Category: Technology

Categories
Technology

ABB – A Better World

ABB takes pride in their technology and innovations which allow companies to reduce their energy usage and increase product efficiency without compromising productivity. The environment and renewable energy is top priority at ABB. Therefore they sponsored a survey of energy professionals that have been asked to comment about the various issues concerning energy usage, the environment, and the government’s role in enforcing environmental rules on utility companies. The survey was conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek and concluded that most energy professionals agree that a change is needed to encourage companies to use their energy more efficiently. ABB believes that a better, cleaner future relies on smart technology that uses renewable energy.

ABB is a company specializing in creating innovative technologies that use the world’s energy in a more efficient way, while decreasing environmental damage. ABB sponsored an energy survey, conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek, to increase awareness about energy usage by various companies and renewable energy. The results can be seen in the video. Most energy professionals agree that utility companies should use more renewable energy sources, and that energy should be distributed more efficiently. Furthermore, companies should reduce their energy usage, and move towards the direction of renewable energy.

ABB is striving for a better, cleaner future by developing innovative technologies that increase energy usage efficiency. ABB have sponsored a survey, which was conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek. The survey illustrates the expressed concern that the majority of energy experts have about renewable energy. Energy officials believe that immediate changes must take place. The video shows the survey results which could lead to effective solutions for energy usage efficiency. ABB believes that by creating a smarter energy system we can protect the environment and aim for a brighter future.

Categories
Technology

Five Steps to Become a More Efficient Small Business

Technology can be a lifesaver for a small business owner, but only if you know how to use today’s top tools to spark efficiency. Communication is one area that is fast becoming critical to the success of small businesses. These suggestions are good reminders on how communication technology can shave unnecessary expenses while streamlining employee workflow:

1. Improve employee satisfaction.

Aging phone systems and slow networks can frustrate your employees and annoy your customers. In some cases, an employee might become burned out and decide to move on. To help ensure that employees are productive and satisfied, your business needs a secure, reliable, and fast network.

2. Reduce unproductive travel time.

All too often, time spent on the road is time lost. A networked phone solution that offers video calls and Web conferencing can help reduce the time and expense of traveling to offsite meetings and training sessions. Instead of spending time traveling, you can use the time to get work done with technology.

3. Make it easy to work together.

Smooth collaboration between employees, partners, suppliers, and customers is a sure-fire way to boost efficiency while also reducing costs. An intelligent network lets your business take advantage of interactive calendaring, videoconferencing, unified communications, and other technologies for easy collaboration. In fact, through May 31, small business owners can take advantage of a free trial of the Verizon Collaboration Center, which gives easy access to all of these features. Companies can register for the free trial at: http://business.verizon.net/betterway/challenge.php

4. Streamline customer communications.

Delivering fast, knowledgeable service is the best way to keep customers satisfied. Linking your network phone system to a customer relationship management (CRM) solution is a great way to enhance customer communications. When a customer calls, a pop-up window with their records appears on an employee’s IP phone screen, computer screen, or both.

5. Develop a long-term technology plan.

The process of replacing obsolete hardware can interrupt your employees and bring the office to a standstill. You can minimize such disruptions by carefully determining short- and long-term business objectives and working with your network vendor or IT professional to deploy technology that matches them.

