Cloud computing—in simple terms— is virtualized resources served over the Internet. Cloud computing is often provided "as a service" in the form of 'infrastructure as a service’ (IaaS), or more commonly as ‘software as a service’ (SaaS).  

Why the buzz? Cloud computing customers can minimize out of pocket or long-term budgetary needs when they incur new demand or fluctuation requirements for their infrastructure or massive web properties. Instead of having to invest time and money to keep websites and infrastructures operational, cloud computing customers simply pay for the
resources they use, as they use them.  

The direct benefit of cloud computing
is agility and flexibility — meaning that customers no longer need to forecast drastic upbeat in traffic – they can simply promote their websites aggressively and on-demand.  

Learn More:

What Cloud Computing Really Means by InfoWorld – discusses the various solution offerings including SaaS.

Cloud versus cloud: A guided tour of Amazon, Google, AppNexus, and GoGrid by InfoWorld – provides insight into various vendors – including pricing and relationship differences.

What is Cloud Computing by Salesforce via YouTube - Salesforce currently is ahead of the pack and does a great job of explaining the semantics and benefits of The Cloud.

Best

Denice MacDonald

Twitter creator Jack Dorsey recently gave the first public demonstration of his hotly-anticipated latest venture “Square” – a device that allows its users to make credit card payments through their cell phones.

Square is a card reader about one inch in length that attaches to the headphone socket of most cell phones. 

The device contains a magnetic strip reader that allows a user to swipe a card, which will then coordinate online with card issuers and banks through a mobile application on the user’s cell phone. 

Basically, the Square works very similarly to card swipers that you see in most retail stores.

The device is scheduled to be available for iPods and iPhones in March 2010. 

View the latest "Square" YouTube video from TechCrunch    

Sources: 

After Twitter, Comes Square - By Richard Neil Ilagan, The News Chronicle

Creator Reveals Square Mobile-pay Device - By Barry Neild, CNN

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Denice MacDonald

Grooveshark is the most inclusive and fully-featured on-demand music service on the Web. With an unmatched catalog of music, millions of users flock to the site to listen to their favorite artists as well as discover music and share tracks with friends.

Listening to any song instantly, creating playlists to return to later, or simply accessing a quick favorite song are the fundamentals of Grooveshark's offering.

How are they capturing marketshare?

Grooveshark delivers the world's music to the world more easily than any other site online and receives its support from advertising as well as a premium VIP subscription service. In fact, visitors and subscribers can opt out of advertising for $3 per month. 

Also, the much anticipated Grooveshark Mobile applications will further monetize the service and Grooveshark's unique and innovative platform for breaking artists keeps it one step ahead in being a competitive, sustainable and profitable business.

Bottomline, these guys are awesome and you need to check them out! 

Features – see how unique and differentiated Grooveshark is relative to other music on-demand sites 

Free Stuff – all types of wallpaper from Abstract to Shark wallpaper free for download

Join Now – fast, easy and worth it!

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

[Source info and company background taken directly from Grooveshark]  

Many of my clients these days are wondering how they are going to scale their businesses in 2010 in order to stay competitive. With the emergence of Software as a service (or SaaS), they can now reap the benefits of applications that were once far too difficult to develop, host or purchase. 

SaaS Defined: 

Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management. 

SaaS applications are sometimes called Web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software [see YouTube video below for more learning].

Whatever the case, SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s servers. The provider manages access to the application, including security, availability, and performance. Moreover, the application can be used across your organization via multiple licenses or subscriptions. 

Common Uses: 

The most common use of SaaS is with CRM applications like Salesforce, social networks such as Ning or even e-mail applications such as Constant Contact. In any event, you'd be crazy not to check out an SaaS model as an option within your technology mix. 

Learn More: 

To learn more about SaaS - check out this great YouTube Video.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

There’s always been an understanding that IT takes care of the back-end, while Marketing takes care of the front-end relative to web initiatives. But now, the lines of responsibilities are somewhat blurred. 

As an e-business strategist, I now have to be knowledgeable in content management systems (all types including open source, java and .net), e-commerce solutions (SMB and Enterprise) as well as fluent in hosting environments that support diverse applications – including cloud computing. 

