May 18th, 2012
Our recent survey of pharma companies revealed that 58 percent have dedicated digital marketing groups. I think it’s safe to assume at this point that the digital revolution is real and is only going to continue to wield enormous influence over the way in which companies conduct business, particularly marketing’s ability to communicate with physicians, patients and other stakeholders. In the coming decade, the percentage of companies formally codifying their e-Marketing efforts with dedicated teams will almost certainly grow as they realize the efficiencies to be had from such internal reorientation.
The structures of the groups we surveyed ran the gamut from globally centralized to support teams situated under brand managers. There are literally as many ways to internally organize digital marketing groups as there are companies. But what is the right way, or ways? Where should pharma companies house their social media and digital marketing groups? I admit the premise for this blog post would seem to be an answer without a question. Digital marketing lives in the marketing department. There is no housing dilemma. So what’s the problem?
Well, it turns out that only 66 percent of those surveyed companies with dedicated e-Marketing groups house them under marketing. The project team was surprised, as I’m guessing some of you may be. The other locations for e-Marketing included global commercial operations, eAnalytics, public affairs and most prominently, corporate communications. The fact that companies are housing e-Marketing in departments other than marketing could be an encouraging sign for the digital evangelists out there who believe that digital’s destiny is to revolutionize the way that pharma companies do business throughout drug lifecycles and from the bottom of company org charts all the way to the C-suite.
Figure 1: Survey results showing the functions that house dedicated e-Marketing groups (click detail)
Some companies find advantages in locating these groups away from marketing. As the figure above shows, roughly a third of e-Marketing teams sit within corporate communications, commercial operations, or eAnalytics. These groups are often the ones sitting at the forefront of digital business, not only serving brand team needs, but also clinical groups’ needs and medical teams’ needs. Digital communication can play a role in many other ways — patient recruitment, general disease awareness and patient education, for example. For groups playing a larger role in overall digital corporate communications and working with other functions beyond marketing, non-traditional alignments particularly make sense. These alignments do not, however, prevent these teams from working with brand teams to develop and deliver digital marketing initiatives.
There are still advantages for digital marketing groups that do sit under the formal marketing umbrella. They have a much more direct line of influence on brand communication strategy and as a result, a more pronounced impact on overall brand marketing. Beyond that, brands with their own dedicated group don’t have to rely on a centralized (read: distant) group to develop or execute campaigns. Nor do they have to rely as heavily on outsourcing.
I would argue that virtually every company should formally dedicate resources to e-Marketing (rather than laying it at the feet of existing groups and/or FTEs). But each company ought to assess its understanding of — and expectations for — digital communications before choosing where to house this function so as to align those expectations with its parent department’s ability to deliver on those expectations.
Published May 17, 2012
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May 18th, 2012
By DONNIE JOHNSTON
IT IS finally here—Facebook Friday.
To some, it is bigger than Super Bowl Sunday, a real chance to get rich.
The initial public offering of Facebook stock is upon us. Today, the company that has put the average person in the public eye becomes public itself.
I had a relative call the other night all excited because he was going to get in on Facebook’s ground floor. He was surprised that I was less than enthusiastic.
In this day and age, no one knows if the stock will soar or flounder. It is a crapshoot at best.
Still, there are those who are as excited as they were when they were 6 and thought they heard Santa sliding down the chimney on Christmas Eve.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, just might be riding in on a sleigh pulled by reindeer and carrying a bag of financial goodies. Then again, he might not.
While those who buy stock today (if you can get it) may or may not benefit from the fact that Facebook is going public, Zuckerberg surely will. It is estimated that he will receive about $1.57 billion for the shares he sells while retaining 57 percent of the company.
And so will the other private shareholders who decided Wednesday to take the money and run, dumping 25 percent more stock into the IPO.
But what about the publicly traded shares? How will they fare?
Google sold for $85 a share at its IPO back in 2004 (before the economy slumped) and is now over $600 a share. That’s almost an eight-fold rise.
Other stock offerings haven’t fared so well. When the federal government began reselling shares of General Motors two years ago, they went for about $36. Now, even with GM making record profits, shares are at $22.
