#education paging and intercom communications

[voipblog17225]

VoIP for Education: Unlocking Smarter School and University Communication

Let’s not sugar-coat it — communication across schools, colleges, and universities is often… well, a bit of a mess.

You’ve got admissions teams trying to reach finance. Lecturers chasing student records. Support staff paging security. Meanwhile, phones ring endlessly, lines go dead, and someone’s yelling, “What’s the extension for Room 2B again?!”

Sound familiar?

That’s because many UK educational institutions are still running on phone systems designed for a simpler time — before remote working, multi-site campuses, or hybrid learning became the norm.

Enter VoIP — A Smarter Way to Stay Connected

VoIP (that’s Voice over Internet Protocol, but don’t let the jargon intimidate you) is a fancy way of saying phone calls made over the internet rather than traditional copper wires.

That one switch changes everything.

Because now, you don’t need separate systems for each building. You don’t need to hunt down who’s on shift at reception. You don’t even need to be in the office to pick up your calls.

Let’s examine how VoIP is quietly transforming communication in education — from primary schools to large universities.

The Problem with Traditional Phone Systems

If your current setup involves tangled cords, ancient handsets, and a cupboard full of blinking switchboards, you’re not alone.

Many schools and universities are stuck with systems that:

Struggle to link multiple campuses or departments Offer zero support for remote or hybrid working Can’t route calls effectively (hello, endless ringing) Cost a fortune in maintenance and upgrades Collapse during a crisis (remember those “snow day” comms disasters?) And the worst part? You know it’s broken — but changing it sounds like a whole new headache.

That’s where a well-designed VoIP system steps in: smarter, simpler, and far more flexible.

What Does VoIP Do?

Here’s what a modern VoIP system can offer your school or university:

🔄 Smart Call Routing

Direct calls to the right team, department, or person without having to bounce them around reception like a lost parcel.

🤖 Auto-Attendants

Automated menus help students or parents reach the right place without clogging up admin lines.

📧 Voicemail-to-Email

Did you miss a call? The voicemail arrives neatly in your inbox — no more chasing lights on a handset.

🎧 Call Recording

For safeguarding, dispute resolution, or staff training — everything’s recorded and stored securely.

📱 Softphone & Mobile Apps

Staff can make and take calls from laptops or mobile devices, using their school number — even from home.

📡 Paging & Intercom

Useful for large campuses or for urgent announcements, such as lockdowns or timetable changes.

Real Communication Needs in Universities

Let’s move beyond the clichés. Education isn’t just teachers ringing parents. It’s more complex than that — especially at college or university level.

Picture a typical day:

Admissions are handling calls from prospective students needing quick transfers to finance or academic departments. Admin teams are coordinating room bookings, scheduling interviews, and logging queries — all by phone. Lecturers need to speak to department heads or IT personnel without having to travel across campus. Campus security requires a fast and reliable intercom to alert staff or respond to issues. Student Services must support remote counselling and wellbeing calls securely and confidentially. VoIP ties all this together — across departments, devices, and even locations.

No more, “Sorry, they’re in Building C, I’ll try to put you through…” Just click, connect, speak.

Why It Matters: A Real-World Example

🎓 University Campus in the Midlands

With six buildings, over 200 staff members, and a surge in calls during enrollment, their old system couldn’t keep up.

After switching to VoIP:

Each department has its own extension and call menu Staff could answer calls on the move via mobile apps All internal calls became free Enrolment chaos turned into a calm, structured flow Result? More time spent helping students. Less time shouting down the corridor for someone’s extension number.

Schools, Simplified

While universities face more scale, schools still need clarity — especially when you’re juggling safeguarding, Ofsted, and everything in between.

But we’re not just talking about parent calls anymore.

Imagine:

Emergency alerts are sent to every parent in minutes Voicemails auto-sent to staff emails during term breaks SLT and admin staff working remotely without missing a beat Recorded calls stored securely, supporting safeguarding policies Integrated timetables and contact records linking systems together This isn’t about “tech for tech’s sake.” It’s about practical tools that make communication smoother and safer.

Security Matters — Especially in Education

When dealing with children, students, staff, or sensitive conversations, you can’t afford to be careless.

That’s why PineVox VoIP systems are designed with:

End-to-end encryption for every call Secure role-based access (so only the right people hear the right things) Call logging and audit trails UK-based hosting and GDPR-compliant infrastructure So if someone ever says, “Can we find out what was said?” — yes, you can.

Cost Savings That Make Sense

Let’s talk money — because education budgets aren’t exactly overflowing.

With VoIP, you can:

Eliminate line rental charges Stop paying engineers for every minor tweak Make all internal calls free Add or remove users without buying new hardware Scale up or down instantly (new building? No problem.) Most schools and colleges save between 20% and 30% on their annual phone costs. That’s money you could redirect to, say, hiring more staff or investing in actual learning tools.

What Should You Look For in a VoIP System?

There are numerous VoIP providers available. Here’s what matters most for education:

Simplicity – If your team needs a manual, it’s too complicated Reliability – Phones should work every time, snow day or not Flexibility – Works across mobile, desktop, or desk phone Scalability – Add new users or buildings without a fuss Support – UK-based help from people who understand schools Security – Call encryption and audit trails as standard Transparent Pricing – No surprises, no hidden charges Why PineVox?

We’re not just another telecoms provider — we’re a team that listens to what schools and colleges need.

UK-based support that doesn’t disappear after the sale Systems built for British education, not retrofitted from business tools No jargon, no upsell — just straight-talking advice Fast, smooth onboarding with complete training included Phones that work when the heating doesn’t Whether you’re running a single-site academy or a multi-campus university, PineVox is built to support you — from enrolment week to parents’ evening and everything in between.

Final Thought: Is It Time for an Upgrade?

If your current phone system is more frustrating than function, maybe it’s time to stop working around it — and find one that works around you.

VoIP isn’t just modern tech. It’s a communication tool designed for how education works today — across sites, devices, and changing needs.

And at PineVox, we’ll make the switch feel easy — not like another IT nightmare.

===================

This Article is Originally Published On PineVox Webiste

[crystal-in-nagasaki]

saying goodbyes

I’m finally heading home in a few weeks after almost 3 years in Japan. I’ve made so many connections with my coworkers and students, community members, and friends. The week before last, I said goodbye to each of my four schools, the BOE staff, Omura’s mayor, and my taiko group. It’s been very difficult finding the right words to say goodbye and express how much each relationship has meant to me, and I spent the week making many many many speeches. I’d like to share just a bit about what the process has been like saying goodbye to my workplace and my taiko family.

I first made a visit to the Board of Education office to say farewell to the superintendent and give a speech to the BOE members, the same as I had done when I first arrived. Talking to the full office of many BOE members is very scary, but I didn’t tremble this time. I didn’t even have a speech prepared and just spoke in Japanese from the heart about how wonderful my experience has been in a clear and confident voice. The contrast between my trembling legs when I first addressed them and my unplanned speech when I said goodbye really showed me how much I’ve grown and faced my fears here, and I felt so happy.

After this, we next met with the mayor of the city to chat with him. He’s a very kind man and listened kindly to our experiences and asked us many questions. At the very end, he took a Charlie’s Angels style photo with us and it was really silly and cute, but unfortunately my coordinator didn’t get access to the photo. But it exists somewhere! We got this very normal one instead.

Next let’s talk about the farewells at my schools. My two small mountain schools which each have less than 30 students across six grades both set a class period aside to hold farewell parties for me. In both parties, we played some final games together, then I said a few words, and they finally presented me with personal messages written to me by the students. At one of the schools, we played a version of the Newlywed Game, and students tried to guess how I would answer questions like my favorite food, animal, and even my favorite Pokemon. It was so cute and made me happy to see that my students remembered many things about me (including how much I love bread and hate natto). My other school has a taiko club, so they prepared a final performance to me and I was very moved by their music for me.

At my smallest school, they made this framed collage of all of their goodbye messages, with a picture of my face. It's so beautiful and I was so moved when I received it. My other small school gave me a laminated booklet with a page for each student and teacher.

At my bigger elementary school, I spent the day going to my regular classes and having goodbye activities in each one. One of my 5th grade classes played a Kahoot I made asking them how well they knew me, then they surprised me with their own Kahoot quiz, in which every student submitted one question about Nagasaki or the students’ interests. It made me really happy and it was so fun. I felt so happy answering specific trivia about Nagasaki and Omura, and realized how much I had come to know the area’s local history and products.

At this school, many students I didn’t have class with approached me in between classes and during recess to give me letter they had written to me and gifts of origami or other crafts. Many of them also asked me to sign their textbooks, which was so cute and I felt like a famous person as they lined up down the hallway to get my autograph.

I have a farewell speech to this school over the intercom in the morning, since the school has over 500 students. I told them that I was happy to have fun with them and what I would be doing when I return to the US. Many students wrote in their messages that they’re rooting for me, and it made me so happy for their support.

At the end of the day, I gave a farewell speech to the teachers in the staff room, thanking them for their kindness and guidance over the years. They gave me a gift of several Japanese cultural items so that I wouldn’t forget Japan, including a cute folding fan with cats on it and chopsticks with my name engraved on them. Then all the teachers made a tunnel outside the doors and gave me a send off with applause as I left the school. It was so incredibly kind and warm, and I drove away wiping away bittersweet tears.

Like my very first day of work all the way back in 2021, my last day was at my junior high school, which felt nostalgic and fitting. It was the day of closing ceremony, so there was only one class period in the morning before the ceremony, and then students left for summer vacation. Many students came to the staff room to bring me message books they wrote to me, and they gave me words of encouragement about returning to the US.

I went to this school every Friday, and at the start of class when I asked the routine questions about the day, date, and weather, I would always cheer when they said it's Friday. Sometimes the students were tired or bored, but I would always get them to join in the Friday cheer to be excited for the weekend. I received this message about my Friday cheer, and it moved me to tears. I'm so happy to see when I can make even a small impact on students.

Just after closing ceremony, I did a short speech over the school broadcast to all of the classrooms and then received a bouquet of flowers and a goodbye message from some students.

From there, I returned to the staff room and got ready to leave because I had to run some errands with my coordinators to end my utilities, internet, and banking services. I think my teachers had wanted to give me a big send off, but weren’t aware that I was leaving early. So I approached one of my coworkers who I’ve worked with since the beginning and who has shown given me so much support and guidance, even taking the time to write a recommendation letter for me while I was applying for jobs. I gave her a personal farewell and her and another coworker gifted me a very lovely kitchen knife to bring home with me.

The few teachers left in the staff room followed me out and gave me a send off, and I drove away waving at my coworkers through my rear view mirror. With that, I finished my job as an ALT in the city of Omura.

On Thursday night of that week, I went to my last taiko practice and then had one final performance on the following Saturday. I had a stomachache the day of the performance, but pushed through the pain and heat stroke (it was also INCREDIBLY hot) and was able to put all my power into my final performance. After playing our signature three songs, my taiko teacher introduced me into the microphone and announced that I would be leaving soon. He asked me to say a few words but I was nervous and unprepared so I just shouted “TAIKO IS SO FUN!!” in Japanese into the microphone and everyone laughed. After that, my teacher let us play about one minute of a song we had been learning so that I could have the chance to perform the flute part on the stage at least once. I was so happy and felt I could leave the group fulfilled that I could demonstrate the flute part I had been learning.

After the performance, we took one last group photo together and my teacher presented me with messages that all of the members had written for me and pictures of us from over the years. It moved me deeply and I cried telling everyone goodbye. From the start, my taiko family accepted me kindly and always gave me so much support. It was truly a great experience of my life, and I’ll never forget them.

Saying goodbye has been a long process, as I’ve made many relationships with many of people that have taken care of me. I’ve been making monthly visits to a mental health clinic to refill my antidepressants for the last two years, so at my final meeting with my doctor, I thanked him and gave him a small gift. I also did the same with the hairdresser that has been cutting my hair for the past 2 years. Even these small acquaintances have contributed to my life here, and saying goodbye to them is also difficult. My doctor always supported me learning Chinese and tried to practice with me, and my hairdresser gave me many local travel recommendations. I’ll miss them and the small comforting role they've played in my life here.

As my final two weeks pass by in a blur, I’ll have to say even more goodbyes to my closest friends. I know they will be very painful, but I know that my closest relationships have been forged for life, and we will see each other again someday.

This is a sad post, but also a happy one. Saying so many painful goodbyes is a reminder of being loved and welcomed into my community. Even when I leave here, I will think back on everyone I met with so much fondness and gratitude.

Thanks for reading <3

[vivencyglobal]

School Bell System - PA System Based School Bell Solutions | Vivency Global in Dubai.

Vivency Global PA system-based school bell solutions. School Intercom PA - Bell system for improved safety. Paging and Bells System for School.

Efficient time management is crucial in educational institutions, where the smooth transition between classes, breaks, and events is essential. Traditional bell systems have limitations in terms of audibility and flexibility. PA system-based school bell solutions have emerged as an innovative alternative, leveraging the power of public address systems to provide clear and customizable audio signals. In this blog, we will explore the benefits, features, and applications of PA system-based school bell solutions, and how they optimize time management and communication in educational settings.

Benefits of PA System-Based School Bell Solutions:

a) Clear and Audible Signals: PA system-based solutions utilize powerful speakers and audio amplification to ensure that bell signals are heard clearly throughout the school premises. This eliminates the possibility of missed cues or confusion, improving overall efficiency.

b) Customizable Audio Notifications: Unlike traditional bell systems, PA system-based solutions offer flexibility in audio notifications. Administrators can customize bell sounds, tones, or even incorporate recorded messages, providing distinct and recognizable signals for different events or schedule changes.

c) Centralized Control and Scheduling: PA system-based solutions enable centralized control and management of bell schedules. Administrators can easily program and modify bell timings, ensuring synchronized signaling across the school campus or multiple buildings.

d) Integration with Communication Systems: PA system-based bell solutions can be integrated with other communication systems, such as intercoms or emergency notification systems. This allows for simultaneous announcements or emergency alerts alongside bell signals, enhancing safety and communication.

