If you’re an avid Firefox user, as we are at Fresh Consulting, you probably know about “Personas for Firefox”, but if not let us school you with some knowledge that will make your Firefox browser look like a work of art.

The Easy Way

1. Go to https://www.getpersonas.com in your Firefox browser and choose from over 100,000 different personas you can have your Firefox browser wear.

2. After you have found the persona that best fits your style, hover your mouse over the persona you wish to use and click “Wear It”.  For example, the Fresh Consulting persona is here.

IT’S THAT SIMPLE!  Now you are ready to show all your friends and colleges your artistic style.

Tip: Use the search at the top to find specific genres or themes you are interested to narrow your persona results.

The Custom Way

1. Go to https://www.getpersonas.com in your Firefox browser and sign up for a New Personas User account.

2. Click “Create Your Own” in the top right hand corner of your browser and read about the dimensions and requirements your custom persona will need to be approved by Firefox.
3. Once you have followed all the directions you can go back to the main personas page and click “My Designs” to view your work.  Hover over your design with your mouse and click “Wear It” and you’re good to go!

If you get artistic or sport a new Persona, let us know in the comments below so we can check them out!

]]> http://freshconsulting.com/blog/how-to-freshen-up-your-firefox-browser/feed/ 0 http://freshconsulting.com/blog/glimpses-into-the-future-of-search-computing-and-technology/ http://freshconsulting.com/blog/glimpses-into-the-future-of-search-computing-and-technology/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:15:32 +0000 Jeff Dance http://freshconsulting.com/blog/?p=635 As we prepare for the future, we look to emergent innovation, not just continuous innovation.  To help understand what’s coming, we hypothesize on the near term, mid term, and long term timing of a few concepts worth watching a video about (below).  While emergent vs. continuous could be argued for the concepts below, all are capable of changing the way we do things.

Near term – Mainstream visual SEARCH technology for anything

Visual Search Technology. This concept is already here and having Google behind it will propel its growth into the future.  As the engineers suggest in the video, “visual search technology is in its infancy.”  Its on its way to greatness as Google indexes user pictures, then connects all of its aggregated information with the picture. We’ve already seen the power of scanning bar codes and images with our phone’s mobile apps to get additional pricing information, reviews, and more, but what if you could take a picture of anything and get additional information and insights.  As our devices continue to get more sophisticated cameras along with standard GPS technology AND as Google crowdsources location-based pictures from us (another example of The Machine is us/ing us), we envision visual search becoming mainstream for anything anywhere… especially as we travel.

Midterm – Smart visual COMPUTING applications and devices

The concepts shared by Pranav Mistry at TED illustrate demos of several new tools that will help bring the physical world and the digital world together, helping us get out of sitting at the desk to get work done and to get information. Creating screens out of anything and enhancing our physical objects with creative digital overlays appears to be breakthrough technology and we envision practical consumer products being on the market in a few years.

Long term – Morphing Nano TECHNOLOGY that adapts to its visual surroundings

This video produced by Nokia illustrates the breakthrough innovation nano technology could have on the way our future technology morphs into its visual surroundings and provides fresh value through morphing.

What binds all of these concepts together is how they ALL interact with your VISUAL surroundings.  Is that random or is their deeper meaning to that?

I read it when I first got to Fresh Consulting and the guys were throwing new Web 2.0 terms at me like “social networks” and I was left wondering what in the world was “Yelp” and “Digg”?. The whole thing  left me at the time…well…utterly confused.  Honestly, I thought Yelp and Digg sounded like what you name a dog– the big kind who catch  frisbees in the park.

But it’s not that  I was a complete novice to the new technologies happening. I mean, yes, I read blogs.  Didn’t write them yet, but I certainly read other people’s.  Yes, I watched YouTube videos. Yes, I posted reviews on Amazon.

But it’s also fair to say, at the time, not so long ago, I just didn’t get it. Didn’t get the fact that a internet revolution had happened exactly during the years when most people (myself included) thought “dotcom” was a dirty word. Before I read this book, as far as things like Twitter went —well let’s just say I didn’t get  why people needed to know about my peanut butter sandwich for lunch that day.  Twitter is not really about that, but that was the impression I had at the time.

