them directly in coming weeks.[/ba-quote]

1 CBS Boston

Facebook trend report: consumers less influenced, usage slides

Marti Trewe
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1
Facebook trend report: consumers less influenced, usage slides

Facebook Trends 2012

Facebook times are changing

While some focus on the sliding stock prices of Facebook, others are proclaiming use of the social network is falling across the board. According to a new Reuters poll1 there is some truth to the statement, but there are many more variables that must be taken into account before simply saying use is sliding.

First, the poll was conducted between May 31st and June 4th of this year, asking just over 1,000 Americans about their Facebook use and awareness. Fully 35 percent of Facebook users polled said they are less engaged on the site than they have been in the recent past, contrasted by the 20 percent saying they now spend more time on the social network.

The stat about 35 percent saying they spend less time is spreading like wildfire, inspiring headlines on blogs that are calling for the fall of Facebook, but as with any indicator, a single week does not a trend make. Over the past several years, in the second and fourth quarters of every year, active user counts for Facebook drop dramatically, not just in this single week or quarter, so calling for Facebook’s demise is an ill conceived notion.

Minors on Facebook

What the study found that is universally accepted, however, is that used by and more favored by younger people, particularly current high school students who do not remember a life when Facebook did not exist and are shifting away from texting and toward Facebook use as a substitute.

According to The Age2, “Facebook is facing criticism from US politicians after reports the company is exploring ways to let children under 13 onto its social network.” Per the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, websites are required to notify parents and obtain their consent before collecting personal data from minors, which is increasingly a concern for minors using Facebook.

Purchases on Facebook

As e-commerce is becoming more prevalent and retailers are being forced into new ways to sell products, many flock to Facebook to advertise due to the perception that all eyes are on the social network, but only one in five users polled say they have ever bought something because of ads or comments they saw in Facebook.

Unfortunately, the poll did not separate out ads versus comments, which are two completely different things, particularly as they influence consumer behavior. It is extremely likely that the small percentage that were influenced by something they saw on Facebook were influenced by comments from peers.

Has Facebook’s IPO damaged perception of the company?

The Reuters poll reports that most have heard of the Facebook IPO but are unfamiliar with any details surrounding the company’s path of going public. Of people who heard about the IPO, 44 percent say it made them less favorable towards Facebook while 46 percent stated that they don’t know how they feel about it. Those odds are not good for a company that was long poised as the underdog, the dorm room startup, the site of the people.

Public perception is shifting and fans are dwindling, but use continues to rise over the years. As the social media giant has gone mainstream, all eyes are on its every move, so as the kids say, haters gonna hate.

1 Reuters Poll
2 The Age on Facebook’s pre-teen woes

The long career path of Fannie Mae’s next CEO

Tara Steele, Staff Writer
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The long career path of Fannie Mae’s next CEO

New Fannie Mae CEO named

Fannie Mae announces new CEO

Fannie Mae has announced the appointment of Timothy Mayopoulos as the CEO of government backed firm, after the January announcement that after just two years as CEO, Michael Williams was stepping down for reasons not released.

The government-sponsored entity was put into conservatorship in 2008 to save it from failing, and posted losses of $5.1 billion in the third quarter of 2011 and requested $7.8 billion more in taxpayer support from the Treasury Department, the same month that they were criticized for wasteful spending and for awarding executives exorbitant bonuses despite struggling to perform without further governmental aide.

In December, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged six former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives with civil fraud for misrepresenting their holdings of high-risk mortgage loans, although Williams has come out clean, former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd was charged. Additionally, two former CEOs of Fannie Mae, James A. Johnson and Franklin Raines were named as recipients of low-cost “Friends of Angelo” loans from Countrywide, a conflict of interest for the two.

Timothy Mayopoulos’ career path

“I am honored with this extraordinary opportunity to lead Fannie Mae during this critical period,” Mayopoulos said in a statement. “We have a responsibility to return value to taxpayers and to contribute our expertise and experience to building a more effective and stable housing finance system for the future.”

In May, Fannie announced it would not require additional bailout money as it had its best quarterly results since 2004. Mayopoulos will take a pay cut from his $2.9 million compensation from Fannie Mae in 2011 (including stock options) to a base salary of $600,000 as legislation recently reduced executive pay at the mortgage giant. He will still be due salary and incentives earned in this year that have been deferred, which will be paid next year.

Edward DeMarco, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, said in a statement that Mayopoulos would lead efforts to “continue strengthening Fannie Mae and provide critical foreclosure prevention services as we build the foundation for the secondary mortgage market of the future.”

Mayopoulos has an interesting career that critics will see as marked with deep roots in the financial industry, while supporters will likely see as ambitious and filled with accomplishments. Mayopoulos’ professional timeline is featured below:

  • Graduated from Cornell University with a BA in English with distinction.
  • Earned his JD cum laude from New York School of Law where he also served as the Editor of the NYU Law Review.
  • October 1986 – September 1994: practiced at Davis Polk & Wardwell private law practice.
  • October 1994 – April 1996: served in the Office of Independent Counsel during the Whitewater scandal.
  • May 1996 – November 2000: Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette.
  • November 2000 – May 2001: Managing Director and Senior Departmental General Counsel at Americas of Credit Suisse First Boston.
  • January 2002 – January 2004: Managing Director and General Counsel at Americas of Deutsche Bank.
  • January 2004 – December 2008: Executive Vice President, General Counsel at Bank of America. It is said he was ousted during the Merrill Lynch acquisition.
  • April 2009 – current: Chief Administration Officer, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Fannie Mae.
  • Currently the co-chair of the Appleseed Foundation which is a non-partisan organization that offers pro bono legal services and fights for reform.

