Fourth Quarter 2010
In this issue:

Cloud computing. It is impossible to be a geek in the business world and escape the latest news on cloud computing. Every magazine, newsletter, and website I use to do research for Mavidea customers keeps doing their best to sell me on cloud computing. I'm used to it – we geeks love new technology -- a lot of times far more than our ends users do. Normally these ideas burn brightly for 6-9 months and then just fade away, but cloud computing seems to have a fuel that refuses to die. Cloud computing articles are showing up in trade magazines for attorneys, accountants, benefits planners, and manufacturers. Instead of me introducing these new technologies to our customers, they are asking me about them.

Why this change in the adoption cycle? My guess would be that the economic conditions of the last 24 months have most business owners looking for any way to cut or curb costs in their business. Want to guess what cloud computing articles are pitching to those same owners? You got it – reduced costs. Does cloud computing reduce costs? Well…sometimes.

That leads to the bigger question – what is cloud computing? That seems to be the magic question. No two companies or industry trade groups seem to be able to come up with the same definition. I participated in an industry forum for CRN Magazine last year where 10 CIO / CTOs attempted to address some of the fundamental questions and concerns surrounding cloud computing. Every one of us had a different idea of what cloud computing is.

Of all of the definitions I have seen, I think Wikipedia's is the best:

"Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand…"

The premise is simple – let's break down the definition into pieces.

"Internet-based" – Cloud computing moves the software out of your office out onto the Internet "cloud". The software could literally be housed in any datacenter in the world, although our use will mostly be based out of US datacenters for speed. All access to the data will be from an Internet connection – it could be at work, home, a hotel, or a coffee shop down the street.

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Let's start with the bottom line: If you're not participating in social media, your business is missing out. You no longer have any excuses ("I'm too busy" or "It's overwhelming"), it's time to get engaged.

In a recent survey by ROI Research reported in MediaPost, 40 percent of those surveyed use social sites to connect with brands and products. Thirty-seven percent learned about a new product or service from a social networking site, and 32 percent use social networks to recommend products or services to friends.

And it's not just consumers. In a recent study conducted by Business.com, more than half of small-business owners reported using social media sites to gather information about companies, products and prospects before buying or doing business with them.

The social networks are effective sales tools as well. According to the Inbound Marketing Report, 41 percent of Twitter and LinkedIn users, 44 percent of Facebook users and 46 percent of businesses with a company blog say they acquired customers through those channels.

Obviously it's time to jump on the social media bandwagon. Are you ready? Here's a quick overview.

LinkedIn
The most widely-known general business networking site, LinkedIn is useful if you sell business-to-business products or services, want to build a reputation, or are seeking new employees, vendors or partners.

• Get started by creating a profile and creating a unique URL for it that comes up in Google search results.

• Adjust your privacy settings so your network is notified whenever you update your profile. Update frequently so your contacts get regular reminders about you and your business.

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If you're like a lot of us, you get so much email every day that you might spend as little as 15 seconds scanning a message to determine how it applies to you. Now, imagine that other people are reading your email the same way. If they can't quickly identify the purpose of your message, they'll probably delete it or leave it in the Inbox for "later" -  if later ever comes.

In this article, I give 6 tips to ensure that your email messages are read and get the attention they deserve.

1. Make the purpose of the message clear
When recipients receive your email message, they should be able to see at a quick glance how the message relates to them and why it's important. They may be looking at a preview of your message in Microsoft Outlook or on a Windows phone or Windows Mobile device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). Or they may see only Subject lines in their Inbox. If your Subject line is confusing and irrelevant, your email will surely get deleted in a hurry. Here are some examples of what can be included in Subject lines to make sure the reader opens your mail:

•A standard subject heading such as "Action Requested," "Response Requested," "FYI," or "Read Only," depending on the action indicated in the body of the message.

•The meaningful objective or supporting project that the message relates to, for example, "FY '05 budget forecasting."

•The required action if applicable, for example, "Consolidate departmental budget spreadsheets."

•The due date if applicable, for example, "Due by July 7."

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Strengthen your plan via testing.

Testing annually is the crux to creating and preserving a viable recovery plan. Test every aspect of your recovery plan, from internal and external communications to regaining power to rebuilding networks.

Take the insight gained during this exercise to make your plan stronger, so that when an event does occur your business will recover smoothly and as efficiently as possible.

Schedule of Events

You learn something every
day if you pay attention.

Ray LeBlond