Bottom-line, web sites that are being built today require an understanding of various infrastructure components and applications. Reason simply, the technology will inform the marketing strategy and vice versa. The two need to work in tandem.

How do I stay on top of things?

Fortunately I have a superior network to call upon. But, when I need an answer fast, I typically rely on some of these great resources: 

1. Content Management Systems: The Web CMS Report 2010 
2. E-commerce: Internet Retailer  
3. IT and IT Infrastructure: SearchITChannel 
4. IT White Papers/Thought Leadership: KnowledgeStorm -- service of Bitpipe.com 
5. Search Engine Optimization: SEOMoz 
6. Cloud Computing: Vendor Comparisons by InfoWorld 

Feel free to contact MacDonald Consulting should you require a specific resource. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

There’s been quite a bit written about the transformation of the telecommunications industry -- bringing the continued existence of the fixed-landline phone usage into question -- not to mention those costly web conferencing solutions.

Consider Skype as a viable alternative for both.

Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. The big advantage – it’s free to download.

As a business consultant who routinely runs projects virtually, it is rare that I have a chance to make a face-to-face with a colleague or client. Now, with Skype, I have an opportunity to truly be ‘in the room’ without worrying about time or cost. 

Skype Links: 

1. Features
2. Mobile
3. What’s Free!
4. Skype for Businesses 

 [Credit: Skype for content, graphics and links] 

Best

Denice MacDonald

One of the most important sections of a web site is the web form page. Whether the goal of your site is to get visitors to sign up for your e-mail newsletter, fill out a form for more information, get a quote or purchase a product online, every aspect of your form can potentially impact conversions, and therefore should be carefully examined.

When first thinking about creating web forms, you must think beyond the input fields. When your visitors look at a web form, it’s not just a one-time decision that is being made, but more likely a series of mini-decisions. Does this graphic grab my interest? Does this headline make me want to learn more? Do I want to provide my e-mail address? Do I want to give out my phone number? Should I hit the Submit button? Do I want to refer to a friend?

Anything that is created on the form page, from top to bottom, creates or motivates a decision to act.

Here are some aspects of a web form page you should consider:

1. Headline - create a sense of urgency in an impact statement that appeals to YOUR customer - cliche one-liners won't work here.
2. Form layout - less is more here, keep it simple and easy to understand.
3. Pricing - make it clear what the price is AND include value (free shipping, discounts etc.).
4. Fields - include only fields that are necessary - too many fields will cause a visitor to opt-out.
5. Opt-in copy - should be enticing and include privacy/spam language.
6. Links - ahhh....links will not only entice but also steer customers to learn more about you or your affiliates.
7. Submit buttons - believe it or not, the size, shape and placement of your submit button can make or break the final step (conversion) of your web form.

How do you know if the web form is meeting a visitors criteria? 

Similar to a web content page, layout the form in a wireframe - outlining exactly where fields, graphics and other interactive features will reside.  Compare against customer expectations, demographics and psychographic needs.  

In some instances, the web form is the first impression of your organization if it is used in conjunction with trade show lead generation, custom landing page supporting an adword campaign or simply a direct custom URL to a product.  Remember, your goal is to get the customer to act.

Additional Resources:

Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks by Luke Wroblewski

Creating Wireframes

Optimizing Web Forms

Yep, I took the bait from Microsoft’s “Get the Facts” campaign and upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8). The compelling campaign touts significant updates from IE 7 including better phishing and malware protection, InPrivate browsing and InPrivate filtering.  

Features like Accelerators, Web Slices and Visual Search Suggestions make IE 8 even more enticing. 

Accelerators help in the retrieval and manipulation of data on websites. It usually involves selected content on a website first and the accelerator to process the content afterwards. This can range from translation services to drawing a map of the location of a restaurant you just discovered or checking the price of an item on a shopping site. 

A Web Slice enables users to subscribe to content directly within a web page - a separate feed file is not required. Users monitor content changes and view the updated portion of the web page directly from the Favorites bar (the improved Links toolbar) of Internet Explorer. 

IE 8 is partnering with top search providers like Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Amazon, and more to deliver Visual Search Suggestions that provide you with immediate answers. For example, typing "Isaac Newt" with Wikipedia visual suggestions will instantly show you a preview of the results directly in the Search Box drop-down. 