Features of PA System-Based School Bell Solutions:

a) User-Friendly Interface: These solutions typically offer user-friendly interfaces that allow administrators to easily program and manage bell schedules. The interface may include dedicated software or hardware controllers, enabling convenient access and control.

b) Multiple Zone Configuration: PA system-based bell solutions support the division of the school campus into multiple zones. This allows for different bell schedules to be set up for various areas or buildings, catering to the unique needs of each zone.

c) Scheduling Flexibility: Administrators can easily modify bell schedules to accommodate exceptions, special events, or changes in routine. PA system-based solutions offer flexibility in adjusting bell timings, ensuring smooth transitions and minimizing disruptions.

d) Emergency Notification Integration: These solutions can be integrated with emergency notification systems to provide real-time alerts and announcements in case of emergencies or drills. This enhances the overall safety and preparedness of the educational institution.

Applications of PA System-Based School Bell Solutions:

a) K-12 Schools: PA system-based school bell solutions are particularly useful in K-12 educational institutions. They facilitate the timely signaling of class transitions, recess, lunch breaks, and other routine activities, promoting a structured learning environment.

b) Colleges and Universities: Higher education institutions can benefit from PA system-based solutions to manage complex class schedules, exams, events, and campus-wide announcements. These solutions ensure clear communication and timely signaling across large campuses.

c) Sports Facilities and Auditoriums: PA system-based bell solutions find applications in sports facilities and auditoriums within educational institutions. They can be used to signal the start and end of sporting events, performances, or special assemblies, ensuring smooth coordination and audience guidance.

d) Public Spaces within Schools: PA system-based bell solutions can be extended to public spaces within schools, such as cafeterias, libraries, or outdoor areas. This allows for the clear signaling of specific activities or events, ensuring effective management and communication.

Considerations when Choosing PA System-Based School Bell Solutions:

a) Audio Quality and Coverage: Ensure that the PA system-based solution offers high-quality audio output and sufficient coverage to reach all areas of the school premises. Consider the size of the school and the required sound levels for effective signaling.

[tiesthatbind-tf]

I sell the things you need to be I'm the smiling face on your T.V. I'm the cult of personality I’d exploit you, still you’d love me I’ll tell you one and one makes three I'm the cult of personality

An unrepentant, manipulative schemer and a social chameleon with the gift of gab, Stefan Scavarro or ‘Starscream’ as he’s become known in the Decepticon ranks was never meant to rise above his station as a military-commissioned Cold Construct, but through wit, determination, and questionably-underhanded tactics, managed to claw his way up the political ladder and eventually, the Decepticon chain of command.

Most will tell you to never take his words at face value and to listen, and listen carefully, because he’ll tell you first and foremost that he doesn’t stoop so low as to lie to your face—-not outright anyway, no. 

Despite all this, it would surprise people to find that everything he did to tear his way out of the box society had set for him, and behind every whispered threat, is the genuine desire to do good for those under his jurisdiction and to make a better world  than the one that created him.

He just knows from first-hand experience that not everyone has the privilege to do that from a position of playing by the rules and keeping their hands clean—-If the deck is stacked against you, you’d bloody your hands by  breaking the legs of the ones doing the stacking.

It’s complicated, he’s complicated, is what he’d say, and he’d leave it at that.

(More under cut)

Stefan started out his life as a Cold Construct made for the Italian Air Force and was raised from childhood at a military academy. Here, he was trained to be a government asset—-taught to shoot, to fight, to fly in jet simulations.

It was a cutthroat environment, with young Cold Constructs who didn’t preform to expectations being pulled out of the academy to be ‘conditioned’, and his fear of seeing what they became when they came back—-emotionless, monotonous machines—pushed him to excel in what he did beyond his handlers’ expectations.

He learned to ignore pain and abuse as much as he could—-he would heal they said, and they were right; he healed faster than anyone else, and he prided himself in it. He learned to read people to know who he had an ally in or who could be easily manipulated for him to benefit from—-everyone here was either someone he could use or a rival and he was hell-bent, in knowing that Cold Constructs like him were often expected to die on the field,  on getting through this ordeal in one piece.

Despite all this, he still couldn’t break away from the military chains until he found out that class exemptions existed as ‘gifts’ for those in the lower classes who rendered exemplary services to the government or someone of importance. However he knew that his superior had become too comfortable with his presence at their beck and call to let him go, and so began scheming to buy his freedom.

He took action the next time he was on the field during a skirmish with insurgents at the border, deliberately sabotaging his superior’s intercom prior to taking flight so it would only page to him when they needed help and he laid in wait for them to be cornered by enemy forces. At the most critical point, he swooped in to make the dramatic save and managed to save them when they were shot down. While they were hospitalized for their injuries, he spoke to their wife and children, painting himself as a humble pilot whose only thought was of saving their captain during their skirmish.

As he expected, they became his advocates and combined with his superior’s sense of gratitude, he walked out of the Air Force base a free man at 20.

He enrolled in a night class at a community college, studying  political science part-time while working manual jobs in the day time to support his education, and it was in this period that he became involved in unions and working class movements. He felt a powerful sense of solidarity with their struggles and made it his mission to put his knowledge of people and politics to good use, by taking their fight to the Senate.

He decided to run as the district’s younger senator, riding on a wave of grassroots support as a charming, affable man in touch with people with a wining smile, and won enough votes, beating a government-favorite to represent them on the Senate floor. (This remains his the proudest moment in his life for a very long time)

At the Senate however, he faced pushback and classism  from the old vanguards who were career politicians taking umbrage with his youth, ‘lowly’ background and lack of polish. Here, he was a fox among wolves for the first time and he truly realized why it was so hard for changes to be made. His first attempt to pass a bill to push for more rights for Cold Constructs failed miserably, but his earnest attempts to fight for a cause no one else would caught the attention of Senator Shockwave, who saw a kindred spirit and decided to take him under their wing.

With Senator Shockwave who was the first true benefactor he’s ever know, he found a noble, caring figure as beautiful inside, he thought, as they were out, and the two of them spent more and more time together doing legal research to introduce reforms and looking for legal loopholes to use to fight for the working class. At this point, he grew to love Shockwave although never admitted it to the man. 

When the Decepticon movement began growing and two Senators who were openly supportive of their cause were murdered, which lead to whispers of corruption within the Senate traveling  around, he became Senator Shockwave’s trusted confidante and followed then man on the ground as they touched base with ‘Orion Pax’, a former cop now-dockworker who had been running an underground publication spreading Megatron’s samizdat writings ‘Towards Peace’ which was fostering a revolution around the world, and Megatron himself.

He formed a friendship with both and all four men began working together to uncover the depths of the Senate’s corruption, all while staying one step ahead of an increasingly-oppressive Clampdown.

When Megatron began resorting more and more to violence however, Shockwave and Orion Pax began distancing themselves from the man’s rhetoric and Starscream sought to follow them even as he took with him Megatron’s warnings that they had to ‘speak the Senate’s language’.

His uncertainty fired up into rage however when, during a mission which he couldn’t be part of due to his presence being required elsewhere, Shockwave surrendered to government agents to save the lives of Orion Pax and members of Shockwave’s institute.

In that moment he decried Orion Pax as weak and unwilling to do what it took to get the job done (he had made Orion promise prior to the mission that Orion would not leave Shockwave’s side) and went to Megatron’s side, seeking for a way to rescue  Shockwave and enact vengeance on the Senate for the full extent of their crimes.

If he was to speak the language of the Senate to the, he would make sure they were floored (in a pool of their own blood) by the time he was done with his soliloquy.

(And then of course, a certain delegate from  the Caminus colony came around and made things interesting for him)

[paging-system]

Paging System in Wireless Communication System | Pagers

A paging system in wireless communication is a method used to alert or notify a specific user or device within a wireless network. It is commonly employed in mobile communication networks to deliver messages or calls to targeted recipients.

Here’s how a typical paging system works:

Transmitter:

The paging system begins with a paging transmitter, which is responsible for generating and broadcasting the paging messages. The transmitter is usually connected to a central control system or a network operation center.

Message:

The paging message contains information about the intended recipient, such as their unique identifier or address. It may also include the content of the message or a signal to indicate an incoming call.

Protocol:

The paging transmitter sends out the paging message using a specific paging protocol. This protocol ensures that the message reaches the appropriate recipients efficiently. Different wireless communication standards, such as GSM, CDMA, or LTE, may utilize their own paging protocols.

Paging Area:

The wireless network is divided into specific geographic regions known as paging areas. Each paging area consists of multiple cells, which are individual coverage areas served by a base station.

Paging Channel:

Within each cell, there is a dedicated paging channel used for transmitting paging messages. The paging channel carries the paging messages from the transmitter to the mobile devices within the cell’s coverage range.

It’s important to note that the paging system operates in a one-to-many communication model, where a single paging message can be broadcast to multiple devices simultaneously within a specific paging area. This allows for efficient and targeted message delivery in wireless communication networks.

Does any company still make pagers?

Yes, there are still companies that manufacture and provide pagers, although their usage has significantly declined with the advent of smartphones and other advanced communication devices. Pagers, also known as beepers, are primarily used in specific industries where instant communication is crucial, such as healthcare, emergency services, and certain government sectors.

Syscall Paging Systems

Syscall Wireless Calling Systems and Paging Systems, Direct Paging Systems are advanced RF communication devices, where there is a clear communication demand from sender to receiver.

Who Uses Paging System

Paging systems are used by various industries and organizations that require efficient communication within their premises or across multiple locations. Here are some examples of entities that commonly use paging systems:

Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities :

Paging systems are widely used in hospitals and healthcare facilities to enable quick communication between doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. Paging systems help notify staff members of emergency situations, patient requests, or important announcements.

Corporate Offices :

Many corporate offices use paging systems for internal communication. Paging systems allow employees to receive messages, notifications, or important announcements without relying on personal devices or email. They can be particularly useful in large office buildings or campuses.

Manufacturing and Industrial Settings :

Paging systems are commonly utilized in manufacturing plants and industrial facilities to facilitate communication among workers, supervisors, and different departments. They help coordinate tasks, announce production updates, or relay urgent information.

Educational Institutions :

Schools, colleges, and universities often rely on paging systems for intercom communication, especially for emergency alerts, school-wide announcements, or schedule changes. Paging systems ensure that important messages reach all areas of the campus quickly.

Hospitality Industry :

Hotels, resorts, and restaurants utilize paging systems to streamline communication between staff members. They enable efficient coordination between front desk personnel, kitchen staff, housekeeping, and other departments, improving customer service and operational efficiency.

Retail Stores :

Paging systems are employed in retail environments to notify employees about customer requests, price checks, or staff meetings. They help ensure smooth operations and customer satisfaction by enabling real-time communication.

Warehouses and Logistics :

Paging systems are used in large-scale warehouses and logistics centers to communicate with workers spread across extensive facilities. They help alert employees about incoming shipments, order updates, or urgent tasks, facilitating efficient operations.

Public Safety and Emergency Services :

Emergency services such as fire departments, police stations, and paramedic units may use paging systems for quick and reliable communication during emergencies or to summon personnel for urgent situations.

Supplier of Paging System In UAE

The wholesaler of Syscall paging solutions. SET Al Sindan Electrical Devices Trading LLC SP based in UAE since 2002. Leading the market with 21 years of experience in on-site wireless paging solutions. Thousands of reputable businesses and establishments are using our solutions across the GCC. Affordable prices high-quality Korean-made paging systems syscall call button. 

Paging System Products

Wireless Paging Systems

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Wireless Bell Systems

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If You Want More Information Click Here Or Call Us

Tel: +971 6 5728 767

Mobile no: +971 56 474 6715

[oriana-la-fay]

US Public Education

Wanted to explain some of my experiences

1) My first grade teacher assumed that I had problems with reading based off one experience when I had to share a book with my neighbor and their hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't read the words on the page. My teacher cut me off, passed the reading onto the next person after scolding me, and then placed me in the lowest group of readers.

2) I was bullied in third grade. One student repeatedly stole my things and when I told the teacher she did nothing about it and refused to talk to the student about it despite me mentioning it after every incident.

3) My fourth grade teacher made fun of my best friend for struggling with math and called her out in front of the entire class for needing a multiplication chart on her desk. I didn't need help, but I raised my hand and claimed I did so I could get a chart as well and after I was given one, half of the rest of the class admitted they needed one and suddenly weren't afraid to ask as I asked and they thought I was the smartest kid in the class.

4) In fifth grade I had my reading level tested for the first time. I had a college reading level and probably had for a while. I was banned from reading anything outside of my reading level at school. The library had two books at a college reading level.

5) In sixth grade my communication arts teacher sprayed kids with a water bottle in front of the entire class on their birthdays while the entire class sang to them. This was not optional. If your birthday was in the summer then she got you during the last week of school.

6) In seventh grade I made friends with the family and consumer sciences teachers and thus was the only student who didn't have to do any bookwork (and she assigned a lot). This made a lot of kids hate me.

7) My reading teacher on the first and last day of class lead us outside with no explanation, picked a leaf, ate it, and then took us back inside with no explanation. He also had an illegal website selling shrooms and talked about it in class constantly.

8) My freshman year of high school, my history teacher either spent class comparing his ex wife to Satan, talking about how all of us would show up to his funeral with "Honey badger don't care" t-shirts, playing movies constantly, or playing pimple popping videos. Maybe 15 minutes were actually used for "teaching" most days.

9) Sophomore year my math teacher went over the homework everyday at the beginning of class and gave us all the answers and let us grade our own papers. He then went around the room and recorded the grades we told him were what we got. He didn't check for any work or answers or anything. I literally never did homework and still had a 90% in the homework part of class because of this.

