Socialcast As A Tool To Bring Groups Closer
August 26, 2010
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Schulz Consulting is one of the founding members of the 90 Minds Consulting Group. This is a group of 27 Sage Consulting Firms, comprising 415 employees located in 17 different states.
Members of the group initially met at the Sage conferences. Over time we noticed that we’d be sharing a lot of tips and tricks via email. Suddenly what used to be an email to three people had 15 CC: email addresses.
Realizing that this wasn’t a scaleable solution we moved to Yahoo Groups (which we still are using) to automate group emails. Instead of having to be sure that we “reply all” to group messages — Yahoo Groups (free) manages our group and provides one email adress for all members to mail.
In return Yahoo emails out the message to all group members. Or members can elect to read the messages on the web.
This has worked – and continues to work – pretty well for technical emergencies where one of our 27 member companies has a question about an error message.
Where we start to bog down as a group is in the chit chat and off-topic messages. Each month we’re exceeding over 500 messages sent and for individual members that becomes a burden to wade through when all they may want is to see technical tips.
So what we’re now looking at is a free service from Socialcast that is similar in layout to Facebook.
Messaging in Socialcast is private. We are able to form groups for different topics depending upon member (sales, technical, etc).
What’s better about Socialcast is that it also:
Integrates a profile so that any of our 415 individuals can know more about a member they may never have met. This includes phone number, messages the member has sent, a list of specific skills (you can add your own fields – and they are all searchable):
Better applications – while similar services also offered mobile applications – those offered by Socialcast seem to allow for reading threaded messaging with a little less effort. There are also integrations to Microsoft Outlook and Sharepoint for those old school members who don’t yet have smartphones (iPhone, BlackBerry clients are available).
Sadly there’s no Android application (you have to use a mobile optimized web page for Android) – however Socialcast hints that something should be here by the end of 2010.
Socialcast also lets you import almost any of your Social Media feeds (Twitter, Facebook Digg, Flickr) to any of your streams. What I use this for is to setup the group’s technology feed so that any of the items I share in Google Reader go right to the specific group that hosts general technology tips.
By making a separate tech feeds group in Socialcast I don’t over-share with people who may join the group only to learn about the latest technical issues with Sage ERP.
Here’s what the feed setup looks like:
We’re still in the evaluation stage for whether Socialcast will replace our group’s email delivery. Some of the push back we’ve received is that people don’t want “another place to check” or another login and password to remember . The beauty of the email delivery that we were used to is that there was none of the extra place to check or login. Naturally the downside to email is that if you become active enough you start to drown in messages — not all of which are relevant to your interests.
For more information on Socialcast — http://www.socialcast.com
Costs:
Free for unlimited users
Costs start at $299/mo for groups of up to 100 and add primarily support and customization services.
Paperless Office file list for Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200
June 2, 2009
Here’s a great summary that shows the names of the system files which hold “behind the scenes” information about MAS 90 and MAS 200 Paperless Office.
This information can be useful in diagnosing system level problems or in restoring data files from a backup should you experience problems with Paperless Office.
WARNING: Do not make any changes to these files unless you know what you are doing. Consult a qualified Sage Business Partner for assistance. This information is believed accurate at the time of publication. Use at your own risk. Schulz Consulting takes no responsibility for damage that you may do to your data files.
Seesmic updates their Twitter client to include Facebook integration
May 2, 2009
It can be confusing enough to understand exactly how Twitter and Facebook work without also having to use their sometimes painfully slow web interface.
Thankfully there are a number of third party software programs available that let you manage your Twitter and Facebook accounts (view, post) from the desktop without ever having to log into the web.
Seesmic Desktop is one such standalone program and the developers have just added Facebook integration to what is already a great desktop Twitter client. I love Seesmic because it runs on Adobe Air which means the same program can be used on either Windows or Mac. The interface is nice and clean and free of a lot of icons that perform features I might never use.
The real power of Twitter is in search. And the Seesmic Desktop allows you to create as many searches as you like and save all of them off to the side. You can optionally open separate windows for each search and view the results as they update in real time. This type of monitoring is helpful for when you might want to monitor Twitter feeds for your company name, product or other important topics.
Sadly missing from Seesmic is any type of Twitscoop integration. This handy site shows the top trending topics in Twitter and is remarkably accurate at picking up on breaking news. While you can “Like” friends Facebook posts – you’ll have to wait for a future release to comment on them.
Seesmic Desktop is still a preview which means that it’s undergoing further testing before full release. To download a copy, follow the link below.