Sprint slaps 5GB limit on Mobile Hotspots, adds hefty fees

Marti Trewe
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7
Sprint slaps 5GB limit on Mobile Hotspots, adds hefty fees

Sprint surprises customers with new limits

Sprint’s recent commercial series focuses on how “truly unlimited” the Sprint Network is, featuring children disappointed by parents nearing their data limits choosing apps over their performances, like below:

[ba-youtubeflex videoid=”qFp0P_Wuftc”]

But what Sprint really means is that data is “truly unlimited” for their entire Sprint Network, except for Mobile Hotspots, after years of promoting the service, and even promoting the idea that several users can be on the same Hotspot simultaneously. The company gave users a tasted, got them hooked, and is now announcing1 that starting this month, and effective on users’ next bill, their phone or tablet’s Mobile Hotspot on-network data allowance will be limited to 5 GB. “Truly unlimited?”

Truly unlimited fail.

According to the company, the changes include:

  1. A monthly 5GB of 3G and/or 4G data allowance will apply while on the Sprint network and display on your next bill. This 5GB is in addition to your phone or tablet plan’s monthly on-network data usage.
  2. You have the option to receive notifications from Sprint as you approach the monthly 5GB on-network data allowance. See Additional Use Notifications for enrollment instructions.
  3. If you choose to continue using above the monthly 5GB on-network allowance, additional data usage charges of 5¢/MB will apply.

Sprint says that what is not changing is the monthly charge for the Mobile Hotspot, and that unlimited data usage still applies to smartphone and tablet use, just not Mobile Hotspot use. Off-network roaming data usage is a combination of Mobile Hotspot or Phone as Modem and phone or tablet and monthly data allowance stays the same: 300 MB for phones and 100 or 300 MB for tablets depending on your tablet plan. Additional off-network roaming data for tablets is 25¢/MB. Tablet customers will continue to receive off-network data usage notifications.

Sprint says it will alert users when they have used between 75 and 90 percent of their monthly data allowance for their Mobile Hotspot, but only if they subscribe to notifications. If Sprint was not promoting how unlimited their network was, this change would be no surprise, but users will likely feel that the wool is being pulled over their eyes, especially regarding how hefty the overage charges are.

If Sprint allowed users to keep their Mobile Hotspot at the same unlimited plan for the remainder of their contract, that would also not be a problem, but because users can’t notify Sprint that they’ve decided they’ll pay 20 percent less each month because they need to conserve – Sprint would say adios, just as some people will likely do as Sprint has pulled this quick surprise without warning.

1 Sprint Announcement

Brokerage bets half of all commissions on hockey game

The American Genius Staff Writers
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1
Brokerage bets half of all commissions on hockey game

A Facebook comment turned reality

Sports fans from all industries often make off-the-cuff comments online about what they’ll do if their team wins or loses, but this morning, Fred Glick, Principal of U S Spaces, Inc. Real Estate took to Facebook, saying, “OK, here’s the deal. If any former Flyer scores the goal that wins the cup, my LA real estate office will give 50% of our commission back to any buyer or seller until the end of August!”

Within hours, Glick has expanded the offer to the company’s Philadelphia office as well, effectively doubling down his figurative bet. When asked about what made him offer such a large amount to rebate, Glick told AGBeat, “As a long suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan, I watched as the Los Angeles Kings (who are full of former Flyers, players and management), I finally was swayed after the Kings trounced the Devils for a 3-0 lead.”

Giving back to hockey fans

Glick added that “as I drank a few (too many) cups of coffee this AM, I said to myself, “How can I give back to both the long-time hurting Kings and Flyers fans (Note, the Kings have NEVER won the Cup and the Flyers have not won since 1976)? Why not honor the Flyers in Kings uniforms by givings something back to the community if an ex-Flyer wins the Cup for the Kings (aka- Flyers West)!”

Does Glick plan to go through with the offer to rebate? Absolutely. Why has he chosen to do so, other than too much coffee and a deep sports affinity? “It’s marketing dollars and if it works, it will help build a long-term relationship with many people,” Glick noted.

Brokers often offer standard rebates, or raffle and the industry is accustomed to giveaways, but with this much money on the line over a single goal, Philadelphia and L.A. consumers will definitely have their eye on the puck come game time.

San Diego real estate investment expert, Jeff Brown said, “What I like most about Fred’s idea is its simplicity. Combined with the community’s intense interest, I’d bet on it succeeding wildly. Fred’s idea also, in my opinion, will have legs in terms of developing long term relationships, which will then take on lives of their own. Tipping my hat to Fred – I’m going to do this in my own market, as soon as we get a major league team of some sort (ouch).”

Top 7 things you should know about Social BI

Marti Trewe
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0
Top 7 things you should know about Social BI
Photo of businesswoman courtesy of Jerry Bunker.

What is Social BI?

For years, we have talked about Big Data and Business Intelligence, and the two converge when discussing Social Business Intelligence (BI) which is a term that refers to intelligence based on data garnered from social networks, and the analysis of that data. Live reports and visualizations of social media activities are pulling data points from all over the web and quantifying businesses’ efforts online. Social BI is not just for corporations, however, as small businesses now have access to tools that improve their competitive advantage as well.

A spokesperson for Panorama Software, an international solution for proactive Business Intelligence solutions, offering SQL Server 2012 and Hadoop ready technologies tells AGBeat that “with the online world growing larger every second, we are faced with more and more big data.”

“Many marketers, publishers, etc., need to digest that data quickly or risk it becoming irrelevant or snapped up by their competitors,” the company added. “Many companies are now looking to Social and Mobile BI solutions to cut down the time between analyzing the data and putting it into action.”