Go ahead – take the plunge and get the install here. If it doesn’t work out, you can uninstall IE 8 and get your old IE 7 back!

Great visual metaphor by CNET on YouTube: Internet Explorer 8 Review

Best

Denice MacDonald

It is imperative that all departments, disciplines and vested shareholders collaborate on the daily feeding and overall strategy of the organization's web site initiative - or else the web site will fail.

Why? Web sites are no longer ancillary; they are mission critical - adding substantially to the organization's bottom-line. Moreover, the combined needs of various departments or disciplines actually enhance the dynamic strategy behind the on-going transition of an organization's web site by offering various views and points of entry to clients, customers, employees and shareholders.

How? Collabration does not begin by ordering various departments into a conference room for a strategy meeting. It begins with defining needs, strategies and business goals. In most cases, what the sales department requires is not much different than what the HR department may need. Each is looking to communicate the organizations value and offerings while providing easy call-to-action scenarios for visitors and on-going interaction to the organization's web site.

Where to begin? Start with simple site goals that require collaboration against business needs from various departments. Begin the process of determining how the needs intertwine or can be repurposed to satisfy many needs.

SCENARIO 

HR is trying to hire high end sales professionals in a very tight market. The Sales department is trying to get a new product to market. Marketing has a tight budget but would welcome PR exposure relative to company growth.

SUGGESTIONS

Use web video to create employee profiles for HR enticing 'like' recruits. Use the same web video but add additional footage to introduce and e-mail video newsletter to targeted customers and leads that may benefit from the new product. Have marketing dove-tail the e-mail video newsletter AND web video components to the web site thereby increasing interaction to the site through video news releases. What will this take? It will take two or three days of shooting, various formatting of the web video, simple permission-granted e-mail program and some high end content. Using a create it once, use many ways concept has leveraged the collaboration of various department initiatives while safeguarding a cohesive web brand strategy.

Best

Denice MacDonald

2008 has definitely been a year of growth (and change) in many segments of technology and the web. Consider the big story of early 2008, Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Yahoo! – only to see Yahoo! reject the offer – go figure. With the ebb and flow of the economy, it will be interesting to see what happens with my favorite top stories from 2008: 

Google Chrome – With a mixed bag of reviews, Google Chrome did make a big splash - garnering over 1% of total browser users in its first three months of launch. It will be interesting to watch Chrome’s ability to give Google a compelling platform for the delivery of web applications while hopefully playing nice with Firefox in 2009.

• Will Google Chrome Gain Acceptance on Corporate Desktops? by Amit Agarwal, Digital Inspirations  

Video Content Kicks Butt – According to comScore, Hulu, a joint venture between Fox and NBC that offers professionally created content, made the list of the top 10 video sites on the web. With video in general becoming widely accepted (ala YouTube), tv video content on demand via the web is the next big logical step to capture ‘strategic’ advertising dollars. Take a look at the hulu web site and get hooked – like me!

• Web Site’s Formula for Success: TV Content With Fewer Ads by Brian Stelter, The New York Times

Amazon Kindle – Like most professionals, I’m finding it harder and harder to read all the feeds and e-mails I get each day – not to mention grabbing some leisure time for reading. I believe the ongoing rollout and use of e-books (Kindle) will bridge that gap and suddenly make reading ‘cool’ again.

• Amazon's Kindle

Social Communities – I personally belong to 10 different social web communities – several for pleasure and several for business networking. We’ll begin to see the social communities evolve (and share) technologies thereby elevating networks that are working and eliminating those that don’t. Of critical importance, will be the evolution of Facebook - Facebook will debut a "Social Rank" algorithm which will determine which of your friends are most relevant and important. It will be fun to watch Facebook in 2009!

• Predictions for 2009 by Charlene Li (author of Groundswell)  

As web marketing professionals, it will be interesting to see how the above-mentioned trends will evolve in 2009.

To all my subscribers - the best to you in 2009.

Denice MacDonald

Google has rolled out a new product feature, short message service (SMS), which will let you send text messages from your Gmail chat window. The feature was developed for frustrated users to chat with colleagues once they go offline. 

How does it work? 

