The Only Screen Capture Tool You Will Ever Need! Dec 27 Jason Moore

I like talking about products and companies that I enjoy using and/or dealing with.  Most of the people who I speak with on a frequent basis grow very weary of hearing about my top favorites (Southwest Airlines, Holiday Inn Express, Bank of America, etc.).

One that I don't talk about enough is Snag-It!  Seriously, how good can a piece of screen capture software be?  Well, I'm almost 100% positive that one can not be better than this.  We use this tool throughout every day when working on our software's design and fixes.

This year, I wanted to see just how far I could push the limits with it.  So, I snapped a few pictures of the kids and started making our Xmas cards.  Snag-It is certainly not designed for this type of work, but it was WORLDS better than trying to learn PhotoShop!  Delighted with the results, I sent a copy over to TechSmith's Chief Evangelist (I LOVE this title!), Betsy Weber and she posted on her blog about it.

If you are ever in need of utilizing a screen capture tool, do yourself a favor and look no furter than TechSmith's Snag-It!

Oh, and here's the finished product!

Something Old, Something New Dec 14 Jason Moore

bigWebDesk is coming up on being an 8 year old product in the marketplace.  When we first started, hosted on-demand applications were practically unheard of.  And most of the ones around then are either completely gone or in the hands of someone different at this point.

Seth Godin's post about The Cowboy Junkies relates directly to where our product is in its current state.

We have had the great fortune to build the bigWebApps community with forward thinking, driven, and (most of all) patient people.  You have all helped us build bWD into what it is.  We can not express what every one of you mean to us.

So where is this going?  There are three main components that are necessary from a development standpoint to continue to provide a valuable service to them.

1. New Features
2. Improving Current Features based on feedback
3. Improving Architecture for speed and reliability

Historically, we have primarily focused on #1 (new features) because they are a ton of fun!  Clients get a kick out of seeing their idea show up in the application; our software designers enjoy determining how it will best suit our clients needs; and engineers always enjoy working on "new" projects as opposed to cleaning up "old" stuff.

The time has come where we must shift our focus from new features to polishing up our current ones.  Nearly all of bigWebDesk's features have been implemented based upon ideas originally created by clients.  After 8 years of this, stress fractures are starting to show.  So we have made the decision to halt any development of brand new features until late Q1 of 2008.  We are directing all design and development efforts at improving the form and functionality of existing tools used by our clients.

What does this mean for you?  Of course, and as always, it means we need your help!

What is not working in the manner that you would like?  What suggestions for improvements (no new features, remember) do you have that will make bigWebDesk work better for you every day?

The current list that we are trying to compile are the little things.  A good example that was pointed out to us by Questeq is on the first step of creating a new ticket for someone else.  Rick and his team pointed out that when they typed in a name to search for, they had to grab the mouse and click "Search" or tab several times to the button.  Based upon their feedback, you can now simply type your search criteria and hit enter to perform the search.  Yes, this probably should have been done this way from the beginning... but it wasn't.  And until we received the feedback from Rick, it did not occur to us.

So let us know what your little irritations are.  Send them to support@bigwebapps.com so a ticket will automatically be created for you.  And if you have already submitted your thoughts, we have not forgotten about you.  Your tickets are in the queue.  We've just been stuck focusing on "new" features. :)

Building Community Pandora Style Dec 10 Jason Moore

I had the absolute pleasure of attending a Pandora 'Town Hall' meeting recently.  My goal in attending was to see how other companies are trying to cultivate a deeper, more personal relationship with their customers.  Tim Westergen (pictured demonstrating Pandora's mobile service through Sprint), founder of Pandora, has been dedicated to traveling the country looking for more music for the Music Genome Project as well as building the relationship with the Pandora community. I was blown away by Tim's relaxed, candid approach in interacting with his customers.

Walking into the small venue above Bongo Java, confusion set in immediately.  My expectations were of a small group  of 15-20 people listening to a business founder making a canned presentation on their business.  There was only one aspect of the session that I had correct: the founder of the company was there.

The size of the room let me know that it also was expecting a similar sized crowd.  But the actual number of people cramming into the room clearly demonstrated a difference in opinion.  My estimation is that there was somewhere between 100-125 people (fire marshal would have been pleased!).  The night began with Tim sheepishly expressing his pleasure with the size of the crowd.  Big kudos to the Bongo Java manager (did not catch his name) who tirelessly worked throughout the session to provide a more comfortable setting for all of the attendees.

Overall, the town hall experience with Pandora was fantastic.  Below are some of the mental notes I took on why this community setup was a successful one.  Great work, Tim!  I look forward to your next visit to Nashville.

Keys to a great community experience

• a passionate founder in the core philosophy behind the business
• users who are empowered to express their opinions and ask any question
• a product that people enjoy using
• an open mind to let the attendees determine the direction of conversation

Components that were proven to not be necessary

• fancy meeting room
• chairs for everyone ;)
• high tech A/V and presentation equipment
• catering
• expensive marketing (Pandora has grown by word of mouth and PR)
• business attire

Pandora Town Hall -- thumbs up! :)

Cutting Corners Dec 04 Jason Moore

There is only one final outcome to cutting corners when it comes to client fulfillment.  That outcome is that you will be exposed, and when you are exposed you will lose your customer's trust.  Once that is gone, what do you have?

This is a video exposing how glasses are handled in some hotels (and these are not bottom of the barrel by any stretch).

Hotels not cleaning glasses (approximately 4 minutes and worth watching whole video)

Communicating Holiday Support Schedule Dec 03 Jason Moore

This time of year can be a tricky one when providing customer support.

Thanksgiving break to some is a one day deal where other companies allow for two days.  On top of that, some employees mail it in on Wednesday early to avoid the bulk of traffic delays.  We then go into a few weeks of normalcy with an immediate sprinkle of distracted minds with the Christmas season approaching.

As a customer it is easy to fall into the "If I'm working, everybody should be" frame of mind.  Is this the correct approach?  Shouldn't we give a little leeway so those who are assisting us throughout the year can have a relaxing break?  Will this not help them come back refreshed and ready to get back to providing excellent service for us?

But I NEED (not want) service now.  What do I do?

This is a legitimate concern, especially for small companies who do not have the resources to fully man an "on-call" setup.  Is it fair to your clients to ask them to wait until your holiday is over?

Like most open-ended questions, the best answer probably falls somewhere in the gray area between yes and no.

With mobile technologies, most companies can respond in some manner to a true emergency for their clients.  The operative word there is "true."  Checking email and/or voice mail during a holiday season to monitor for a true emergency is a good policy.  And most importantly, be upfront on how customer support will be handled during these times.

By using good judgment on what NEEDS (not wants) to be responded to, your support team can find a positive balance of celebrating/relaxing with friends and family while providing ample service.

Enjoy your holidays!