With the rise of the Internet and social media, it’s now expected that many more companies have an Internet identity. Be it a website or social media, you can guarantee that your customers are looking at you online. While having an online presence is positive, it can also open you up to negative feedback, which can ruin, or at least damage, your company’s reputation and brand. Therefore, it is important that you practice some form of reputation management.

Here are five reputation management practices you can employ to better manage your online brand.

1. Don’t remove negative content
If you see a negative comment or post online it may be your first impulse to delete it. This isn’t necessarily advisable, as the main rule about the Internet is that nothing ever really goes away. If you delete negative comments on a regular basis, customers could notice and this may lead to them losing trust in your company and ultimately, to lost sales.

What you should be doing is replying instead and encouraging any users who complain online, or post criticisms, to contact you directly, or through a more private medium like email. That being said, if you see malicious posts or content that is posted just to incite a negative reaction, (trolling), there is nothing wrong in deleting.  Just make sure to acknowledge this by posting a warning that states something along the lines of: “Please note, malicious content will be deleted.”

2. Address complaints promptly
You should have someone monitoring your online platforms for complaints or negative feedback, so that you can respond promptly. This will also show customers that you actually use your platforms and are willing to engage. If you do not take steps to address negative material, you could be sending the message that you don’t care enough about customers, which could drive them away.

3. Provide people with a place to complain
Being proactive is important when it comes to reputation management. Instead of waiting for complaints to be posted on various review sites, blogs or even social media, which are all out of your control, why not provide a place for feedback that you can control.

Having an easy to see form, forum or other similar area on your website, where customers can interact with you, could go a long way in helping limit where complaints pop up. If you are in control then you’re more likely to see complaints sooner and better able to respond quickly too.

4. Ensure colleagues and staff are all on the same page
Two things that turn customers off of a brand are a company that isn’t organized and being told different things by different people within the same company. If you have more than one staff member managing your online reputation you need to ensure everyone is on the same page. If a client asks a question they should get one answer, and if there is a complaint there should be one response or one person handling it.

It is a good idea to establish how to deal with complaints, who will deal with them, and when they will be dealt with, and communicate this to all staff, not just those handling your online presence. A unified procedure could go a long way in minimizing the harm negative feedback can cause.

5. Monitor online activity
We don’t mean monitor the activity of your employees, we mean take a look at the different communication channels used by your customers and the public at large. If your business relies on reviews, simply monitoring your own profiles and website isn’t enough. Many customers complain on review sites like Yelp, Ripoff Report, or their own blogs. Taking time to search for, and browse these sites, could help you gauge the general perception of your company. If you see an increasing number of negative reviews, for example, you know it is time to look at what needs to be improved.

Having a well managed online reputation won’t guarantee new customers will come flooding in the door, but it can help decrease customers from going out the door, taking valuable sales with them. If you would like to learn more about reputation management please contact us today.

A common goal of many business owners and managers is to find ways for staff to be more productive, or how to improve efficiency. If you search on the Internet for tips on improving productivity you will likely be overwhelmed with the sheer number of results and suggestions. One common productivity trend is using technology, or more specifically apps, to make improvements.

Here are four productivity apps that could help make you more efficient.

1. Doodle

A common hindrance to productivity are meetings. Everyone has to take time out of their day to attend, and it can be even harder to schedule a time to actually meet, especially when your colleagues are so busy. Doodle is an app that helps users find a suitable time and date to meet.

It works by the meeting leader setting a number of dates and times for a potential meeting. Doodle then creates a calendar with these times and dates, allowing users to click on these. The app aggregates the feedback and then suggests a time and date that works for all invitees.

The Doodle app also integrates with Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo and iCal, which means you can schedule meetings and send invites directly from the calendar. The basic app is free, but you can also sign up for the Premium version which gives you more functionality, such as being able to send reminders and mobile support. Click here to learn more.

2. Any.do

As a business owner or manager, you are likely busy and have a never ending to-do list, which may get out of hand from time-to-time. Any.do is a beautifully designed and simple to use task manager for your mobile device and Web browser. When you enter a task on your mobile device it will seamlessly sync with other versions, meaning lists will be the same wherever you view them.