Top 7 things most don’t know about Social BI

Panorama Software CTO, Rony Ross reveals that companies using Big Data can benefit from Social BI but that the average small to medium sized business commonly does not know the following seven things.

According to Ross:

  1. The Average SMB doesn’t know that Social BI enables to use the “power of many” in the organization to make faster, better quality decisions.
  2. That Social BI has a “Social Bar” on screen that displays either the business friends you pre-selected, or the people most relevant to the Business Issue you are investigating.
  3. That Social BI system suggests to you who are the people in the organization most suitable to cooperate with on a business problem, based on your and their areas of expertise.
  4. That Social Bi enables users to create online ad-hoc teams to discuss and collaborate on business issues that are unveiled by the BI system.
  5. That Social BI records the online discussion and the notes about business issues and ties these discussions and notes down to the BI data that generated these discussions so it can be retraced in the future or become a basis for best practice.
  6. That a Social BI system can suggest to you additional views and reports : “users who have viewed this report also viewed these other reports..”
  7. That a social BI system can suggest to you the root causes of a problem and save on excruciating drill downs, slices and dices.

Businesses now have access to a tremendous amount of data, but having Big Data isn’t enough, you must discover ways to use it, drill down, and truly interpret data in a way that all parties in your company can quickly comprehend and take action on.

4 social media tools that make life easier

Matthew Collis
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4 social media tools that make life easier


Social media is important for connecting and engaging with prospects and clients, but undoubtedly, it’s a lot of work.  Social media “work” can easily eat up your entire day. The four tools below will help you become more efficient and productive and maximize the value you’ll get out of social media.

1. HootSuite

Hootsuite is a social media dashboard that will help you to effectively manage your social media networks. You’ll be able to view multiple social network feeds and pages right from Hootsuite and post status updates to a number of them at once. This eliminates the time you would have to take to log into one social media site after another.

Hootsuite is also a very reliable tool for scheduling posts. If you want to ensure that you’re posting consistently to say, Facebook and Twitter, you can write and schedule your posts for the day, week, or even month. This saves you the time (and often hassle) of having to log into Twitter, for instance, multiple times a day to send out individual tweets.

Another great feature Hootsuite offers is the ability to run reports to see how many people clicked on the links you distributed via social media. You can see which posts or status updates resonate more with your followers so you have an idea of what to publish more and less of.

I also like that Hootsuite lets you view the Klout score and follower count of those you follow on Twitter. This will help you determine the most influential people in your “Twitter circle.” With this information, you can keep a special eye on these people, develop relationships with them, and engage with them more often.

2 Crowdbooster

Crowdbooster is a social media tool that will actually provide you with suggestions on when to post Facebook status updates and when to send out Tweets based on when you’ve received the most engagement in the past.

Using Crowdbooster, you can easily see a graph of all your tweets and/ or Facebook status updates over a specified time and which ones received the most impressions and likes or re-tweets. This information is useful because you can quickly see your best performing posts at a glance and get an idea of what to post more and less of.

Crowdbooster will also tell you your top Facebook fans over the course of a given time period based on comments, mentions, and likes. This is great if you’d like to reward or thank your fans or have a “fan of the week” status update or contest (which I highly recommend). Encouraging and appreciating fans who engage with you helps spur greater participation which will in turn increase your Facebook EdgeRank.

3. Twilert

Twilert is one of my favourite Twitter monitoring tools because you can very easily get a pulse for what people are talking about in the “twitterverse.” Twilert will send you email alerts of tweets based on key words or phrases you specify. These key words can be your name, the name of your company, or your SEO keywords. If you’re a real estate agent in Los Angeles, you may want to set up an email alert for the phrase “Huntington Beach properties,” for example.

4. Hyper Alerts

We all know that social media is a full-time job. But as a small business, you may not have the manpower to check social media sites constantly and respond to questions and comments. This is where Hyper Alerts comes in. Hyper Alerts will send you an email when your followers post something to your Facebook wall or respond to one of your posts. You can get alerts right away or get the system to send you one alert per day at a specified time.

A good idea is to reserve a certain amount of time per day to respond to Facebook comments, say 4pm, and Hyper Alerts will email you a report at this time with all of your Facebook comments. Although Hyper Alerts is limited to Facebook at this point (which is disappointing), the tool is very useful!

Which social media tools do you use?

Does your short sale seller have a legitimate hardship?

Melissa Zavala
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1
Does your short sale seller have a legitimate hardship?

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”

This famous line from Hamlet is possibly one of the most well-known in Shakespeare’s and I often consider this exact question when collecting seller documentation in a short sale transaction. Will the seller cooperate with all of the short sale lender’s requests? Will the bank approve the seller’s hardship? Is the hardship legitimate in the eyes of the short sale lender?

Short Sale Hardships

There are several common hardships that allow for fairly easy short sale processing at most of the major lending institutions. These hardships include job loss, decrease in hours, decrease in wages, illness, divorce, death, military deployment, and incarceration.

However, there are other hardships that make me wonder whether the short sale is meant to be. Often times sellers receive a job transfer to another part of the state or the country, and are forced to sell their home despite the fact that it is the wrong time and they are still current on payments. Other sellers want to unload an investment property because the rent does not cover the investment’s monthly expenses. A third faction includes families that want to upsize or downsize. And, a fourth group includes those who just want to bail because they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Depending upon the lending institution and also depending upon the noteholder (investor) that owns the note for a particular loan, there may be certain investor guidelines that would impact whether the short sale is approved. Some investors may consider the hardship very seriously, and others may regulate commission and other fees associated with the sale (such as HOA dues, pest control, and settlement expenses, etc.).

With respect to hardship, however, the good news is that the new HAFA guidelines and the new 30-day short sale review requirement (both of which became effective on June 1, 2012) may mean that a whole lot more short sales are possibly meant ‘to be.’