But then I read this book, filled with the stories about  the founders of Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, and Digg.  From the flap of the book it says, “…It was the era of paper millionaires, eight hundred dollar office chairs, and Super Bowl ads for dotcoms that no one had ever heard of. Then in 2000 the bubble burst: The NASDAQ lost 75 percent of its value and hundreds of companies closed up shop. It was all written off as “irrational exuberance,” and everyone moved on. OYLTYG is the story of those who never gave up on the Internet dream. Instead, they learned their lesson from the bust and in recent years have created groundbreaking new companies…”

Once it was put to me in those terms, I started to understand. Technology—now that I don’t always get. But a great story? Okay, now we’re talkin’.  So it occurred to me that Web 2.0 is simply the next generation of the new web.  Part 2 of the internet revolution.  Nothing too weird or scary about it.

And once I was able to see it in those terms, I was able to  (mostly) happily embrace the changes going on. So after reading this book– which I recommend for anybody in technology aged 32+– I’m now on board. Twittering, blogging, the whole shebang.

One thing that is most striking to me about this new Web 2.0 generation is the absolute emphasis on collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.  It’s more than technology, there have been cultural shifts.  This was shown by the story in the book about  Max Levchin–founder of PayPal who made sure his company IPO’d at a staggering price (in the heart of the dotcom slump!) simply because he wanted to make sure the engineers who worked underneath him became millionaires too, the same engineers he collaborated with.  Somebody had drunkenly challenged him at a party by saying it wasn’t possible, not with the way the stock options were structured.  So he wouldn’t rest until his company went for an astronomical price, and everybody ended up with seven figure paydays. Ka-ching.

This reminds me of Fresh Consulting where everytime I say I want to feature a post about a certain person, the founder winces, shake his head and says, “No, the group. The group is what is most important.”

Okay, so I’m learning. Sometimes on my lunch hour I pull out this book. Because what writer could resist being fascinated by a tale of the phoenix (Web 2.0) rising from the ashes of the old (DotCom) world, just when all seems lost? I mean–how cool is that? And Fresh Consulting is part of the wave of new companies using the mistakes of the past and the success of the next generation to create something even more extraordinary for their clients.  Can’t wait to see the sequel!

On that day, Fresh Consulting office was abuzz as everybody gathered in the main space (described as the War Room from a previous post). The lights were dim, and voices were muted. In hushed expectation everybody gathered around a laptop to watch Apple make history.  Fresh had 3 computers stations tracking the event – 2 were livestreaming it via attendees that were holding up their iPhones and others were watching the bloggers real time comments and pictures. Even two clients came to hang out and join the party and enjoy drinks and snacks. This was serious.

And I, old fashioned book lover that I am, am as thrilled with the potential of the iPad as everybody else.

I say this even though let me make one thing clear: I love physical books. I love the weight of them in my hand, love the feel of turning pages with my fingers, love the dusty smell of standing in an independent bookstore looking for forgotten treasures.

But… even with all that, I also want to carry a library in my purse. Want the security of knowing that any time I’m standing in the DMV line, or on the airplane, or getting my prescription filled I have access to pretty much any book ever published in the Western World for the last 100 years. And I want it in 60 seconds. Or less.

So, if  somebody like me wants a digital eReader… well can I just say–paper is pretty much toast. Going the way of vinyl records. (Yes, somebody will always want those, but it won’t be the majority. This is also true because publishing houses as they exist today simply can’t survive financially under the current model.  I mean, when’s the last time you spent $25 on a hardback?)

But all the talk seems to be about which will win out–iPad or a Kindle? Sony Reader vs. Barnes and Noble’s nook? Potatoe or potato? But to me the reading revolution is really more about–do you want your reading experience to be interactive (as in vooks–a combination of video and books) or is the fun of reading seeing text and using your own imagination?

Soon you’ll be probably get an interactive book experience on all eReaders. Because even though Amazon has had a couple of P.R. um… (how shall I say this politely?)… missteps lately what with eliminating the book 1984,  and holding publishers hostage to the $9.99 eBook price, Jeff Bezos is one sharp cookie. Most likely his own amazing version of vooks will be offered on the Kindle and announced  shortly.  (And IMHO–hopefully a sleeker design. That cheap white plastic has got to go!)

So I’m torn… already some of my favorite authors are happily putting together vooks to tell their story.   They are doing this because ultimately people read books to feel emotions, or to gain knowledge, and using music and images is a great way to expand on that experience.