An interesting feature that sets this app apart from many similar apps is that you can share lists and tasks with people to ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be done today, tomorrow or later. It’s free and available for most browsers for Apple and Android devices. Visit the Any.do website to learn more and download.

3. Due

Sometimes being productive means you actually have to be proactive. You may need a little nudge or reminder to get an email written, or file your tax return, if you can’t ever seem to find the motivation, best time to start, or even to remember.

Due is an app for the iPhone whereby you set reminders for yourself. A flashing a message on your screen acts as a reminder and continues to alert until you have completed the task and marked it as such in the app. It could be annoying but just the right prompt you need to get important tasks started. You can download the app from iTunes for USD$4.99

4. HootSuite

There’s a good chance that you, or someone you work closely with, spends a seemingly inordinate amount of time each day on social media. Maybe you spend time maintaining your company’s profile or finding interesting content and posting this. If you have more than one social media account this could prove unproductive though.

HootSuite is a social media dashboard that brings all of your social media platforms into one app. You can schedule posts for all of your networks at once, and easily view each service from one screen. This cuts down the amount of time you spend on social media and allows you to focus on running your business. The app is free for up to five social media accounts and one user, and USD$8.99 a month for the Pro version. Check out the HootSuite website, to learn more.

There are countless apps available that can help improve your productivity, or at the very least make you work in a more efficient manner. What are your favorites? Let us know.

For Google fans, the middle of May has become one of the most looked forward to times of the year. That’s when Google hosts their yearly conference, I/O, covering all things Google. Last year saw the announcement of the incredibly popular Nexus 7 tablet, along with a number of new services and a new version of Android. Now that this year’s I/O is over, many business owners are wondering what new products and features Google will be releasing during 2013.

Here’s an overview of the four most interesting and potentially useful products for businesses that were introduced at I/O:

Google+ is set to explode (in a good way!)
During the I/O Keynote, Google unveiled a new version of Google+, with a whopping 41 new features. This includes a revamped layout and a new pictures function that makes sharing and editing content even easier. The menu bar, (vertical bar on the left side of the window), has also been changed and looks great.

What’s interesting is Google launched the updated Google+ almost as soon as the event finished. If you haven’t logged in since May 15, do so and you should be given a tour of all the different changes.

It’s time for Hangouts
It’s long been rumored that Google has been working on a way to merge all chat apps into a single platform. At the Keynote on May 15, Google announced an update to Hangouts, their video messaging platform on Google+.

Hangouts is now the main chat app and is integrated across Gmail, Google+, Android, iOS and your desktop. It replaces all previous chat apps with one centralized app that has video and group chat for up to 10 people, emoticons, and syncs messages across all platforms. This is great for businesses, especially if you have colleagues on the road using different devices. They can join in the conversation without any compatibility issues.

You should be able to upgrade to Hangouts by clicking on your picture in Gmail. For mobile devices simply update the Google Chat app you have installed and it should automatically upgrade to Hangouts.

Desktop search gets conversational
Conversational search has become a popular tool on mobile devices, and it’s now integrated with the desktop version of Google Search. If you have a microphone on your computer, you could use your voice to search on Google by pressing the Microphone symbol in the search bar, instead of spelling out words.

At the I/O Keynote, Google previewed an upcoming upgrade to voice search: Conversational search. This means you will be able to ask Google Search questions using a natural form of conversation. For example, if you are going to a conference in San Diego, you can simply ask Google: “What will the weather be like in San Diego next week?” Google will then provide the weather forecast. Beyond that, the voice search will always be on, so you can initiate a search by simply saying, “OK Google,” and then asking your question.

This change from a keyword oriented to vocally induced search could change the way we search for businesses. Business owners will have to think about what questions people will ask when looking for certain types of companies, and develop keywords accordingly. While keyword search might be on the way out, the reality is that this is still important, even if natural sounding spoken searches are set to increase.