10) Junior year I had a Spanish teacher that was so hot and cold it made me want to scream. She would be speaking a normal sentence, talking about vocabulary or whatever else and in the middle of the sentence she would start screaming at some random student for one thing or another and then start cursing the student/entire class in Spanish. I eventually decided it was better for me to flat out ignore her if I didn't want to get suspended and started watching Netflix the entire hour every single day and I did not try to hide this fact at all. She yelled at me once for it, I ignored her, and then we ignored each other for the rest of the year.

11) Also Junior year, I slept throughout all of AP Government except it was this weird half sleep thing where I could still hear everything going on around me so whenever something interesting came up and I wanted to give my opinion, I would casually wake up and give my opinion only to promptly go back to sleep. This was what I did every single day.

12) Still Junior year, I had half days because I went to tech school for early childhood training for half of the day. So during lunch I would eat with the tenish other students in tech school and we were not watched at all. One day I decided to skip out on the cafeteria and ran to McDonald's which was fairly close by and then ran back (yes, literally ran. I didn't have a car), but I ended up missing the bus to tech school so I just didn't go. No one ever found out about my absence from there or that I ditched on lunch.

Other things I saw or heard about other people doing:

1) Kid jumped out the window on the first day of school, teacher ran to lock the side door so he would have to pass by attendance if he wanted back in. Stupidly, he came back, but attendance didn't care and he just walked straight back into the classroom.

2) Guy got arrested for raping a girl in the gym storage room.

3) School played super annoying songs over the intercom during passing times at a loud volume until the students paid them enough to stop them. Like, we literally paid them.

4) Cheer Squad forced all their cheerleaders to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. Even the ones who had to go to work right after (read: me and some other girls).

5) Teacher was fired for having child pornography.

6) Random drug testing that you had to sign up for???

7) Multiple people got arrested for fighting in the halls.

8) English teacher told stories about how she found her cat dead on the furnace after the cat accidentally hung herself and laughed about it.

9) I bought a wheeling backpack just to be able to make people trip over it in the halls and no one stopped me.

10) Asked to test out of English 2. Denied opportunity to even try because they didn't allow testing out of classes despite the fact that it's state law that they have to allow it.

11) Educated my guidance counselor (who was in charge of all the other counselors) that they had stopped doing the GED in Missouri and several other states over a year ago and then educated her on the replacement of the GED, which is the HiSET and gave her the facts and benefits about the HiSET. She then repeated my exact words back to me two months later when I told her that I was dropping out.

I'm sure there's a ton of other stuff, but this is all I could think of right now. Public high school is messed up, and yeah, most of the things I talked about were arguably just me things, but I mention them because I LOVE learning, but the environment was horrible and I managed to get away with all the shit I pulled I think because most of my teachers realized I already knew pretty much everything they were teaching or understood it immediately, but I couldn't deal with the pace of classes and immaturity of my peers.

[karilamari]

Coronavirus - Schools

K-12 National School Closings: Map + List; 

Educations Week also has an ongoing list of articles  they're producing on Education and Coronavirus. Including: how to deploy school nurses, who gets paid and how if schools are shut down, lessons learned from remote learning, how education companies are adjusting. 

Most Districts Wont Be Ready for Remote Learning...has links to some digital learning resources from curriculum development to groups doing advocacy

Mountain Brook Schools in Alabama started developing an emergency e-learning strategy while preparing for the H1N1 virus in 2009. Schools ended up not needing to close for that event, but the district still developed an “eDay program” and learned some valuable lessons, according to Donna Williamson, who retired last year as the district’s chief technology officer.

Individual districts could lift each other up as well. After a particularly snowy winter closed schools for numerous days during the 2017-18 school year, South Windsor Public Schools in Connecticut began developing “Snow Day Scholars,” a distance learning program that includes online components but doesn’t require students to have internet access or a digital device at home.

“Students Are Lonely: What Happens When Corona Virus Forces Schools Online” - Important takeaways re educator’s transition to online learning and some approaches from the international community. A learning community that has relative access to resources tho.

“In general, teachers and schools are not used to an online environment,” explains Watts, who taught for years in Hong Kong but is now based in Princeton, N.J. “So much of teaching is a relationship—and understanding what that looks like online is a completely new venue to figure out.”  One enterprising principal she knows created a Google folder for schools to share their virtual learning plans. Another educator started a burgeoning Facebook group for international educators to trade tips and began a detailed list of helpful online tools, including the digital portfolio platform Seesaw and the ebook library Epic.

However, teachers can run the risk of assigning too much work or feeling pressured to spend too much of their time connecting with students. On the international educator Facebook group, teachers cited a need for setting boundaries, describing 12 or 18 hour days that can leave them exhausted.

To lessen demands on his time, Lee Shawver often has students wrestle with problems alone or in groups, using the distance imposed by virtual learning to get students problem solving or thinking critically. “I’ve been very deliberate about that,” he says. “Sometimes saying to my kids, ‘Hey, I’m not ignoring you. I’m not being rude. I’m trying to build a skill here.”

Though LeClair says her teachers are also mindful to assign screen-free activities, such as recording the details of their physical activity and building things out of household materials.

“Parents can be forgotten in all of this because their kids are home now and they’re having to be like the lead teacher or tutor for their kids,” says Lee Shawver. “It’s just turning families upside down.” Recently, the Shawvers’ school in Qingdao began a program called Mindfulness Mondays, where students complete writing reflections on a weekly theme—this week it’s superheroes—with podcasts and activities for parents and teachers as well. “We’re trying to think of ways to build community through this,” Robin Shawver says. “Just so people can kind of lighten the load of both the work and the anxiety that everybody’s feeling.”

Those that typically perform well in the classroom are adapting well to the online environment. Other students, however, are struggling. “Students are bored; students are lonely,” he says. “It’s much easier to hide in a digital world. And we have students who are just completely absent.”

The Case for Shutting Down Schools Instead of Moving Online

For instance, a Washington State community college study found that most students on average do worse in online courses compared to face-to-face ones, but younger students, Black and Latino students, and students with low prior GPA do even worse.

In MOOCs, we found that students whose parents didn’t earn a BA were more likely to drop out than students whose parents have a BA. And that effect was most pronounced for the youngest students.

I won’t second guess the folks in the trenches who have to make these hard decisions. But if your school does go online, the first question should not be “what tech should I use?” The first question needs to be "How do we support our most vulnerable students?”

If you do go online, figure out how you will make ongoing, human connections with your most vulnerable students. The best online teachers I’ve met tell me that most of their time is spent tracking down students who need help, especially those who don’t ask for it.

Pod Mapping for Mutual Aid - identifying individuals and community resources. Has a worksheet that can be replicated pretty simply and includes link to printable worksheet. 

Visual breakdown of military spending v. spending that could be allocated towards fighting the coronavirus.

"Amid Coronavirus Fears, the CDC told Schools to Plan for Remote Learning. That Harder Than it Sounds” Re vulture tech companies

This has opened up an opportunity for tech companies trying to market products enabling distance learning, though experts caution districts not to rush into making big investments.

Companies are jumping at the opportunity to showcase products in districts that are at least considering remote learning. This week, the for-profit education company K12, one of the largest providers of online curriculum in the country, started contacting school districts in counties that have been affected by the new coronavirus in Washington and California to offer their services in the event that schools are closed.

Free online services: The company behind the popular online quiz site BrainPOP is offering free use of its tools to schools closed due to the virus. Outschool, an online learning program that’s often used for home-schooling, is offering free teacher training about how to hold classes online by video. And Khan Academy, a nonprofit that offers free online lessons and quizzes, is drafting a page aimed at helping new users get started if they are facing school closures.

Other research has found that students don’t suffer much academically from occasional snow days, but they do post lower test scores after longer spells of closed school.

Interim Guidance for Administrators of U.S. Childcare Programs similar break down as... California School Guidance for Corona Virus - Has had to experiment a little more with remote learning bc of recent increase in forest fires... Broken down by 4 categories:

Preventative Measures

Coordinate with all partner organizations serving students to ensure consistent practices

If two or more cases of people being exposed in the larger community

Develop a plan to communicate with the school community

Consider alternates to congregate or group programming within the school including any large or communal activities such as assemblies. Alternate approaches which limit close contact may include conducting assemblies via webcasts or intercom announcements.

Consider implementing staggered recess times to limit the number of students who are together; and if possible, group recess by classrooms

If one or more people in your school are exposed

Implement communication plans for school closure to include outreach to students, parents, teachers, staff, and the community. Include information for parents regarding labor laws, information regarding Disability Insurance, Paid Family Leave, and Unemployment Insurance.

If one or more schools in your district are exposed

Determine the timing of return of students and staff, and any additional steps needed for the school to reopen, in consultation with the local public health department.

Petition made to Chairman of FCC Ajit Pai for bridging digital divide in response to COVID 19 -using post-Katrina as an example.

Coronavirus: Wisdom from a Social Justice Lens - heard that this is a good podcast from multiple people but havent listened yet. Centers people with chronic illness + disabilities.

[workfromhomeyoutuber]

Canny: Customer Success Manager

Headquarters: Remote URL: https://canny.io

Company

Canny helps SaaS companies build better products by being better at listening to and acting on user feedback.

The benefit of working with SaaS companies is that our work impacts technology in virtually every sector (education, medicine, tech, and so much more). We're using what we're great at, building great products, to have the impact we want to have on the world.

Early-stage startup, 4 person team

Over 500 customers, including industry-leading companies like Lyft, Bench, MongoDB, and Compass

100% remote

Bootstrapped, profitable, and growing – we are our own bosses

For more info, check out our blog or team page.

Role

We're hiring a customer success manager to ensure our customers are successful at using Canny. As the main point of contact for the majority of our users, you'll play a key role in our success 🚀

Responsibilities

Be the main point of contact for customer support via live chat

Become intimately familiar with Canny's product in order to field technical/product-related questions

Give customers demos during the onboarding process

Identify opportunities to improve onboarding, engagement, and retention

Help us build our enterprise sales process

Qualifications

You have 3+ years experience crushing it in a customer-facing role

Empathy is second nature for you; you enjoy helping people solve their problems

You can digest and effectively communicate technical concepts across audiences of varying technical ability

You're great at coming up with ideas for increasing product adoption and customer retention

You're a team player with high level of integrity; you're productive working remotely

Tools

Intercom (live chat conversations)

Missive (email + team collaboration)

Zoom (customer demos)

Apply

If you think you'd be a great fit for this position, shoot us an email. Please include your resume and tell us why you want to work at Canny.

To apply: https://jobs.canny.io/customer-success/customer-success-manager

from We Work Remotely: Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more https://ift.tt/36Blz0l from Work From Home YouTuber Job Board Blog https://ift.tt/2RufC0M

[admoveosolutions12]

Network Based School Speaker Systems To Increase Efficiency In Communication

Schools need to take care of two elements to have control over the proceedings of the day. Comprehensive communication with classrooms and accurate and punctual time keeping of the school time table is what a school administration has to take care of. If these two elements are in control then   it is half the battle won for the administration. School speaker systems are a necessity in a K-12 school as it has to address classrooms for giving instructions, directions and carrying out two-way dialogues among the school attendance.

You have a huge option of PoE speakers or Ethernet speakers and Wi-Fi speakers to choose from. Both these speakers are versatile in their own way and are the pioneers of modern technology. You can expect these systems to deliver crystal clear communication throughout the campus without being cacophonic. These systems can perform multiple functions that include live messages, automated regular and special messages that are pre-recorded and also carry out dialogue between staff, administration and classroom using 2-way intercoms. With the Wi-Fi speakers you can avoid the spread of cables on your campus as audio signals will be transferred using wi-fi internet. Your paging system can be hooked in to your office PC or smartphone so you can keep things at your finger tips.

Similarly the school clock systems of the advanced allow you to keep control over bell/break timings on a tight leash. The Ethernet based clocks or the Wi-Fi clocks can deliver uniform time to entire school and each of these clocks are connected to your existing computer network or to the master clocks system via wi-fi. This makes the system highly flexible and has control over the clock timings from your desk with ease. Manually synchronized clocks can be erratic owing to human fallibility but these network based clocks cannot go wrong at any point of time. Installing them in your campus will increase accuracy and efficiency and with it the school discipline which is the center pillar of the pursuit of education. For state-of-art school speakers & school clock systems call the expertise of Admoveo Solutions, LLC, a US based time management company with thousands of success stories. Use number (800) 964-574 for instant communication.

[cecillewhite]

Extended Enterprise LMS Buyers Companion – 2019 Edition

If you’re familiar with Talented Learning, you know we’re fiercely independent consultants focused on one goal – to help you choose the best extended enterprise LMS for your needs.

The “Extended Enterprise” Worldview

What exactly do we mean by the term “extended enterprise”? Think of learning programs that reach beyond employees. For instance, in the corporate world, that could include customers, prospects, channel partners, franchisees, contractors, suppliers and perhaps employees, too.

EXTENDED ENTERPRISE LMS AUDIENCES

However, serving diverse audiences can be tricky. And with more than 1000 enterprise-class learning systems available, finding the right solution is more challenging than ever.

When faced with so much complexity, how can you choose a solution with confidence?

Recently, we helped association leaders answer that question with a special “LMS Buyers Companion” post, filled with free resources for continuing education providers. Its popularity spread like wildfire.

So now we’re publishing a similar guide just for corporate learning decision makers. We invite you to bookmark this page as a handy virtual reference. But if you need direct guidance at any point, feel free to contact me to request a preliminary phone consultation at your convenience.

Inside the “Extended Enterprise LMS Buyers Companion”

This free collection of LMS selection resources includes:

PODCASTS – “Hot topic” interviews with business-minded learning practitioners and innovators on The Talented Learning Show

BLOG POSTS – Independent advice, straight from our analysts and other experts

WEBINARS – In-depth sessions focused on key extended enterprise LMS issues and related business strategies

WHITEPAPERS – Relevant insights you can download and read anytime

AWARDS – Our choices for this year’s Top Extended Enterprise Learning Systems – including our rationale for each selection

  PODCASTS

Read highlights and listen to complete 30-minute interviews from The Talented Learning Show:

RSVP FOR OUR LIVE OCTOBER WEBINAR!

