While discussing this with George (name has been changed to protect the innocent, but “George” is one of our biz partners and director of programming), he made a statement that had me rolling up my sleeves ready to take a swing at him. He said, in the context of the content discussion, “that design and focus on usability is overrated”.  What? Then I stepped back, and he continued with a good analogy to explain this blasphemy.

He continued,  “design and coding is only worthwhile if content is relevant and brings in users.” Good point, so far. “If a car is the website design and the driver is the content…if you put an Indy car driver in a Ford Pinto he can drive that sucker to the top of the search engine results and get as much traffic as they want, Ford Pinto or not.  Put him in a Ferrari and yes, might go faster, handle better and catch the users attention more but…doesn’t change the fact that a good driver (content) can make any car (website design) get results.” I agreed to a point, but he lost me on the Pinto. Actually, I think they stopped making Pinto’s before George was even born.

Okay, the analogy wasn’t bad, but I can poke some holes in this one. Yes, getting traffic and high rankings on search engines are important. However, good content in a Ford Pinto is not going to win the race. To me, winning the race is actually converting the traffic you work hard to get. Even word of mouth referrals are going to check you out on the web before engaging.  If they visit your site (traffic), but are welcomed by having a Ford Pinto staring back at them, then I doubt they’re going to hang around. Search Traffic = good, converting search traffic = better!  So, I would balance George’s analogy with the importance of a competitive vehicle, and up-to-date ride, that doesn’t backfire or blow up if someone hits you from behind. Instead,  give me the tools so the content (driver) can win. There, that’s better. George agreed, and clarified that the Pinto was a poor choice.

So good design is important. Logical code is important. Once those are in place then George’s analogy works and Content is King, The web  has expanded beyond design and coding and now find ourselves focusing more on helping our clients develop, maintain and promote their content. To assist, most of our sites go out the door with a nice Content Management System under the hood so our clients can update their own content, without needing to be a mechanic. If they can turn a key, and change radio stations, they can update their website with good content and win the race.

Today is a good day, even with the snow.

We’ve moved into our new office at 38 S. Potomac St, above Bulls & Bears. The offices and our landlords (Bryan and Steve Koontz) at 240 S. Potomac are great, but we wanted to be closer to the restaurants and shops that we enjoy so much, and it was so hard not to fall in love with the exposed brick, wood beams and everything else they’ve done to this space. We plan on being here for awhile.

Stop on up if you’re around and we’ll show you around the building!

We’ll add some pictures as soon as we get the rest of our stuff in here.

Cheap plug

There is office space available at both 240 S. Potomac and 38 S. Potomac, get in touch with me if you want contact info.

At Your Service

Homewood Suites by Hilton
Leiter’s Fine Catering
University of MD Extension, Washington County

Going Green

Cookie’s Catering
Hub Labels, Inc.
Volvo Powertrain

Impact

2nd Floor
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Susquehanna Bank

Non Profit Impact

Boys & Girls Club of Washington County
Community Free Clinic
Ravenwood Lutheran Village

Small Business

Centra Bank
Palmyra Farm Cheese LLC
Specialized Communications Corp

Washington County Business Person of the Year

Andrew Sargent
Donald Hoffman
Greg Snook

Recently the 2F crew purchased another excellent book on web content strategy, Content Strategy for the Web . Not far into the book a new favorite analogy was presented.

Like us, the author often competes against those who seek to treat a client’s main communication vehicle as a commodity item. Web content, architecture, design, programming, publishing, blogging, content management systems, databases, social media, and content libraries – these items require careful attention and usable formula to work beyond the “website” still championed by those who put little time or passion into truly helping their clients communicate effectively. To many firms, a web site is just a business proposition – deliver a design, write some code, bill the client, and move on to the next one. The web and the marketplace change at a fast rate – and the web, if done correctly upfront, should be able to easily adapt to keep up.

Back to our meal. The firm behind this new book found themselves explaining the difference between their company’s offerings versus a firm in India that offers web content for $4. Four dollars.  Not five dollars, not $9.50, not $1,000. $4. Their analogy, “that is like a sandwich, a gas station sandwich”. Perfect.

The analogy placed me back to those situations where I’ve stood in front of a gas station sandwich, hungry with few options. What is the risk of purchasing and eating this fare? How long has it been there? Who made it, the same person who just changed the oil in the F-150 sitting out back? What passion went into this meal that shares retail space with 10w – 40 and antifreeze? Good questions, I thought. Then there was more, as I remember that I am in a gas station – Where was it made?  Are the employees secretly betting on my decision? Do I trust I won’t get sick just to satisfy this immediate urge…I had breakfast and I know a dinner is in my near future, but I am hungry NOW.  What is my risk – it is only $4 and if I am hungry, I need food – this is food, right?

The analogy started to work for me when looking at a company’s web property. Who is going to make it? A developer you never meet? Do they just ask for a file copy of your logo, look at some color options, organize a few items, program and charge you very little (hopefully, because they really haven’t don’t much to earn more).

The web is now so important to most businesses these days. Of course, many small retail businesses can get by with a good design and some basic programming, but other businesses need strategy, a way to get their message (content) to the right people in a way that connects. Good understanding, that leads to designs that do more than look good, but solve problems and lead people to action. Programming that scales, is friendly to search engines, and allows for a content publishing strategy that empowers the organization to reach really good, profitable opportunities with fresh, meaningful information.

If you’re looking to feed your sales efforts with better opportunities, to serve and retain the great clients you’ve worked hard to earn, to support your word of mouth reputation with an interactive web presence, you should look to a firm with passion. Don’t just check out their portfolio to see if it looks good, check out their portfolio to see if they satisfied a real business need. In other words, deal with someone who has a passion for it. You can tell the ones who are doing for just a paycheck, and the ones who love making a great sandwich, with fresh ingredients…they’re the ones who smile when they see you benefiting from (and enjoying) their work. You don’t get that from those who compete by sticking $4 in the cash register and yelling out “who’s next?”.