Wirelessly Bump photos from smartphone to computer

Charlene Jimenez
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5
Wirelessly Bump photos from smartphone to computer

Solving a major pain point of photo taking

One of the most annoyingly tedious tasks is transferring photos from your phone to your computer. If you’re like the majority out there, you’ve probably emailed yourself pictures, just so you can access them or share them with clients, friends, or family members. Or maybe you’ve synced your phone with your computer with the use of a required cable. Either way, it doesn’t have to be that tedious, not anymore. Bump made sure of that.

Bump has been around for a few years, as you may already know. This service allowed users to “bump” their phones together and share photos directly with intended recipients. While this has been a very popular service, with over 600 million photos shared in two years, Bump has taken it one step further. Now you can bump your phone with your computer. Doing so will allow you to choose which pictures from your phone you want access to on your computer, and not a single cord or cable is required. It all works through your everyday web browser.

Quick setup steps

All you have to do is download the Bump app and then sign in to the website and you’re officially connected and ready to bump! And a bonus is that you don’t even have to install software to your computer. Once you’ve chosen which photos you want to keep on your computer, you can choose to “save them to your hard drive or get a short link to share with friends on Facebook, Twitter, email, or IM.” And to officially bump any photos, all you have to hit is the spacebar. That’s it! Or, if you don’t want to share right away or you want to keep the photos with Bump, they also host an unlimited number of your photos, for free.

While the personal use of Bump is obvious, your professional efforts can greatly benefit from it, too. If you’re a real estate agent, for instance, you can take quick photos on your phone when you’re in a hurry and then email or message them to clients and coworkers. Imagine how much time you’ll save just by never waiting for your phone and computer to sync ever again. And that’s just one way to use Bump professionally.

Bump claims their service is magical. Whether you agree or not, one thing is for certain – Bump has provided a relevant, time-efficient, and useful service for both the personal and professional markets. It makes taking pictures on a whim and sharing through varying online outlets possible, convenient, and enjoyable.

Startup turns trash into treasure

The American Genius Staff Writers
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Startup turns trash into treasure

Catching on in Australia and America

Australian startup, Gomi is a brand new startup seeking to turn street trash into treasure, and has already caught on in Sydney, Melbourne, and now the San Francisco Bay area.

The company seeks to be the matchmaker for items on the city streets with people seeking free treasures. “You see an abandoned item on the city streets. You list it. Anyone can claim it”.

The company says, “So, couches, TVs, dressers, teddy bears, trampolines (yes we’ve had trampolines listed!) anything that people leave out on the side of the road…the idea is that you whip out your iPhone, list it, and that anyone nearby can browse and go get the item. You can also list stuff in your home, too, so long as you’re giving it away for free.”

The company says their long-term goal is the be the one go-to place to list and find free stuff, and we liken it to the free section of Craigslist on steroids. As you look at your own company’s offering, can you replicate Gomi’s success by offering something your market is missing as Gomi has?

Making use of Gomi

We took a look at Gomi and immediately found that it isn’t filled with junk like old plastic toys from McDonald’s, no, the first thing we came across was a plasma tv, and while there is no telling whether it works or not, that is a far cry from a dirty fast food toy.

For people who do not have an iPhone but still want to find free stuff, while the world awaits an Android app, users can check out their Facebook Page to see links to neat free finds.

For those opening their first office or moving into their first home, or people who repurpose furniture or have crafty skills, this app could prove to be a huge money saver.

Apple philosophy: compete by owning key technologies

Marti Trewe
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Apple philosophy: compete by owning key technologies

Striking advice from Apple

Recently Apple CEO, Tim Cook reminded people that everyone should “own the key underlying technologies” of their business, which is why Apple created iTunes when Napster already existed, and why they are dumping Google Maps for their own proprietary map product, said Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of RealDirect.com.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”At the end of the day, every business is going to be defined, in part, by the technology they use.”[/ba-pullquote]Perlson reflects on Apple’s wisdom, noting that as a startup CEO, even he is tempted simply adopt the technology platforms of others to build his business, but notes that while he is no Apple fanboy (and says he owns an Android phone and a PC), “At the end of the day, every business is going to be defined, in part, by the technology they use. And if you use someone else’s technology, you will never have a true tech advantage over your competitors.”

“If the technology is core to your business,” Perlson added, “you’d better own the technology and constantly improve it, customize it for your business, and train your team on how to get the most out of it. That is where you will find your competitive advantage.”

Does your business need to become a tech company to survive?

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”Own the technology that is core, and outsource what isn’t.” -Apple’s philosophy[/ba-pullquote]Owning technologies can be easily interpreted by literal personalities as a demand for businesses to own all technologies they possibly use, but Perlson advises that there are areas of all businesses that should be owned by third parties, for example, infrastructure and hosting. “For this technology, let the engineers at Amazon figure out how to scale your infrastructure. They will without a doubt be able to do it for less money and less headache than if you did it yourself. Own the technology that is core, and outsource what isn’t.”

While Perlson says most tech companies understand how to outsource, he is shocked that billion dollar real estate brokerages are outsourcing nearly all of their technology – they just don’t get Apple’s concept. “Whether it is their CRM, their website, their lead generation or their advertising solutions, nearly all of them either use vendors that also work with their competitors, or have had their tech built by an outside third party.’

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]Brokerages are now attracting top performers by offering proprietary technologies.[/ba-pullquote]Although he acknowledges that quality team members is a major component of succeeding in real estate, having high quality tech tools is also important, as brokers are now attracting performers with technology. Perlson says, “it’s not just because they like shiny things – it’s because it generates business and establishes a competitive advantage. So if you are trying to build the best business you can, be like Apple; own your key technology, and make it great.”

