WeMoveRochester.com Website

Matt and Heidi Novak, local realtors with Elcor Realty, have launched their new web site. The new site includes an extensive MLS search function, community links, first time buyer and seller FAQs, and more. If that isn't enough to spark your interest, you can even get the latest weather information too!


Married in 1999, and parents of two, Matt and Heidi's strong sense of family value is something they carry over to their real estate careers.

They also take a great deal of pride in their community. As founders of a local networking group, this team has established many great relationships with professionals in varying areas of real estate. They can be reached at (507) 358-4409 or http://www.WeMoveRochester.com. Matt and Heidi were a pleasure to work with, and we look forward to working with them in the future.

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, elcor, novak, realtor, real estate

Web2.0: CrazyEgg.com

CrazyEgg.com is a website analytics tool which helps you determine how users navigate your website. They just launched this week and I'm impressed with the overall concept. Most website traffic analysis tools will tell you which pages are visited most often, but what makes CrazyEgg.com different is that it visually shows you where on the page the users are clicking. For example, the image below is a "heat overlay" image showing which areas on the site are clicked most often.



This is important information if you have several links on a page which go to the same place. For example, do your users click on that flashy graphic you made or do they prefer the text link? Which ad placement gives you the best results? These types of answers provide valuable information about your users and CrazyEgg.com provides the solution.

They offer a free plan up to 2 pages and 5000 visits per month. Getting started is a quick two step process of creating an account and inserting a line of code into the page you want to track. Paying plans start at just $19/per month, a minimal amount if your site has a reasonable amount of traffic.

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, MN, Web2.0, crazyegg, webstats

HomeGallery Goes Digital

The HomeGallery, a weekly paper highlighting the Rochester real estate market, has launched a new website. The website's look matches changes that have occurred in the print edition. On the back end, the site supports a new feature where users can register to receive the HomeGallery electronically via email each week.

As an added bonus to real estate agents, the website features an "Agent Only" section where realtors can maintain a list of current customers who wish to receive the paper electronically. When they do so, the server will customize the email notification to each client to include the realtor's photo and contact information. This creates top-of-mind awareness for the agent and provides a valuable resource to the customer.

This complex task was accomplished through customization of our RapidNewsletter.com system. If you're in need of a custom email marketing system, feel free to contact us.

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, MN, HomeGallery, realtor, real estate

Innovation Award: BuyOnlineNow.com

Our second Innovation Award goes to... BuyOnlineNow.com. I know, you're probably thinking "This awards is supposed to be for local companies, not big retailers." BuyOnlineNow.com is a local company with roots right here in Rochester. They are an online retailer of office products and have been growing quickly and scooping up local talent during the process. I've had the pleasure to work with several of the folks over there, and they are very deserving of this success.

Even better, they just received another award that is much bigger than anything CWS can dish out. BuyOnlineNow.com was ranked #394 out of the 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S by Inc. Magazine. Even better, the numbers in the current article (due out tomorrow) are from the 2005 fiscal year. For 2006, they are now at 20 employees and revenue is projected at 14 million. "This is Exciting stuff!!!", said Nicholas Dibble, their current Director of Information Technologies.

We at CWS have to agree. Considering their business model puts them against huge retailers like OfficeMax.com and OfficeDepot.com, achieving those sales figures for an online storefront is a remarkable feat. For this creativity, BuyOnlineNow gets our second Innovation Award.

CWS Cleans House

We've been working on a new website for http://www.cws.net and just went live on Friday. Our new website features a "lighter" look & feel, updated and revised content, a feed of our "Everything Internet" blog, and some back-end integration with SalesForce.com for quicker service. The new site also features various "maintenance items", such as optimized content for search engines, new title tags, a simple and clean interface, shorter order forms, and an updated profile page.


You might wonder why a web design company opted for a minimalist approach, but we're more than just a flashy web design company. We're also a hosting company, an application development company, and a internet marketing company. That requires a balanced approach to providing lots of content in an organized fashion. We hope that you find our new website easy to navigate and can quickly find the information you're looking for. If you were hoping for a "flashy" design, we'll have to direct you towards one of our clients.

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, MN, hosting, web design, SEO

Google PageRank

We are often asked, "How does our website rank on Google?"

The heart of Google's software is called PageRank, a system for ranking web pages developed by their founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. While they have dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect of Google on a daily basis, PageRank continues to provide the basis for all of their web search tools.

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."

Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don't match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of the page's content (and the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query.

Now to answer your question, "How does YOUR website rank with Google?" Enter in your domain name below and you'll be given a result from 1 (low) to 10 (high).

Article Source - Google.com

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, MN, google, pagerank, SEO

Walk Down Memory Lane

I was researching our website statistics for the "most visited pages" and "top entry pages" for a redesign project we have going on. While doing so, I found an old URL that I had forgotten exists (because we no longer provide a link to the page). The page is an archive of the pictures we took while building our office (in 2004). I thought it might be fun to highlight a few images for "good 'ol times".