Take note to the wage levels in the CDC sectors compared to those in the region and nation. So much for Charleston being a quaint little southern town with no high tech appeal. Even Google has selected Charleston as a regional location, after an exhaustive search. However, the graph that appeals most to me right now is the average temp stats.

“We’re approaching the end of 2009, and many people are wondering what the future will bring. While no one can predict for sure what the Internet holds in its future, there are indicators and trends that can point us in the right direction.

A ton of technologies are ripe for further development in the coming few years. Social media and related apps are definitely going to be at the forefront of the Web for a long time. But plenty of other technologies are on the verge of becoming mainstream, either because of more social acceptance or because of advancements in hardware and applications. Read on for 15 predictions about the future of the Web.”

Read the article

The City of Hagerstown contracted us to plan, map out and create a new web presence that would promote a new specialized economic development initiative. After listening to the goals of the project, we recommended building a set of tools that can actively be used by city staff, current business owners, and new business prospects, instead of a static brochure-style website.

The site also includes a custom content management system that allows the city to update it whenever they want without any programming knowledge required. From adding text to images to updating page title tags, practically everything is managed in the CMS while maintaining its simplicity and easy of use. The city decided that instead of relying on one staff member to keep the entire site fresh and relevant, they wanted to assign staff to specific sections — we added a user permissions module so that staff personnel could only update their assigned section. We also included some safeguards to prevent those “oops!” moments.

The site plan includes separate phases, with “Phase 1″ being launched in September.

Hagerstown Advance has been a fun project to work on and it means a lot to us that this initiative is successful because we live and/or work in Hagerstown. And with our past experience in specialized economic development projects, it was natural fit for us.

We’re continuing to add content and new features to the site, so be sure to check it often. www.hagerstownadvance.com

Note: The Hagerstown Advance project also includes a DVD which was produced by High Rock Studios, and print pieces which were created by High Rock Studios and Fleetwood Design. High Rock also designed the Hagerstown Advance logo and Ridgerunner Publishing provided all of the photography.

As a great model for city economic innovation, brain-drain mitigation, neighborhood revitalization, independent retail invigoration, the Charleston Digital Corridor (CDC) expands one of its proven initiatives into full scale incubation. The CDC economic development initiative continues to enjoy documented growth in knowledge-based business sectors, elevating wages,  and workforce development at the entrepreneurial, student and neighborhood level. Previously housed in a second floor office of a renovated building on Meeting Street, the Charleston Digital Corridor recently launched its new community multi-use building – The Flagship!

In its previous space, there was room to support two start-ups at a time. Now, as a result of continued growth, demand and a commitment to sustainable construction techniques, the Corridor renovated an old video store into a 5,400-square foot space on East Bay Street, staying in close proximity to downtown amenities and universities. Like most incubation spaces, the Flagship is not meant to be a long term home, but rather be a supportive ecosystem to start-ups that sync with the special economic development goals of the City.

For me, I’ve been a believer, willing student and contributor to the Corridor initiative since its inception, when it was met with opposition that Charleston was no “Raleigh Research Triangle Park, or Atlanta, or Charlotte, etc. However, through the vision and perseverance of its founder, Ernest Andrade, the city’s Business Development Director, along with a few committed investors and start-ups, vibe and ideas were harnessed and the Corridor project has succeeded even beyond the expectations of city officials. Not only has it helped grow the city’s knowledge-based businesses from 18 to 88 and counting, and doubled wages for those working in these companies within the defined corridor districts, but it has also helped revitalize entire neighborhoods, foster retail traffic, and provides job opportunities for downtown residents and students who’d normally look outside the area for employment. Now the model is being set-up as one to follow for other communities looking to turn around their downtown, keep the students and entrepreneurs home and make a new name for themselves to change perceptions and attract high tech companies.

We’re now supporting similar efforts now afoot in Hagerstown, MD and have brought many of the initiatives, strategies and innovative focus points to a city that has a vibe similar to one I witnessed in Charleston, SC in 2001. Downtown Hagerstown has a good inventory of historic buildings (with unique second and third floor office space) – most in much better shape than those in the targeted districts in Charleston. Hagerstown has many higher education facilities, as well as a nationally ranked public education system. Hagerstown has Barbara Ingram School for the Arts – downtown! There are new, independent shops, restaurants and coffee houses popping up. Hagerstown has a strong collection of design and high-tech firms that do big city-level work, and stand to benefit from the effort’s goals of growing more professional services, bio-tech and other knowledge-based enterprise.

Hagerstown Regional Airport now provides commercial jet service, though just to Florida at the moment (I’d like to see a direct to Charleston), and offers short commuter flights to BWI and Dulles. Hagerstown is a “quick” 90 minutes from Baltimore and Washington, DC – an easy drive facilitated by its great location at the crossroads of two of the most accessible interstates in the country. The City has an impressive collection of incentives to help investors, start-ups and others who want to jump in the arena and make things happen. And, just like Charleston, SC, Hagerstown enjoys a strong logistics and manufacturing economic backbone, which is locally supported by the Washington County EDC. In Charleston, and other successful communities, their regional development authority and specialized economic development initiative strategically work together to reach their respective goals for the overall community.

I am enthused with the area’s positive energy and feedback, and feel Hagerstown is poised to really take-off and make its own name that will attract and foster more positive things for area businesses and citizens. As our national and global economies continue to present challenges, I feel fortunate to live in an area that has so much going for it, and a city that is taking bold, strategic steps to make good things happen, rather than waiting for things to happen to them. If only communities like Detroit and others would have fostered more diversity in their economic initiatives, there could be less blight and joblessness in some of these communities.

In the end, the Hagerstown goals are very similar to Charleston’s; diversify an economy so the region doesn’t have its eggs in one basket, grow wages, revitalize neighborhoods, and bring more (and better) opportunities for gainful employment and positive activity to support the quality of life benefits that make this area a great place to live.

