Brendans Blog

Recently I was asked by Janette Comish of www.bellesante.com.au to speak to a group people who were at the end of a training series she was presenting on Marketing. I had 20 minutes to cover the internet and marketing - an almost impossible task, but I tried any way.

One of the things I did to help bridge (or at least start to bridge) the knowledge gap was create a little Glossary of Everything you need to know. I think it will be a work in development but you can have a look at it here:

Everything you Need to Know (247 kb)

The consensus was that you need more than 20 minutes to cover this topic.  It was nice to be invited to speak too, so I thought I should tell someone...

Some times known as The man in the Mirror I stumbled across this poem recently. Somewhat irrelevant on this site, but hey, it my blog and write what I want to.

The Guy in the Glass

by Dale Wimbrow, (c) 1934

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

I have a friend who is becoming something of a guru on Outlook.
You'd think 'why would I want to know more about e-mail' but when you consider e-mail is the number one task people use the internet for you might re-consider. Sure, most people can send and receive and generally (i hope) they can attach a file. But do you know all the in's and out's? There are a whole host of features that save time, save frustration and some are just cool little geek features.

Jurgen from www.computermaster.com.au designed this great little e-course that sends you bite sized bits of information on Outlook. 
Here is a little article that Jurgen wrote;

Master your InBox (121 kb)

If you would like to receive Jurgen's daily tips,  learn more here.

Well more new features.

I know I am biased, but I love the fact that for the same regular (tiny!) monthly fee, I get the latest website tools added to my website for NO EXTRA COST!  The latest one for me - because I am a reseller - is the sign-up module. (www.receptive.com.au/trial)

This lets anyone sign up for a free, no-obligation, trial to see what all the fuss is about. No sales people, no consultation, just give it a go.

Try it for yourself

My one recommendation would be to select the second option in the "Start Option" like this:


As always, I welcome feedback on your experiences.

Doing the rounds catching up on Seth Godin's Blog and read this article about hiring people and the interview process. (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/the_end_of_the_.html)
We hire staff for the "cog" type of jobs. I think the method of hiring that Seth is discussing is completely relevant for any type of job. Until you roll your sleaves up and get your hands dirty, no one knows how good you are. 
I wonder if there is a way of doing this for hiring people for contracts? Do you look for trial periods, maybe contracts with an easy out clause, or should we trust the endless testimonials?

I always thought more questions than answers were a good thing.

So I am still playing with the Business Catalyst Blog module. just configuring the blog layout. I wanted a more narrow area for the calendar and more info in the listings. It now displays the Blog description.  I wonder if I should make an e-mail address a complusory field when people leave a comment?
At the moment if there is a comment, the poster gets an e-mail notification and it shows in the details of the blog.

Hi Welcome to my first blog...
This is a new feature in Business Catalyst. that I am testing out. You obviously only see the pretty text, but I have to be able t easily edit and publish the info and you need to be able to find your way around easily. 

So here is this blogs editing page where I get to add posts and manage my different blogs:

You should be able to click on the image to get a full size version.

Anyway, post a comment, have a look around.
Receptive Technologies are partner resellers of the Business Catalyst solution. contact us if you want a more personal demonstration of the tools, or stay tuned here as we implement all their tools and put them on display here.