Merge: if Apple and real estate made a baby

Tara Steele, Staff Writer
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Merge: if Apple and real estate made a baby

New app for the real estate world

Managing a real estate process is extremely detailed, and much of the hard work is never seen by clients, or the public, so the perception remains that Realtors don’t work for their commission. With Merge, agents report listing activities to their seller in an extremely streamlined and beautiful interface, reminiscent of what we imagine an app would look like if Apple and real estate made a baby.

“Real estate agents are constantly having to justify their commission,” explains Joel Beasley, Merge Founder and Developer. “Yet, they’re not doing this effectively. In fact, research indicates that the typical agent communicates only 31% of what they actually do for their sellers. If you’re only explaining 31%, how can you justify 100% of your commission? That’s what I had in mind when I created Merge.”

Communicating tasks and worth

Updates are visible on the “timeline” for each transaction and updates can be sent to you and your clients either daily, weekly, or bi-weekly to allow them to see movement on their listing, even when you’re not ringing their phone.

According to the company, timelines are either built directly by the agent, with the option of templates to save time, or through pulling data from the broker’s real estate software, including accounting tools, showing systems, call centers, transaction management, document management, CRM and more.

Add, track, share. Simple. Super simple.

“Over more than a decade in the real estate technology space, I’ve developed a unique process that allows me to pull data from the numerous platforms used in most brokers’ offices,” Beasley explains. “This solves one of the problems that most real estate professionals face – multiple technology systems that don’t ‘talk’ to each other. And I can even accomplish all this in less than 3 days for any broker’s office.”

Merge is also popular with mortgage, insurance, and title companies, and the company says they are “the answer for individuals and companies who want to provide a level of service and selective transparency that a “fully integrated platform” offers, yet still want to avoid the expense and hassle of more cumbersome software.”

In the near future, Merge will be rolling out a variety of industry-specific widgets to help each user with their unique needs, like the “Email Connector” which pulls emails into the timeline based on keywords or email addresses, “Requests” for obtaining files and info without having to assign a task to a client (which we always thought sounded rude, so thanks for fixing that, Merge), and “Collaboration,” wherein users can create permissions to allow other people to view timelines in a way that allows third parties to only have access to view specific widgets (updates, for example), but not others.

Check in at a property

“I also recognized the highly mobile nature of today’s real estate professional,” said Beasley, “So I made it a priority for my platform to work seamlessly on mobile devices. For example, I’ve added a feature that allows users to ‘check-in’ at a property and have it appear on the timeline for that transaction.”

The app has a week of free use so users can test it out without even sharing a credit card number. Merge aims to help agents to better communicate their value, and with a sexy interface and responsive design (which they don’t brag about enough), this company is most definitely going to disrupt the real estate technology sector.


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QR codes work best in magazines, newspapers

Marti Trewe
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3
QR codes work best in magazines, newspapers

QR codes finding an audience

Scannable QR codes have been around for quite some time, allowing smartphone users to point their phone at a code that functions like a bar code, bringing the phone’s browser to a specific website. New comScore data1 reveals that 14.5 percent of smartphone users in the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) scanned a QR code or bar code with their device in the first quarter of 2012.

Many consumer technologies go mainstream in Europe before American audiences catch on, and the rise of QR code use in these nations could imply a potential for their growth in the states.

QR codes used in marketing efforts did not enjoy equal effectiveness across mediums, as only one in ten smartphone users that scanned QR codes scanned business cards or brochures, and only one in three scanned a poster, flyer, kiosk, or website.

A higher percentage (38 percent) scanned QR codes on product packaging, but by far, the best performing QR code use in the first quarter were codes featured in magazines and newspapers, as half of all smartphone users that had scanned QR codes had done so in a magazine or newspaper. Results were too scant to measure for billboards or signs, despite some marketers’ best efforts.

Why magazines and newspapers?

There are several reasons that print is the most effective delivery mechanism for QR codes. First, consumers of print media are taking their time to actually consume the medium, rather than web users who often skim material, or drivers who cannot safely scan a billboard at 70 miles per hour. Secondly, print has the means to explain what a QR code is or how to use the QR code, whereas flyers or mailers are typically limited on space or attention span to get consumers to understand the necessary steps.

QR codes have quite a way to go before going mainstream, as consumers have short attention spans that are decreasing every day. Some suspect augmented reality will supplant QR codes before they ever go mainstream, but the jury is still out, and at least in Europe, the most effective delivery mechanism for QR codes is magazines and newspapers.

1 comScore data

Prudential Gary Greene rumored to go back to Better Homes and Gardens

Tara Steele, Staff Writer
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Prudential Gary Greene rumored to go back to Better Homes and Gardens

Rumor: Houston’s top producing firm to rebrand

Prudential Gary Greene is the oldest real estate firm in Houston and is said to be the top listing and selling firm, having more transactions in the last five years than any other Houston broker. Sources tell AGBeat that the company will be changing franchises and becoming a Better Homes and Garden Real Estate firm this year.

Founded in 1963 by Gary Greene, the Houston firm grew to multiple office and became a franchised brand of Better Homes and Gardens in the 1970s. In 2000, the company affiliated with Prudential and is now run by partners Mark Woodruff and Marilyn Eiland and has 19 offices in the Houston area.

The company’s bragging rights include being named as a top 10 Prudential office in the nation, and was listed as #45 nationally by Real Trends in the Top 100 Brokers by closed transactions in 2011. The firm was named Broker of the Year for 2009, which they say is an award given for outstanding professionalism, honesty, integrity, business savvy and community service.