I wanted to follow up with a couple of other examples of how to support local business in and around Hagerstown. One thing that these places have in common is that they not only offer quality services and products, but they greet you when you walk in the door. Doesn’t it feel good to walk into a store and they remember your name or at least say hello?

For example, try shopping at Russo’s Rx for your next box of cold medicine or prescription. I decided to check them out, and they gained a returning customer — fast, friendly service! Exactly what they advertise.

I take my Wrangler to Total Lube in Smithsburg instead of franchises or dealerships. As we all know, maintenance and repairs can be costly, so being able to find a mechanic that you trust makes the experience easier to swallow.

If you’re shopping for jewelry, stop in at R. Bruce Carson jewelers instead of the mall or outlets. I just can’t say enough about Tom and the great people that work there, not to mention the impeccable quality of their jewelry. They have a shop downtown and in Stone House Square.

Studio 6 Health Club is a new gym in the Stone House Square. They work really hard to make sure that their club is first-class and that their members are happy and see results. They are not the only privately-owned gym in town, they just happen to be the one that I go to, so I’m recommending them.

There are several Women’s clothing shops around town and a few Men’s shops (we really need more Men’s shops). Some of the clothes they sell can’t be found in any other retail stores around here and the service is unmatched.

Carol and Company is a retail shop in downtown Hagerstown that has a wide selection of high quality gift items. There’s also a new gift shop on the square, but I can’t recall the name at the moment. Odyssey is another great gift shop in Williamsport.

Ten years ago I wouldn’t have put much thought into this issue, but through the years of working with clients and building friendships with other business owners, I see the importance of supporting these good folks firsthand. I hope that you consider doing the same and give them a chance to earn your business!

What are some of your preferred local businesses?

Last Thursday I was at an event for Leadership Washington County and I was talking with Kent Reynolds about some of our favorite restaurants in the area. Kent and I found that we had something in common; we prefer local, privately-owned restaurants over franchises and chains.

We are fortunate to have a decent number of great, privately-owned restaurants in Hagerstown and the surrounding area. It’s important that we support these restaurateurs; they are our friends, neighbors, family, and they are a critical piece of our local economy.

Below is a list of some of my favorite restaurants in Hagerstown, if only for the benefit of getting the word out there and letting people know that there are nice, friendly and original places to eat with exceptional food and great service.

Schmankerl Stube – German
GG’s (Gourmet Goat) – American
Laila’s Kitchen – Afghan/Middle Eastern
Bulls & Bears – American
Rhubarb House – American
The Plum – American
Durango – Mexican
LJ’s – Amercian
Hempen Hill – American
Palettie – Mixed culture
Black Eyed Susan – American
Mr. D’s – Wings, Sandwiches, Ribs
Red Curry – Asian Fusion
House of Kobe – Japanese
Sakura – Japanese

There are also cities outside of Hagerstown with some fantastic options as well. Shepherdstown, Frederick and Gettysburg, to name a few.

See, now you can cancel your reservation at Olive Garden tonight and try something new! Don’t forget to tell your friends and co-workers about it too! Viral marketing, baby! Cheap, simple, effective.

What are some of your favorite locally-owned places to eat?

Visit the Tails of Hope Sanctuary website

Here’s a recent picture of Loki, he came from a shelter in Grafton, WV via Tails of Hope Sanctuary. He was dropped off overnight and only had one day left because they were full. We only saw two pictures of him and decided to take a chance! He was a little malnourished and had a skin infection in his paws, which our vet cleared up with some antibiotics. He is now very healthy and extremely strong. He’s very loyal (he’s taken it upon himself to be the Watchdog); he’s also lot of fun (excels at frisbee and a pretty good wrestler!), and he gets along great with our two other dogs Jake and Star.

And he’s camera-friendly.

I can almost guarantee you that whoever took this picture had some food. Yeah, I know, the chandelier in the background is ugly.

Where’s Jake? Probably sleeping.

This evening I stumbled upon an article that I had bookmarked a few weeks ago. I had intended to post it to the blog but I must have been sidetracked or had another idea.

I only have one thought on the article.

Let’s do this!

Actually, Joe and I have worked together previously where we had LAN (local area network) gaming sessions at the end of the day and they were a lot of fun! Back then the team-building aspect of it was more or less just about having fun together and relieving stress because we were all in the same big room — strategy and tactics didn’t exist. :)

I think it would be fun to include some of our partners and clients as well. Heck, we’ve been discussing doing something like this with games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero anyway, so why not expand on the idea? The difficult thing is finding out who the Gamers are. People are sometimes surprised when they find out I’m a Gamer, and I admit to occasionally being caught off guard when I hear that the President of a company is playing World of Warcraft every night until 4am. I wonder how many of our clients are going home and logging into MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) or staying up late on their Xbox/PS3/Wii?

Maybe we could even set something up for Fridays at the end of the day in our office. We’re going to move our Hagerstown office from its current location at 240 S Potomac, which we’ve been at for over a year, to a larger space above Bulls & Bears, anyway. We’ve discussed setting up a lounge area in the new space, so why not just add a 46″ plasma, an Xbox/PS3/Wii, a nice little home theater that will rattle the silverware on the tables below in the restaurant (just kidding, Matt!), and have at it!

We’re a small company, so teamwork and positive energy is absolutely essential in order for us to continue to produce the exceptional results that we’re accustomed to delivering. This might be one of those ideas that may seem “out there” to some, but that’s okay, it sounds like fun to me!

Joe — you, me, Tiger Woods 10. It’s on!

Here’s a link to the article on CNN.com.

It was an incredible experience, one I look back on and know it was well worth the long hours of training, sore muscles and countless “I think I cans.” I challenge everyone to be apart of some event that pushes you beyond what you think you can attain. A race of any kind is 60% mental 40% physical, most of the time we talk ourselves out of doing anything that requires us to throw down the gauntlet and give it everything(and I do mean everything) we’ve got. What people don’t realize is the sheer joy and exhilaration you experience as you cross that finish line, the goosebumps are there too :) When the last woman crossed the finish line at the Tri it was as if she had won the whole event- the clapping and the cheers were deafening! For most of the women there it was a race against themselves, it didn’t matter if they placed, what mattered was they finished.

