Adotas featured a great article from our CEO, Ryan Allis. I
think you’ll enjoy this article as it provides wonderful insight on the ups and
downs of building Broadwick and launching and growing our software, IntelliContact. You can read
the article in its entirety here
It seems that everywhere I turn another Web 2.0 application is
popping up and I’ve seen some
acquired by major players in technology. I think it’s great! The internet has allowed
anyone to quickly and easily start a business and the increased competition is
great for the market as a whole as this helps quality and establishes a fair
price. I’m all for the establishment of quality as some of the applications
that we see are of little value and/or a “knock-off” of an existing application. There
are two major things that I believe Web 2.0 companies do well: marketing and customer relations. We should definitely
pay close attention.
I’m especially interested in the way these companies are
marketed – or lack there of. Many of these applications grow in popularity by
word-of-mouth. If you build something that people find useful, that works
properly, and is well designed (in aesthetics and usability) they will tell others.
An important element is listening to the requirements of
your users. Now, that’s not to say that you should implement every suggestion
that they throw your way, but you should always listen to the group as a whole
and consider whether these features should be added. If your clients see that
you’re listening they will continue to voice their opinions, continue to use
your software, and share their experience with others.
It’s also worth mentioning the way these companies create
great relationships with their customers. This is typically achieved as
informal dialog via blogs. I think this is critical and something that all of us
can learn from. This is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit and
considering ways that we can better reach out to our customers in this respect.
Communication with your customers is critical and that’s something that many of
these companies have done quite well.
So is this whole Web 2.0 thing a fad or will this become the
common way of doing business?
I refer to these three as “The Bermuda Triangle” because I’m
completely lost. Many designers use Macs, most designers who have Macs use
Adobe’s software, and most are looking for improved performance from their
machine.
I think it’s awesome that Apple has decided to place Intel’s
chips in their machines. Apple has hyped that they are now two to four times
faster. Woohoo! So now you can work in multiple applications within Adobe’s
Creative Suite 2 and reap the benefits of this speed? Nope. Adobe Creative
Suite 2 will not work properly with the new Macs that contain the Intel chip
and Adobe does not plan to release a new universal version of Creative Suite 2.
So Mac users who wish to benefit from this increased performance and who use
Adobe products must now wait until the release of Creative Suite 3. Creative
cycle of every 18-24 months, we’re looking at late 2006 to early 2007 until the
release of Creative Suite 3. We’re talking about three major players in
technology, could they not work out something?
I was asked by SmartBiz to provide insight on the recent announcement that AOL and Yahoo! will be partnering with Goodmail to charge for a higher level of deliverability and its impact on the future of email marketing. I thought I’d provide my response here as well:
What Will be the Impact on Email Marketing of AOL and Yahoo!’s Use of Goodmail?
Spam is obviously a large obstacle, but is this a step in
the right direction for the future of email marketing? I don’t think so. That’s
not to say this will fail to serve as a short-term solution and we as an email
marketing provider will not look into taking advantage of this on behalf of our
clients, but I don’t see this as a long term solution for increasing
deliverability. I view this more as a band-aid cure. There’s no easy or
immediate solution for the issues with spam, so it’s a viable option for now,
but not the ultimate answer.
By charging senders for assured delivery we are not addressing the problem,
which is spam. AOL and Yahoo obviously have self-interest in this as it
increases their revenues from email, but what about email marketers? What
happens when many ISPs implement a similar strategy? Will only the email
marketers who can afford it receive the highest deliverability rates? This
doesn’t sound like the best solution.
As long as ISPs continue their whitelist programs I don’t see this greatly
impacting the future of email marketing. I believe ISPs will continue to use
whitelists, which will continue to serve as a viable alternative for email
marketers. Ultimately, the future of email marketing lies not in charging for
deliverability, but in finding a solution to further dampen the sending of
unsolicited email.
-Brandon Milford, Director of Marketing, Broadwick Corporation
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for clean, elegant, and
simple applications, but come on del.icio.us, I need more graphic design! So I’ve
taken the liberty to make a few modifications of my own. Here’s the result of a
quick “revision” (please click to enlarge):
The pink highlighting used to show the popularity of
links is annoying. When a link is very popular the highlighting is a dark shade
of pink and you can barely read the text beneath. Here’s a screenshot:
Instead, what if an icon was designated for the popularity
of a link, like this:
It’s a small thing, but very annoying.
I could go on and on breaking down the pages, but overall I just wish the interface was much more visually appealing.
Come on del.icio.us, please make your user interface more
attractive!
Adaptive Path announced yesterday they have sold Measure Map
to Google. Measure Map, a web analytics software for bloggers, is currently in
private beta and will continue its development under Google, with a number of
employees joining the team from Adaptive Path.
Measure Map’s website displays a number of screenshots from
the application and I have to say, it looks pretty slick. I think this is a
great idea; to develop an analytics software just for bloggers. While Google
Analytics is a wonderful application, I’d like to see how Measure Map stacks up.
I signed up for an invitation and I’m anxious to take
Measure Map for a test drive! I’ll be sure to share my thoughts with everyone.
In a recent post Kathy Sierra shares a great perspective on client testimonials.
She explains how most testimonials are focused primarily on your company and
consist of quotes and reviews explaining how great your products and services
are. Instead, she says testimonials should consist of the client explaining how they
improved from using your product or service, “In other words, testimonials as
tutorials.”
