Group Organization and Calendar Tools

If you read my Better Non Profit Communication Software post, you'd know of my cry for GroupLoop to be ready once and for all. Is the best group organization tool ready YET?

I'm now just about 4 sessions into the class. Coordinating a class full of talented participants has been a rewarding experience, but I have to tell you... using email to get session after session organized has only gotten even more cumbersome.

I'll give you one example. It took over a dozen emails back and forth with several participants to fill a few session tasks. In trying to keep organized, each time I received an answer, I retrieved the agenda and made the necessary changes. Then, I had to send reminders to those who had yet to respond and repeat the process over again.

Of course, filling session tasks is only one part of coordinating and organizing the class. There's also document archiving, reminders, cancellations, tasks re-assignments and others. When using email as the main coordination and organization tool, each of these come with their own challenges.

Okay, some may argue I just don't know how to use my Outlook email program to get organized. To the skeptics I'll say that's not the case. Of course, I know the entire shebang about using folders, distribution lists, calendar scheduling and else.

The reason why I'm so hyped about GoupLoop is because I know its planned features, and as I get more and more involved in group leadership positions, this web-based organization tool will surely make my life easier. I'll be able to centralize all group information, share documents, have virtual discussions, schedule meetings and events with ease and flexibility, and even call a vote! Speaking of calling a vote… those in favor of GroupLoop's early launch, click here.

Web Site Development with PHP

Sure, most of the recent buzz in web development is over AJAX or Ruby on Rails but don't forget about good 'ol PHP.

We've been using PHP for a long time here at CWS and are now getting excited about the CakePHP framework. In case you haven't heard, it is an MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework that is similar to Rails but is written completely in PHP. In fact, it looks to be almost a direct port of the Rails framework to PHP. The terminology and even the directory structure look exactly like Rails.

Our experiences so far with both Ruby on Rails and CakePHP are very promising. Both make it easier to develop more maintainable web applications in less time than before.

So, the movement toward web development using MVC frameworks continues to gather steam. As always, we here at CWS are staying on top of these developments and will continue to choose, as I like to say, "the proper tool for the proper job."

Somerby PGA Golf Tournament

As you've probably heard, the Nationwide PGA Tour is coming to Byron, MN. The official announcement was made in January. Over 500 local volunteers will be needed for this event, and as of today over 400 have signed up. If you'd like to volunteer, you can sign up here. There is a $30 fee to volunteer (I know that sounds crazy), but you get a T-Shirt, Hat, Admission all 7 days, 4 extra tickets, and a Meal each day you volunteer. If you plan to attend, this is the way to go!

I have the honor of being the chairman for the Scoring Committee. This exciting position verifies the scores of all the players and reports to the Golf Channel. I encourage everyone to get involved with this exciting event and make it a big part of our community this summer.

Rochester MN Realtor Website

CWS is proud to launch a new realtor website, rochester-mn-realtor.com. This website features a real time MLS search and integration with Top Producer. Kim De Keyrel is a realtor with Keller Williams Premier Realty and we were excited to work with her on this project.



You can visit her new website by clicking on the image above. Another great source for non-biases home searching is http://www.realtor.com. This is a national website.

Utilizing productivity enhancements... and other big words

I saw this in the datasheet for Lotus Notes:

Is being forced to confirm that I wanted to close the application -- after I just clicked the giant red X -- really an enhancement to productivity?

Implicit in this question is the assumption that using this software is the most important thing I'm doing. Surely I don't really mean to close it down.

AJAX is already old

There's always a new technology around the corner. "Comet" is like AJAX, but it's the server that initiates the data transfer instead of your browser. The funny thing is that in both cases, this technology has been supported by browsers for years -- but it's only recently been popularized.

There are all sorts of wonderful technologies buried in specification lists that no one ever reads. CSS, for example, is full of little goodies that most websites never take advantage of -- like specifying multiple stylesheets for different media -- because developers don't know what can be done.

Often it takes a high-profile site to expose the beauty of technology that's been around for years -- like Google Maps in the case of AJAX.

At CWS, we do our best to stay aware of the best available tools, so the sites we build for our clients will put them miles ahead of every competitor. That doesn't necessarily mean the trendiest tools -- just the best ones.

Lost? Just call Google.

If you ever stray from the beaten path and get lost, don't fret... just call Google. They'll be tracking your every move to within 100 feet. According to CNN Money, they have teamed up with Earthlink to track wi-fi users in San Francisco. Why you ask?

Increased advertising revenues, naturally. You see, if they know your precise location they can deliver targeted advertising to you. Instead of waiting for you to provide your location, as soon as you arrive upon their homepage they will be able to display advertisements for local flower shops, car dealerships, and much more.

"I don't live in San Franciso", you say, "so why should I worry?" EarthLink has also been selected to build similar municipal Wi-Fi networks for Philadelphia and Milpitas in Silicon Valley. If the plan works, you can bet it will hit more markets within the next few years.

Search Engine Optimization Scam

I received a fax today that looks a lot like an invoice for something my company ordered. It's from the "Official Internet Registry & Optimization Bureau" and my "Payment is Due" for annual website marketing and monitoring bundle. Funny thing is, I've never heard of them (even though they sound so "official") nor would I ever purchase such a product via fax. They must have purchased a fax list for businesses in our area, because a friend of mine in Kasson received the same fax today.

For only $329.97/year or $27.50/month they will review my website and send me a search engine analysis report and keyword suggestions. How this would help me improve my search engine rankings is a mystery to me. They would need to help me put this information into the code of my website, as opposed to just sending me a report.

This is a scam and the company won't be around long. The domain was just registered on March 22, 2006! If you'd like some free advice (from a real internet professional), avoid this company and do not pass this information on to your Accounts Payable.

Free Email Newsletter

Today we are proud to announce that a "free-forever" plan has been added to our popular Rapid Newsletter email application. The new version allows unlimited use of the application for under 100 recipients. All of the features that make this product great, such as multiple mailing lists, tracking, and detailed statistics are included with the free version.

Customers using the free version have the ability to customize their email template by uploading their company logo and choosing a color scheme that matches their identity. As always, we still offer development of a custom email template for a small one-time fee. Try it out today... it's free-forever!

Better Non Profit Communication Software

Guys, I just cannot wait for GroupLoop to be launched. I'm currently coordinating a 6-session class with my non profit Toastmaster group and the number of emails back and forth has skyrocketed in the past couple of days alone!

I can now imaging how daunting this communication task will get once the class starts, ten new members are added and the feedback and document sharing starts. Yes, and my email box will be running at full capacity while I spend endless time digging for that elusive email sent weeks earlier by whomever had volunteer for a class task. The class hasn't even started, and I'm already feeling the pain of not having a better communication software!

More and more, I see the outstanding value of the conceptualized GroupLoop features. Believe me, I never doubted our product, as I very much believe in our concepts and top-notch developers, but things are just seen in a whole different perspective when it is precisely "you" (me, in this case) who is in desperate need for a better non profit communication system.

There's no doubt in my mind that GroupLoop will offer a "no-brainer" system for groups, like mine, who constantly need to share information.

So, my question is, is GroupLoop ready yet?