Google Maps gets a facelift
Possibly the biggest announcement, for businesses at least, is that Google Maps has been re-engineered. The current version is static, so every user sees the same map and businesses when they search. The new Google Maps has been visually updated and is being billed as a personal experience. The map learns about you over time, and will highlight places based on what you are looking for, your previous search history, and recommendations. From what we can see, the new Maps will be out sometime in August, but you can sign up to use it here.

This development could influence the way you use not only Google’s services but also what services you use in general. It looks like results and recommendations shown on the maps will be heavily based off of reviews which are connected to your Google+ profile, so you will probably have to pay more attention to Google+. We will cover more about this change in next week’s Google article, so stay tuned.

If you would like to learn more about the changes Google has recently announced please contact us today.

Smartphones, like the Apple iPhone, rely on numerous factors to make them ‘smart’. One of the most important being a data or Internet connection. Most iPhone users have a mobile plan with data, allowing access to the Internet from anywhere. However, many providers limit the amount of data that can be used each month and charge exorbitantly high rates if you go over this monthly quota. The good news is that there are things you can do to help get the most out of your data.

Here are five tips on how to use less mobile data on your iPhone.

1. Turn on Wi-Fi
When your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi it does not count against your mobile data usage. If you find yourself using too much data, try looking for open connections at places you frequent. Chances are you already have Wi-Fi at home and maybe even in the office, so be sure to connect to it wherever possible.

While there are many more connections than ever, be careful when using a public unprotected Wi-Fi connection. This can lead to devices being hacked, or data tracked. If you have to send important documents best wait until you can connect to a secure Wi-Fi network.

You can turn Wi-Fi on by:
Tapping on the Settings icon.
Sliding the tab beside Wi-Fi from Off to On.
Selecting the network you want to join and entering the password if necessary.

You can tell whether your Wi-Fi is turned on by looking at the top of the screen for an inverted striped-triangle. If you leave this option on, and are not in range of a Wi-Fi connection, your phone should automatically connect to data, and if you are in range, it should automatically connect to a Wi-Fi connection.

2. Save content for offline reading
If you use your phone to read blogs, articles or anything with a large amount of text and pictures this could be an unexpectedly high drain on data. What you could do is download an app like Pocket that allows you to save articles for reading offline. Most of these apps allow users to search for and save articles on their Web browser, which then syncs with the mobile app. You can then access these without an Internet connection, cutting down on the amount of data you use.

3. Install a data counter
A data counter or tracker is an app that keeps tabs on how much mobile data your phone is using. Your phone has a built in counter, accessed by tapping on Settings, selecting General, followed by Usage and Cellular usage. However, it doesn’t tell you if you are going to go over your data that month, or send out warnings when you are close to your quota maximum.

If you want better data usage tracking, an app like DataMan (USD$0.99 on the App Store), could really help. This app is perfect if you have a limited amount of data as it can really help manage data use and alerts you when you are close to your monthly data amount.

4. Cut back on streaming
Streaming videos and music has become incredibly popular. Think about how many people you see on a daily basis watching a video on YouTube or listening to Spotify on their phones. It can be great to watch a video while waiting for a colleague, or listen to an album in the car on the way home. The problem is, streaming is bandwidth intensive, so a five minute video on YouTube can use anywhere from 5 to 10 MB of data.

If you want to cut back on the data you use, try to limit the amount of streaming you do on your phone. You can always email yourself links to watch or listen to when you get home too.

5. Be less social
Social media has become a large part of our lives, with many of us constantly checking our feeds for updates, or even posting updates from our phones. While just looking at feeds is fairly light data-wise, clicking on links or posted content can really eat up your data allocation. It is a good idea to limit social activity while using mobile data. One tip is to pick just one social media network and only check that specific one on your phone, letting the others wait.

How do you limit the amount of mobile data you use? Let us know. If you would like to learn more about managing your iPhone, please contact us today.