Prudential Financial sold their real estate brokerage in 2011

In December 2011, Prudential Financial sold its real estate brokerage to Brookfield Residential Property Services for $100 million. One source close to the brokerage told us that Prudential franchisees were able to keep the Prudential branding until their franchise agreements expire or until they agree to rebrand as Real Living. In some cases, brokerages would no longer carry the Prudential or Real Living banner, rather rebrand with another franchise company or move ahead independently.

It is unclear as to why Prudential Gary Greene is going back into the Better Homes and Garden Real Estate fold, but it is likely that their franchise agreement expired, and they were forced to choose between Real Living and their other options. Better Homes and Garden Real Estate and Prudential Gary Greene representatives have declined to comment on the rumors.

Update: Prudential Gary Greene Sales Manager, Ken Brand blogged on the topic but has yet to comment as to any branding changes.

Case study: how to offend the world in 11 words or less

Lani Rosales, Managing Editor & Lead Business Writer
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Case study: how to offend the world in 11 words or less

ASUS’ slip up

At the Computex 2012 convention, a photo of the new ASUS Transformer AIO hit Twitter, featuring an all-in-one PC computer with detachable screen that acts as a tablet. Technologists have been anxiously awaiting its unveiling, but at the conference, instead of the traditional “here it is!” type tweet, the ASUS Twitter account said of the photo above, “The rear looks pretty nice. So does the new Transformer AIO. #Computex2012 pic.twitter.com/ajafmuDk.”

The original tweet has since been removed, as has the original photo, but a cached version is still available online. In fact, the tweet has become somewhat viral at the convention, with many tweets using the “#Computex2012” hashtag pertaining to the ASUS slip up.

Immediately, social media channels exploded, accusing the company of being sexist and reinforcing that the industry slants toward men and is unfair towards women who contend with this sexist attitude as they enrich their careers. Many feel that it immediately unravels a lot of hard work by both sexes to advance equality in the tech industry.

While I personally am not offended at all (she does have a nice rear, and they were clearly being silly, not serious), it still struck a chord and many women and even men proclaimed they would not consider purchasing an ASUS product at any point in the future and hit their personal airwaves to let other people know that they should consider boycotting the brand as well.

The proper steps for any brand

ASUS took the proper steps by removing the tweet, but has failed to acknowledge it, especially on their Twitter handle. The company should immediately issue an explanation and apology to those who were offended. Sometimes when a brand makes a misstep, it is hard to see internally how something could be offensive, but it is not about what the internal culture is or whether or not a company understands the full implications of what they’ve said, but they should always make an attempt to publicly acknowledge that what they said struck a chord and that they did not mean it as it was taken.

Most brands will make some sort of mistake using social media, as the goal is to be more human, and what is more human than erring? When you or your brand make a mistake, do your best to apologize, even if you can’t understand why others would be offended, and simply add that type of behavior to your list of things not to say.

Know your audience, people – if Maxim Magazine tweeted this, no one would care, but because a corporation did, it matters. Again, I am not offended by the tweet in the slightest, but it does tell my daughter that her value is as a booth babe, not an engineer leading an international division, and while I don’t believe ASUS intended that as the message, they should undo the damage they’ve caused and set it right.

Woman fights eviction threats for displaying American flag

Tara Steele, Staff Writer
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Woman fights eviction threats for displaying American flag

Patriotism and eviction

While everyone understands that apartment communities must have aesthetic standards, one Philadelphia woman believes her constitutional rights are being violated as she is threatened with eviction for the American flags displayed on her balcony, says CBS Philadelphia1.

The resident put up three small flags in honor of Memorial Day, adding that she has known many people who have served the U.S. and believes the rules for not having any display on any balcony at her community should not apply to American flags. “I think the veterans, they fought for us and this is why we have our freedom. My ex-husband was in service, brothers, nephews, cousins — to me this is a big thing.”

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”I think the veterans, they fought for us and this is why we have our freedom. My ex-husband was in service, brothers, nephews, cousins — to me this is a big thing.”[/ba-pullquote]After putting the flags up, she was ordered by the Philadelphia Housing Authority to remove the flags as they were considered a lease violation, and refusal to do so would result in eviction. The director of the PHA told CBS that he is only doing his job but does not like the idea of evicting the woman. “I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want my legacy to be I kicked anyone out over a flag,” he said.

The director added, however, that flags are a safety hazard. “We’re not anti-American. It’s just a lease provision that says nothing can be on the balconies.”

The renter says she has support of other residents in her community and that she is willing to fight back and face eviction for the display, having already refused to give maintenance access to her unit to remove the flags. PHA says that when the eviction notice is served, she will have 30 days to remove the flags before she faces a judge.

As she feels it is a violation of her constitutional rights, the woman says she will fight this order, even if it means facing a judge.

1 CBS Philadelphia

The inspirational tale of an exploding mini-donut empire

Lani Rosales, Managing Editor & Lead Business Writer
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The inspirational tale of an exploding mini-donut empire

Get your salivary glands ready

As you read this, imagine the taste of mini donuts. Not the kind you get in a bag at the gas station after a long night of drinking, but of hand made, fresh mini donuts that are still warm and explode in your mouth with a sweetness that tastes like what can only be described as happiness.

Nancy Miller in Dallas, Texas is quickly becoming known as the donut queen of her city, and with each “Lil’ Bits Mini Donuts” popped into a mouth, another connection is made. Her product stands on its own and is quickly expanding her empire of mini donuts made in person at events across the city.

But donuts are bad for you, right?

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]A trans fat free, cholesterol free, low calorie surprise.[/ba-pullquote]As AG is headquartered in Austin, our first questions were, of course, about health to which Miller enthusiastically noted that her product only has 28 calories per donut, no trans fat, no cholestorol, and is hand made from all natural ingredients, carrying about a tenth of the calories of a candy bar. She adds that they are completely Kosher, and in the future, she is looking at adding a gluten free version to her lineup.