To turn it on, you will need to go to the Labs tab within Gmail’s settings or to this dedicated product page for instructions and demo. Once you turn on the option, start typing a phone number into Chat’s search box and you’ll see the option to send an SMS.

If you already have your friend’s phone number stored in your Google account’s contacts, try searching for them by name. When your friend’s name appears in the drop-down list of contacts, you’ll see an option to send them an SMS. You can also hover over or click on anyone in your Chat buddy list to send them an SMS. 

Google using dedicated 406 area codes 

The first time you send a text message, it will appear on the person’s phone as coming from a number in the 406 area code. Google has made several thousands of these numbers available for Gmail users, and once a number is associated with your account, all of the text messages you send through Gmail will come from that number. 

The 406 number works both ways, so your friend can reply to you via text message. Also, your friend can save that number in their phone as belonging to you, and they can even use it to initiate new chats with you. 

More About Google

Google SMS Demo

Google Watch  

Google Applications and Products

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Website Magazine is the one magazine that focuses exclusively on the business of running a website: tips for successful websites, solutions for enhancing website traffic, the latest Internet industry trends and statistics, as well as news analysis on the Internet industry.

By providing a broad scope of useful articles and tapping premier talent in the industry, Website Magazine covers all the elements that together make websites successful: search engine optimization and marketing, website design, content management, blogging, E-commerce, online advertising, email marketing, analytics, web software and applications, customer service/customer relationship management, web hosting, mobile web and more. 

I highly recommend that anyone who is involved with web site development, strategy or execution (including internet marketing) subscribe to this publication. Website Magazine has also developed additional content exclusive to their digital edition which is available only to subscribers.

You'll find insightful articles on SEO for WordPress, product videos and ROI, advantages of being a certified Google AdWords Professional, Internet usage market share, domain names and SEO and the ultimate PPC bid matrix.

Lastly, you can join Website Magazine's online community and get a free listing!

Subscribe Today!

• Free Subscription Here
• Sample Issue

Enjoy!

Denice MacDonald
 

As most of you know, I'm an avid reader and find it hard to keep up with all the reading required to stay ahead of technology. AND, I am finding little time to sit down and read novels, books or magazines.  I've learned recently that Amazon has introduced a convenient, portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. The device is called Kindle.

Kindle provides an exceptional reading experience. Thanks to electronic paper, a revolutionary new display technology, reading Kindle’s screen is as sharp and natural as reading ink on paper—and nothing like the strain and glare of a computer screen. Kindle is also easy on the fingertips. It never becomes hot and is designed for ambidextrous use so both "lefties" and "righties" can read comfortably at any angle for long periods of time.

Kindle is completely mobile and simple to use for everyone. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same 3G network as advanced cell phones, content is delivered using a wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills.

Many have endorsed Kindle, including Oprah.  The device runs about $359 and books around $9.99. 

Other Reviews 

TechCrunch Review

ZDNet

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Kindle is portable reading device with the ability to wirelessly download books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

(Credit: Amazon Kindle)

I’ve had a chance to download and test Google's new Chrome browser and what a gem it is!  As a 1.0 product built in open source, Chrome is ahead of the pack leveraging the same base WebKit as Apple's Safari browser and launching the product in unison with the release of Windows IE 8.0.   Although considered in beta, Chrome offers some unique advantages over other browsers.

First and foremost is the slick user interface – keeping it simple and clean, Chrome combines several features into one, allowing more screen room for more important content. No doubt, it takes a bit to get used to, but once you’re in play, you won’t miss the clutter that was there before. 

The new-tab page is one of Chrome's most critical and useful design elements. This is the page that comes up by default every time you launch the browser or open a new tab. It shows you thumb images of the web pages you most frequently visit, and input boxes for the search engines you most frequently use and for searching your browser history.  

The new-tab page also shows a list of recently bookmarked pages, and another list of recently closed tabs. All of this is populated automatically -- you don't need to do a thing to create the page! 

Chrome is faster than most browsers and can multithread. Other browsers are single-threaded, which means they can only do one thing at once. If your Gmail session hangs for example, your entire browser is frozen.  

You have the option of importing bookmarks, passwords, and other settings from Internet Explorer or Firefox. So, you won’t need to re-establish all your credentials after installing Chrome – you’re basically up and running immediately. 