Of course, GM had been in dire financial straits. Facebook has always been profitable.
There are a great many things to consider when buying Facebook shares, not the least of which is the future of Internet technology. Twitter is already taking some of the gusto away from Facebook, and who knows what is next?
In the 1980s, for example, Beta was a much better video format than VHS, but VHS won out. Now,
25 years later, both formats are antiquated.
What I’m getting at here is that anything that has to do with technology is not a sure bet, especially long term. Things change too quickly. Science is too unpredictable.
Add to that the fact that GM announced this week that it is pulling its advertising from Facebook because nobody ever looks at the ads. I don’t. I look at my children’s’ pictures and that’s about it. I see enough ads in the newspaper, on radio and on television.
I don’t need to look for more.
Is there some other computer-savvy college student out there devising a better way for friends and family to communicate over the Internet?
Those who buy shares in Facebook are betting there is not. Given the events of the past 20 years, that is not a secure bet, because somebody always seems to be coming up with a better way of doing everything.
Someone not long ago compared Facebook with the CB radio craze of the late 1970s. It is a bit more sophisticated than that, but any communication company’s future is uncertain in this ever-changing world of technology.
Companies such as Microsoft and Apple have remained successful because they have come up with many new and innovative products over time.
Facebook, in its present context, has only one product to offer—communication between friends, family and some businesses. Having all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea.
Facebook at $38 a share may be a bargain, but I’m not buying. In the first place, I don’t have any faith in the stock market anymore. In the second place,
I do have faith in American ingenuity and am not convinced that Facebook’s technology won’t be antiquated in a decade. I’ve seen too may other “sure-deal” formats fall by the wayside.
Facebook Friday! Will it be a boom or a bust?
Only time—and new technology—will tell.
Donnie Johnston:
djohnston@freelancestar.com
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May 15th, 2012
 A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing my first article published on Content Marketing Institute. Here is a link to the original article “5 Tips for Finding Your Perfect B2B Content Partner.” I put this together because things are changing so rapidly in regards to content becoming a priority, that perhaps this advice might be timely for companies looking to embark upon or improve content marketing effectiveness? The article is copied below for easy reference.
I hope it’s useful and please, do let me know what you think?
By the way, if you like what we write about, we share our blogs and other interesting industry blogs/articles that may be of interest to you on our Facebook page, so why not give us a “like”?
Andrea Edwards
Managing Director
SAJE
5 Tips for Identifying Your Perfect B2B Content Partner
By Andrea Edwards
For the past six or so years, I’ve worked exclusively as a business writing partner with some great companies in the Asia Pacific region. My customers span a variety of sectors, with a focus on IT, digital media, and professional services. It’s a lot of fun, wonderfully challenging, a great professional evolution, and I am very passionate about it — it’s all I want to do.
The most important lesson I’ve learned so far is that a successful writing partnership requires a deep level of intimacy with customers. A professional writer no longer just delivers static brochures or web content. Writers today are ghost writing blogs, conducting executive interviews, creating more personal customer success stories, and more. As such, when I work with my customers, I need:
- To understand how they speak and think
- To challenge them on some of their ideas to build out strong value arguments
- To make them work hard with me to find the story, because their idea may form a great starting point, but it might not be compelling enough to get their readers to act
- To get them to stand back and ask the question: Will my audience be interested in this? Does it address their pain points?
- And sometimes I need to educate them, because what they think is important might not be that interesting to their customers. It can be sensitive stuff.
Unless both parties understand and appreciate the essential role that great chemistry and mutual respect plays, it can be tough to create the perfect partnership between content provider and client.
Content is a human business, and sometimes you just don’t gel with every potential business partner. Very rarely I have experienced a personality clash — those situations where you meet someone and there’s tension for no apparent reason. It happens, right?
But more often than not, it comes down to a clash of working styles. I want my customers to stand out and be amazing. However, when I work with people who have an intrinsically conservative style (i.e., preferring to use formal language), are very set in their ways, or are not open to new ideas and ways to succeed, I sometimes find it to be a challenge to work together successfully. Conversely, if my writing style isn’t conservative enough for a particular industry or person (which is ok, too), our partnership just isn’t going to be a good strategic fit.