Here are a couple photo’s highlighting the event:

The term was originally touted by economist Joseph Schumpeter, and largely touched on the entrepreneur’s impact on long term economic growth, often at the expense of challenging (or to the extreme of “destroying”) any given era’s stalwart companies and practices. I don’t set out to ignore proven conventions, but history repeatedly supports Schumpeter’s arguments, most recently with the American auto industry. Though many factors aligned to lead to its crumbling, my hunch is the organizations became too full of themselves by thinking their longevity insulated them from realities of the market. Their size and longevity ignored the speed and spirit of innovation that their founders used to astound the marketplace with real value. Management layers thickened, bloated committees and their spirit killing politics and power plays prevailed, and then the omnipresent bumper sticker philosophy of taming creativity and innovation became operational mantra – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. The latter allows you to quickly ignore the market and competitive shifts that are appearing in the rear view mirror – and those shifts, especially in today’s global economy, are definitely closer than they appear. Once they pass you, it really is broke, and a simple fix or innovation is now elusive.

More recently, there is something near and dear to my heart. A community realizing its real potential. Here is a new headline that recently caught my attention: New Orleans Attracting Entrepreneurs In Droves.  After reading this, I couldn’t help make the connection to Schumpeter’s ethos. The two headlines appear to be blood related, and help support the arguments of the other. Here you have the epitome of a great southern town partially steeped in southern protectionism, culture and an economy largely based on the south’s form of tourism – please come and visit us, enjoy our peculiarities, spend your money in our restaurants, shops and attractions but at some point, please leave. I think this spilled over into business formation and attraction of new businesses. As the economy for many cities shifted long ago, New Orleans was perhaps reluctant, and the local economy, outside of tourism, was not one to model. Aside from the terrible hardships caused by Hurricane Katrina, the city is proving its destruction was the impetus to its creative resurrection. I remember arguments that New Orleans would not only avoid coming back as it once was, but that it may not exist as a strong American city – ever. It was over, some said. Thanks largely to the entrepreneurial spirit, creative enterprise and a can-do/will do attitude, the city is coming back. Jobs, money, opportunity, respect, community services. All of these things are starting to thrive, and according to the article – in droves.

Any city would do well to do what it can to attract and support new creative enterprise, and perhaps destroy a few mindsets and committees that say it can’t be done here – there are now too many examples proving otherwise. As another bumper sticker puts it, “it isn’t rocket science”, but it is difficult if your community is driven by those who do all it takes to protect their behinds, or are concerned with their representation in the press and blogposts that reek of negativity and misguided competitiveness. Many companies still think that just being in business for a certain number of years proves their superiority over the new kid on the block – a dangerous fallacy. I am a believer that each business, like each individual, has its own gifts, and they should let the marketplace help guide them to that realization. It is innovation and value that people need, not an endless portfolio of mediocre work and workers who don’t seek the edge for its clients. Think about it, has anything great ever happened without overcoming naysayers or opposition? I would say no, it only happens when limitations are destroyed – especially when done creatively.

Over the last month or so there has been a lot of debate over whether IE6 should still be supported. This was all spurred of course by the giant YouTube which if you view in IE6 will display a banner advising you to upgrade to a more modern browser (see image below).

YouTube

Why is YouTube making this move? The answer could be as simple as they don’t want to dedicate unnecessary resources to supporting a dated browser. It could also be that they are hoping to cause a movement which would make it easier for other big name companies to stop supporting the dated browser. I remember about 6 months ago GMail introduced a similar banner notifying IE6 users that they would be missing out on functionality unless they updated their browser. This of course caught them some heat so they quickly worked with IE engineers to build a new IE6 code base and streamlined the design for IE6 users to improve response times (read more here).

As a tiny experiment I walked around the office asking a few colleagues (developers) what they thought about IE6. Strangely enough they all got red faced and began stomping their feet while covering their ears. Honestly I expected this because developers hate the browser due to its short comings and not to mention the countless hours wasted in front of a computer trying to get the archaic browser to play nice. Now the other avenue that I wanted to explore was from a business perspective. I did some online research and came across an article written by Mark Tramell at Digg titled “Much Ado About IE6″. This article went into great detail about IE6 user’s in regards to Digg usage data and used pretty charts for us ADHD readers. Digg ran a message to IE6 users asking, “Why are you still using IE6?” A majority of the IE6 users said because they didn’t have administrator rights to their work computer or because someone at work said they couldn’t. Corporations control the environment in which their busy bees work and they have the ability to dictate what can and cannot be installed on those machines. From the business perspective they not only have tons of legacy applications that may or may not work in IE7 they also have the whole money issue too. Imagine you have about 2,000 employees spread out around the country and you wanted to upgrade to Microsoft Vista. That would be a huge undertaking!! You have to worry about licensing costs, countless IT man hours, training & training material, expected employee down time etc. Now it’s easy to put the blame on Microsoft and say “You should have pulled the browser out back and put it out of its misery” and as much as they would like too they still have to support it.

As much as we would like to rid ourselves of IE6 I don’t think its going anywhere anytime soon. I think we can do more to speed this transition process up by educating the businesses of the advantages of upgrading their browser. The interesting thing about the Digg survey was that a majority of users that had IE6 installed at work had Firefox or IE8 at home so I guess there is a glimmer of hope after all.

Thanks for listening!

Cheers,
Nick Palacios

I wanted to learn more about Chipotle’s online ordering system, so I did a little research and found an article from May 13, 2009 on Nation’s Restaurant News titled “Chipotle turns curses of online ordering into blessings”. Check it out if you have time.

This got me to thinking — why, in 2009, does this seem like such a difficult task for restaurants? The web has been mainstream for quite some time now and the technology is available, but many restaurants don’t seem to be utilizing those capabilities to benefit their business. It’s all the same — about us, our menu, location. Thanks for the info, but users expect more! We want to USE your site!