I’ve always thought
of testimonials as being pretty straight-forward; the client shares great
feedback on your product or service and this instills confidence in potential
clients. After reading Kathy’s article I am going to re-think the way I
approach testimonials. Thanks Kathy.
Name: Ben Casnocha
Age: 17
Company: Comcate, Inc.
Industry: Software
Location:
Year Established: 2001
Number of Employees: ~6
Website: www.comcate.com
Blogs: blog.comcate.com / ben.casnocha.com
Tell us a little about Comcate and the services you offer:
We deliver hosted software to local governments who are
looking to improve customer service and increase efficiency. For example, a
city government may purchase our software to manage all citizen requests and
inquires. A code enforcement department may purchase our Code Enforcement
software to manage all citations, deliver notices, and so forth.
What inspired you to start your own business:
I wanted to change things and have an impact. Starting a
business that solves problems in the world is one way to do this. Growing up in
the Valley during the dot-com boom certainly didn’t hurt, either. It’s never
been about money, though. It’s about starting something and changing lives.
What has been the greatest challenge in building Comcate:
Developing a scalable sales model. We are trying to blaze a
trail in how local governments procure technology by delivering our software
and services over the internet. By doing this, it keeps our costs low, keeps
our products affordable, and will allow us to scale our sales operation from a
few dozen customers to hundreds of customers.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve made while building
Comcate and what did you learn:
I’ve made too many mistakes to count. I wish I would have
better understood what it takes to do offshore software development right. The
first outsider we hired was a total disaster, and I played a big role in that
decision. I regret not focusing more on internet sales from the beginning. But
hey, we’re all going to make a ton of mistakes. It’s about how we respond to
them and mitigate their effects. That’s been a big lesson.
How was Comcate initially funded:
Friends and family round.
Are there any plans to raise venture capital:
Yes, assuming we hit certain milestones.
What do you believe are the key elements of a successful
entrepreneur:
There are thousands of different lists out there of key
attributes and how-to’s. There’s a top 10 for everything! The one thing I’ve
seen across all successful people in the world is that they have fire in the
belly. You can tell whether someone has this pretty early on. Do they wake up
excited to tackle the challenges of each day? Do they want to have an impact on
their friends, family, colleagues, and customers? Do they have that kind of
infectious energy and ceaseless curiosity for why things are one way and not
the other way?
Do you think it is easier or tougher building a company as a
young entrepreneur in Silicon Valley:
Silicon Valley is home to a lot of
hard working, experienced entrepreneurs, with a ton of intellectual capital in
Berkeley and Stanford. Since I founded a software company, it definitely was
easier. Starting something in any metro area helps since you are exposed to
such a wide range of people, ideas, and institutions.
Tell us a little about Comcate Foundation:
Give a little, get a lot back. I really believe that. I
believe getting passionate about some kind of social / philanthropic cause is,
again, an awesome way to have an impact. Marc Benioff pioneered a kind of
integrated corporate philanthropy in that his firm salesforce.com donates 1% of
their profits, equity, and employee time to the company foundation. I think
this makes a lot of sense from a business perspective, and of course from a
philanthropic perspective. Via the Comcate Foundation, I promote "life
entrepreneurship" to young people, which is essentially applying the
entrepreneurial mindset to everything. Thinking big, starting small. Asking
questions, not finding answers. Trying to change the world.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about
starting their own business:
My first advice would be to listen to someone who’s more
experienced and smarter than me. My second piece of advice would be to read,
and read, and read. There’s a book or article on everything imaginable. The
amount of information that’s accessible to someone starting something is
amazing. The resources are endless. You’ve gotta be a self-starter and find
those resources and acquire that knowledge. Then, surround yourself with people
more able than you, and go for it!
Currently in beta, Google is testing its Google Publication Ads.
Once released businesses will be able to bid on print ads similarly to Google
Adwords. The current periodicals include
Martha Stewart Living, Motor Trend, and Information Week, to name a few.
Advertisers will have the ability to bid on full, half, or quarter page ads.
So what does Google have up their sleeve? With Google Publication Ads
and the recent acquisition
of dMarc,
they’re establishing a push into offline advertising, including print and
radio. Online Media Daily quotes Tim
Armstrong, Google’s Vice President of Advertising and Sales, as stating "The notion is… we’re able to help advertisers break
into other media, such as print, radio, and other areas, which will help the
publishers themselves do better yield management," and went on to say “Our
advertisers and publishing partners want to run their ads everywhere that makes
sense for them, as long as it’s profitable." Is television next? I
certainly think so. Within a couple of years I could see Google establishing
itself as a ‘one stop shop’ for advertisers, where you will be able to bid,
manage and track cost per click, television, print, and radio advertisements. I
guess we’ll have to wait and see…
The announcement that AOL is partnering with Goodmail and
offering CertifiedEmail, a paid solution to guarantee delivery to AOL addresses,
has created media frenzy. There have been reports that you are now forced to
pay if you want to send to AOL and AOL will be phasing out their Standard and Enhanced
Whitelists. This is not the case.
The CertifiedEmail program is simply an option where businesses,
who send a large number of emails to AOL addresses, can now choose to pay for assured
delivery. Any whitelist agreements will continue to be honored by AOL. The bottom
line is that if you had success sending to AOL prior to this deal with Goodmail
you will not be punished if you choose not to pay for CertifiedEmail.
For more information, check out Pivotal Veracity’s article
on this recent announcement.