Categories
Technology

Top Five Picks for Pocket Video Cameras

Little Cameras with Little Price Tags Offer Big Results!
With a slew of teenie, tech-friendly pocket video cameras flooding the market, there’s really no excuse not to own a minicam anymore. Led by the Flip Video camera, the current generation of portable pocket cams are affordable, convenient and a breeze to use – not to mention their surprisingly great video quality. (All the the cameras listed below are High Definition) Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to find online or on store shelves these days:
1. The Flip – You’ve heard me rave about the Flip Video camera before, and with good reason. This handy and inexpensive little gadget leads the pack when it comes to convenience, price, and usability. Whether you choose the Flip Ultra HD (at around $150 US), or the newer, slightly more expensive Flip Mino HD, Flip cameras are a sure bet.
2. KODAK Zi8 Pocket Video Camera – The upstart Zi8 is finally giving the Flip a run for its money. In fact, for about the same price, the Zi8 surpasses the Flip in a few features. The Kodak’s biggest advantage may be the ability to attach an external microphone – which has always been my biggest gripe with the Flip. (No external mic jacks on the Flip). Like the Flip, the Zi8 also offers one button uploading to YouTube. On the downside, the included software is not Mac-compatible, though there are some work-arounds if you own a Mac. As of this writing, CNET.com has gone so far as to recommend the Kodak as its best pick for pocket camcorders.
3. Creative Vado HD – For even less money than the Flip or the Zi8, the Creative Vado HD offers similar performance and features, though with 8GB of built-in memory, you can store up to 2 hours of video on the Vado. It also features the same ease of use and one-button upload to YouTube that the Flip and the Kodak provide. The Vado is a great alternative if your budget is lower, as current prices on Amazon.com are under $120 USD.
4. SONY Webbie HD MHS-PM1 – Another contender in the pocket-cam category is the SONY “Webbie.” As the name implies, it creates web-friendly video, though (according to reviews), it’s not as intuitive or as easy to use as the Flip. The Webbie features a few other bells and whistles, such as swiveling lens. However, the internal memory is only 12MB, so plan on buying a Memory Stick Duo memory card right from the get-go.
5. SANYO Xacti VPC CG10 – Sanyo’s Xacti has been around a while and wins generally positive reviews. It has a different design than most of the pocket camcorders, with a “pistol grip” handle. The zoom is better than similarly-priced models, but there are complaints about the poor (still) photo quality. Assuming you’re using your video camera mostly for video and not still photos, the Xacti is a great camcorder for the price.
A few things to note about all of these cameras and the category in general: They are all small, easy to use and very inexpensive. Most shoot great video quality for the money, but don’t expect the same results that much more expensive, prosumer models offer. Battery life is limited, as is storage capacity. I own the Flip Mino HD that stores an hour of video, before you have to off load it to your computer. Despite some limitations, you simply can’t beat the convenience and affordability that these handy little video cameras offer. So what are you waiting for?
Lou Bortone is a long-time marketing consultant and branding coach who helps entrepreneurs build breakthrough brands on the Internet. As an online video branding specialist and award-winning marketer, Lou provides services such as video production, brand development coaching, creative support and video coaching.
Lou is a former television executive who worked for E! Entertainment Television and later served as the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox in Los Angeles. Lou is an author and ghostwriter of six business books, a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and a Book Yourself Solid Certified Coach. His website is at: http://www.OnlineVideoBranding.com.