And that’s just the online ordering side of things. Let’s consider reservations.

By using a web application like OpenTable, you can streamline the entire process so that your online reservations go right into the terminal you’re using at the restaurant. If your Point-Of-Sale system doesn’t allow that, no big deal, just develop a custom app that works for you and your customers. I should also mention that OpenTable also has iPhone, Palm (webOS) and Blackberry mobile apps, as well. Yeah, OpenTable is nice, but there’s a catch. The restaurant needs to use it in order for me to use it too!

Today we’re all running the same rat race. There never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything that we need to do and we don’t always have “time” to pick up the phone and make a call. Or we think about it and put it off until later.

By making your services more convenient for your customers, you open the doors for repeat customers and new ones, as well. Who wouldn’t want that?

As we were wrapping up our Monday project meeting, we discussed where to get lunch and it was unanimous that we’d be ordering from Chipotle. Actually, the first choice was pizza, but I objected because of this self-regulated diet that I’m on and I had broken several of my own rules by eating leftovers from Kate’s company party on Friday; macaroni, fried chicken, Maryland steamed crabs, and more macaroni. (Stacy Miller at Ridgerunner Publishing has a great macaroni & cheese recipe, by the way!)

But back to Chipotle.

Chipotle has a nice, clean, easy-to-use website. It has many of the same features that most other restaurant sites do such as a location finder, the menu, and nutritional information (actually, this is a feature many restaurant websites are still lacking).

But the feature that stands out to me the most is their online ordering. Not only is it extremely user-friendly, but Chipotle has a feature for Group orders, and I was eager to test it out!

I created a group name, 2nd Floor, and then entered in the email addresses of the folks I want to place orders. If everyone is ordering from the same business, you can simply enter the domain name in one field (2ndfloormedia.com), and then the user names in another field separated by commas (Tim, Joe, Court) eliminating the need to fully type out email addresses one by one. Nice touch!

I finished creating the group and it sent an email to everyone that I’ve invited, providing a custom link to click on which takes them to the menu. They selected what they want and it goes into the Group order “Bag”. When all of their choices were made, I proceeded to checkout, chose a time for pick-up, and paid online (you can also choose to pay when you pick it up). The system also allows you to save your favorite meals, or those of family members, friends, co-workers, your hungry dog — he’s a family member too!

Finally, our food arrived back at the office, with each item labeled with the names we entered on the site for our individual orders, so we didn’t need to figure out who got what. Customer service? Check!

I know this doesn’t seem like much of a breakthrough, especially with how advanced web apps have become, but what I found cool about this particular experience was the thought that someone put into the entire process. They didn’t just slap together a quick form that sends a generic email;  they clearly did some usability testing and deployed a system that they knew their customers would enjoy using.

Try it out for yourself and see what you think.

Here’s a breakdown of the deal, and how it affects Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google, Advertisers and Consumers.

See, the owner of this restaurant is also the chef… not uncommon around here. The problem is that in many cases the chef does their best work in the kitchen and not behind a desk running their business, nor do they want to be there. I can rattle off restaurants around here like the alphabet that failed because the chef, who in many cases was great in the kitchen, didn’t understand how to run a business.

What makes this case especially disheartening is that the owner of this restaurant has been advised by trusted family members that they don’t need to advertise because it would make the owner look desperate! The family says that the food will do all of the advertising on its own, and while we all know how powerful word of mouth advertising can be, how do they expect it to happen if no one knows about the restaurant?

And that is exactly the problem that this restaurateur is having. The restaurant needs to clear X amount of dollars per week and its been a struggle because not enough people are walking through the door. A real shame since anyone that has been there will most likely give you a raving review of their experience!

Yet the owner doesn’t want to advertise because supposedly:

1. It makes her look desperate for business.

2. It costs too much.

Ironically, Hagerstown Magazine ran a story on the restaurant a few issues ago and the owner/chef saw a spike in activity, but didn’t think it was enough to purchase advertising in the magazine! I’m listening to the owner tell me this and I’m thinking, “WHAT?! Am I really hearing this?”!

I really hope that the owner comes around and realizes that at this point it is critical that they advertise consistently in order for the restaurant to survive. It would be a loss to the community if that restaurant closed; the food is fresh (nothing is ever frozen), homemade gourmet cuisine with a cultural twist.

If the owner did close the restaurant, they’d have to ask themselves, “did I do everything that I could have in order for my business to succeed?”. That might be an unsettling answer to live with.

A good web strategy is more than just having a website and updating it every now and then. Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are just a piece of the puzzle, but they empower you with the ability to increase your reach and engage new audiences. It’s encouraging to see more businesses willing to experiment and try new things in regards to social media, but many of them aren’t being used effectively.

As I wrote back in April, a blog gives you the opportunity to engage people and converse with them, and that’s what social networking is about — interacting with people. People do not want to build a relationship with your BRAND, they want to talk to YOU! Businesses that throw money into trendy viral marketing videos (hey, I love them too!) and Facebook apps could be spending money on engaging people in a more HUMAN way and see better results.

If you are trying to find a way to incorporate a blog or a tool such as Twitter into your business, encourage your employees to use those tools individually rather than creating a single corporate account. If your site has a blog, give them a user account and let them post and author articles. If you’re thinking about using Twitter, ask them to create their own account; they can add their user name in their email signatures or business cards to gain followers. You may want to have some guidelines in place so that your employees aren’t mis-using the tools or sharing sensitive information.

Treating your audience like real people and allowing your staff to interact with them not only demonstrates your committment to them, but it also exposes a more human side of your business. People like that, they respect it, and they come back for more.

Whenever you completely redesign your website, the previous investment that you put into it is lost. There may be times when a complete overhaul is necessary, but by investing time and resources into your site, it will continue to evolve and stay fresh. You’ll also avoid having a new expenditure every few years to get a new website.

Here are a few signs that your site may be due for an upgrade or complete makeover.

