Ramblings on project management, process re-engineering, business improvement, and anything else that may be pertinent.
Some tips if you are doing any type of e-mail marketing, which everyone does around the holidays. You should avoid using “free,” “save,” “urgent,” “important,” “$$$,” and text in all CAPS in the subject line of your e-mail marketing message.
Why you might ask? These words and symbols may make your message look like spam. Many online portals, like AOL, and personal firewalls use filters to block mail with these items in the subject line.
We have the technology, now tell us how to use it, is an interesting article.
“Office workers waste up to a month a year trying to figure out how to use their computers properly because modern technology is so complicated, a new study warns. “
Managers are pressuring employees to learn more software, more cell phones, more computers and more technology everywhere. Sure tech is getting easier to use, but there is more and more of it…and that affects productivity….and that affects the bottom-line. Provide training – it’s not a cost, it’s an investment.
Afaik gmta and there is somethin in the contract that shud b changd. IMO, the 2nd para shud read, “…excluded to protect the guilty.” The exsting language provides tmi. Plz make the chnages and forward a revizd cpy to r atty.
TYVM,
name
So do you understand all that? This is an e-mail I received from a manager at a client company. Yes he’s a youngster (relatively) and I surmise he does a lot of instant messaging, of which I do very little.
There is something about e-mail that causes one to adopt a conversational tone that they would not use in a standard business letter. E-mails are not spell checked, emoticons and abbreviations abound. I don’t like e-mail that is not edited nor spell checked prior to sending. I also don’t care for the “cutsie” slang, abbreviations and shortcuts.
So before you send out your next e-mail, please:
Taking a few extra moments will help you ensure that you always make the best impression. And if you need the above deciphered:
As far as I know, great minds think alike and there is something in the contract that should be changed. In my opinion, the second paragraph should read, “…” The existing language provides too much information. Please make the changes and forward a revised copy to our attorney.Thank you very much,
Thanks to Pointsec Mobile Technologies, we now know that forgetfulness qualifies as a major IT concern. The company contacted taxi companies in nine countries asking them how common it is for customers to leave cell phones, PDAs, laptops and other tools of the mobile professional behind in cabs. The results were staggering to say the least.
In Chicago alone, the survey suggests that more than 100,000 devices were left behind in a six-month period. But the news isn’t all bad: passengers were reunited with their cell phones 80 percent of the time, and with laptops and PDAs 96 percent of the time.
If you’re not practicing the password and encryption features of your device, you better. Oh and remember to tip your cab driver. Most items were returned thanks to the efforts of the drivers themselves.
A recent poll surveyed executives at companies with annual sales of at least $50 million. The vast majority said that information technology spending was on the rebound and that avoiding tech purchases could create competitive disadvantages. And the consequences?
Spam represents 75 to 80 percent of all e-mail. While more and more businesses have anti-spam measures in place, companies are receiving more spam e-mails than ever before, according to a new study by Postini, an e-mail security and managing firm. And it looks like the bigger your company, the better off you are — Smaller firms get up to 10 times more spam than corporations. Spammers are targeting smaller companies — those with 100 users or fewer — because they have less-sophisticated defenses. And certain industries, including publishing, advertising, legal and real estate, received more than 10 times the amount of spam per user per day compared with organizations in banking, financial, manufacturing, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
And who is most likely to be swamped with spam? Companies that publish their employees’ e-mail addresses on the Web.
In my latest issue of The Value Manager I did a short book review of Google Hacks, a great book to help you reap the power of Google. Now I find a site that has many of the tips and tricks already pre-scripted, just fill in the blanks. Soople is a site that softens all the fantastic, advanced functions Google offers. The site is meant for all those who are not yet familiar with all the functions and required syntaxes. Oh, by the way, Soople is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.
Via New England Project Services, I came upon an article in ComputerWorld, “Hi, I’m from IT and I’m here to help!” The story reminded me of some stupid thinking on what technology can do for you.
In the IT systems integration business, you see a lot of silly things. Some of the more absurd are the extremes to which companies will go to get unnecessary network connections between systems.
Consider a 20-year-old encounter with a potential client. They wanted to enable four workstations in a workgroup to share two printers. (Yes, I know, this is simple now. But back then…) The customer bought the printers, necessary drivers, queuing software, protocol stacks, network modules and hub ports. The cost of the printers: less than $450 each. The cost of of the network components and software to enable the workstations to share printers: $4,000.
There are times when IT systems integration is the wrong thing morally, physically and financially. I encountered this about 15 years ago when a client had a site a couple hundred miles from headquarters. The remote location was way out in the boondocks somewhere and they wanted a high-speed (19.2k) network connection between sites. Research showed that about $250,000-worth of phone equipment was needed for the hook-up. The phone company was charging them for changes required at their central office. And why did they need this? So that payroll files could be sent from the main office to the remote site twice a month. My recommendation: $20/month for floppy disks and FedEx!!
Not everyone needs technological solutions. A tremendous amount of money is expended in the name of user productivity on technologies that are rarely used. Obviously, technology is not always the solution.
Common sense should be the first indicator when deciding whether to install or change information technology. Not a study, not a massive committee meeting or a consultant’s report. Just a clear common-sense statement of why the systems are necessary, why now is the time to install it and how it will improve the workplace. The changes should start out small and grow. Just THINK before you LINK!
Measuring the Business Benefit of IT, at CFO.com is a synopsis of a report that summarizes the findings of interviews with executives at 11 companies. Some very complex thoughts on measuring value of IT projects:
What does a company really “earn,” after all, by making E-mail available to its employees? Yes, employees are likely to be more productive, but quantifying the increase is bound to be a rough estimate at best. And how do you assign a value to meeting customer expectations that employees be reachable by E-mail?
Some companies are qualifying that value prior to giving a project the go-ahead, while others are a bit relaxed and look to see if what was promised is delivered at the end.
Blogs and blogging seem to be getting quite a bit of news and headlines the last month — ever since the Rathergate scandal was launched by a blogger at Powerlineblog. Besides the scandal ramblings and the previous blog entry Blogging for Jobs, there is plenty going on with the business trade press. Here’s one Blogging for Dollars – CFO Magazine
The real promise of blogs, however, lies in their tremendous marketing power. For just a few hundred dollars, companies can start a buzz about new products, tout awards won, and generally blow their own horns.
I blog primarily because I enjoy writing and disseminating information. If this blog happens to snag an extra client or two then even better. But my blogs also become a database of interesting and useful links, ideas for my clients, and a great forum for discussing those ideas. I’m glad to see blogs coming into their own and I’m glad to be blogging. And thanks to you for reading.