Bloggers wanted – no pay, lousy hours, invaluable experience
March 27, 2009
First, I’m hopeful my competition is too lazy to find this post. You may not believe me when you read this – but it’s my secret marketing weapon. And it can become yours too – with just a little effort.
This really is a job posting. It’s a non-paying job — but it’s a job.
The only blog that I write for every morning from 4:30 to 7:30am (and often during the day) is looking for some volunteer writers.
What the hell does this have to do with Sage or accounting software?
- How many of you have web sites?
- How many of you update them every day?
- How many of you publish email newsletters?
Uh-oh — I don’t see many hands up on the last two questions….
If you’re in marketing, sales or just technical support — trust me when I tell you that the ability to write and publish online is THE skill for the coming years.
You don’t even have to write WELL – you just have to DO IT.
A huge (almost 100%) of your competition doesn’t do this because they never get started…..well, they get started — with excuses….lame stuff like – I don’t know how or what to write.. .or. I can’t spell/type/compose a sentence.
I was a “C student” at best in English. It was the subject I hated with a passion. Still do. Now it’s my most useful marketing tool ever.
If you’re thinking about how to get started writing/blogging — the web site I write for has an excellent opportunity to get your feet wet and learn how it all happens.
YOU have to make the effort though.
You’ll learn how to write stories, use WordPress, edit yourself, come up with interesting topics (if you think writing “how to select accounting software” twice a month is an interesting topic to most customers – you’re dead wrong)
Sure, the economy sucks and clients suck and business sucks and employees suck.
Perfect time for you to learn a new skill
Interested? Read more at the following:
http://www.geardiary.com/2009/03/27/help-wanted-gear-diary-contributors/
Follow Sage Insights 2009 on Twitter
March 11, 2009
Sage North America has created an official Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/insights09) for their upcoming Insights 2009 reseller conference held May 11-14, 2009 in Nashville TN.
Twitter is a short messaging (maximum of 140 characters) service that allows users to casually communicate with each other – usually in the form of brief updates that tell what the user is doing.
The short message feature is ideal for conferences where it’s often difficult to find people or learn about newly added sessions other users recommend attending.
Search Twitter for Insights 2009 Conference News
If you’re not on Twitter (which is free) – you can still read the messages coming from the conference. There are two methods for doing this – and neither require that you create an account.
The best way to follow the conference is by using this #insights09 Twitter Search link.
The second way you can follow conference news is by viewing the official Sage Insights Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/insights09
Wayne Schulz on Twitter
Schulz Consulting owner Wayne Schulz is on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mas90guru
via: 90 Minds
Twitter hash tag for Insights 2009 is #insights09
March 9, 2009
If you’re attending the Sage Insights 2009 conference in Nashville TN – or just are interested in what is going on during the conference – be sure to check out Twitter.
Hall Web Services has proposed the official “hash tag” of Sage Insights 2009 be #insights09.
A hash tag is nothing more than a short keyword which is preceeded by the # symbol so as to become unique. During large conferences a number of users agree upon a common tag which enables those attending to easily search Twitter messages and see what is happening at the conference.
Those users “Twittering” during the conference are encouraged to use this tag in all of their messages for easier following by those looking to keep up on the conference.
If you’re not a user of Twitter – you still can follow the messages. Simply log into http://search.twitter.com and perform a search for #insights09.
For an explanation of what Twitter is – see this excellent video.
To join Twitter (completely free) – visit http://www.twitter.com and you can view Wayne Schulz’s Twitter stream by following @mas90guru in Twitter.
Search Twitter for all messages related to Sage’s Insights 2009
Fortis document imaging web seminar Friday January 9
January 9, 2009
Is one of your goals for 2009 to get rid of paper? The prediction of the paperless society has been hovering for years yet never seems for most of us to get much closer to reality.
WestBrook Technologies is hosting an online web seminar this Friday January 9 at 11am EST and 2pm EST that will show their innovative Fortis document management software.
We’ve worked with Westbrook Techologies previously supporting their accounting system. And their dedication to the document management industry is impressive – especially the fact that they use all of their own software and integrate it directly to Sage MAS 90 for processing of their journals and registers.
Document Imaging, OCR and MAS 90
Although the integration to Sage MAS 90 isn’t a native one (most of the journals and registers are printed to an imaging printer similar to how you’d print a PDF) – there’s never been a journal or register that this client has not been able to locate. It’s also impressive to see the system by which they store their source documents – all paperless.
Their Fortis Document Imaging is a next step solution for someone looking to take their entire company paperless.