1) Why is customer education gaining momentum? Customer Education 101 – With Dave Derington of Outreach

2) How do channel education networks drive revenue? Extended Channel Training – With Doug Gastich of BlueVolt

3) How does a modern LMS support franchise success? The Inside Scoop on Global Franchise Training – With Chris Shanks of Dairy Queen

4) How can training providers share online content more broadly? Extending Learning Content Availability – With Troy Gorostiza of Course Container

5) Why pick open source as an extended enterprise learning foundation? Open Source LMS Advantages – With Lars Hyland of Totara

6) How do subscription businesses help customers succeed? SaaS Customer Success – With Samma Hafeez of Thought Industries

7) How do brands drive training engagement among franchisees? Franchise Training Adoption – With Trista Kimber of Hooters

8) How is xAPI transforming enterprise learning analytics? Business Benefits of xAPI – With Mike Rustici of Watershed

  BLOG POSTS

Independent advice from our analysts and expert guest authors:

1) Top learning systems trends: 2019 extended enterprise market guide Which technology and business factors are shaping the extended enterprise LMS market? Check key issues and opportunities…

2) Starting a customer education program: The inside story What does effective customer training look like? Prepare for success with advice from customer education expert Adam Avramescu of Slack…

3) How do you find an LMS that nails extended enterprise learning? What’s the best way to select a learning system that truly fits your extended enterprise needs? Walk through a real-world scenario…

4) What to expect in a partner-focused LMS What features should you look for in a channel learning system? Here’s what you need to run a successful sales partner training program…

5) Marketing never ends: How does product education help? Converting leads to customers is only part of the modern marketing mission. Product education is also key. Intercom’s customer engagement leader explains why…

6) Should you use an employee LMS for extended enterprise learning in 2019 and beyond? The top question we hear as LMS selection consultants: “Should we use our employee LMS for external learning programs?” Here’s how we respond…

7) Customer engagement metrics: What marketers can teach learning pros What kind of business impact should you expect from customer engagement? Marketing consultant Laura Patterson outlines 3 key success metrics…

8) What’s the smartest path to the right LMS? Ask a learning tech analyst What should you consider when determining your extended enterprise LMS needs? This Q&A addresses common questions…

9) Extended enterprise learning systems shift into high gear Why are extended enterprise learning systems gaining ground so quickly? These factors are driving demand…

10) Is your business data worth keeping? Business data is vital. But are you collecting too much data for your own good? Digital transformation consultant Daniel Newman weighs in…

11) Should you use an RFP when choosing an LMS? Requests for proposal are highly controversial. Some love them. Others hate them. But here’s why you’ll probably want to use an RFP the next time you select a learning system…

12) Define your LMS requirements like a pro Learn how to outline your needs so you’ll find the best solution at the best price…

  WEBINARS

Register for any one of these free sessions, and you’ll gain access to our entire library of webinars and other resources at The Talented Learning Center!

1) How does partner education lift business performance for all? Roundtable with Gary Brashear, VP Marketing, BlueVolt Laura Pierce, Marketing Communications Director at Shurtape Technologies

2) How does product training accelerate customer time-to-value? Featuring Samma Hafeez, VP of Customer Success, Thought Industries

3) What steps lead to extended enterprise LMS success? Join me one-on-one for this special how-to session

4) How can you drive learning in hard-to-reach places? Roundtable with Bill Mastin, EVP of Sales & Alliances, PeopleFluent Carrie Hancock, Director of Sales, PeopleFluent Ross Coxon, Director of Learning Collaborative, Humentum

5) What’s the anatomy of a high-impact learning experience? Roundtable with Paul Morton, Regional Director, CrossKnowledge Anja Emonds, Research Manager, CrossKnowledge Academy

6) How does extended enterprise training drive growth? Roundtable with Lars Hyland, CLO, Totara Learning Charles Ackerman, Sr. Solutions Strategist, Remote-Learner Darren LaRue, Product Training Specialist, JLG Industries

7) What techniques engage external audiences in learning? Featuring Kevin Hanegan, CLO at Qlik

  WHITEPAPERS

Download insights from our analysts – free when you register at the Talented Learning Center:

1) Connecting Training to Franchise Success

2) Visualizing Learning Impact: How Can Analytics Connect the Dots?

  AWARDS

Which corporate extended enterprise learning systems stand out from the rest? Learn about our 28 choices for 2019 and why we recommend them. For the full story, see our awards analysis: Talented Learning LMS Awards – Corporate Extended Enterprise Systems

WINNERS 2019

READ THE FULL AWARDS POST

BlueVolt Community Brands Crowd Wisdom Cornerstone OnDemand CrossKnowledge Docebo eLogic Learning Learndot by ServiceRocket LearnUpon NetExam Northpass OnPoint Digital SAP Litmos Skilljar Thought Industries Totara

FINALISTS 2019

Absorb Accord LMS Degreed EdCast LogicBay MATRIX LMS PeopleFluent NetDimensions Saba Schoox TalentLMS Together JAZZ by Skylab Italia UpsideLMS

  WANT TO LEARN MORE? JOIN THIS ON-DEMAND WEBINAR!

LMS Selection Step-by-Step

REPLAY THIS WEBINAR

With hundreds of learning systems available today, finding the right LMS for your unique extended enterprise needs can be tricky. What exactly should you do to choose the best solution?

Walk step-by-step through a real-world example with John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning. You’ll learn:

How to develop a relevant business case and success metrics

Methods for researching and defining use cases and requirements

When to issue an RFP (or not)

Tips for creating a viable LMS shortlist

How to make the most of vendor demos and proof-of-concept projects

REPLAY THE WEBINAR NOW!

  Still confused about which LMS is best for your association’s needs? I’m here to help. Feel free to contact me anytime to schedule a preliminary phone consultation:

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Company

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  The post Extended Enterprise LMS Buyers Companion – 2019 Edition appeared first on Talented Learning.

Extended Enterprise LMS Buyers Companion – 2019 Edition original post at Talented Learning

[jamiekturner]

Must-have animations for Chatbots

A story of failing to get animations into the product

A few months ago, when I was designing the chat panel for a video conferencing desktop app, I included a “typing…” UI in the design mockup. During the design review, engineer colleagues told me that they couldn’t implement this animated UI.

Idea to show “typing…” in a group chat (Credit: BlueJeans meeting experience)

I felt bummed about it.

When I put this UI component in the design mockup, I didn’t think much about why we needed that UI. It’s such a typical UI indicator to imply when “someone is typing…”. Since most chat apps (Facebook Messenger, Slack, Discord) have it, then why don’t we?

I tried to push the idea to have this UI again with the engineers by stating that indicator creates an assuring feeling of receiving feedback. As a pending state, it alleviates the frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty on waiting for someone’s response.

However, as many other product designers may also experience when working closely with engineers for implementing new features, I couldn’t get the design idea across and convince them how critical motion designs are as a part of the entire user experience. My colleagues pushed back and deprioritized the animation. In the end, the “typing…” UI didn’t get implemented in the product, and it resided in the design mockup forever.

What I learned

I learned that implementing motion designs and micro-animations takes extra engineering efforts. Animations are not a part of UX flows, which demonstrate critical functionalities of a product feature. Also, animations don’t generate specific metrics for product KPIs. It’s hard to measure and say an animated Gif or a splash screen contributed to a Net Promoter Score.

I also learned that I could improve communicating design ideas better in a more constructed way. I need to become an advocate and educator for my team to promote animations to my colleagues. I could include a section for motion designs in the design guidelines to introduce different types of animations, their use cases, and some examples of the Dos and Don’ts.

Animations have contributive values to the usability of a product. They connect screens and UI elements to create a fluid and coherent user experience. They provide graceful degradation when a product is not performing at its best, and they add playfulness and a sense of human touch to screen interactions.

Animations for chatbot designs 💬

Animations are a big part of the user experience for chatbot designs. Many software companies use chatbots to provide customer support and nourish the growth in the relationship with prospective and existing customers. When you visit a shopping website, if there’s a chat icon sits at the bottom right of the screen, it implies that there’s a chat service ready to bring you into a conversation.

Intercom Messenger By Jakub Antalík

Chatting with a user and getting the user to purchase something at the end, the design of a chat experience is thoughtfully fleshed out through creative copywriting, UIs and animations.

Instead of having the user mess around with navigating, typing and searching to find what he/she needs, chatting is a more intuitive and personalized experience. So what kind of animation and motion effects are must-haves when designing a chatbot? What are the attributes of the animations that contextualize a fluid chat experience?

A list of must-have animations

1. A warm welcome to put a grin on user’s face

Having an animation or a graphic breaks the ice at the beginning of a conversation. When a chatbot characteristically introduces him/herself, it’s more powerful than just saying hi. It fills up the blank spot to help the user naturally familiarize its presence.

A “Do” example is Poncho — a chatbot that delivers weather forecasts. Poncho’s character is a cat, and it welcomes you by sending you gifs and illustrations, just a like a friend who shares emojis and funny gifts with you daily.

Start a chat with Poncho

Oppositely, a “Don’t” example is the waving feature from Facebook Messenger, which is designed to represent the action of saying “hi” instead of saying “hi”. It receives critique as it’s a force interaction that requires a “wave back” response. It overuses animations to copy interactions that only make sense in face-to-face interactions.

Wave feature on Facebook Messenger

2. Indicator to reconcile frustration during pending

A good conversation flows. Different from in-person communications, it takes a few seconds for a message to be received and reviewed. These few seconds create blank spots with zero feedback to inform users what’s going on, and they block a conversation flowing from one end to the other. An animated typing indicator reconciles the curiosity and frustration when a user is in a passive pending state — waiting for a response.

Typing indicator on Facebook Messenger

To create the feeling of a constant presence for both ends is essential. The way we interact with a chatbot should be no different from chatting with our friends on messaging apps.

Typing indicator on Slack

Typing indicator on Discord

3. Cohesive transition in displaying content

When a user clicks on a card to view more detailed content, the transition from the main screen to the sub-screen helps users understand the in-depth correlation between screens. The transition for displaying content in a web browser to displaying content in a chat widget should be consistent.

Here’s an example of applying this rule to a VUI interface. A beautiful transition makes it very enjoyable to receive content and feed from a chatbot.

An example of creating transition between chat & displaying content (By Valentin Salmon )

4. Emphasize on users’ input

When a user is filling out a form, animations emphasize on the user’s input and provide instant feedback on the result of an action. This type of animations is an enhancement of user’s behaviors like swiping, tapping, and typing. They indicate a point of action and confirm that the action was received. Material Design has also specified this type of motion effects, and they call it creating choreography in motion.

Login animation by Jakub Antalík

5. Creation for displaying options

Most chatbots are designed to assist users to accomplish tasks. In the context of a chat, a chatbot will use UI widgets to enable in-depth interactions like selecting, editing and purchasing. For example, Facebook Messenger bots support chat extensions that appear like a web-view interface in a chat thread.

Chat extensions can display a list of options, allow single select or multi-select from an options menu, and provide a personalized message in response to the user’s input. Here’s an example of how the beauty chatbot Victoria Belle navigates the user to choose a free birthday gift based on a user’s information on gift and skin type.

Facebook Messenger Victoria Belle

The use of animations here subscribes to the same interaction model when we browse and interact with a web page. We scroll down to view more content, tap on input fields to type in information, and tap on the back or close button to navigate between different screens.

Closing thoughts

Animations and motion effects are an essential subset of the static screen and flow designs. Sometimes the efforts on animation designs for the product development haven’t been recognized. Also, since the implementation of motion effects varies from one framework to another, the same animation that appears on the web could look differently on mobile.

I’ve heard many times since last year that chat will become the new web. It’s not to say that chatbot services will replace websites and web applications, but it’s an on-going momentum when we see emerging services like e-commerce, customer support, collaboration and productivity tools are all branching out to chatbots. I can see animations will play a big part in a well-designed chat experience.

Other great reads if you’re looking for references:

Apple Human Interface Guidelines — Animation Google Material Design — Motion Design Facebook Messenger Platform — Messenger Bots

The post Must-have animations for Chatbots appeared first on Design your way.

from Web Development & Designing https://www.designyourway.net/blog/user-interface-design/must-have-animations-for-chatbots/

[jobswzayef]

Director Mena

Director Mena

About 500 Startups 500 Startups is a global Silicon Valley based venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs help them create successful companies at scale and build thriving global ecosystems. With 2 300 investments in 75 countries we are one of the world’s most prolific investors and our fund is a global platform for startups to scale. Our highly diverse and global team of 100 sits in 20 countries around the world continuously scouting for the best startups and opportunities to partner with corporates government agencies investors and foundations to help accelerate nascent tech ecosystems. 500 Startups is also one of the most active investors in MENA having invested in 175 companies in the region. Notable 500 portfolio companies include Twilio NYSE TWLO Credit Karma SendGrid acquired by Twilio Grab GitLab acquired by Microsoft Bukalapak Canva Udemy TalkDesk Intercom Ipsy MakerBot acquired by SSYS Wildfire acquired by Google and Viki acquired by Rakuten . About 500 Startups Ecosystems team The Ecosystems team contributes to 500 Startups apos mission of developing innovation ecosystems around the world. We partner with corporates governments and foundations to train and connect investors startups and corporate executives to our global tech focused platform and experts. Our Ecosystems team is divided into 2 areas of focus

Ecosystem Development Programs that partner with governments foundations and corporates to accelerate nascent tech startup ecosystems around the world. Programs include

Startup accelerator programs we have run 50 programs in 15 countries< li>

Investor education programs we have trained 500 investors from 60 countries< li>

Accelerator manager training programs we have trained 100 accelerator managers from 15 countries< li>< ul> < li>

Corporate Innovation Programs that help corporates find see and invest in the most relevant startups to achieve their innovation and digital transformation goals.