Your site looks old and is cumbersome to use

As web technology continues to evolve, design trends change as well and we must change with them. A site that looked great in 2001 probably doesn’t look very good anymore by today’s standards. If your website is my first method of learning more about your business, then that first impression may make a difference as to whether I’m going to take the next step or not. If your site looks like its 5 or 10 years old, then I may lose a bit of buyer confidence.

When a site looks old, the chances are that the technology powering it is dated, too. Some examples are slow-loading images, text as images, frames, tables, animated gifs, etc. There is a right and wrong way to build a website, called “web standards”, and if your site is using any of these old technologies, it could be harmful to your web presence and be the root cause of other problems.

TIP: You can view the source code of your website to see if your website is using outdated code such as tables or frames by opening your website in your browser and going to View -> Source (or Source Code).

Navigation isn’t very user-friendly and content is outdated or poorly written

If your website is not generating many inquiries or much business, users may be finding it difficult to navigate. If customers are contacting you with questions on where to find information, then you are not adequately providing them with the content that they’re looking for. It’s understandable that you may want to provide potential customers with just enough information that they pick up the phone and call you, however, you are risking the chance that the customer leaves your site and goes to a competitor.

Take into consideration the quality of your content, too. Well written content engages the reader, increases search engine ranking and traffic, and increases the likelihood that your content will be linked to from other sites.

TIP: Click through your own site as if you are the end-user. Can you find everything easily? Is it easy to find an address and phone number? Is your content written clearly? Are your most recent news items two years old?

Your business has changed

If your company no longer offers certain products or services, remove them from the website. It can be rather frustrating to spend time researching a service or product, then contact you and find out that you no longer offer it. Likewise, if you add more services or products, be sure to get them up on the website so that people know about them.

For sites that list staff on their site, this page is often overlooked when staff changes, so be sure to update these pages as well and add/remove bios as necessary.

TIP: As your business changes, whether you’ve added a new product or service, or hired a new employee, add a news statement or press release to your homepage so that customers are aware of the latest changes.

Your site costs too much to update

Not too long ago, if you wanted to make changes to your website you either had to know enough HTML to not break your site, or you had to contact your “webmaster” with your changes. With the availability of content management systems, you no longer need to know any programming to update your website. The upfront cost might be a little more, but it pays off quickly and it gives you the freedom to update your website whenever you want. You no longer need to put a call in, wait for the work to be done, and then get billed for it. The value of the CMS offers ease-of-use, no waiting period and cost-savings. Businesses love them because it puts them back in control and not at the mercy of us, the mysterious web people, doing whatever it is we do behind closed doors!

TIP: If your website is really outdated, it may not be cost-effective to integrate a content management system into the existing site. You’d be better off starting over with a clean slate and doing it right from the start.

Your website is the most important marketing piece that you have. It is accessible anywhere, anytime, to anyone. It can display more content than print, and you can easily keep it updated. If you only ever do one thing to your website after you launch it, keep your content updated; potential customers will be more inclined to inquire about your services and you will look more relevant in the industry that you’re in.

Get Firefox 3.5

That’s right, no more time sheets!

I’m not going to write a Jerry Maguire-style memo, but I would like to explain some of the reasons behind our decision.

I’ve never been a fan of time sheets, and have always thought there was an alternate way to deliver the best results to our clients while still realizing profitability for my company.

Many businesses use time sheets for different purposes; as a pricing model, to measure productivity, worker accountability — all valid reasons, but we started to feel the accountability leans more on efficiency, often at the expense of effectiveness.

I wonder how many people succumb to the quoted price to build a website by justifying it as a necessary expense, and not as a valued investment in their growth and success.

Our customers are not buying websites, logos, brochures, etc. Our clients are hiring us for ideas. They want more sales, happier customers, and better projects to work on. They want credibility and their slice of the pie in an ever-broadening marketplace. They want people talking about them with passion.

Do ad agencies sell their sales-affecting campaigns by the hour? Why does a billboard on a back country road cost less than an identical one placed along a busy Interstate? Value? Effectiveness? Better exposure?

The client wants to be able to compare the price to the value before they buy, not after. If the value exceeds the price, the buyer’s profit, they will often be willing to pay that price. Our clients aren’t paying for time, they are paying for the quality of our output.

People want effectiveness, and that is a judgment, not a measurement. Do you purchase a sculpture at the art gallery based on the amount of time the artist spent on it? No, you buy it because it’s a really cool piece of work. Time sheets reward efficiency. However, efficiency and effectiveness are quite different. Effectiveness is where results live.

After talking to several folks about our new found liberation from time sheets, the first response I usually get, along with a puzzled look, is “How do you know how to price the job?” or “How do you not lose money on projects?”.

By being very good at project management, sticking to the scope of work and being able to do price-led costing, we’re able to give good estimates on our projects AND stay under budget. Also, keeping things simple and focused on the goal is another challenge we’ve learned to master. If we get to a point that we’re going beyond the scope of work and wandering off into feature bloat, then we talk to the client about saving those ideas for a second phase if they make sense to achieving more results. If that’s not possible, we work something out.

We’ve found that we have become better at pricing our estimates when we focus on the value of our output instead of the cost of our input.

Stanley Marcus, one of the sons of the founders of Neiman-Marcus, put it this way:

“You’re really not in business to make a profit, but you’re in business to render a service that is so good people are willing to pay a profit in recognition of what you’re doing for them.”

This is the ultimate principle for any business because it places the focus where it belongs, on the customer.

What matters to us at 2nd Floor is that our work is awesome, we solve our clients’ problems, and we have fun. You can’t measure any of that with a time sheet.

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Update #1

Bounced some emails back and forth with someone a little bit ago. She wanted to know how we track our progress on projects or know what everyone is working on. We use a project management system called Basecamp, which was developed by 37 Signals. Everyone here has used and tested several project management systems in the past; this is the best solution for us. Great features, easy to use and an open API.