Find a great location...

Clear some trees and move a little dirt...

Install some footings...

Pour a whole bunch of concrete...

Up go the walls and roof...

Stud walls for our entryway...

Don't forget to "tape and mud"...

Show the exterior some love...

Pour some sidewalks...

Get a big crane to install a backup generator... done!

Filed in: CWS, Rochester, MN, building, expansion, pictures

Iran President Launches Blog

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has joined a burgeoning international community - by starting his own weblog. The launch of www.ahmadinejad.ir was reported on Friday, which urged users to send in messages to the president.

Mr. Ahmadinejad's first posting, entitled autobiography, tells of his childhood, Iran's Islamic revolution, and the country's war with Iraq. The blog includes a poll asking if users think the US and Israel are trying to trigger a new world war. There is a postform for users to send in questions for the president, and a picture gallery containing a series of images of the blogger himself.

Ironically, the move by Mr. Ahmadinejad comes amid continuing internet censorship by the Iranian government. In a country where the media is strictly controlled, the internet has become the main forum for dissident voices. But in its bid to crack down on anti-government bloggers, the government uses one of the most sophisticated internet censorship systems in the world.

Such restrictions will not pose a problem for the president.

Article Source - BBC News.

Filed in: Iran, Iraq, US, politics, censorship, irony

Web2.0: Skype.com (Internet Chat)

As I've mentioned time and time again, Web2.0 is all about "connecting people together". Skype.com is a way to make voice and video calls using your computer. After a quick download and short installation process, your up in running with your new Skype Console (see screenshot).

Skype is cool because you can actually make long distance calls (in the United States) for free until the end of 2006. This means you can call grandma in Boston from your computer and it won't cost you a dime. Calling other Skype users (computer to computer) will be free forever.

Skype also has the ability to handle conference calls (up to 5 users), send files, and normal "instant messaging". The interface is easy to use and it even has a "test call" feature where it calls Skype and allows you to record a 10 second message. At the end of the call, it plays back your recorded message so you know how your microphone is working. This made the setup/testing process really easy and I found the audio quality on my laptop's built-in microphone worked surprisingly well.

Since it's relatively new and I don't have a lot of friends... my biggest problem was finding other Skype users to call. It's a good thing they will let me dial normal phones for free while I work on my friend list. If you are a ClubRochester.com member and have a Skype account, I encourage you to post a comment below with your ClubRochester.com nickname and Skype ID. Maybe we can start a local network of Skype users!

Filed in: web2.0, skype, chat, clubrochester, rochester, mn

Grouploop Calendar improvements

Just because Grouploop.com is public, it doesn't mean that we aren't working on it. We're constantly making adjustments -- some big, some small -- in response to feedback from our users. The calendar is one area that we've worked on a good bit, and there are a number of other features we have planned for it. Here's are a couple of the changes we've made so far:

• Ending times are optional -- you don't have to specify how long an event will last unless you want to.
• You can add Grouploop events to your Outlook calendar with one mouse click (if you have Outlook 2003 or newer). Just click the "Add to Outlook" link at the bottom of the event listing. This also works with Apple's iCal software and any other program that supports vCalendar events.

Stay tuned for more upgrades planned in the near future.

Innovation Award: Kiger's Notebook

In a previous post, I mentioned that we would be awarding "Innovation Awards" to local websites that impressed us. As you may recall, the criteria for this award was to show a "creative use of the web". Today, the first award goes to.... Kiger's Notebook. This spontaneous blog focuses on SE Minnesota Business Information and/or anything that Jeff Kiger finds interesting. Posts are usually quick, contain typos and often only include half the story. So why is this website deserving of this award? Because Jeff gets the dirt and isn't afraid to publish it.

Most journalists have a polished writing style and check things thoroughly before "going to press". This might have been great in the "industrial age", but in the "information age" you have to be resourceful and quick. His faithful readers don't care that he often struggles to form complete sentences because the topics are local, fresh and sometimes controversial. Years ago, local citizens would wait for the monthly "SE Business Journal" for local business news. Today, you can get this information on Kiger's Blog weeks before it could ever get to print. For this creativity, Jeff Kiger gets our first "Innovation Award".

Do you know of a website that deserves the Innovation Award? Let us know.

Filed in: rochester, mn, cws, kiger, innovation, award

Never Take Vacation

I was unable to find time today to write a meaningful blog post. Wait a minute... that statement would mean my previous posts have "meaningful content"? In any event, I ran across this website today and thought you might find humor in it. These guys apparently have more time on their hands than those of us working at CWS.

From PrankMike.com, "A few of us at work have been pranked one too many times by a certain coworker by the name of Mike. He was out of town for a few days and we had some extra cardboard laying around. This is what happens when you push creative IT workers too far! Enjoy your new office Mike!"

Here's some pictures of his new office:

Very well done guys, I enjoyed the detail in your work. Now I suggest you get back to work before you get fired!