Work includes Scouting and POCs Corporate Growth Programs CVC as a Service among others< li>

Partners include Air Asia Mitsubishi GM Goodyear Farfetch among others< li>< ul> < li> < ul> In this context 500 Startups is seeking a highly driven resourceful and passionate individual to help expand our partnerships presence and impact in the Middle East and North Africa MENA region a burgeoning startup ecosystem and a strategic market for 500 Startups. What you will do You will be responsible for growing 500 Startups business and impact in the MENA region by identifying and qualifying new potential partners crafting partnership proposals and driving the proposals to a close. In addition you will support our fundraising efforts in the region. Key activities include but are not limited to

Support the expansion of the 500 Startups story and strategy in MENA< li>

Draft and execute a 12 month commercial plan for MENA that includes

Closing partnerships with key public and private stakeholders for ecosystem development and corporate innovation programs< li>

Defining monitoring and meeting KPIs< li>

Continuously prioritize key areas of focus to achieve this plan< li>< ul> < li>

Develop new and manage current relationships with key stakeholders in the region with a relentless focus on collaboration to achieve 500 overall objectives.

Stakeholders include but are not limited to 500 Falcons Fund 500 Startups global BD and operations team current partners new potential partners and allies and other key players in the region< li>

Management of stakeholders includes keeping everyone satisfied and aligned as well as finding opportunities to renew and upsell current partners< li>< ul> < li>

Articulate and leverage 500 Startups global resources team products content expertise and track record to create value draft proposals and drive them to a close< li>

Be a 500 Startups global brand and culture ambassador evangelizing our work and increasing our brand awareness in the region< li>

Support 500 Startups investment capital fundraising initiatives in the region< li> < ul> Requirements< strong> Who you are

You are an experienced professional with a deep network and track record in fundraising and business expansion in the MENA region< li>

You are bicultural Fluent in both Arabic and English languages and cultures< li>

You understand technology and VC and are passionate about identifying opportunities to harness them to transform tech startup ecosystems across MENA< li>

You are a strategic thinker and a clear communicator written and oral able to identify and pursue new growth opportunities< li>

You can manage existing and develop new relationships with key players and decision makers in the MENA region private and public stakeholders at all levels to forge new business opportunities< li>

You are able to understand complex issues that involve multiple stakeholders find ways to align interests and incentives by creating value articulate a high level vision design and structure a concrete program that can advance everyone’s goals and drive it to a business close< li>

You are resourceful and adaptable able to manage uncertainty in a fast paced environment being a great team player while remaining highly independent and results driven< li>

You embody 500 values be bold be humble be inclusive be the example be thriving< li>

You always go the extra mile< li> < ul> How do you fit in the 500 Startups team?

You will report directly to the Global Ecosystem Development Director Ana Paula González< li>

You will seek continuous alignment and collaboration with our Global Fund Manager in the region 500 Falcons< li>

You will work closely with the I P solution development team to craft compelling proposals for ecosystem development and corporate innovation programs< li>

You will work closely with the Ecosystem Development operating team in MENA to align and ensure operational feasibility of proposals< li>

You will work closely with our Global Fund GPs to fundraise in the region< li> < ul> In addition to your awesome experience and personal attributes described above the following are nice to have attributes

8 years of professional experience in directly related fields functions< li>

Experience in management consulting investment banking private equity or venture capital at a senior level< li>

Relevant professional experience in multiple countries especially in the US< li>

Experience as a founder or early employee at a startup< li> < ul> Other considerations

You are based in and have a valid work permit for UAE Bahrain or Riyadh< li>

You are available for international travel 30 of time < li>

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. It will be a mix of base and variable compensation according to sales and fundraising quotas< li> < ul> If you’re interested

Please submit the following

Cover letter 1 page max shall respond to the following questions

What would your focus be on your first 30 days on the job?< li>

What is your biggest strength and what is a challenge you might encounter in this role?< li>

What is one thing that is not on your CV and that you are proud of?< li>< ul> < li> < ul> < li>

Candidates will be reviewed on a roll in basis with a target to have the role filled by August 2020< li> < ul> Benefits< strong> You’ll be a part of an amazing fun ambitious team and surrounded by brilliant entrepreneurial minds every day. You can also expect

Unlimited PTO< li>

Regular international team retreats< li>

Flexible casual and fun work environment< li> < ul>< div>< div> * راتب مجزي جداً. * مكافأت و حوافز متنوعة. * توفير سكن مؤثث أو بدل سكن. * أنتقالات أو توفير بدل عنها. * توفير تذاكر السفر لمن يشغل الوظيفة و عائلته. * نسبة من الأرباح الربع سنوية. * أجازات سنوية مدفوعة الراتب بالكامل. * مسار وظيفي واضح للترقيات. * بيئة عمل محفزة و مناسبة لحالة الموظف. * تأمين طبي للموظيف و عائلته. * تأمينات أجتماعية. التقدم و التواصل مباشرة دون و سطاء عند توافر الألتزام و الجدية التامة و المؤهلات المطلوبة علي: jobswzayef@gmail.com

[goodra-king]

Transcript of What All Businesses Need to Know About Website Design

Transcript of What All Businesses Need to Know About Website Design written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

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Transcript

John Jantsch: Hello. Welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. This is John Jantsch and my guest today is Chris Martinez. He is the current CEO and co-founder of DUDE Agency, dudeagency.io. An outsourced web development firm in Tijuana. Mexico, so, Chris, thanks for joining me.

Chris Martinez: Thank you so much for having me.

John Jantsch: So let’s talk about websites in the big picture. For businesses, particularly small business, I have a lot of small business owner listeners, what’s the role of the website today? What’s its job?

Chris Martinez: I think that there’re several jobs, but overall, if you’re looking big picture, it’s got to be a revenue generator for you. It’s got to be a way that you can capture and then with some other software integrations, nurture leads and eventually convert those people into paying customers.

John Jantsch: I read a statistic the other day that said something along the lines of 82% of people that visit your website are, first of all, doing it for the first time, and secondly, won’t take any action that first visit. I mean if that statistic’s true and I think that we can all agree to some extent it is what does that implicate for somebody building or somebody using a website in their business?

Chris Martinez: I think it’s very, very accurate. I think it’s very accurate for the majority of people who have websites. I also think it’s reflective of just the world in general because the first time that you meet somebody you don’t really … If you were to walk into a store for a first time, you never knew who they were a lot of the times you don’t buy anything. People are trying to gather information and then once they have some information and they feel they can make an educated decision, that’s when they get further down into the funnel and they’re ready to make a buying decision.

John Jantsch: So with that in mind, if somebody comes to you and says, “I want a website,” and they don’t have any real ideas in mind, in your kind of checklist of how to design a site, are there some must-have elements that at least for today you would tell pretty much, obviously, different industries have some different things, but for the most part, are there some elements that you think need to exist in some way on every website?

Chris Martinez: So that’s kind of a loaded question and I’m going to give you a plug right now because it absolutely has to start with a strategy, right? You do need basic fundamentals of your message, identifying your market and then having some sort of offer. And then once you have those fundamentals in place and you have their overall strategy, then you can start going into the website and you can basically transfer all the things that you created as a part of the strategy to the website. So in terms of things that you absolutely want to have, I mean you have just a couple of seconds to capture somebody’s attention when they come to your website for the first time. So you absolutely need to be able to communicate to them what it is that you do, how you help them and what that person is supposed to do next.

Chris Martinez: And I’m kind of swiping that from Donald Miller, sorry. I almost a Dennis Miller. Donald Miller in StoryBrand because that’s a lot of what he says is like, “Passing the grunt test,” and so those are three elements and that’s more along the lines of copy. But in terms of layout and design, you absolutely want to have those three things above the fold, meaning before somebody has to scroll down a website, that’s what that visitor is going to see. And then a call to action, a primary call to action and then a secondary call to action.

Chris Martinez: And then as you scroll through the other things that we recommend are like testimonials and social proof. A very, very simple explanation of how you help a client go from point A to point B, so ideally it shows your three or four-step system. And so that’s basically it. I also like a simple thing is images, right? You want images that show real people. So real images are always going to outperform stock images and you want to show images of people who look and seem like your ideal client.

John Jantsch: So over the years, design trends seem to come and go. So homepages are very small, they had a lot of navigation, options on them, and essentially it was like an index page. That’s what we actually called them, right? And so the goal was somebody, “Here’s every option,” like a table of contents, “go find what you’re looking for.” Today, it seems like we have the long scrolling kind of journey page. You see times when people use a lot of stock photos and now it seems like we’re into a lot of illustrations that are very light and airy and a lot of white space. How do you manage as a design firm? How do you manage the fact that or balance maybe the fact that that people want to kind of see … They want their site to look updated, but then we’re jumping on one trend to the next, I mean, is there some sort of balance or I guess another way to ask that is are there trends that are driving your design today?

Chris Martinez: Yeah, design definitely matters. It’s really hard to pinpoint if you do X, Y, and Z, you’re going to hit the ball out of the park every single time. Every business is a little different. Every industry is a little bit different. Design does matter. But what matters most is your ability to convey how you help people. So let’s look at the flip side of one of the most ugly websites in the world that crushes it, Craigslist. Now, everybody has used Craigslist for the most part, and if you’ve never heard of Craigslist, please go type in craigslist.com or.org and look at it. It’s the ugliest, most simple website ever. But it absolutely conveys what it is what they do and it helps people get what they’re looking for. So at the end of the day, you do have to show people how you help them, whether that be through a video or actual text or even like a podcast interview. And that is what really is going to help you to generate more leads and sales.

Chris Martinez: And then the other thing that you want to think about is how are people coming to your website? So maybe they heard you on a podcast interview and they’re like, “Oh, my God, the story that John just told is amazing. I’m really, really excited.” So when that person comes to your website, they’re already a little bit further down in the funnel so the design might be different or the impact that the design has might be different based on where that person is coming from. If they heard you from Yelp, it’s a different story. If it’s the first time that they’ve ever heard you because they Googled you and your name popped up for a marketing agency, then that person’s going to be at a different stage. And so design matters, but there’re all these other things that you need to take into consideration as well.

John Jantsch: So that leads me right to my next question. I think there was a time when people would say, “Let’s go get a website.,” as it was kind of a separate element of everything else they were doing. They had all their other channels and I think a lot of websites were designed that way. I remember, in the early days, people would have sites, they wouldn’t have their logos on them, they would be different colors. I mean, it was like nobody actually talked to anybody else at the business when they designed the site. But today, I mean it’s clear that you can’t have a useful website without a ton of content. You can’t have probably a useful website from a marketing standpoint without considering search engine optimization even in the design phase. I mean, so how do you balance design content and SEO? Because I think they almost have to be done together, don’t they?

Chris Martinez: Yeah. So the easy answer is to hire somebody who knows what they’re doing. Because if you’re a business owner, it’s very, very difficult for you to be able to implement all these things yourself in addition to running your own business. But everything does need to work together and it needs to be congruent in conveying your message. So for design, for example, I’m not a designer. We have a lot of designers here and I’ve hired many of them, amazing ones. And so there’s a thing called color theory and basically, color theory is that different colors convey different emotions. So depending on who your client is or company that you have in your value proposition, you want to have certain colors that reflect and convey emotions to that perspective visitor.

Chris Martinez: In terms of copy, I mean, copy is unbelievably important because people are going to read what’s on the page and that’s one of the ways that they’re going to determine whether or not you can help them or not. And then in terms of development, designers can design amazing things or you might have some concepts in your brain as to how you want things to function on the website, and a developer has to come in and be actually able to make those things come to reality on a website. And then from the marketing team, “How are we going to drive traffic? How are we going to optimize things and basically, get the most leads that we possibly can and making tweaks and changes as we go along the way?”

John Jantsch: And now a little word from our sponsor. Intercom wants more of the nice people visiting your website to give you money. So they took a little chat-bubble in the corner of a website and packed it with conversational bots, product tours, NPS surveys, all sorts of things that amplify your team and help you reach more nice people. Intercom Customer Unity got 45% more loyal users with Intercom in just 12 months. Go to intercom.com/podcast to start making money from real-time chat. Then see everything else Intercom can do. That’s intercom.com/podcast.

John Jantsch: Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about the importance, the overarching importance of a website, and so I think that puts a lot of pressure on getting it done. So you actually you have a certain model for working with business owners and you work with a lot of agencies. You’re a partner of Duct Tape Marketing. Let’s just kind of briefly define what are kind of the options out there for somebody trying to get a website built? So they realize maybe they’re starting a new business and so they’re starting from scratch. What are the many options that they have available to get a website built?

Chris Martinez: I mean, I like to say that there’re really only three options. You can do it yourself, you can hire an in-house team to do it or you can outsource it and basically contract an agency or your local web development company to be able to build that for you. And most people when they’re starting out, they opt for option one, which is doing it themselves or hiring a company to be able to do it for them.

John Jantsch: Well, and really over time, it’s gotten easier. I mean, you’ve got WordPress as a core, CMS and there’re lots of themes and there’re lots of page builders, so in a lot of ways getting it done, I mean just physically getting it done has gotten a lot easier. But again, I think the question comes down to getting it done well is one consideration. And the other consideration for a lot of business owners is, is that a good use of your time? I mean, I know I used to actually put together WordPress websites and I mean, you can go down a black hole and two days have passed and you haven’t eaten, you haven’t drank any water. I mean, if the site’s done, but maybe that wasn’t a good use of your last two days. So I’d like to give you an opportunity to kind of explain your model at DUDE Agency because I think it’s a bit of a hybrid.

Chris Martinez: Yeah. So we work with digital agencies. So those companies that are building out the websites, they’re typically very, very good at the strategy and they’re very good at selling, so they work with the local businesses and they come up with this overall plan. And then where they struggle is they have a hard time in the operations and actually getting these projects completed on time and on budget. And that’s basically where we come in and we give the agencies, the people as well as the processes so that they can take on more projects and get these projects done profitably. And so our process is basically, we run a subscription-based model. We have a team of people, my company’s like you mentioned in the beginning of the show, our company is actually located in Tijuana, Mexico, which nobody ever thinks of when it comes to web design and development. And when most people think of Tijuana, they’re thinking of other things that we won’t talk about, but we all know what they are.