Computing power has more or less doubled every two years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. While our computers are becoming increasingly powerful, it simply isn’t feasible for many small to medium businesses to update their hardware or systems every couple of years. This often leads to businesses with aging systems facing increased costs, decreased productivity and the need, (but not the budget!), to replace systems. One solution to this very real problem is to virtualize existing systems.

Virtualization is the act of taking an existing system, say a server, and creating a virtual copy of it that is hosted either in a physical unit or somewhere out of the office. Some systems you can virtualize include: Desktops, Operating Systems, servers, hardware and storage. Most small businesses start with storage and server virtualization as this can usually be done with relative ease and at an affordable cost.

Benefits of virtualization
The question many business owners ask when they are looking into virtualization is what benefits it can bring. While the positives are numerous, here are the five most common:

1. Reduced space
Physical hardware can take up a lot of space, and the common trend among many businesses is that the space available per person is shrinking in order to save costs. Take for example your servers. If you virtualize these, you can probably fit all of them onto one or two units. This will reduce the space your hardware takes up, freeing up extra storage capacity or possibly another desk.

2. Reduced overhead
Having hardware and servers in an office can be expensive to maintain. You have to have climate control to start with which means higher electricity bills and higher maintenance costs. Virtualization will often reduce overhead costs and save you money. Beyond that, many solutions offer a pay-per-use pricing model which makes predicting costs easier.

3. Quicker backup and recovery
Many virtualization solution providers also offer backup services that can be automated. This means that your vital data is always backed up and protected. Beyond that, the backups can be stored at a different location, meaning that if there is a disaster you can recover lost data quickly and easily.

4. Longer hardware replacement cycles
Virtualized solutions and platforms often require lower computing resources because they are hosted on the provider’s servers. This means that you won’t have to replace existing tech hardware. Beyond that, existing systems can be used for longer which will save you money.

5. Virtualization is scalable
If your company is growing, you will eventually have to add new systems. In an already cramped office this means finding the space for hardware or servers needed to support your growth, not to mention investing in systems that are compatible with existing hardware. Virtualization is highly scalable, and can grow with your company, often without the need for extra services.

In general, virtualization could help your business grow, while IT costs remain stable, or are even decreased. If you would like to learn more about how virtualization of your systems can help your company, contact us today.

Email is among the most important tools at a manager’s disposal; it’s often the main form of communication with suppliers, employees, customers, etc. With the smartphone, you can now take your email with you and be in near constant contact. If you have an iPhone and use the Mail app, you may have noticed that email attachments are a treated bit differently.

Below is a brief overview of how attachments work with iPhone’s Mail app.

How to open an attachment
If you get an email with an attachment, open the message and scroll down to the bottom of the message. You will see the name of the attachment along with the file type and size. If you tap on it, your phone should open it in a new window. You can then zoom in/out and scroll around.

Some attachments can be downloaded by tapping and holding on the attachment. After about a second, a pop-up menu will show, and you should be able to select to save it. Instead of saving the attachment, you can also choose to open it using other apps.

Why won’t some attachments open?
There may be a time where you get an email with an attachment that can’t be opened. You will still be able to see it in the email, but you won’t be able to tap on it. This is because the Mail app doesn’t support all file and document types.

Don’t worry if you can’t open an attachment as chances are there’s an app in the App store that will open it. The easiest thing to do is look at the file type of the attachment, which is usually indicated by a three letter code at the end of the file name. For example, a Word document will be FILENAME.doc or FILENAME.docx. A quick Internet search for something like, ‘iPhone app that can open .ddd‘ will usually return results with an app that can open your file.

Once you download the app, try pressing and holding on the attachment in Mail and selecting Open in… from the pop-up menu. Look for the app you downloaded and tap on it.

How to add an attachment to emails
You can add an attachment to an email by pressing and holding on the body section of a new email. A pop-up menu should come up, if you scroll left you should see the Select/Paste option. Tapping on this will allow you to select either a photo, video or message which you can attach to the email. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else you can attach, so if you need to attach a document or other file type, you would be better off doing so on your computer.

If you would like to learn more about the iPhone and how it can help you, please contact us today.