When our Fresh team adds videos to a  website often they can do more for the message in that 1-2  minutes than pages of text and hundreds of still pictures could ever convey. I get that! I really do. But would my favorite books be the same if the images weren’t all created in my own head? On a rainy day am I going to curl up by the fire with Peppermint tea and …turn on the show?

Let us know what YOU think??

* Eric Weaver – Account Director and Strategist at Tribal DDB Worldwide
* Dave Hanley – CEO & Principal at Banyan Branch
* Daniel Rasmus – Author of “Listening to the Future”
* Kristen Ruby – CEO, Ruby Media Group
* Dr. Udi Schlessinger – Managing Partner, U Labs
* Darren Williger – President & CEO, Regillo Consulting Group
* Bille Baty – COO & Managing Partner, Phi Concepts
* Jeff Dance – Founder, Fresh Consulting
* Joe Kennedy – Founder of Eastside Entrepreneurs and AKA “The Connector”

Social Media 201 is sponsored by the Microsoft Local Engagement Team and Comcast Business Class. Supporting organizations for Social Media 201 include Fresh Consulting, Eastside Entrepreneurs Social Network, Ruby Media Group, Banyan Branch, Regillo Consulting Group and Tribal DDB Worldwide.

Mike Whitmore, President of Fresh Consulting from Bellevue, Washington explains, “the concept for Social Media 201 stemmed from the Social Media 101 Conference the Eastside Entrepreneurs and Joe Kennedy hosted last September at Microsoft. The 101 Conference helped educate business owners about what social media is and why companies should participate. The new Social Media 201 Conference is designed for those businesses that have begun to delve into social media and want to take it to the next level, find a path to profitability and measure return on investment.”

Registration for the event is available at www.SocialMedia201.com. Use the discount code FRESH to get an additional discount.

Twitter feeds on the event are available from Twitter.com/SM201CONF and you can follow the event tweets via the hashtag #SM201

The Microsoft Conference Center provides free wireless Internet connectivity. A complimentary lunch is provided for attendees thanks to Comcast Business Class.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT

www.SocialMedia201.com

Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, a little planning and follow through can go a long way towards realizing the benefits of new technology. With adoption being the end goal to any new technology implementation, here are 10 questions and best practices to evaluate your Enterprise 2.0 adoption strategy:

1. Evaluating Options: Did you test more than one solution to figure out which one worked best with your team/company?

2. Evaluating Ease of Use: Did you have to create a lengthy training manual to accompany the solution? Was ease of use a criteria in your options evaluation?

3. Pre-Testing: Did you test your chosen solution(s) to see what was working and what was not working with a small focus group first?

4. Selling Benefits, not Features: Did you emphasize the benefits to participants and what’s in it for them?

5. Encouraging with Incentives: Did you offer incentives to those who actively contributed and adopted the new solution?

6. Leading at Top & Bottom: Did you recruit influencers/leaders at the top to
lead with participation? and at the bottom?

7. Empowering Users: Did you give the users a larger measure of control to encourage organic sharing? and open it up rather than trying to exert unnecessary control?

8. Integrating Workflow: Did you consider how to integrate your data and solution(s) with user workflow? (e.g. email)

9. Priming the Content Pump: Did you customize and build content into the system before you invited everyone to see the value & vision?

10. Evangelizing Responsibility: Did you assign someone to be the ongoing lead evangelist for the sharing, encouraging, and collaboration efforts?

Copyright, Fresh Consulting LLC

Well the answer came when Sean Debutts from the Puget Sound Blood Center came to give a demonstration to our office on how social media has increased donations by 30%.  He mentioned that they were doing a blood drive for the first few weeks of December because donations drop off towards Christmas, exactly when they need it the most. Supply runs low when demand is high.

So I thought, why not do a blood drive for our office? It’s not asking anybody to spend money, there’s no shopping involved, and it saves lives. Plus it’s unique and different for Christmas. Fresh type of event. Perfect!

And when I brought it up at the meeting, everyone agreed that it was a great idea, nodded that they would like to participate, and so I scheduled our appointment. No big deal, everybody was on board, nothing to worry about.

Or so I thought…

My first inkling that something was a bit off was when I sent out emails confirming our appointment time.

Only one person emailed me back.