Lastly, Google has done a great job of launching Chrome by using a web comic book to introduce the product and its main features. You have to check it out!

Best

Denice MacDonald

There has been a lot of conversation recently on the question of web and software project agility – that is, movement from traditional plan-driven methods in favor of iteration. 

Web strategists and developers are moving to agile processes because the technology marketplace demands higher response to change. Specifically, no sooner do you develop a plan document when the scope changes  – causing loss of time, productivity and bottom-line ROI.

A colleague of mine, Brian Molstad of Molstad Consulting summed it up nicely: 

"As much as I am a major proponent of documenting requirements and asking the right questions early on, I recognize that documents and prototypes have a shelf life. When it's time to move on to the next iteration, it's time to move on. 

Unfortunately, some development teams I've worked with get a little documentation, and they ask for more and more.  I've much preferred working with those teams who take the high-level structure I provide and innovate within (and outside of) the box. When other developers/clients have asked for more specs, I prefer to respond with, "can't we move into HTML to get this going?"

Perhaps I have no problem giving up "control" of a project since I don't come from a formal project management background and more that of information architecture, usability, user-centered design, etc., which has always favored designing in iterations. I look at project management as whatever it takes to get the project done and provide the most value quickly. Here's to agile development!"

If you feel you’re  ready to take the ‘agility’ plunge – here are some great resources to get started.

Discussion groups:

Agile Project Management

Scrum Development

Extreme Programmer

Best

Denice MacDonald

“Web Content Management Systems (CMS) are software toolkits that automate the rapid deployment from multiple sources.  Web content management systems (CMS) are collections of application programs and middleware that automatically organize the content for your website according to rules you set up.”
Tony Freeman at DeepBridge Technologies 

Stay true to the rationale

The benefits for a CMS that is the right fit for your organization can improve brand position, elevate the user experience, aid in customer conversion while providing content that is timely and relevant.

Most times, organizations will agree to a CMS as they think it will reduce the need for IT services and/or eliminate full-time positions.  On the contrary, the use of a CMS will actually require dedicated resources and several defined skill sets.  Moreover, if the wrong CMS is deployed, financial risks can be high.  Be aware that it's not software you're introducing to your company, but change.

What kind of software do you really need?

Defining the exact nature of your CMS requirements can be daunting but a necessary business process.  Sites often termed brochureware will migrate to a CMS that is strictly content-based whereas sites with e-commerce, digital assets, sophisticated collaboration (CRM) or enterprise integration will require a hardier CMS with more functionality. 

Start by drafting your CMS requirements and creating a formal RFP. This should be a project in and of itself, with the appropriate resources and relevant stakeholders allocated to make sure that it is done well. The RFP should include suggested infrastructure and technologies and offer vendors an opportunity to suggest alternatives as long as the suggestions are accompanied with a detailed explanation and justification.

Careful scrutiny should be given to vendors that provide training, yearly licensing and version upgrades, maintenance and support – bundled or unbundled in the fee negotiation. 

If you do your homework correctly, your CMS will have a five to ten year shelf-life and provide the organization with a defined return on investment.

Best Resources:

• CMS Watch Report
• CMS Matrix

My Pics:

Ektron CMS

Sitecore CMS 
 

Best,
Denice MacDonald

Bridge the gap of expectations... 

Great white paper (SAP) on the transitioning role/business model for IT – bridging the gap of expectations all the way to the executive offices. A bit over my head, but good for you 'joes' out there who live this stuff.

Overview: Innovation is no stranger to the information technology function. Armed with increasingly sophisticated applications, IT-led teams have consistently found new ways to streamline enterprise business processes, vastly improving operating efficiency and reducing costs. Read more:

A-new-mandate-for-IT.pdf (768.40 kb)

Gartner recently commented on the future of open source and this is an excellent blog in response.  As most of you know, Gartner, Like Forrester, is a renowned ‘thinktank’ for enterprise-wide commentary.

In summary, Gartner suggests that we're years away from enterprise adoption of the following open-source software categories:

• Content Management (5-10 years);
• Enterprise Service Bus (5-10 years);
• J2EE Application Servers (2-5 years); and
• IP Telephony (2-5 years).

Learn more