Based on this, it occurred to me that some guidance on how to identify the perfect content partner for you and your business could be helpful. With everyone claiming content to be the new “king of marketing”, it has become a priority; but to really win, you need to acknowledge the “queen of marketing” — context, and its related considerations.
Content and context are now firmly elevated to a strategic position in marketing (with some forward-thinking companies creating the role of CCO to reflect this), so here are five tips to help you identify a great writing or content partner that can deliver both content and context:
- Look for good personal chemistry. It is vital to get on with your writing partners. Much of today’s written output will require you to work very closely together — getting inside each other’s minds, and challenging each other, when appropriate. You want to work with writers who can bring out the best in you and your business. Are they going to be a pleasure to work with? Are they capable of capturing your spirit or your company’s essence? Are they curious and intelligent? Are they open and inspired? If you want some insight about these considerations right from the start, consider asking potential new content partners to submit a writing test: Ask them to interview you on any subject you are both familiar with, and see how they proceed, as well as what they produce (both aspects are important). Sometimes you’ll just know if someone is right or wrong, but if you’re in the middle, or want to be sure, a writing test can be a good tactic.
- Find out where their passions lie. Look for someone who is a passionate business storyteller, excited about your company, and can reflect your message and passion in what they produce. It’s is one of those things that should be very obvious when you meet someone, but there can be talented content professionals whose passion is understated, so it’s best to rely on examples of your writers’ work, rather than personal impressions, when evaluating passion. Read their testimonials, ask for feedback from members of their network, and make sure their style and natural voice indicates that they would be a good fit for your team. You can also look at their broader body of work — the blogs they write (on any topic), other published articles, cross-published blogs, the way they use social media, etc., to get an idea of what they are passionate about. If they are able to express their passion in these areas, the chances are they have learnt some valuable lessons your business will benefit from.
- Find a strategic marketing thinker. Work with a content partner who understands the overarching marketing and messaging strategies of your company, and understands how important this is to everything you are trying to achieve as a business. The ultimate goal is to have this messaging subtly wrapped into all content developed. For example, I’ve been working with a young and up-coming IT monitoring company, NetGain Systems. One of their key messages is they provide reassurance to customers by tracking IT performance 24×7 – it’s always on, in the background, tracking for problems and sending alerts, which means customers don’t have to worry about IT performance and can get on with more strategic work. Understanding this message, I interviewed one of their customers and shaped the interview to get the CIO to talk about the key message in his own words. He admitted he sleeps better – a powerful endorsement, especially for the IT monitoring industry. So make sure your potential writer knows what your core messages are, and has strong ideas for helping them come through in their writing. Writing professionals who understand the messaging dimension of business are worth their weight in gold and will be able to create even more powerful content for you.
- Look for a proactive professional. You need someone who has great ideas and is familiar with the emerging issues in your industry that they can develop stories around. The best sign you’ve found a great writing partner? The very first time you meet, they’ll come up with a bunch of great ideas for stories — and this is before they have been briefed about your business and goals. A great writer can see story opportunities everywhere, and while they may not be on the money with every idea initially, you know they will be once they’re in. A pro-active and creative professional will be constantly on the pulse with new ideas, angles and approaches. They will feed your content channel months in advance, as well as alert you to topical news that must be acted on immediately. In an always-on world, this is an essential quality and means you can be reassured the quality of your content is taken care of.
- Watch out for “yes” people. If you want to do something amazing, don’t work with writers who will blindly follow your lead and say yes to every idea. Your writing partner should be free to challenge you every step of the way, and everything they produce should exceed your expectations. Find people who listen to what you want, but are capable of surpassing it – look for people who can deliver the wow factor. If they can wow you, they can wow your customers and prospects. The key skill your writer must demonstrate is an understanding of both your company’s goals AND what is important to the prospects the information is intended for. A yes person will only see your company’s goals. How do you find them? Look for people who have serious experience and credibility behind them. They may be a little more expensive, but they will be worth every cent. However, don’t overlook talented and eager new writers – both offer great skills in the content mix.
A great writer is a valuable partner that can reap big rewards for your business — as long as you choose the right one, you’ll get compelling content and experience a natural synergy that is sure to lead to great results.