How Lil’ Bits Mini Donuts came to be

Miller didn’t inherit a family business, and she didn’t grow up dreaming of being a donut entrepreneur, nor was she famous for her donut making skills. She didn’t dream of tiny clouds made of donuts, and didn’t have a divine vision of her future with donuts, no, her path began more organically.

As a stay at home adoptive mother known in her personal circles for her homemade jellies, she needed to get her brain to work, so she bought and quickly consumed a book on entrepreneurialism. One of the ideas involved a donut machine which required a very small investment, and allowed her to bake around her childrens’ schedules as she was already accustomed to with her jellies.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”She became overwhelmed. It was too much for her to handle, especially given the weight of the machine and the hectic schedule. She quit.”[/ba-pullquote]Miller had lofty goals of being one of the thousands of bakers featured at the famous State Fair of Texas, but in order to earn her way up the figurative food chain, she carted her machine around from little fair to little fair, and as one person in her fifties, she became overwhelmed. It was too much for her to handle, especially given the weight of the machine and the hectic schedule. She quit.

A brief hiccup, then an explosive expansion

Five months later, Miller picked herself back up and became renewed when at her first event back in the saddle, she met an event organizer in charge of Nolan Ryan’s opening party for the Rangers, and was immediately booked. There, she was booked to be featured in the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium by Mike Rawlings who is a former Pizza Hut CEO, who has since become the Mayor of Dallas.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”Refocused and reinvigorated, Miller felt the city’s excitement about her donuts growing.”[/ba-pullquote]Refocused and reinvigorated, Miller felt the city’s excitement about her donuts growing. Miller visited SCORE, “America’s premier source of free and confidential small business advice,” and says “it was the best thing ever,” advising that everyone should go do it. She acknowledges that at first she was fearful and thought she should protect her idea, but she quickly got over it and encourages everyone to “just go do it.”

After getting her business in order, the referrals kept coming, but mostly, she impressed people in person with the fun setup and tasty product. She was then featured in a reception for wedding planners, and was then covered by D Magazine, both of which have generated a great deal of business for her.

Just last month, famed chef Dean Fearing said of Miller’s donut machine, “I want one of those for my house!” as he went wild eating several Lil’ Bits Mini Donuts at an event. Miller says people are mostly intrigued by the presentation as the machine makes 1,200 tiny donuts per hour, and she calls it the “miracle perfection machine” that staff constantly adds eight to at a time, with 16 cooking at all times.

Hiring additional staff, adding new products

Now, Miller is so busy that she has had to hire staff to run the operations, and has alleviated stress by removing the transactions at the point of sale, rather charges per person for events, which allows all staff to focus on the product and presentation.

[ba-pullquote align=”right”]”Miller says she is just getting started.”[/ba-pullquote]Miller has been so inspired by the explosive growth of her mini donuts brand that she has just launched a cotton candy line, and will soon be selling cotton candy syrups to events for bartenders to make specialty drinks, like Ginger Cotton Candy for a Ginger Martini. She wants to add organic sugars and flavors to her product line and later lollipops, sugar scrubs, candy apples and more – she says she is just getting started.

Bing makes search social, ups their game

The American Genius Staff Writers
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Bing makes search social, ups their game

Bing gets social, outdoes Google

Although Google remains the search default for most Americans, Microsoft’s Bing launched just three years ago, and after their first major search results page overhaul was unveiled last month, rumors of Bing’s next move have been wild. Now, adding a social layer1 to search results is available to all users, as the company launched the snapshot feature in a new three column design.

According to the Bing blog1, the Snapshot’s center column rests between the regular search results on the left and the new right sidebar column, which Bing says brings forward the most relevant information and services related to a user’s search.

“With snapshot, Bing does the heavy lifting by organizing useful information so you can act more quickly,” the blog said.

The company launched a sneak peek last month of the updates which showed social integration with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Quora, Foursquare, and other social networks, giving them the clear competitive advantage as Google continues emphasizing their own social network.

For years, Bing has shown Facebook “likes” next to search results, and as an investor in Facebook, the company has long emphasized social in all search results, finally revealing their ultimate plan.

As word of mouth shifts from face to face with close friends and family to anyone on the web, search has failed to catch up. Bing says, “We designed the new social features in Bing to make it easy to exchange ideas, share opinions and take action, giving searchers the same confidence they get from bouncing an idea off a friend. With Bing, it’s easier than ever to get that input and go from searching to doing.”

1 Bing Social Search
2 Bing Blog

Revitalizing the artisan movement, focus on quality

Lani Rosales, Managing Editor & Lead Business Writer
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Revitalizing the artisan movement, focus on quality

The rising artisan movement

As more business becomes automated and manufacturing has become the American way, many Americans are pausing to consider where their products come from, who made them, and more importantly, will they last for more than a year? In a down economy, it may be a surprise, but we are seeing more and more consumers focus on the high quality local artisans, not only as a way to keep money in the local economy, but to improve their own lives and surroundings.

In a new video series produced by Red Method, Inc., the stories of local businesses’ success are highlighted not only to inspire others to focus on the artisan movement, but to showcase what the artisan movement is really all about – it’s more than making a pretty pillow or tasty bacon, it is about consumers being well informed about the process it takes for a high quality product to be made, and about consumers seeking the unique, the rare, the hand made, the perfect item that is not in every single person’s home or driveway already.

“Art became separated from artisans and mass manufacturing turned individuals from creators to consumers.” -Neil Gershenfield

Do you remember in grade school the pride you took in making something with your hands? Some people still have that same pride, and have turned it into their career, which has resulted in amazing niche businesses that thrive in a way that mass production simply cannot.