The security of your network and systems is something that’s likely in the back of your mind at all times. You may have read recent news articles about various websites and networks being hacked, passwords being leaked, etc. and probably wonder if your accounts are secure. It’s a good idea to take steps to ensure your accounts are protected, the first being to regularly change your password.

Here’s how you can change the password for your Google account.

How passwords work with Google
As you probably know, Google offers a wide variety of services and chances are high that if you have a Google account, you use more than one service. You’ll also know that you only have to log in once to get access to almost any Google app.

This is because Google uses Single Sign-on (SSO), which is an access property that allows a user to enter a password once and gain access to all related services. This is meant to make the ‘Google experience’ seamless and more efficient.

While this is useful, it can also be a bit of a security issue. If someone was to get a hold of your Google password, they will have access to everything on your Google account. It would, therefore, be a good idea to change your password on a regular basis – at least every three months. Luckily, Google has made it easy to change it, and offers two main ways to do so:

Change your password from Gmail
You can change your password from Gmail by:

1. Logging into Gmail and pressing the cog on the right-hand side of the window (Below the black bar)
2. Selecting Settings from the drop-down menu.
3. Clicking on Accounts which will be on the horizontal menu bar in the window that opens.
4. Clicking Google Account Settings followed by Security from the menu bar that opens.
5. Selecting Change password and entering your current along with your new password.
6. Pressing Change password.

Change your password from the Accounts tab
You can also easily change your password by:

1. Going to accounts.google.com.
2. Logging into your Google account.
3. Clicking on Security from the left-hand menu bar.
4. Selecting Change your password and entering your current along with your new password.
5. Pressing Change password.

When changing your password, it is best to pick a new password, don’t simply add on a character, letter or number to an existing password. If you would like to learn more about the security of your online accounts and how we can help, contact us today.

It’s safe to say that every business has goals, some are more clearly defined than others, but there is always something managers and owners strive for. During operations, you need a way to figure out how and if your business is reaching established goals, this is usually done through the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The question many ask though, is what exactly are KPIs?

Below is an overview of KPIs for business.

Define: KPI
The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a tool used to measure performance of a business or employees. Many businesses use this tool to look at either the overall performance and success of all or specific operations. To many, the terms performance and success are synonyms.

How do KPIs work?
Most modern versions of this tool come in the form of software applications that track specific data and criteria set by managers or owners. The software allows them to compare these criteria, commonly referred to as Score Cards, with the established goals and gauge overall performance or success.

This data, usually collected from spreadsheets, databases or even manual data entry, is displayed to the user in an easy to read format called a dashboard. The dashboard is typically a graph or similar visual display.

A common dashboard is the traffic light. Let’s say for example that a company is measuring the success of their latest marketing campaign. A green light indicates that the expected number of conversions is being met or exceeded, yellow means actual conversions are slightly below normal and red means actual are well below expected.

Benefits of KPIs
The biggest benefit of these tools is that they allow users to easily gauge the performance of a business. Beyond that you can set many KPIs with triggers that will alert you when measurements are poor, or below an expected level. This will allow the company to figure out ways to fix issues before they can cause bigger problems.

Effective KPIs
For many businesses, effective KPIs are tailored to the needs of the business. For the majority of businesses, KPIs need to be: Measurable, achievable, specific and result-oriented. The best way for a business to figure out the which will be the most effective is for the manager or owner to look at the aspects that are most important to a business.

This can be hard to figure out, especially for business owners who often think that everything related to their business is important. A business intelligence expert or IT partner can help define what really matters most and help to implement the tools needed.

If you are looking for a better way to measure the success or performance of your business, please contact us today.

When it comes to mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, there is an abundance of technical terms and jargon thrown around, often confusing average users. A common term seen on many blogs and mobile carriers’ websites in relation to tablets is tethering. If you have an Android tablet, do you know what tethering is?

Here is an overview of tethering. It focuses on Android tablets, but this process be applied to almost any Android device.