I hope this helps. If you have any additional ideas for finding the right content partner, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Bio:
Andrea has worked in communications all over the globe for 20 years, and her focus now is to follow her passion – writing. A gifted communicator, strategist, writer and blogger, Andrea is MD of SAJE, a digital communications agency, and The Writers Shop – a regional collaboration between the best writers in Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore since 2003, follow her on Twitter @sajeideas, Facebook, LinkedIn, or her blog.
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May 15th, 2012
15 May, 12
Telephonics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF), announced today that the U.S. Navy conducted an exercise to demonstrate several Anti Surface Warfare concepts of operation using an MH-60S (Sierra) helicopter in conjunction with a Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The exercise included the use of Telephonics’ multi-mode, maritime surveillance radar on the MH-60S.
The demonstration took place at the Chesapeake, MD Test Range, and it highlighted the ability of the radar to rapidly perform wide-area surveillance and to automatically detect and track surface contacts over wide areas. Provided with a surface surveillance picture, the crew of the MH-60S is able to classify targets of interest using the high resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imagery from the radar and to direct the Fire Scout to specific contacts of interest for identification with its on-board electro-optic/infra-red (EO/IR) sensor.
These EO/IR images were also linked back to the Sierra via an L-3 Communication Systems West VORTEX data link providing them with valuable tactical situational awareness. Additionally, the MH-60S linked both radar information (Tracks, ISAR, and SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imagery) and EO/IR full motion video, again via the VORTEX data link, to the Patuxent River Surface/Aviation Interoperability Laboratory (SAIL).
The exercise also demonstrated the ability of the U.S. Navy with industry partners; Telephonics, Lockheed Martin, and L-3 Communications to go from concept to prototyping to demonstration of a seamless congruence of complex technologies in months not years. The U.S. Navy provided its Fire Scout asset, and Lockheed Martin coordinated the industry team to install equipment on board the MH-60S, including the Telephonics radar and the L-3 VORTEX data link installed on both the MH-60 Sierra and MQ-8B Fire Scout. All data coming from Fire Scout was transmitted and received via the L-3 data link.
About Telephonics
Telephonics’ high-technology engineering and manufacturing capabilities provide integrated information, communication and sensor system solutions to military and commercial markets worldwide. Telephonics specializes in aircraft intercommunication systems, wireless communication systems, radars, identification friend or foe products, integrated security systems, air traffic management systems, aerospace electronics, and the performance of threat and radar system analyses.
About Griffon Corporation
Griffon Corporation (the “Company” or “Griffon”), headquartered in New York, N.Y., is a diversified management and holding company that conducts business through wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company oversees the operations of its subsidiaries, allocates resources among them and manages their capital structures. The Company provides direction and assistance to its subsidiaries in connection with acquisition and growth opportunities as well as in connection with divestitures. Griffon also seeks out, evaluates and, when appropriate, will acquire additional businesses that offer potentially attractive returns on capital to further diversify itself.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2011 were $46.5 billion.
About L-3 Communications
L-3 Communication Systems-West is a leader in communications systems for high-performance intelligence collection, imagery processing and satellite communications for Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies. The company provides high-data rate, wideband, secure, real-time communications systems for surveillance, reconnaissance and other airborne intelligence collection systems. To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company’s web site at www.L-3com.com/CSW.
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May 12th, 2012
http://www.reit.com Boston Properties’ (NYSE: BXP) senior vice president and general counsel Frank Burt says it’s important to communicate a company’s sustainability work to a number of constituents, including shareholders, tenants and employees.
Burt spoke with REIT.com during the 2012 NAREIT Leader in the Light Working Forum in Dallas last month. He said the office REIT believes in transparency when it comes to letting others know the types of sustainability efforts the company is involved in.
“What we’ve been doing over the course of the last couple of years is working on making sure that the practices we’ve been developing down in the field get communicated across the entire company in different regions,” he said. “So, when we find something that’s very effective, we’re able to implement it across our portfolio.”
Additionally, Burt said Boston Properties also works to communicate those measures to investors and tenants so that they are aware of what particular initiatives the company is working on.