Categories
People & Relationships Technology

Social Media Seduction

080209_twitterdicted1.jpg
I’ve been thinking about the topic of this article for a while. It’s lately becoming more and more evident to me that social media is seductive- both in a business sense, and a personal one. On a business level, social media is seductive because it represents a way to create new relationships and fill our business pipeline. Done right, social media can be the last lead generation strategy you’ll ever need. (Not that I’d recommend this, it’s always wise to have multiple marketing channels to best stabilize your business.)
The personal element is the one I want to focus on here, because it’s this element that isn’t talked about very much. Social media is seductive- and it’s easy to be seduced. What this means is that you can be pretty much anyone you want to be within the social media space- and you can present yourself as more outgoing, charming, vivacious, or even attractive than you are in real life (especially if you use a picture of someone who is much hotter than you.)
We all have a desire to be liked and admired and respected, and social media gives us a way to do this. In some ways, everyone wants to be a social media rockstar, to benefit from the accolades, recognition and adulation that comes from everyone loving you. (Or at least seeming to.)
The problem with this, as with any kind of online (and potentially one-sided) relationship is that no matter how scintillating or fantastic you are within social media, you are, at the end of the day, still a real person with real assets and real liabilities.
Social media connections and online relationships have a place in your life, but should never substitute for real life/offline connections with people who have a chance to spend time with you, know you, and hang out with you- not just worship an image of you.
The other challenge in terms of balancing social media with real life relationships is that in social media, you can always find someone to talk to on Twitter, and you’ll be able to find people who agree with everything you say. Your personal popularity can be at an all time high online, but this doesn’t automatically translate into a golden life offline.
In fact, your real life relationships may suffer from too much social media popularity. I was speaking with a client earlier today who has recently joined Twitter. She has been spending a lot of time learning the system and has been tweeting very often. She has made some powerful connections and constantly feels drawn to tweet multiple times per day- even when she has agreed to spend time with her husband. Any lull in their conversation sees her picking up her Iphone and updating her Twitter status. It’s lately been causing some strain in her marriage because technology is, at times, more powerful and more consuming than her real life relationships.
With the constant stimulation and 24/7/365 access we can have to social media networks, it becomes more important that we create some kind of balance in our use of the social media sites. The psychology of social media is such that we do desire connections. We just need to make sure that the lure of our online connections doesn’t overshadow our interest in our offline ones.
RachnaJainPhoto.jpgDr. Rachna Jain is Chief Social Marketer at The Mindshare Corporation. Rachna works with speakers, consultants, authors, and small business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing strategies. Her proprietary persuasive social media process (sm) focuses on building influence, credibility and visibility online. This translates into greater recognition, increased website traffic, faster lead generation, a shorter sales cycle, and more opportunity for her expert clientele. She blogs regularly at The Mindshare Blog

Categories
Operations Technology

Quick Guide to Electronic Document Storage

Documentmanagement.jpg
We all know that using less paper is good for the planet and can lead to big savings on business costs. You’ve probably heard the little tricks to reduce paper waste: you shouldn’t print all of your emails, you should purchase a refurbished copier and “green” supplies, and you should always research your equipment purchases (for items like copiers) to find the most energy-efficient options. Even offices that use all of these practices to cut back on paper waste can cancel out their efforts by continuing to store documents the “old fashioned” way- in paper files.
Paper document storage is typically more time consuming, waste producing, and error-prone than an electronic document storage system. Why not switch to a more effective, less expensive method of document management? Electronic storage equipment is becoming more advanced and easier to use, and recent data indicates that most companies recover the costs of a data storage system itself in about a year. Here is a quick guide to electronic document storage options for small businesses:
Document Management Software: This is the backbone of any electronic storage system. Document management software is what allows you to scan, convert, save, and retrieve files electronically. The most effective systems employ OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, which allows scanned images to be converted into text, and search functions that allow you search for miscategorized items. Document management software ranges from the basic (free, downloadable programs like SimpleOCR) to the advanced (hosted solutions costing thousands of dollars a month).

Storage Options: You can store data on your own server, or use a hosted solution. Hosted storage relies on an internet connection, and doesn’t require any large cost outlays for equipment. If you choose the self-storage option, you’ll need to purchase hardware and software outright before you implement the program.
Scanning Services: Documents will need to be scanned before you can access them electronically. Most software programs with OCR require a high-quality scanner- some digital copiers can perform scanning functions, and most basic office color copiers are usually compatible with document storage software programs. If you have a large volume of documents to scan, it’s a good idea to invest in a high-speed scanner or to hire a document scanning service. If you’re hiring a scanning company, you’ve got options- you can have the documents scanned on-site (especially convenient for those companies with large storage needs or very sensitive documents) or can ship them to a scanning service provider. You’ll need to decide how far you want to “back scan” and if you want to keep any paper files.
MerrinMuxlowPhoto.jpgMerrin Muxlow is a writer, yoga instructor, and law student based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, a company that provides resources for business owners, and is a frequent contributor to several sites and programs that offer tools for entrepreneurs, including Dell and BizEquity.