Filed in: humor, comedy, prankmike, pranks, jokes, office

Web 2.0: YouTube.com

Tim O'Reilly made an attempt to define Web2.0 almost a year ago. He overly complicates the fundamentals by showcasing several examples of how Web1.0 has evolved into Web2.0. In my personal opinion, Web2.0 is simply defined as "connecting people". Almost every example that I can think of somehow revolves around people communicating together (CampFire), sharing together (JotSpot), collaborating together (SalesForce), working together to compile results (Digg), social networking (MySpace) and/or professional networking (LinkedIn). The website highlighted in this blog post is also centered around "people" and their tagline is "YouTube: Broadcast Yourself".





YouTube.com has risen to enormous popularity in the last year or so. The website is nothing more than a compilation of amateur videos that users upload, share, and TAG (categorize). Visitors to the website have the opportunity to post comments on videos, rate them, or add them to their favorites. The website contains thousands of videos ranging from confessions to silly songs to professional performances. A great video has the potential to grant you Internet fame and land you on NBC's Today Show.

I believe the website has gained popularity because humans find other people interesting. It may be that they enjoy watching people do things that are socially unacceptable, things that they would not do themselves, or just that it expands on the "reality" that we've gotten used to watching on TV. Whatever the reason, it confirms my belief that Web2.0 is all about bringing people together in a new and exciting online environment.

Filed in: web2.0, youtube, 37signals, jotspot, myspace, linkedin

GroupLoop vs. MyFamily

GroupLoop.com received its first reviews from DoRealTime.com and Screeniac.com. Both sites specialize in posting information on real time collaboration and Web 2.0 tools, tips and reviews. The reviews were very favorable, stressing that our application is very easy to use, has a great interface, and perfect for low tech people (such as families). My wife and I have been using GroupLoop for over a month (pre-launch) to upate our friends and family on our premature baby. I have to say it has been working quite well for this purpose. Like everyone, we have a few computer "challenged" people in our family and even they were able to use GroupLoop. This got me thinking, what other web based applications are out there for collaboration among families?

After a quick Google search, I found MyFamily.com which appears to be owned by ancestry.com. They didn't tell me much about their service from the homepage or provide me with a demo, but I figured something from a large company like this had to be good. I was able to view their pricing page, which cleary stated that they didn't have a FREE plan. I filled out the registration form for a 30 day trial and was up and running in a few minutes. I have to say that I was disappointed with their overall product. Upon first login, I was horrified as to the complexity and lack of organization. Here's a screenshot:

As you can see, there are so many options that you don't even know where to start! Even worse, all of the features are given the same level of importance on the page. They should have drawn my attention to those features which are most important, like where I should begin. Too often, software is designed with the intention of trying to do everything for everyone. Any service that is geared towards ordinary individuals has to be keep simple. If your product is too complex, most people will give up before they even get started (as I did). Less clutter, less features, more whitespace. I might be a bit biased, but I'd have to say 2 points GroupLoop.

Filed in: web2.0, collaboration, grouploop, myfamily, calendar, family

Technology for Collaboration

One of the great things about developing applications for yourself, instead of another company, is that you get to make all the decisions about how to do it. GroupLoop gave us the chance to explore a lot of new territory, and we've been very happy with the results so far.

We built GroupLoop to meet our own need -- or more specifically, Alan's. Alan is very involved in the Rochester, MN community and sits on a number of boards and committees. Because these groups are usually not in the same office, collaboration becomes difficult. You send an email to six people, and you suddenly have six copies of that information floating around. Two people in the group reply, and now there are 18 messages on one subject.

If that email had an attachment, like a meeting agenda, you'd also have 18 copies of a Word document. If group members aren't on the same network, shared drives aren't an option, and email becomes the file-sharing method of choice -- a task for which it is poorly suited.

Most solutions to this problem are either focused on organizing one person's information (not a group), or they're project-oriented, or they're just plain overkill. We've tried to create a simple application that gets out of the way and lets people centralize information when they need to. It's not going to solve everyone's problems, but there are any number of groups that can benefit from centralization. Alan has even used it to keep family and friends updated about the status of his premature baby.

We chose to develop GroupLoop using Rails, an MVC application framework for the Ruby programming language. Although it required a bit of a learning curve, in the end it's saved us an enormous amount of time in development and testing. Clean XHTML in the interface combines with a webserver running Apache 2 and FastCGI for a smooth, responsive experience. We think you'll notice the difference. There's also some AJAX sprinkled here and there, but only where it improves usability -- we don't jump on technology bandwagons just for the flash.

Finally, Rails makes it easy for us to respond and implement changes quickly as we hear feedback from our users. So give it a test drive and let us know what you'd like to see improved. We'll be rolling out updates on a regular basis. Remember, it's totally free for groups under 25, and there's no expiration or limit to the functionality.

Filed in: web2.0, collaboration, grouploop, non-profit, ajax, nptech