We also use another product by 37 Signals called Backpack. I won’t go into all the details of this web app, but with the Journal, we update our status to show whatever we’re working on (just like how you update your Facebook status), and we can also add items that we’ve done that day. Our project manager, Courtney, or any other staff member for that matter, can go to the Journal and see what everyone is currently working on, and what they’ve done that day (or throughout the week). Quick and hassle-free.

And while I’m at it, we also use Highrise and occasionally, Campfire, as well.

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Update #2

Thanks for all of the positive response we’ve received in IMs, emails and Facebook messages!

I’ve been asked how we handle items such as minor changes on a website, or anything that isn’t project-related. We have an area in Basecamp set up for service tickets and we still bill hourly for those items.

Actually, she had the unfortunate experience of appendicitis and went under the knife on Friday. We’re all wishing her a speedy recovery and we are looking forward to getting her back so that she can pick up where she left off and get the whip crackin’!

Today, Time Magazine posted a great cover story on Twitter, from the basics of how it works to its cultural significance. It doesn’t go into the finite details of how to use it in your business, but it is a great read that will get you up to speed.

Read the article at Time.com

We’re making progress on the development side of the City of Hagerstown’s economic marketing initiative, Hagerstown Advance. This week we completed a website design for Bushey Feight Morin Architects, and we’re also working on new website designs for Studio 6 Health Club, The Woods Company, Franklin County Works, and North Square Farmer’s Market. We also have a handful of sites that are in the development phase, being coded and tested, that should be launching soon. We have some really cool stuff happening but its too early to make any announcements on those projects yet… exciting things going on behind closed doors! We’ll also be rolling out some big updates to the 2nd Floor site next week and the week after. Along with the above items, everyone is knocking out service tickets, weekly client updates, and anything else that comes up. Busy? Yeah!

We’ll be relocating our Hagerstown office to the old Junior Fire Engine Company No. 3 firehouse on N Potomac if everything continues to go as planned with its exterior and interior renovations. The firehouse, which (I believe) was built in 1852, comes equipped with lots of history, ghost stories, a fire pole and many other unique qualities. Yeah, a fire pole! Needless to say we’re really looking forward to getting in there!

Whew! With all that said, it’s good to be back and in the trenches!

Congratulations Scott & Kate.

Scott and Kate got married this past Sunday during a beautiful outdoor ceremony and celebration at the Stone Manor Country Club in Frederick, MD.  Steelers’ fans unite, as we learned that Ravens-only dogma shall prevail in the household.  We got a chance to meet many of their friends and family, and also learned that Scott will not be involved in driving up the price of asparagus, and had an awkward experience as a young lad in his first attempt with sushi – long story, ask his father. They had a great day, and looked fantastic -  may their journey together be full of health, happiness and prosperity.

Just wanted to give an official “thank you” to the Board of Directors of Leadership Washington County for selecting me to be a part of the 2009-2010 class. I’m really looking forward to the experience and to meeting my classmates! Click below to see the full list of 2009-2010 class members. – Scott

From LWC

CLASS XXIII SELECTED

With a record number of applications received (again!) this year, the competition for seats in Class XXIII was very intense. The Selection Committee is proud to announce the names of the individuals chosen to join the legacy of leadership. Congratulations and kudos to Leadership Washington County 2009-2010, Class XXIII:

Robert Bush -  Triad Engineering

Douglas Mullendore – Washington County Sheriff’s Dept.

Karla Green – Homewood Suites

Tom Sweeney – Graphic Impressions

David Dodson – The ARC of Washington County

Linda Blontz – Head Start

Arnie Shuster – DocuTrac, Inc.

Amy Farmer – WCHS-Hospital Campus

Shane Williams – Magnolia Management

Terri Leiter – Leiter’s Fine Catering

Brent Feight – Bushey Feight Morin Architects

Kevin Simmers – Hagerstown Police Department

Francis Allnut – University of Maryland

Theresa Thorn – Safe Place

Glen Singer – Royal House Construction

Fonda Franklin – Hagerstown Community College

Joe Jacobs – Fort Ritchie Community Center

Timothy Buskirk – Hancock Police Department

Dawn Johns – Potomac Case Management

Carmen Fox – Tower Bank

Lisa Copenhaver – Kaplan College

Rebecca Massie Lane – Washington County Arts Museum

Mark Barbernitz – Boy Scouts of America

Jill Colbert – Citi

Timothy Peters – SEK, Inc. LLC

Addie Stabler – United Way of Washington County

Brent Layton – TCA TrustCorp America

Kevin Lewis – Public Safety/Emergency Service

Richard Wright – WCPS

Jordyn Shifler – Williamsport Retirement Village

Scott Reuschling – 2nd Floor Media

Kim Shrader – AESI

Justin Doty – Frederick, Seibert & Associates, Inc.

We just launched the latest version of the Franklin County Visitors Bureau site, Explore Franklin County. This update primarily consists of visual enhancements, and some back-end functionality to support the next phase of the site, which includes some pretty cool multimedia and interactivity tools! We’ll keep you updated when the next phase goes live!

Check out the site!

By Brian Roach

Have you ever had that ominous hunch that something bad is going to happen – and then it does? Unfortunately, this gut-wrenching feeling is far-too-familiar for small businesses facing the complexity of information technology.

By its nature, IT is a confusing, expensive and forever-changing animal. Hardware and software sometimes become obsolete within months, let alone a few years. And thanks to budget restraints, many small businesses fall into lethal traps like hiring inexperienced personnel to handle their IT. But it only takes a single mistake to lead to a catastrophic loss of company data, and starting over can be heartbreaking.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many ways small business owners can learn from the mistakes of others. As a veteran IT professional on the front lines each day, I’ve listed the top 12 most common errors that small businesses make with IT.

Mistake #1: Using non-functional backup software.

Many small business owners assume that just because hardware or software is present, data itself is protected. This is a terrible assumption. Just because a server has an appendage that looks like a tape spooler attached doesn’t mean that tape spooler is actually working. At a bare minimum, small businesses should perform testing on backup software every two months. It is far more costly to recover lost data than to perform the proper testing of backup systems.