Chris Martinez: So yeah. So we give these agencies a team of people to help them set up and implement. So the strategy’s already created, the instructions are given to us and then we’re able to build everything out and any tweaks and changes that need to be done we have our team here in Tijuana to be able to help get all those things done. And one thing I do want to mention is that a website is never finished. It’s always a work in progress, not just like fixing tweaks and changes. Actually on my own website yesterday, for some reason a button was showing really, really strange on the website.

Chris Martinez: So I sent a little a support request over to my team and I said, “Hey guys, can you fix this?” And they were able to fix it really right away. Those little things happen all the time. But on a bigger scale, once you start driving more people to the website and you start collecting data because that’s another function of a website. This website that I should’ve mentioned is it’s a data collection center. So once you start to collect data, then you can make updates and changes to the site to help improve what we call conversion, getting more leads.

Chris Martinez: So maybe your offer that you had up there for the free consultation is just bombing and so you want to change it. And so maybe instead of free consultation you change the verbiage and it could be meet your new consultant, or maybe you change it all together and it’s like download an eBook and then it goes into something else after that, after you’ve built a little trust with that perspective visitor. So all those tweaks and changes are gathered by an agency and then interpreted into, “Hey, this is what we need to do to optimize,” and optimization is always, it’s always ongoing so it never really stops. And so all those support tasks, technical and design-related, those are the things that we help agencies with.

John Jantsch: And you mentioned a support ticket. And one of the things that I think I is, in my experience, I’ve worked with a lot of business owners and we’ve come into websites that in various different ways and some needed a total overhaul, some needed new content, some had been around forever and they were on this old platform. And I mean it didn’t ever seem like two of them are alike. How have you been able to streamline the process or actually create process that has allowed you to really move pretty rapidly through what sometimes can be a clumsy process?

Chris Martinez: Yeah, this is one of the things that I nerd out on and that I really, really get excited about that most people are like, “God, get this away from me,” But it’s like standard operating procedures, right? And being able to see, “Okay, these things might all look different, but how can we identify what’s similar within all of them so that we can create standards and processes for that?” So one of the things is standardizing your onboarding process. So the way that you’re collecting information from the customer, and this actually can apply to any business.

Chris Martinez: If you have a new client let’s standardize the way that we’re collecting all the information that we need so that we can start implementing the solution. I mean I’m talking about scripting it out, asking the same questions, inputting the information the exact same way with every single client and new client project. And then once that gets conveyed over to whoever’s going to start that implementation process, having that person do that process the same way every single time. And basically, just breaking down all those things into very, very small, manageable steps.

John Jantsch: So I think process is great, but how do you also fight the inevitable client or two clients that say, “Well, we just want to do it this way. I mean this is how we’ve always done it.” And then you don’t want to lose the business so you bend a little and next thing you know you’ve got 10 different variations of the process. Have you been able to wrangle that in?

Chris Martinez: Yes, and I believe that that starts in the prospecting and sales conversation. So when you work with somebody, you want to establish yourself as the expert. I’ve torn both of my Achilles, believe it or not, and so I’ve had two very, very different experiences. The first time I tore my Achilles on my left leg, I had absolutely no idea what that process was like. I didn’t know that there were different doctors with different skill sets. I didn’t know that there were different procedures. I didn’t know that there were different ways to rehab it. So I went into the first guy and it was a disaster. I mean, I play soccer, I’ve played soccer my whole life and my recovery with that was over two years. It was horrible.

Chris Martinez: The second time I did it, I went into the doctor knowing exactly what I wanted and I told the doctor, “Hey, I want this type of procedure,” and then he said, “Perfect. I understand exactly what you’re looking for. We’re going to do this, this, this and this and this and we’ll have you up and walking again within 10 weeks,” and I was like, “This is fantastic.” Now, I did not question the second doctor’s procedures at all because he completely understood what I was looking for and he had the social proof to back it up that he could give me the results. He could have told me to eat a can of lima beans every single day and I would have done it because I had that much respect for his expertise. And he had the proof. On his walls, he had all these pictures of professional soccer players that he had worked with.

Chris Martinez: And so that’s the type of relationship that you want to establish with your new client even before they become a client. So that then they know that you’re the expert and they’re essentially hiring you because of your expertise. And the big thing with clients is that in many ways they want to be told what to do, but they just want to feel like they’re a part of the process. Nobody wants to feel they’re there having information jammed down their throat. And so you could actually build that into your onboarding process by asking them, “Hey, so when we initially spoke, you said you’re looking for this, this, and this. Tell me a little bit more about that.”

Chris Martinez: And then once they give that to you, now they feel like they’re giving you information. You might actually disregard everything that they say, but still, they feel like they’re a part of this process. And now as you move into the next stage, you can basically deliver your solution that you know is going to work and then also say, “Hey, and this is how we integrated in your recommendations or your requests.” and now they feel like this is a teamwork type of project.

John Jantsch: Yeah. And I’ve always contended that you get ideal clients by teaching them how to be ideal. And if you have a process that you know is going to deliver value, that if they adhere to it, then I think you can get pretty confident about saying, “No, we know this is good for you.” And I think you’re right. I think, if we don’t guide clients they just assume that it’s up to them, to design the process, and so I wholeheartedly agree. So, Chris, where can people out more about you and your work at DUDE Agency?

Chris Martinez: Yeah, so you can go to the website at dudeagency.io and then we’re also on Facebook, facebook.com/dudeagency and then Instagram dudeagency.io and then also on YouTube too. So we have a lot of really cool videos, fun as well as educational and stuff. And then we also have our podcasts on our dudeagency.io website, and I do know a certain somebody who is going to be on that very, very soon, so it’s a great, great listen. Yeah.

John Jantsch: Awesome. Yeah. Thanks, Chris. And, of course, we’re going to see you at the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network Summit in October and Savannah. Yeah.

Chris Martinez: I cannot wait. Cannot wait.

John Jantsch: Yeah. Looking forward to it. So thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you soon.

from http://bit.ly/2pqiBf1

[ecotone99]

[RF] The Appraisal

Hello, thank you for deciding to read. I hope you enjoy. It is a bit longer than other posts I've seen on here FYI.

The Appraisal

(Short Story)

Part 1: The Tootsie Incident

During his first term in office, John Mueller, the 47th President of the United States was set up to have a date with Russian supermodel Anastasia Petrovksi. They were seen together on Valentine's Day at the Russian Tea Room in New York, right next to Carnegie Hall. The following day the headline in the New York Daily News exposed “The Tootsie Incident” as referenced by the famous 80’s movie. Ms. Anastasia Petrovksi had once been Mr. Igor Smirnov. The youngest male ever recorded to have a sex change, Mr. Smirnov became Anastasia at the age of thirteen. In the Presidents defense, he claimed to have never known Ms. Petrovski was formerly a man. Regardless of that truth, the press had a field day that made Watergate seem like the latest TMZ gossip.

The outrage amongst citizens and paranoid politicians led to the formation of The Human Appraisal Committee (HAC), who now provided oversight over the general public and businesses alike. For those of you who don't know about the HAC, it is a government organization that ensures all of its citizens have accurate online profiles based on actual facts surrounding their identity.

After the "Tootsie Incident,” the government warned that misrepresentation with social media was a threat to national security. Petrovski was one of millions of misleading online profiles, and so in the best interests of the people, facebook and all other platforms were outlawed or at least ran through the HAC.

At the age of twenty-two years old, every citizen would enter the system, having their appraisal with objective facts, such as their education, ethnicity, net worth, and of course profile picture. The HAC was more than just a way to connect, it was an evaluation of your decisions and your assessed value as a citizen, your social ranking. In the beginning, the government’s aim was to make sure its people felt safe, though they quickly realized they could cash in on everyones obsessive nature with social media.

As Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated before enacting the legislation, “The American people deserve to know the truth!” And so now they could get that truth.

At the right price of course.

…..

This brings us to September 13, 2028, Chase McLeary’s 23rd birthday. He carefully placed the red sticker across the pocket of his new blue blazer. The sticker red Hello!, and underneath it read 6747 written in permanent marker. Tossing the sticker’s paper backing into a trash bin, Chase entered a large room that looked just like the DMV but was actually The Human Appraisal Committee’s office for his district of Minnetonka, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Chase took an empty seat near a woman dressed in white and gold. She reminded him of a Greek Goddess with all her necklaces and bracelets. Like most people on the day of their appraisal, she was dressed to impress. Chase himself had spent over $150 dollars for a stylist to groom him for today, which was much more planned than last year where he wore his green satin suit from prom and mop top hair cut.

Leaning over to the woman, he inquired with a friendly whisper.

“Hey, hows it going today?”

In that moment, the woman was on her phone, scrolling online through the “newest and hottest seasonal wear for cats.” Chase had obviously interrupted, which was apparent by the sneer she gave him. With her drawn on eyebrow rising, she assessed Chase top to bottom like a stray dog. Accessing the HAC phone application, she pointed her camera at his face, to bring up his profile. After a quick read through, the woman stood up, and moved two seats away.

Chase was obviously of no interest to her.

This didn’t bother him too much though, most people these days would divide themselves based on their social ranking. Looking at the hundred or so seats available in the room, more than half the seats were available, and no one was sitting next to each other.

Twiddling his thumbs, Chase decided it might be better to keep to himself until after his appraisal to avoid any further embarrassment.

Focusing his attention on the hands of the large old circular clock at the front of the room, Chase supposed he had about an hour before he’d be out of there. Then as fate would have it, the most beautiful woman Chase had ever seen sat down right in front of him. Her tight black dress fit around her body like an extra layer of skin. Chase could feel that people behind him had already begun taking pictures of her as she walked, to bring up her profile.

Chase thought he might be in love.

Part 2: The Beautiful Gloria Dominguez

Moments of silence, interrupted only by the ticking of the old fashioned clock in the room made Chase McLeary feel anxious. He could not avoid the perfume from the woman he was head over heels for. First her beautiful physic, now her smell had caught his lust, like blood to a shark in the water. Getting up to get a drink from the metal fountain at the front of the room, Chase pulled his phone out at his hip and began taking picture surreptitiously in the woman’s direction. All he would need is one decent image, for the facial recognition technology to work.

After a dozen attempts, Chase felt confident that he got one good shot, and returned back to his seat to pull up her HAC profile. He successfully accessed her first page which showed the following:

Name: Gloria Dominguez:

Age: 28 years old,

Ethnicity: Italian & Spanish,

Hometown Minnetonka Minnesota

Education Level: Bachelors in Communications, University of Miami

Profile Picture: Gloria wearing a tight blue dress.

“Pay to Access More Information Here”

Reading the final words on her account meant one thing, Gloria ranked higher than Chase in value. Unless you were friends or family through the HAC, the government required an Evaluation Match between strangers to access more personal information such as her occupation, the city she currently lived in, and of course more pictures. Chase had never paid to access a persons profile before, so he decided he would approach Gloria the old fashioned way through face to face conversation.

…..

Then, just as he was contemplating his opening line, the voice of god entered the room which was actually the administrator working at the front of the building.

“6739, please come to room 101” projected out through the intercom.

It was for the woman in white and gold, as she stood up only a few feet away. She began her strut towards the door at the front of the room, directly in front of them both. Her jewelry must have weighed a lot, as with every step she took it seemed to take an inordinate amount of energy. Chase swore he heard a chuckle from Gloria, and saw this as an opportune moment.

“Who invited Cleopatra to the party?” he joked in Gloria’s direction a little too loudly.

Like a harpoon out of a spear gun, his words reached the old woman right as she was about to enter the Appraiser’s office. Instead of entering, she turned around, and scanned the crowd until she found her assailant who was ripening up like a tomato.

Melting away in his seat, Chase was unsure how to recover. He was holding his breath, waiting on Gloria’s response when his body produced a pocket of gas which had been held up in his stomach for the last half hour. The result was a loud croak that made Gloria jump from her seat.

“Ay dios mio” she said in Spanish or (“oh my god”)

With her hand over her heart, Gloria turned around and said something in Spanish to Chase that he didn’t understand. His head hanging low in embarrassment, retreated to his original idea of “keeping to himself.”

….

Defeated from his feeble attempts at conversation, Chase struggled to located a positive thought in his head. He reminded himself that very soon he would receive the good news of his new recorded value for the 2029 year.

Burying himself in his work, Chase exceeded the expectations of everyone in his office in 2028, making over $85,000 in his first year. Sacrificing his time was necessary as his mom had gotten sick, and his father was struggling to pay off his little sisters college tuition. Every month, Chase would wire $1,000 to the University of Minnesota to lessen the burden on everyone.

Though he felt empowered by helping, he sometimes compared and thought negatively when he saw people he went to school with receiving praise and recognition for they’re HAC rating. In one case, there was Stephen Oleander who barely graduated college, but still managed to be in the top 80% because of money his grandfather had left him.

In relation to the rest of the United States Chase was valued at 73%. This put him the Evaluation Bracket of anyone between 0-74%. Receiving that score post college made 2028 tough, underestimating the impact an HAC profile could have in certain social circles. It wasn’t easy to make or retain friends when before he had a chance to talk, someone was already judging him for his C-rating.

Chase pondered this, and began to wonder exactly how much higher Gloria might rank than him. Opening up the HAC application, his hand hovered over the “pay to access more information” button.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the woman in front of him and decided that he would approach her after the appraisal. Hopefully after his increase, they would be a match after all?

Then, just as he was about to close his phone, a women tapped him on his shoulder, the result was a loud authoritative voice to projecting through his phone. He had clicked the button.

“Please say Yes or No, if you would like to pay to access Gloria Dominguez's HAC Profile"

Immediately Chase tried to exit out of the application, but accidentally turned the volume up and so the voice repeated in its automated response.