For this web seminar they’ve paired with Paradatec who will demonstrate their PROSAIR-AIDA OCR software which integrates to Fortis for a complete solution offering:
- Intelligently read and convert documents to understandable text
- Automatically file documents into folders based on content and rules.
Register for Westbrook Technologies Fortis Document Imaging Web Seminar
Two sessions are being offered:
Register for 1/9/09 Morning Session – 11 am EST
Register for 1/9/09 Afternoon Session – 2 pm EST
PhoneTag transcribes your voicemail and emails the results
November 21, 2008
Do you receive many voice mails during the day? If you’re like me you often receive voice mail during times when you may be in a meeting or other location where calling in and listening to a lengthy recording is not convenient.
For the last month I’ve been using a service called PhoneTag. When I receive a voice message my system (Gotvmail) automatically sends a copy (WAV or MP3) to a special address that I’m assigned at PhoneTag.
Then the service has my voice message transcribed and sent to me via email. This usually occurs within 5 minutes of the voice message being left.
Transcription isn’t perfect. People’s names can be tricky to transcribe. Whenever there is a word the system doesn’t understand it will put a (??) next to the word so you know that it may not be correct.
The big benefit of PhoneTag is that you can now read all of your voicemail instead of having to find a quiet place to call into your mail and listen to messages. In many instances this lets me know at a glance of my iPhone or BlackBerry Bold screen whether I need to excuse myself from a client apointment to return an emergency phone call or whether it’s only a routine message.
PhoneTag costs $9.95 per month for 40 transcribed messages (.25 per message overage fee). If you need more they offer an unlimited plan for $29.95 per month. Those who prefer to pay as they go can elect to pay a flat .35 per message transcribed.
I’ve found PhoneTag to be indispensable and a great tool for helping me manage my voice mail when I’m on the road.
Link: PhoneTag
Schulz Consulting office manager makes the front page of Gizmodo
October 31, 2008
Some of you know that Wayne Schulz is an active team member over at web site Geardiary.com where he reviews and writes about technology, deals and the occasional offbeat article.
Last night Google added free outgoing SMS text messaging to their Gmail Chat service. Wayne did a story on that over at Geardiary. He used the image of a contact record for Pat (our office manager) in this short news article.
Gizmodo, a popular gadget blog with over 6 million monthly readers worldwide, picked up the image from the article – turning Pat into a mini-celebrity of sorts.
The autograph line starts by the coffee machine this morning…
How to read the new Sage MAS90 Discussion Forums via RSS
October 28, 2008
One of the best new features of the Sage MAS90 Discussion forum is the ability to read all of the messages in an abbreviated format known as RSS.
Click on the image to the left to see an example of my RSS feeds (as shown in Google Reader) that I use to keep up with technology. Notice that only the headlines of each article are shown.
RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication. In it’s most basic form what it means is that instead of reading the lengthy articles (message posts) you can use a special type of software to read the headlines. When you find a headline that is of interest you can click to read the entire article. (Read more about RSS at Wikipedia)
Fortunately you don’t even need to load any special software (although there are dedicated software RSS feed readers). Google has a free reader that is very popular both because it is simple to use and can be accessed via any web browser.
To setup your Google Reader account:
- Log into the Google site via http://www.google.com/reader.
- If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll be prompted to create one.
- Once you’ve created a Google account, click on any of the links below (I’d recommend adding them all) to have the RSS feeds from the new Sage Software MAS 90 Discussion Forum automatically added to your Google Reader.
A list of the Sage MAS 90 RSS feeds are as follows:
(After you’ve setup Google Reader – clicking any of the links below will add them to your feeds so they can be read at any time)
Distribution, Manufacturing & Internet Modules
Customer Relationship Management
Unique Business Challenges and General Discussion
Personalization, Customization & Productivity Tools
Technical and Installation Discussions
Time Tracking & Job Costing Modules
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Custom SearchAbout Schulz Consulting, LLC
We are a Glastonbury CT consulting firm specializing in Sage MAS90, MAS200 and related software (FRX, Crystal Reports, Starship, F9, SQL Mirroring, etc).
We provide nationwide consulting services via on-site, telephone or remote connection. Our clients range in size from start-up to $200 million and are located as far away as Alaska, Hawaii, California, Florida, Texas, Montana, Michigan and many other states.
Since 1986 we've provided support for all versions of Sage MAS 90 or MAS 200 under an unlimited client support agreement.
You may contact us via email or review our full support agreement here.
Our phone number is 860-657-8544
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