So it appears that the small fish underdog is actually in a position to have the competitive advantage, especially in cities like Austin where residents are seeking ways to keep money in the local economy and to support local businesses, particularly because such a high percentage of the population is entrepreneurial.

The American Made movement:

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What it takes to succeed in the service industry

Jeff Brown
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What it takes to succeed in the service industry


Having been raised OldSchool to the nth degree, including my business upbringing, I can testify there’s very little debate about what generates success, especially when the business in question is based largely or wholly on providing a service. As a second generation service provider, I’ve been blessed with the privilege of learning both from the dinosaurs and what I’ve come to call the SmartKids.

Getting from the starting blocks to the finish line — first — over the long haul — is about two things.

  • Getting the desired RESULT of the client/customer
  • Producing said result with INTEGRITY 
It’s so easy to say, isn’t it? But we must acknowledge the reality that we can produce results without integrity, and have integrity without the ability to produce results.
Far too many of the so-called healthy debates are currently about the techniques, skill sets, and technology businesses should be developing. Truth is, most of the participants wouldn’t know a skinned cat from an ice cream cone if they had a cheat sheet. I know, because I used to be one of those. Once we’ve assumed integrity as the foundation of our business, we then get down to the one thing that matters: Skinned Cats. 

Most of us love talking about different ways to skin the cat. Our way, their way, some other way, or simply that there are many ways to skin a cat. But the #1 question asked by any business’s ultimate consumer? Did the cat get skinned? With few exceptions, they usually don’t care how, assuming the given of integrity. They just want results. They’re not impressed with our awards or our claims of world domination.

The common denominator for any successful service business is the consistent production of superior results, delivered in a timely fashion.
Ask to see their office walls
In my industry, whether it’s traditional home sales or investment, the use of social media is and has been an ongoing topic of sometimes heated debate. Yet, when we look at the, you know, actual results generated, one truth becomes readily apparent: There are precious few cat skins on the social media wall. Don’t get me wrong, as there are millions of dollars flowing to both social media providers and those claiming expertise in social media marketing. But the result they generally produce is the transfer of cash from their customers’ Levis to their own, and not much else.
Put more succinctly, as service providers we’ve successfully skinned the cat when our clients/customers get the results for which hired us to produce.
If as a business we can’t point to those narrowly defined results, the public will go elsewhere. Those in need of our service are hungering to find a business they can trust implicitly who’ll get them what they want, and in a timely manner.
You’d think that would be too obvious to put in writing, right? Yet look around us. We all use service providers. Some we use relatively regularly, some from time to time, and some only a few occasions in a lifetime. In most cases we have a huge list of firms from which to select.

Take auto maintenance and repair. What’s your experience with that service? Yeah, me to. Furthermore, once we find one who consistently maintains/repairs our vehicles at a fair price, with integrity, we tend to stick with ’em like glue, don’t we? You bet we do.

Over the years I’ve had dozens of service business owners tell me that their best marketing is free. My experience lines up with theirs. It’s ongoing or former customers braggin’ about how the business has been skinnin’ their cats for years.

  • I needed the transmission rebuilt and it’s been runnin’ perfectly ever since.
  • She’s sold two homes for me, and sold me three, all of ’em flawlessly.
  • Yep, due to their marketing, my business doubled in five years.

Nobody cares about how results are obtained until they find out IF results were produced. The public wants results, as THEY define them, produced quickly and with integrity. With rare exceptions they generally don’t care how it’s done.

People just want results, honestly produced. All service providers need to do is skin the right cats. Why is that so hard to understand? Why are there so few in each industry who concentrate on producing real life results? The public is pretty dang smart when it comes to finding those who get the job done.

To them it’s simple as pie — it’s about skinnin’ cats.

Photo sharing app picplz to shut down July 3rd

The American Genius Staff Writers
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Photo sharing app picplz to shut down July 3rd

Adios, PicPlz

Mobile photo editing and sharing company, PicPlz has just notified all users via email that they will be closing their doors, effective July 3, 2012. This closing date gives users a full month to pull all of their photos from the site. The email sent to users was brief, and offered no explanation:

“Hi [picplz user],

picplz Shutting Down Permanently

On July 3, 2012, picplz will shut down permanently and all photos and data will be deleted.

Until then, you can log in and download your photos by clicking on the download link next to each photo in your photo feed.

Thank you for your support of picplz and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Thanks,
picplz”

When visitors go to the site, they are met with this greeting:

According to CrunchBase.com, bootstrapped picplz became a part of app development company, Mixed Media Labs who in turn spun out the app as its own entity which has created new products like App.net, a mobile platform. It remains unclear whether or not the company ill resurrect the app under another company name or as part of another app.

What this means for users

Only existing users can log in to the site, as it is no longer accepting registration of new users. Although a message regarding the closure appears when the mobile app is opened, the app continues to function and post images to picplz and are still shareable.

As far as we can tell, there is no mass download or export option for users, and because picplz is not integrated into third party tools like ifttt, it appears the only option is to download each individual picture by clicking “Download” next to each picture.

Many devices will still have the original photos, and possibly even the edited version, on their SD Card or in their photo galleries, but for those who have relied on hosting the images on picplz, all photos will be deleted when the company shuts down.

Because no reason has yet been cited for the shutting down of the service, it is possible that the team is simply focusing on the other apps being developed under the Mixed Media Labs brand, and resources to picplz have possibly been limited, but it is equally possible that Instagram, which has similar functions, is beginning to push out the smaller competitors.

Many of us at AG use picplz as our photo sharing app of choice, so this closure is not one that comes with fanfare.

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