Mistake #2: Using mass-market equipment to run business-class tasks.

Using mass market equipment to run business operations is a fatal error in judgment. That $49 router from Best Buy will simply not perform like a commercial-level one will. The products created for business are expensive because they’re designed to keep a company up and running at all times. Many small business owners cut corners just to keep their budgets down, but using inappropriate equipment can cause an extraordinary loss of manpower and resources.

Mistake #3: Overextending the technology lifecycle.

That five-year-old PC your receptionist is using probably won’t hurt your business when it dies. But if the 10-year-old server under her desk does, it can cripple your entire company. All technology has a set lifecycle. Manufacturers call this life cycle MTBF, or mean time between failures. Any IT person worth their salt can see how many errors hardware is making and judge when it needs to be replaced. Servers and PC hardware, in general, have a lifespan of about 3-5 years. This lifespan depends on how much this equipment is used, but if you’re not backing up your IT elements or replacing them often enough, you should start by doing it now.

Mistake #4: Having a “set it and forget it” mentality.

This is perhaps the most common error small businesses make when building their technology infrastructure. Make no mistake: IT hardware and software requires routine regular maintenance and adjustment. Think of your IT infrastructure as you would an automobile. If you forget to put oil in your car, your engine will die. Servers and software need continual care so they can perform at optimal levels. As a small business, you should hire someone who can see the Big Picture. If you don’t, the question becomes not if you’ll have a problem, but when.

Mistake #5: Buying new software while skipping hardware upgrades.

This problem stems from the over-marketing of new upgrades from software manufactures. Each company wants you to upgrade to the latest version of software–some even make it impossible for you to function without these upgrades. But many of the newer software platforms require you to upgrade your hardware simultaneously. Many small business owners upgrade their software without even thinking about the hardware, which not only could impact other systems but cause catastrophic performance problems for your overall IT ecosystem.

Mistake #6: Going cheap, regardless of the consequences.

Everyone knows that IT–from new software to hardware implementation–is expensive. But not too many small business owners know why. IT elements often cost more because they require a migration from another system or the completion of complex tasks to work optimally. Unfortunately, this is why small businesses, time and again, find themselves in an untenable situation: they choose the cheapest software only to find that some extraordinarily important piece is not included in the purchase. So conduct your due diligence. Buying IT equipment is just like buying a house–and you should only be comfortable when quality workmanship is involved.

Mistake #7: Forgoing user training.

This is a problem that’s less about equipment and more about human nature. Training is an absolute must for small businesses. Without the proper training on software or hardware, well-intentioned equipment purchases are useless. Small business owners should train their employees on all IT elements whenever possible. A well-trained staff and a solid set of IT equipment will save your company time, money and plenty of headaches. Preserve your investment by keeping staffers up to speed.

Mistake #8: Working without a plan.

Planning out IT initiatives or upgrades is a task that should be done, at the bare minimum, once a year. Many companies do this annually just to line up their equipment with pending corporate initiatives. This is a great practice. Mapping out your technology path can impact your entire business. Each small business should not only budget for new hardware, software upgrades or other technological elements, but for additional manpower and technical support. If you plan ahead, that software upgrade or mandatory hardware migration will no longer jump out from nowhere.

Mistake #9: Skimping on security

If you do one thing after reading this article, it should be this: take your security seriously. Many small businesses find it inconceivable that someone would target their business or try to steal their valuable data. Unfortunately, this is the furthest from the truth. Security has become the number one issue for IT environments in the past few years, thanks to online scams, vulnerability in software and networks using improper architecture. As an IT expert, I’ve come across small business systems that are so vulnerable, their accounting data is readily available on the Internet. Other systems have no anti-virus software or no malware protection, but plenty of insidious spy ware working overtime, capturing everything from login names to passwords. At some small businesses, I’ve seen criminals use open ports to hack into security camera footage–just to plan a robbery. Spam, malware and viruses pave the way for a devastating security breach. Don’t let it happen to you.

Mistake # 10: Using under-qualified people for IT support

On its face, leaving a friend, neighbor or relative in charge of your IT is not necessarily a bad move. But assuming they’re capable of such responsibility just because they can download and install software is a bad move. An under-qualified person can never give you good IT advice. Because they’ve fallen into this trap, many small businesses actually end up spending more money just to correct the mistakes of an under-qualified IT person. If you need outside support for your IT environment, always ask for certification and credentials. A good IT person is always trained and certified to work within the complexities of an IT environment.

Mistake #11: Not knowing what you have?

Ever wonder what’s in your IT room? Well, you should. Sometimes small business owners are so busy running their shops that they forget to count their software licenses or keep inventory of how many PCs they have. While countless businesses played it fast and loose years ago, one can’t afford to do that now. Strict asset management requirements–straight from the U.S. government–demand that you keep tabs of what you own. The companies of today that wave off asset management may find themselves unable to get a loan or other financing. Asset management is critical. Conducting your first inventory, especially if you’ve been in business for some time, may be an expensive task. But it will save you much heartache in the long run.

Mistake #12: Using pirated software

Software licensing rules can seem quite unfair. Many small business owners wonder why they should purchase more copies of software when they can simply use one for all their machines. With older software, you could probably get away with this. But with today’s ultra-sophisticated software, it’s simply a losing bet. Some software companies are cracking down so hard that when you download updates, it alerts them when the software has been used more than once. A company can disable your software completely at just the click of a mouse. Even worse, you could end up facing fines of upwards of $100,000 from the Business Software Alliance. Keep your software licenses up to date and you’ll never find yourself in this situation.

Many of the problems tackled here can easily be remedied by using a qualified IT professional. Many IT companies now provide flexible, affordable packages that cover maintenance, support and the overall health of your IT environment. So take your time and do your homework. Plan ahead, spend wisely and hire qualified personnel. The money you spend on IT in the short run may feel like an incredible investment at the time, but it most certainly will pay off in the end.