“Are you sure you would not like to access Gloria Dominguez’s profile, please say yes or no.”

There were giggles and whispers throughout the room, and Chase felt worse than he did earlier. Gloria only a few feet away had overheard the response, but was ignoring it. In truth, she was used to this kind of thing and learned it was better to just pay no mind than get in the middle of it. Also, her english was broken, so she willing to “play stupid” rather than force a conversation like she had done in previous incidences.

“I am so sorry sir.” Apologized the person who had caused the catastrophe.

At a glance, Chase noticed the woman over his shoulder. She was older and seemed a bit underdressed, wearing a white blouse, jeans, and flats. Her hair was blonde, with streaks of grey in parts. If Chase were not wearing his emotions on his sleeve in that moment, he would have saw that her blue eyes were friendly and sincere.

His angst and fear however had caused him to instead mumble weakly.

“It's okay, it's okay” half talking to her, and half to himself.

Then, the voice of god broke into the room again.

“6747, please come to room 109”

Chase stood up, and straightened himself out before walking towards the left side of the waiting room. The woman watched him move across the room from a distance, she felt quite horrible for what happened. If Chase were to have pulled out a picture of her HAC profile, he would have seen her name was Sasha. She was in the top 90% in the United States.

Part 3: Meet your future self

Opening the door, Chase walked into a room that was about the size of a two car garage. The walls were a cream color, and empty except for The Human Appraisal Committee logo and Minnesota State flag. The logo consisted of large block letters leading to a percentage symbol, sort of like this :

THE HUMAN APPRAISAL COMMITTEE%

Sitting down at the large desk, Chase folded his hands in his lap. There was the same model computer monitor from last year where he would see his score. Last year he remembered, seeing 0 net income, as well as the $20,000 he owed in student loans, now all paid for.

Across from him sat his appraiser for this year.

"Hello Chase, I'm Julie I'll be taking care of you today”

Julie just turned 30 years old. She had worked her way up through the HAC after college, and didn’t disappoint, given her background in sales, growing up working on a used car lot. On the shelf behind her, Chase saw a number of awards from 2025-2027, they each read Top Appraiser of the Year for Minnesota. These were in reference to the commission she would make by selling people back privileged information only the government had access to.

Her tactics were simple: Press on the insecurities of everyone in the most genuine empathetic way possible, and sell them back data behind their life problems.

“So would you like your pictures before or after the news, sweetheart?”

“Could we do after?” Chase answered with a smile.

Julie was attractive. She wore a denim dress and high heels. Her dark hair, green eyes, and pale skin and freckles gave her an authentic look. Chase wondered what her percentage might be.

“Not a problem Chase, we’ll get you taken care of right away” Julie began to run the most updated version of their algorithm, the HAC 4.0.

Within seconds the results were up on the screen.

“All right Chase, lets see here okay, the results are up on the screen. It looks like you are in the 73% for the 2029 year.”

……

“Chase?”

“I’m sorry can you please run the numbers again, that is my percentage from last year”

“Hmmm, let me see. You are Chase McLeary right?

“Mhm”

She continued.

“Did you get a chance to read our updated terms with the HAC 4.0, you should have received notice for it in the mail?”

Thinking back, Chase had received a large amount of mail over the last year. He moved home to help take care of his Mom. In retrospect, there was a chance Chase may have accidentally threw it away with a pile of credit card solicitation’s.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get a chance to read it”

“Okay, well I can understand then why you are concerned then about your score. Our analysts have included more data and factors regarding you personal records, families records, credit card statements, spending habits, economic trends, and even your health records to give a proper diagnosis of your value. You know who we have doing these calculations right?

Chase nodded his head. He knew who it was the same people who predicted sports gambling in Vegas, they anticipated their results to be 98% accurate.

“Yeah its supposed to be very accurate. It just doesn’t make sense, if you saw the year I just had, you would be surprised by these results too.”

Reaching her arm across the desk, Julie took his hand, and locked in on his eyes.

“I understand this is tough. We see it all the time, and it's not always fair, but what we can do for you is help you better understand why you’re so lowly rated.”

Pulling his hands away, Chase felt the pitch coming and so prepared himself.

“How much is this going to cost?”

Not missing a beat, Julie responded

“I can get you a high level overview at a discounted rate for $500 today, and we can send you an updated version 6 months from now. If you want the full year, we can do it for $850 and of course there is tax.” Julie offered a friendly smile, reading his reaction.

Chase felt uncertain. In his heart, he wanted to leave the HAC and never come back. Another year of social inadequacy sounded unbearable. He calculated before today how much he would make in this next year with his trajectory which was more than $120,000.

“Lets just take the picture, and get this over with.”

Standing up, Chase walked over to where the camera was. He thought about Stephen Oleander and what his HAC experience might be like. He imagined him in the same seat as he was in the waiting room, and the type of interactions he may have had. Maybe Gloria would have preferred to talk to Stephen.

“Before taking your picture Chase, I want to run one more thing by you.”

Julie had trotted around the desk and was now literally in front of him. Her heels were 4 inches high which made her Chase’s height of 6”0. She had one final shot to reel Chase back in and so taking his hands in hers she began with a prayer.

“Dear lord, we don’t know why these things happen but they do and we must accept….”

Julie’s eyes were closed and Chase didn’t really know what to do. He hadn’t been to church in over 20 years, though majority of the community practiced regularly. Instead he tried not to focus on how sweaty his hands might feel to Julie.

After about one minute, she opened her eyes and gave Chase a hug.

“Hey, I know the new algorithm is brutal, but I think I have just the thing to help you increase your score for next year. It sounds like you might be interested to see your expected value appreciation over the next 10 years given your hard work this last year. Is that right?

“My expected appreciation?”

“Yup.”

She was not scooting back around to her desk.

“Based on market trends and your performance in the office, the HAC 4.0 considers your current path and where it might lead.”

“That actually sounds pretty cool. How much would that cost?

“Well, if you just wanted to do a single analysis for today, we can do one payment of $275, and you’ll have everything you need in the short term.”

Chase thought it over quickly. What he couldn’t get over were the giggles and laughs he had heard in the waiting room while he genuinely tried to connect with others.

"Okay run it”

“Okay, great!” After pressing a few buttons, Chase heard a ding on his phone for the charge.

“So Chase, you grossed over $85,000 last year, and have a current net worth of roughly $16,987 in savings, which is good. Hmmm it says however that you have over $60,000 owed back in student loans. So basically, your head really isn’t above water yet.

Taken back, Chase became furious. He had paid off his student loans. The ones they were referencing tied to his little sisters college tuition. He heard these words, which felt immoral. He was being judged for helping his sister now?

He didn’t know what to say or feel, because he knew couldn’t hold this against his sister or that because his Mom had gotten stomach cancer and had to quite working to start chemotherapy.

“So that mostly explains why your percentage didn’t go up. Does that make sense?”

“It does.”

Checking the time on the clock, Julie noticed they were approaching the 30 minute mark and she was satisfied that she had closed her deal.

“So Chase, we’ll just slide through the rest of this information and get you on your way”

Chase listened as Julie gave him the numbers which said the following:

In the next 10 years, he could at best be in the top 83% or below. These were all factored by his decisions, but considered heavily that his productivity in the specific market he worked in.

Even worse was his medical prognosis, which told him his life expectancy, 84 years old. In addition, based on his families medical records, Chase had a pre genetic disposition that within the next 5 years, his likelihood to begin balding was 20% dependent on stress levels, and that within 10 years he was 43% likely to be completely bald.”

“Thanks to his mother’s side," there was a good chance he would get diabetes between 35-50 years old depending on his diet and exercise. Also, because of his father’s history of heart problems, specifically of atrial fibrillation, the HAC recommended he look into natural and pharmaceutical enhancements he approached 40.

By the time Chase was propped in front of the camera, he looked as if he had been taken through the ringer. A nightmare of information which was now forever imbedded in his mind. The supposed truth of the future, all derived from an algorithm considered to be 98% accurate. It was an algorithm created by the same people who “used to” predict the results of sports gambling.

If Chase was a gambler, he would safe to put money down that by 45 years old, he’d be a bald middle class diabetic, one twinkie away from a heart attack.

The room was set at 68 degrees, though Chase had burned up to over one hundred. Sweat was beginning to build up around his forehead, and he was breathing irregularly. Small droplets of hair gel were making their way down his forehead into his eyes causing him to cry.

“Are you okay Chase?”

“Yes, its just... I did so much this last year, and I…”

“Here take a Kleenex” Julie responded cutting him off. The clock read 2:04pm, which was 4 minutes longer than Julie liked for a deal size less than $500.

“So how can I get into the top 83%?” responded Chase wiping his face.

“Just use the metrics in that overview, and work on the area’s that need fixing, okay? Thank you so much for coming”

Part 4 - An Unexpected Turn

Walking out of the HAC, Chase considered what the next step might be. He had a busy day at the office ahead of him, however in his depleted state, he considered just going home.

Taking a seat in the pick up area, he held his hands together and looked out to the clouds as they formed and separated in the sky. A light breeze from the North came through, which felt good on his forehead. Untucking his white dress shirt, he took off his jacket, and folded it across his lap which felt much better.

Pulling out his phone, he check out his new updated picture. His formerly groomed haircut was untamed, taking its natural curls. There were stains on the shoulders of his jacket from the expensive hair gel her purchased. Worst of all were his eyes, which looked lifeless and sucked in, like 2 marbles that had been left out in the sun for too long.

“Time to set some new goals” Chase thought, and so he began highlighting all of the area’s the HAC had pointed out. The thought of another of social isolated came to him again, and he wondered how his life could be so hard?

Then, as if on cue, Gloria Dominguez walked out of the HAC. She was now dressed in workout clothes, and seemed to have a heightened amount of energy. In truth, her HAC Profile had just increased 2% into 80% thanks to her husband. Chase didn’t know this, and couldn’t because they hadn’t spoken and he couldn’t access her profile.

With her headphones in, Gloria bopped around the ride share area as if ready to run out of a tunnel into a football stadium. Chase watched, intrigued by her physic, and confidence.

Pulling out his phone, he decided to do something out of character and snapped another picture of Gloria, and this time, with his headphones in. The same button appeared from last time. “Pay here to access more information.”

Chase clicked the button and within seconds he received a call from the HAC representative.

“Hello this is Mike with the HAC, am I talking to Mr. McLeary?”

“Yes, um yes hi”

“Great. How are you doing today?”

“Doing well.”

“Thats great to hear. I see you were inquiring for Ms. Gloria Dominguez. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I’d like to see what it would cost for more information.”

Mike was located in Boulder Colorado at a call center that strictly took inbounds like this. When he wasn’t at work, he spent his time snowboarding or mountain biking depending on the season. His goal was to eventually become an appraiser, so customer service was a step in the right direction for him.

“Certainly, and before we get into price… Was this for personal, professional, or emergency reasons”

“Um, Personal reasons I guess.”

“Oh alrighty then, well I am obligated to ask. Do you know or have any relations with Ms. Gloria Dominguez?”

“No, not really”

“Got it, well thats not a problem Chase, we can certainly share some more information with you, though it will be at an increased rate due to your non existent relationship with her, okay?”

Picking up his head, Chase saw that Gloria was still bopping around to her music. Shaking her hips left to right as if ready to hit the dance floor, Chase felt like such a creep. Behind her were a few older men sitting and staring.

“Oh, I'm sorry how much will that cost”

“Well considering your percentage of 73%, and hers of 80% let me run the numbers in our database.”

“Alright sir, thank you for your patience. Access to Ms. Gloria Dominguez’s personal profile is going to run you $200 for 1 hour, and since you’ve made a purchase with us today, we will also give you access to one phone call and an additional email sent through the HAC. How does that sound?”

“Oh, I’m sorry thats a bit high for me. Thank you though."

“Chase, Chase Chase, before you go”

Mike deepened his voice, and again Chase knew he was being pitched.

“Let me level with you before you go."

“Lets say you did take Gloria out on a date, how much would you expect to pay for the night.?

"I don't know maybe $100 or a little more depending on how it went."

“Exactly dude. I see girls ALL THE TIME, and they love to see when guys are willing to pay for this type of stuff. It makes them feel valuable, kind of a new age romantic gesture. Its damn near 2030, this is how we’ve got to do it these days. You know what I’m saying?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t.

“Alright, so the best I can do is a text message for $50 dollars, 20 words whatever you want.”

Chase closed his phone, and took a deep breath. The clouds overhead were now blocking the sun. And he decided that it would probably be better for him to go to work, rather than feel sorry for himself. He agreed that this year he would focus on making more money and fixing all of his problems. One day he would be in the 83%, and maybe happy eventually. In his phone he began typing out his goals for the year, when he received a tap on the shoulder.

…..

“Hello, I just wanted to apologize again for what happened earlier.”

It was the woman who had bummed into him earlier in the waiting room. Chase noticed now that she had very kind eyes and friendly smile.

“Thats okay, I don’t think I had much of a chance anyway.”

Chase said this and laughed though inside he felt uncomfortable.

Taking a seat next to him on the bench she continued.

“Oh yes, that girl over there is very pretty. Is that who you wanted to talk to?”

Chase looked and saw Gloria now bent over touching her toes showing her full figure to the masses.

“Yup, thats her.” Chase said embarrassingly.

“My late husband was a lot like that girl, in certain ways.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear of his passing.”

“Thank you, its quite all right though. He carried a lot of demons with him in his final days, I wish he were happier towards the end of it all.”

Chase was unsure how to move forward in the conversation. Most people preferred to stray away from people they didn’t know. Why was this woman opening up to him about her personal life? Strange he thought to himself, this woman must be really down in the dumps willing to talk to someone like me. Still her eyes seemed genuine, so Chase continued the conversation.

“I’m sorry, when did he pass away?”

“This last year, a week or two after new years. He had a heart attack.”

“How long were you two married? Almost 23 years, he was 52.