“We also focus on trying to deliver expenses for our tenants that are reasonable so that we can attract and retain new tenants. These strategies align quite well with the efficiencies we’ve seen in the sustainability field,” Burt noted.
He the initiatives that the company has been taking part in over the years are almost identical to some of the sustainability practices currently being developed.
Boston Properties has a detailed sustainability section highlighted on its website. Burt said that section of the website grew out of various conversations during the past three years with investors who were interested in finding out more about sustainability initiatives that the company was taking part in.
“We pulled together the information, and it’s been a tremendous positive benefit to us to be able to communicate this to a larger audience. I think other companies can benefit from this as well, so I think you’ll see more in the future,” Burt said.
Burt said that in addition to make simpler changes like lighting retrofits, he said companies are now developing a more systematic approach to sustainability.
He also said that in the particular markets Boston Properties operate in, it’s important to keep ahead of regulations and know what they are doing.
“We try to be engaged with the decision makers so that there are no surprises,” Burt pointed out.
By Matt Bechard
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May 12th, 2012
Xi, workers are vulnerable in December 25, 2011 10 : 27Xievening Yuan Yue I want to comment ( 54)size :T T broadcast to Tencent micro-blog Wang Chengxi painted a few days ago, Beijing a 23 year old female white-collar due to acute gastric ulcer death from overwork ,had also had reluctantly overtime micro-blog shocked network .
Work overtime for a long time ,stay up all night ,every night after dinner at 9 …… Many young people from partly hidden and partly visible to see his shadow ,working and living pressure topic once again aroused our hearts resonance .
Us young white-collar workers ,is in with a kind of what kind of state work and life ?If you feel satisfied and happy ?The reporter investigates discovery ,white-collar life and not imaginary light bright ,fresh flavor, huge intangible pressure squeeze them .
Too much work is Phoenix man no time to date in 29 year oldZhang has an enviable job ,in a well-known information and communication company Xi branch to do business in charge, the annual salary of 300000 .
Nice words, Xiao Zhang is a be worthy of the name Phoenix man ,from the county was admitted to university ,to find a job talent showing itself for candidates to the company. In Xi ,also had a house and a car .
However now talking about life ,Zhang with the two most common words are tired ,lonely .Often the computer at his desk ,his eyes are high myopia ,also suffering from cervical spine disease .
9 in the morning to go to work, the night of ten work until one or two ,Monday to Friday every day ,even weekends are usually added the day classes . His colleagues and I like the night before ,dragged his exhausted body home ,too tired even to hyperactivity .
No strength ,onto the bed and fell asleep .Dry our job well, is Superman !He himself said, looking for a boyfriend to find this ,more practical Oh ,is it right? Or worry about him from carrying girlfriend went blind play ,because he does not have the time nor energy .
When you are not working ,they feel is empty ,lonely .Xiao Zhang told reporters ,because the job is too busy ,no time to go shopping ,no party ,no time to campaign, holidays ,usually house at home, playing games ,watching movies .
Now 29 ,he still don ,he said ,before the girlfriend just because they don accompany her finally broke up, now often gave him, he doesn dating ,love .Too much pressure female white-collar look strong spirit serious overdraft Lau is a family business company bone dry ,work pressure and make her spirit serious overdraft .
When working around business contacts ,work to please customers to eat ,compensate face ,said even his listened to feel disgusting flattery, also inevitably drink .When a person feels even smile laugh does not come out ,do not want to talk to others ,to oneself up .
She said ,don work hard for what ,life is very empty and helpless, work colleagues on the surface of good, in fact because of competing interests ,no space ,the students also fail before contact ,even around to people who do not speak ,what to do to myself the .
I work pretend to be optimistic ,strong ,long-term pressure to make every night dreaming are running the business ,complete the task ,but also often awakened from a dream ,suffering a nervous breakdown .
According to the WHO global survey ,75% of peoplein the sub-health state ,the white-collar female sub-health ratio is high above 85% .The reporter investigates discovery ,white-collar prevalent adverse physical health problems ,low back pain ,neck or back pain ,sleep problems ,headache and dizziness ,stomach pain and indigestion and other physiological symptoms has become the most common office white-collar health puzzle .