What exactly is tethering? You've probably seen this term mentioned in marketing collateral or contracts from your mobile provider, or heard users talk about it. In the most basic sense, tethering is sharing one device's Internet or data connection with another. The most common type of tethering you will see is someone using their smartphone's data connection to surf the Internet on their computer or tablet.

When it comes to tethering on Android devices, there are three main options:

• Portable Wi-Fi hotspot - Turns your device into a Wi-Fi router, allowing it to share its data connection with up to five other devices.
• Bluetooth - Shares the device's data connection with one device over Bluetooth.
• USB - Shares the device's data connection with one device, usually a computer.

A word of warning: As you share connections, the speed of the data will be diminished. Some devices are also data hungry, and if you have a set amount of data each month, you will likely use it up. If you go over the amount, you may be in for a bit of a shock when you see your next bill.

Can I tether on my tablet? Technically all Android tablets and devices can share their connection as long as they can connect to mobile data. The ability to tether actually hinges on the provider of the data connection - some allow it, others don't while some will apply extra charges. Before you try to tether any device, you should check with your device's data/mobile provider to ensure tethering is allowed. As a rule of thumb: If you are already paying for a data connection with a set amount of bandwidth (e.g., 2GB a month), tethering is likely ok.

Because many Android tablets don't have a mobile data connection, most users will likely share their smartphone's connection with their tablet. If you have a smartphone with a data plan, tethering will depend on your phone as the tablet just sees an Internet connection.

How do I share my data connection? If you have a smartphone with a data connection and would like to share it with your tablet, you have a couple of options:

For iPhone/iPad (with a data connection) users

1. Open Settings on your phone.
2. Tap on General followed by Network.
3. Select Personal Hotspot followed by Wi-Fi Password.
4. Set the Wi-Fi password and select Done.
5. Slide the button beside Personal Hotspot from Off to On.
6. On your Android device, open the Wi-Fi settings and look for the network with the iPhone's name. Tap on it and enter the password you set above. It should connect within a few seconds.

For Android users

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Press More under Wireless & Networks (Android 4.2)
3. Tap on Tethering & portable hotspot.
4. Select Set up Wi-Fi hotspot and enter a network name under Network SSID.
5. Enter a password under the Password section and press Save.
6. Select Portable Wi-Fi hotspot and the device will create a wireless network.
7. On your tablet, open the Wi-Fi settings and look for the name you have set in the Network SSID field above. By default it's Android AP.

It would be a good idea to use a password when setting up tethering to ensure that no one will be able to connect to your network without your permission.

If you are looking for more ways to get your Android tablet online or wondering how a tablet can help you, contact us today.

Winston Churchill once said, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” This saying is something almost every company in the tech industry takes to heart. There are very few products that stay the same, software included. Because of this rapid pace of change, there will come a time when older software is no longer supported. Microsoft has made a recent announcement regarding older software that businesses should be aware of.

For businesses running Office 2003 or Microsoft XP SP3, you need to be aware that Microsoft has announced that they will stop supporting these products on April 8, 2014. This could have far reaching consequences for businesses that use these platforms.

What does this mean for my business?
When a company like Microsoft says they will ‘stop supporting’ a product, they mean that they will usually stop providing updates, paid support, security updates and maybe even online based support.

The biggest problem with a move like this hinges on security. If a hacker finds a security exploit on an older system that a developer has stopped supporting, your systems could be open to attack. Beyond that, if you have paid for support, you will no longer have it if the software stops working. These two reasons alone will eventually lead to higher IT costs.

When it comes to programs like Office and XP, there is another downside to this withdrawal of support: It is highly likely that future versions of the software will be incompatible with what you are running. This means you likely won’t be able to open newer versions of Office documents, which could create problems especially if you have clients who use newer versions; you won’t be able to read/edit documents.

What can we do?
The easiest thing to do is to upgrade your software. This may be easier said than done, especially if you have a tighter budget. Luckily, you have more or less one year to upgrade, and in this modern age you have more than one way to update. Possibly the best is to work with an IT partner who can help develop a solution that will fit your business and budget.

If you’re still using Office 2003 or XP SP3 in your office, contact us today to see how we can help.