Hmmmm…that’s a bit strange, I thought. They must not have gotten the message (although you could send these guys a text at 2 am and receive an immediate response).  Must be really busy with client work.

Slowly the emails confirming the appointment came drifting in late Sunday night.

On Monday of our appointment, one guy who I hadn’t heard from kept coming in to ask me every couple of hours, “We still going to that thing at 3:00 today?” In the same voice of a kid asking, Are we there yet? “Yes,” I would answer.  He would take a deep breath, sigh and say, “Okay,” and walk out of the room, only to come back in two hours later to ask the same thing.  Weird, I thought.  Why does he keep forgetting the time of the appointment?

So I went up to him and said, “Hey did you know I need your date of birth to make the appointment for giving blood today?  I sent you a couple of emails, but you must have been too busy to read them.”

He looked down and then whispered, “It’s not that. I’m still thinking about it.”

“Thinking about it?”

He nodded slowly. “I’ll let you know,” he said.

Okay I was beginning to understand what was going on here.  No wonder the emails were late, the sighs so loud.  But honestly the last thing I would ever think is that the Fresh Consulting guys were scared.  Of like, anything!  Not when they do dangerous sports like rock climbing and snowboarding to the extreme…Basically activities I mentally classify under “Weird Things Men Do That I Don’t Understand.”   I was tempted to ask him: what’s a little needle compared to hanging backwards off the edge of a cliff or dropping a massive cliff while backcountry skiing?

Besides this guy is super nice, and there’s no way he isn’t going to show up and help people and be part of the team!  I nodded and then started looking for his email confirming he was coming with us. But…

11 am: nothing.
12:00 pm: nothing.
1:00 pm: nothing.
2:00 pm: nothing.
2:50 pm, as I’m putting on my jacket to leave, I look down the hall towards his office. I don’t hear any voices.  I sigh, bite my lip, fuss with my scarf. I check my watch again.  We are all standing in the hallway.  Standing outside his office door trying to look casual, wondering if I should go in there, just to, you know “see how he is doing” (no pressure or anything!) when I hear his voice behind me, “Aren’t you guys ready yet?” he laughs.

And just that decision alone saved three lives, and as a team we saved eighteen!  And because he decided to join us, we won the blood drive contest with 100% participation! Steve Hulet even went above and beyond the call of duty by doing a double red cell donation (took three times as long!).  We all had a great time, and it was a great bonding experience for everybody.

I decided to ask Sean DeButts a couple of questions about how it all works and how he’s using social media to help save lives.

Q&A questions with Sean:

1. How is Puget Sound Blood Center using social media to increase donations?

The social media program is increasing donations by building long-term relationships. We use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Announcing blood shortages in Western Washington is important, but we’re going to get the most ROI by being an active member of the social media community. We try to be friendly, thank donors, answer questions, engage people and promote other worthy causes. These give our followers value and invite friends to donate.

2. What are your upcoming technology plans?

The next version of our “Donate Blood” Facebook application will let donors form competing teams. We will also add fun features such as awards, quizzes and newsfeed posts to encourage viral growth. The program also will incorporate location-based applications and mobile technologies. Thanks in part to some pro-bono advice from Fresh Consulting, we are creating a Google Maps mashup that will display the locations of blood drives. I hope that eventually we’ll have applications for iPhones, Androids and Blackberries.

3. I understand you’re using social media to encourage ethnic minorities to donate blood?

Yes, social media is crucial for that. Less than one percent of donors in Western Washington belong to ethnic minorities, and it can be a matter of survival for patients to receive blood from donors of the same ethnicity. Receiving from someone who’s genetically similar to you helps ensure compatibility. Social media sites, especially Twitter and MySpace, are perfect for spreading that information to motivate new donors.

It’s really easy, and fun to do as a group. Almost anybody can give blood and by doing so save lives. Here’s the Facebook link to make an appointment.

To learn more, check out the first part, second part, third part, and fourth part of our 5-part series.

To see an even more comprehensive list of Twitter tools, visit Web2Review and click here.

To learn more, check out the first part, second part, and third part of our 5-part series.

The slides from the presentation and the video recording of the event are being edited right now, so check back here for updates.

We didn’t focus on this, but during the presentation, we mentioned a couple lists that will help you in your job search and in working online to fill any working gaps (and maybe even earn a living).

• The list of good job search sites
• A few places where you can make money online