The law of life is not a Monday hours of sport in no time at all random reporter interviewed 20 youngwhite-collar workers ,7 peoplesaid very stressful ,10saidstressful ,only 3 said less pressure .
6 often work overtime for more than 3 hours ,8 peopleoften work overtime 2 hours.The pressure of the white-collar workers are engaged in the occupation is more :media workers ,sales personnel ,finance ,bank employees ,computer occupation .
Between them ,the reporters found few generalities, irregular life ,lack of exercise ,holidays like when indoorsman indoorswoman .Working in a foreign company Mr. song says frankly, oneself already can remember the last time doing sports is what time .
He said ,before the University was the varsity football team when ,after work ,buried in work ,not easy to break ,and sleep at home . I know the work pressure ,should do more exercise conditioning ,relax ,last year I also do a fitness card ,I was really too busy ,rest at home also often work overtime, Zhou Lian exercises for one hour in no time at all ,one year card only to exercise one second ,the rest is to me when I take a bath .
In fact, I am a very lively person ,but the work is too busy ,let alone fitness ,is a day to eat is a hope .In the design of the MS Ho said ,stomach and headache medicine is she Bao Libi indispensable, long-term life not the rule that age is not her frail ,dropped the old habit .
The psychological expert life again heavy forget yourself from a certain sense ,many young people ,are 7workloss in premature aging ,as a non-stop operation and lack of maintenance machine .
Shaanxi Normal University Psychological Health Education Research Center Director Chen Qingping said ,more fierce competition ,then life is heavy, also cannot forget to treat their own . In the social competition is so fierce today ,white-collar workers death from overwork tragedy is not uncommon ,died last year PwC 25 years oldfemale master is the same .
Chen Qingping said ,in order to live a better life ,in health for working ,with excessive fatigue to win the reality of life ,this is a kind of social reality .Workplace young people to become dead ,with the youth to bet tomorrow .
But the fight ends, mostly for livelihoods and responsibility ,in order to promotion and salary raise ,buy a house to buy a car ,get married and have children ,parents give their children money ,store up .
.. … This forced the young man get tangled ,his health is ignored ,eating no laws ,lack of exercise and exercise ,depression anxiety .Chen Qingping said ,the work is a long-term thing ,to work ,young people is to go to all lengths ,but at the same time to treat yourself, active control ,learn to relieve pressure ,attitude adjustment ,pine with relaxation .
Give you more space ,in rest time change of mood ,even if there are no conditions to travel, often listen to music ,read a book ,watch a movie and mood to relax .More important is ,should be good to open your heart ,the heart depressed pour out ,and others ,to alleviate the pressure of work .
Health tips to remember five points a ,healthy lifestyle changes :try to avoid staying up ,ensure adequate rest ,stop smoking ,drinking alcohol in moderation ,should stop smoking ,and weight control ,avoid obesity .
Two ,positive exercise :daily life in 30 minutes of dailyphysical activity essential work time ,rest ,do some stretching exercises ,this is the most effective way to prevent heart disease .
Three ,healthy diet :avoid unhealthy diet ,do not eat fast food ,white-collar best for themselves and their families to prepare healthy meals with a meal .Four ,psychological adjustment :learn to manage their emotions ,so that the steady mentality ;pay attention to grooming negative emotions ,control the emergency Zao ,anxiety ,alleviate the interpersonal conflicts ;relaxation way, completing a heavy work should be carried out after the proper rest .
Five ,regular cardiovascular system examination :such as dynamic electrocardiogram ,blood lipids ,blood glucose ,blood pressure and so on ,to assess cardiovascular function .This group of
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May 9th, 2012
This is the story of how Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) started its journey from scratch, from the challenges faced along the way to launching its first satellite. www.yahsat.ae
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May 9th, 2012
BT Local Business Company Video – Inspired Communications Ltd
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May 9th, 2012
By Dell Garraputo
Companies can use collaborative communication to allow a wide variety of people to easily contribute quickly and more important, equally on a project. Hierarchical communication, on the other hand, can lead to inefficiencies by limiting information flow to a few rigid channels and inhibiting access to useful ideas and information.
