“Work” Category

I’ve been experimenting with SpringWidgets. Below is one I created for Geek Camp. I’m not sure how I feel about it … so help me out.

It kinda looks like an iPhone.

Is this a bad idea? Would you post this on your website?

In my 5+ years experience talking to businesses of varying size, I’ve always been interested in helping them make the Internet a valuable piece of their marketing strategy. The Internet offers a lot of potential and I’m always happy to share my recommendations. It’s actually a flaw (in my opinion). I always have a lot to say.

So sue me. I want to help!

To further my goal of sharing my knowledge, I’ve become one of the pioneers of Geek Camp, a series of seminars hosted at Cimbrian, a marketing and technology firm located in downtown Lancaster. I currently work there full-time as a marketing technology strategist and the “brass” is very progressive and perceptive enough to see that there is great potential in combining traditional marketing with technology. It’s what their business is all about.

Our Geek Camp seminars focus on a number of Internet marketing strategies that include search engine optimization, blogging, pay-per-click, podcasting, viral videos, and others. They are open to the public and 100% FREE. What’s even better is lunch is provided! It’s a great opportunity to get out of the office and learn a little about how the Internet can be a welcome addition to your marketing mix.

If free seminars weren’t enough … we also have an “Ask a Geek” feature. By simply sending us an email at you can get answers to all of your Internet marketing questions from one professional and knowledgeable source.

Most Internet marketing consultants charge an hourly rate between $85 to over $200 an hour. We’re giving it away for FREE! So take advantage of it!

If you’d like more information about Cimbrian’s Geek Camp, check out our website at http://geekcamp.cimbrian.com. It was just released this Monday, so it’s still in its infancy. But look forward to more activity as the concept grows.

You probably already know about the importance of high profit margins, but still may wonder, “How do you figure margin?” It’s easier then you might think and the good news is you can begin calculating your margin now with my free Excel spreadsheet!

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A work breakdown structure (WBS) is an essential ingredient of successful project management. Though effective for any sized project, it is especially useful when working with a team. It transforms a project’s vision into smaller pieces that can be assigned to various team members. It also shows how these smaller projects relate to each other.

This post will discuss what a work breakdown structure looks like, reasons to use them, and how to make one with Microsoft Word.

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I just finished reading the latest “Science News” magazine and found an article titled, “Longer Work Hours May Warm Climate”. The first part of this article that caught my attention was a reference to a new study stating Europeans work 16% less than Americans, with no change in productivity. It says that Americans work 1,817 hours per year, where Europeans work 1,560 and have more vacation. Again, with no difference in productivity!

Though the article doesn’t rally for shorter workdays, it does state that longer hours result in increased power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. With the “Focused 5” concept, individuals would work 1,300 hours a year. I wonder what would happen to productivity? I know power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions would go down.

Ever wonder why the standard workday is 8 hours? Why not 10, or 12? Before labor was regulated, workdays could last anywhere from 10 to 16 hours for 6 days a week. What’s worse is children were part of the workforce!

Thankfully, the 8-hour day movement, who declared, “8 hours labour, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest” was eventually successful. But now that we’ve moved from a predominantly industrial society to a service-based one, why hasn’t anyone questioned the 8-hour workday? Why are we so willing to tacitly accept it? Does it still make sense for certain types of professional work?

I would suggest that the standard 8-hour workday be replaced. That a focused 5-hour workday could produce the same, if not better, results. Here’s how it works…

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Having been in the technology field for over 5 years, one thing that’s always frustrated me is the lack of a solid bonus structure for tech departments. I’ve seen sales people receive commissions, customer service people get bonuses, but haven’t seen this same incentive carry over to tech.

Now yes, technology staffs, on average, get paid more than other departments (at least from my experience). I’d also add that a “thank you” or “good job” doesn’t always need to be in the form of a check. However, from time to time, it is nice to get something extra for going above and beyond.

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We’ve all seen the poster with the cat hanging from a tree branch with the phrase, “Hang in There!” I was reminded of it today when I opened my lunch to see that it was my daily message from Cassandra (she packs my lunch, so nice). It didn’t take much time before this image popped into my head.

Only one problem… I can’t draw.

Enter the Zim

He’s an illustrator / tech adept and I ran the idea by him. Within minutes, he drew this image on a post-it. I love it! So I had to share.

Enjoy!