More Ideas = Better Ideas-
One of the cardinal rules of brainstorming is that hearing more ideas ultimately leads to hearing better ideas. Enterprise collaboration provides a similar benefit. Since everyone can contribute ideas easily, it’s also easier to gather them and process them as well as giving you a bigger pool of creativity and expertise as a resource. Efficient collaboration allows your company to draw from the best its people have to offer.
To keep collaboration helpful instead of confusing, it helps to define clear and consistent ways to process the ideas and information that people share. Let those with relevant expertise help rate the value of the ideas that are contributed. Set a cut-off point at which you will stop accepting new ideas and instead start collaborating on implementation. Clear boundaries at the brainstorming stage of a project actually provide the freedom to generate ideas with the confidence that they will be responsibly used and evaluated.
Help Across Disciplines-
Collaboration improves productivity by breaking down the vertical mentality which compartmentalizes departments and disciplines which in turn stifles the collaborative process. When enterprise collaboration is available and efficient, it allows people to draw on the expertise of co-workers who are not directly related to their tasks or divisions. Being able to connect this way, using direct communications such as e-mails as well as comments and conversations on an open communications platform is extremely helpful. Providing useful feedback in other contexts can provide employees with a sense of satisfaction and big-picture engagement, while the ideas and information they share can increase overall productivity by providing more efficient access to the information needed to do an excellent job.
Distributed Effort-
Collaborative communication also makes it easier to efficiently distribute labor. It increases transparency regarding a project’s goals, stages and sub-tasks, as well as keeping it easier to see who is responsible for which portions of the project. Real-time status updates can keep the whole group abreast of each part of the project. Effective communication platforms also make it easier for people to ask for favors, re-assign tasks or work together to accomplish their goals. Up-to-date information on which dependencies are resolved minimizes the time lag between one task’s completion and the start of the next.
Collaborative communication and real time feedback are essential to the productivity of businesses. To make this possible, Dell Garraputo uses Social Sites and Sharepoint software from Newsgator.
Tagged as:
cross enterprise collaboration,
real time feedback,
sharepoint software,
social enterprise,
social sites,
social software
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May 9th, 2012
Last week we had the opportunity of photographing Attorney Tammy Riggs from Reno, NV on the courthouse steps located downtown on Virginia St. We were contacted by Kevin Jones who is a designer at KPS3, an integrated marketing and advertising communication company also located here in Reno, NV. This was our first assignment working directly with Kevin, but we have been working with KPS3 for several years which has been a great experience for us in meeting new contacts and making successful images where everyone is pleased with the end results. Tammy practices in the Northern Nevada region and you can check out her website, Attorney Tammy Riggs. These photos will be used for some new updates to Tammy’s website. Our makeup stylist Gaynel Wadsworth also contributed to the days’ events and we appreciate all the hard work that she does for us and our clients as well. Here is what our morning consisted of.
Make up prep, Gaynel, the stylist and Tamy Riggs, our client
Like with all set ups, nothing is really simple. We had Tammy standing on a box, on top of a bench, in order to get the effect that we wanted. We used one strobe light powered by Paul Buff power supply, and had our assistant Halen holding a scrim to diffuse some of the direct light.
Halen Haxton and Tammy Riggs
Tammy Riggs
We changed our angle slightly to get a different look.
Photographer Frank Haxton
Halen Haxton and Tammy Riggs
Final un-retouched shot, Attorney Tammy Riggs
For our second location we went up on the steps of the courthouse. The nice thing about photographing on this day was that all judges in Northern Nevada were at a conference in Las Vegas, leaving the grounds almost vacant. We used two lights for this set up, a soft box for foreground lighting and a rim light from behind.
The Digiman gang! Minus Amy Hunter, who was taking these pictures for the blog.
We loved the end results for this set up. All of the lighting seemed to mold together to create a beautiful natural lighting effect that was pleasing for our subject and the surrounding location.
Thanks to Tammy Riggs, Gaynel Wadsworth, Kevin Jones, Halen Haxton, and Amy Hunter for a successful photo shoot and a fun day. You made our job at Digiman Studio fun!
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