The wind blew again, and Chase sat there still. Contemplating what was appropriate or inappropriate to ask, then She broke the silence in a laugh.

“You sort of remind me of him. I heard your comment earlier about the woman with the all the jewelry, I swear some people go through such inconveniences in life.”

“Oh yeah” Chase smiled to himself.

“That may have been inappropriate” Chase said out loud.

“Oh it's all right. She has her own story which she tells herself and thats her deal. Still, it’s not right to treat people so poorly”

“Yeah.” Chase took a deep breath, and continued “But thats the point of the HAC, and having our appraisal’s, to keep everyone safe and understand what we contribute or bring to society?”

“Hmmm.”

She didn’t answer at first, and then continued.

“I think it is up to you to decide what you contribute to society. Like that woman Gloria, her husband of one year is twice her age and worth quite a bit, though I don’t believe the business he is in actually contributes positively to society.”

Chase wondered how this woman knew all of that information. She must be at least in the 80% or higher to have accessed Gloria’s profile, and to access even her husbands was privileged for the highest classes. Why wasn’t she at least dressed the part?

“My husband began working for a company, after we had our daughter. I didn’t know much about it, except that it brought us a lot of wealth. What happened in our relationship was an increasing distrust of each other. After the police showed up to our house a few days before Christmas, we found out that we would lose everything.”

Chase knew in that moment, exactly who she was. The newspapers had covered the story for almost 6 months, because it was such a scandal within the Minnetonka community. Engaged, he let her finish the story.

“My Henry had started lying to me for many years, and because of it I lost nearly everything except my Laura. When Henry passed, all the material items were taken away. The house, the cars, the jewelry, and savings all given back to the government. So yes, I’ve seen what can happen when we use the value of things to determine the worth of our lives. It can poison the mind and make you forget that other people have feelings to.”

Chase sat there, and digested everything she just said, and let these words settle.

“The question you might want to ask is: what is the most important thing in your life, if you lost everything today?”

“Are you, Henry Goldman’s wife.” Chase asked.

“Yes, I was once. My name is Sasha.”

The two of them shook hands, and for the first time that day Chase felt a little lighter than he had before. The calm breeze picked up again, giving him the chills.

“Mom, well that was fun. They clocked me in at 75%.”

Turning around, a girl a few years younger than Chase stood with her arms folded. Chewing a fresh stick of gum, she had her hair in pig tails and had the same friendly blue eyes as Sasha. Dressed in jeans, sandals, and a white Woodstock t shirt, she waited for her mothers inevitable introduction. She reminded Chase of Kate Hudson from the classic movie Almost Famous.

“Chase, this is my daughter Laura.”

“Hello.”

“How do you do Chase?”

“Not bad, just got told my whole life story. And you?”

“Meh, I don’t pay attention to the statistics, I prefer to think of myself as the sole author of my own story.”

Laughing at this, Sasha invited Chase over for lunch. He only had to call in his work to explain he would be taking a personal day. The three of them entered the autonomous driving car, and left for Sasha and Sophia’s house for a cup of coffee.

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[ewebresults]

What are the key objectives and benefits of SaaS marketing plans?

This article was written by guest contributor Anubhuti Shrivastava of Arkenea.

Comprehensive marketing strategies have become integral for entrepreneurs in order to attain steady business growth and exposure. Well, the tech-driven landscape has given a plethora of opportunities and platforms to marketers for executing seamless marketing campaigns and initiatives.

It’s easy to market a tangible product, but what about promoting services without any physical presence? Yes, you guessed it right – we are talking about SaaS company marketing strategies.

Nowadays, SaaS enterprises have come into the mainstream. Here are just a few well-known subscription-based models:

Intercom

Slack

Salesforce

CoSchedule

Autopilot

Marketing “invisible” products can be extremely daunting, but it’s not impossible. Below, we list a few tips which SaaS marketers can use to optimize their marketing plans in order to reach and convert maximum customers.

What Is SaaS Marketing?

Before diving deep, let’s look at the basics.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a business model where companies provide users with the ability to connect with cloud apps or other software products and platforms over the internet through licensing or subscription.

Here, the SaaS vendor is completely responsible for maintaining the product which is opposite to marketing on-premise software solutions where it’s a customer’s duty to look after the product once it’s purchased.

SaaS is a business model where companies allow users to connect with cloud apps or other software products and platforms over the internet through licensing or subscription.

How is SaaS Marketing  Different From Other Marketing?

It’s clear that SaaS marketing is all about promoting SaaS products, which are intangible.

This form of marketing is unique because marketing pros can’t keep on highlighting the new functionality and features of the products. Instead, they need to pay attention to the way in which their SaaS product will solve users’ pain points.

Moreover, SaaS marketers must have a complete understanding of their USP (unique selling proposition).

Also, they need to educate and keep their prospects well-informed on the specific features of the products and how they are better than similar alternatives available on the market.

SaaS vendors can’t afford to acquire new customers every time; hence, it’s integral for them to retain their existing client base.

SaaS focuses on marketing intangible products and services.

The SaaS Customer Lifecycle

According to Cobloom, the SaaS customer lifecycle can be divided into nine stages.

Let’s have a look at the SaaS growth funnel:

Source: Cobloom

Marketing experts can optimize each of these funnel stages and grab more quality leads which can be nurtured with a CRM for SaaS businesses.

Such a tool can streamline the customer relationship management for your SaaS venture and allows you to keep track of leads and manage communication for converting more customers into permanent subscribers.

What Are the Key Objectives of a SaaS Marketing Plan?

What are the Benefits of Having a Comprehensive SaaS Marketing Strategy?

A comprehensive SaaS marketing strategy is driven by a few crucial objectives which have to be accomplished. Let’s see the three major ones:

1. Seamless Customer Management & Communication

Foster Long-Term Relationships

Developing a healthy relationship with existing customers is one of the primary goals of a SaaS marketing plan. SaaS marketers must focus on satisfying their customers on a regular basis so that they never think of leaving their platform. Their ultimate goal is to keep clients happy and serving them for the longest duration.

“Software-as-a-Service is about Service (not Product)” – Chuck DeVita (President – Growth Process Group & SaaS Sales & Marketing Thought Leader)

2. Building Brand Awareness to Stay Ahead of the Curve in the Contemporary Competitive Landscape

SaaS marketing professionals must put sincere efforts into building brand awareness, as the USP can only make their business dominate others in the marketplace. They should leverage multiple channels to build awareness for their brands.

According to a report by Drift published on Marketing Charts compiled the top 10 tools leveraged by leading SaaS businesses. In this list, Marketo, an automation software for building brand awareness through better engagement, is at number three. Let’s look at these top tools:

Source: MarketingCharts

You can either purchase a ready-made suite for building your tech marketing stack or hire software developers to custom create a tailored one which suits your specific business requirements. Read this detailed guide on how to hire software developers if you don’t have that experience already.

Experienced programmers can easily build a tech-driven marketing platform seamlessly integrated with other systems which can help you in building brand awareness for your SaaS business.

3. Lead Generation to Build a Robust Sales Pipeline

Better Conversions

Better Customer Retention

Leads being the backbone to a SaaS business, the marketers have to design and develop multiple demand generation tactics to identify the sales-ready buyers and eliminate the doubtful researchers.

They have to think beyond offering free trials and focus on creating premium content, hosting webinars, begin guest posting, etc. for grabbing quality leads. Also, they should concentrate on developing a high-converting landing page integrated with strong CTAs which can easily attract potential customers.

In addition, SaaS marketers should also offer users with informational ebooks and live chat support which will encourage the already excited leads to interact with you. You can look after these quality leads with one of the top CRM tools and build a sales pipeline for your SaaS business which is brimming with leads ready to get converted and take a permanent subscription.

How Content Marketing Can Fix All This

Seamless content marketing can be your ultimate weapon to build brand awareness and generate demand for your SaaS venture.

According to Medium, the 2016 State of Inbound report given by HubSpot revealed that content optimization is the third priority for SaaS companies. Let’s look at the image below to get a better idea:

Source: http://bit.ly/2Wvrv5F

Conclusion

SaaS marketing pros can harness the power of data and identify different segments to create multiple sets of targeted audiences based on their locations, behavior, preferences, buying habits, and more.

All these customers can be reached individually by providing them with relevant, personalized content in accordance with their specific needs. Optimized content can motivate these customers to consider your plan and subscribe to the model immediately.

Having a well-designed SaaS marketing plan can be extremely helpful in getting more subscribers to your products, but remember to determine your specific business requirements and the market scenario before creating a marketing strategy for your SaaS business, as it can either make or break the customers’ experience.

What are the key objectives and benefits of SaaS marketing plans? | eWebResults – Houston, TX

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[slrlounge1]

Photography Studio Management Software Guide for 2019 (Updated)

Finding the right Studio Management Software is critical for photography and videography businesses of all sizes and genres. The right software will help you do the following:

Keep your leads organized

Automate critical tasks, reminders and emails

Avoid double bookings

Provide payment options

Generate invoices and useful reports for performance tracking and taxes

Much more

This article (updated annually) is your guide to finding the right one for your creative photography studio.

What to look for in Photography Studio Management Software

The catalyst for writing this article was the extensive research we did when finding the right studio management software for our own studio.

In 2016, we were using a hodgepodge of apps and services to make our business run that included Google Calendar for scheduling, Google Docs/Sheets for information sharing, Shootq for client booking, Mailchimp for newsletters, Hello Sign for contracts and a myriad of others. We knew that we needed to clean this all up and find a solution to make everything more streamlined, consistent and efficient.

Here were our basic studio management software requirements:

Website Best Practices – Mobile friendly, fast load times, robust search, and friendly user interface.

Scheduling for multiple photographers/videographers – The ability to manage schedule for multiple leads, 2nd and 3rd photographers.

Syncing & Integrations – The ability to sync/integrate with our website (on WordPress) and Google Calendar.

Exporting data – The ability to export  all analytics to excel (referrals, bookings, sales and pricing, financials)

Automated Workflows (Sales Funnel) – The ability to have certain actions trigger certain events, such as sending automated emails on specific days or marking a lead as “dead” after a period of inactivity.

Communication Tracking – The ability to document and see all of the communication with a client quickly without having to search through multiple email chains.

Client Notes – An area to document communication with each client so that everyone on the team is fully aware of all client notes and potential concerns.

Access Restrictions – The ability to set access restrictions for team members, each with their own account.

Support of multiple photography brands – The ability to use one system for all of our photography brands.

Support of multi-day events – The ability to accommodate multi-day weddings, a common need for Indian and other cultural weddings.

Studio Management Software for photographers

In our hunt, we researched the following studio management software companies, creating trial accounts with many and even contacting the owners of a few.

Tave

Website: Click Here

Tave now serves multiple professions, but they started with photography and they’ve stayed true to the field. Although it takes a long time to set up, it’s for good reason. Tave’s system can become highly automated. Once the software is set up, it saves time and removes many day-to-day tasks.

Tave also provides in-depth lead automation, which helps funnel and keep track of leads in various stages. Of the software options we explored, Tave’s data tracking points are the best. While the UI/UX is not necessarily friendly, it is logical. Fortunately, if you need help, their customer service uses “Intercom,” a quick and convenient customer messaging platform.

If you are not concerned with setting up automations, then setting up Tave may be too complex for your needs and not worth the time it takes to do it.

We currently use this photography studio management software for Lin and Jirsa and Rise 8 Media.

Starting Price: $21.99/month with a free 30-day trial and additional savings for paying one or more years in advance.

Pixifi

Website: Click Here

This software was created by photographers for photographers (and other event professionals), with granular customization that addresses the specific needs of our industry.

Support response time is quick and most issues are addressed quickly. Analytics options are also great, and a wide variety of data can be made available.  For example, you can see your lead shooting hours vs. second shooting hours for a particular client, how much revenue has been generated by each type of booking and more.

If your studio does “Mini Sessions” then this is THE best software that we found to accommodate those needs. giving you options to sell and book specific time slots.

There is room for improvement in the UI/UX. Once you get the hang of it, you should be happy with the features and the functionality, but setting up the software and on boarding staff to use it can be time-consuming.

Overall, Pixifi is a great, easy-to-use solution for smaller, single shooter studios; and this is the software we use for our family photography brand, Line and Roots.

Starting Price: $24.99/month with a free trial and additional savings when paid annually.

SLR Lounge Discount: 60 days free, 10% off  3+ months subscription when paid upfront (see the partners page)

Dubsado

Website: Click Here

Dubsado brings a great look and design to the CRM game and it checks off a wide number of features from our list of requirements above. One of its standout features is how integrated it is with other companies/services (e.g. Google Calendar, PayPal, Stripe, etc).  After reviewing Dubsado, we placed it as our second choice (or tied with Sprout Studio).

One downside we found is that Dubsado’s workflow customizations are currently limited, such as not being able to assign leads to specific sales team members. We also found it difficult to track multi-day events with this software.  However, we realize that these may be uncommon, unique problems that are particular to our studio.

Starting Price: $30/month with a no-time-limit free trial (good for three leads) | You can save $60 if you pay annually ($300/yr.).

Partner Discount: 20% off your first-year subscription (see our partners page).

HoneyBook

Website: Click Here

As a large, well-funded company, HoneyBook develops new features quickly. It is also easy to collaborate with other shooters, vendors, etc. (all of which will have access to an event feed where questions can be asked & answered).

The UI/UX is clean, and the software is responsive and mobile friendly with a dedicated app. Moreover, on-boarding is quick and easy. You can also network through their community (to find second shooters, models, etc).

The software accommodates all types of business, so it’s not particularly specialized for the photography industry, leaving features to be desired.  For example, if you run a studio that encompasses multiple brands, you cannot set up multiple businesses under a single account.

Starting Price: $20/month with a 60-day money-back guarantee and additional savings when paid annually

Partner Discount: 50% off your first-year subscription (see our partners page)

Sprout Studio

Website: Click Here

Our Thoughts: Sprout Studio is easy-to-use and created by photographers, specifically for photographers.  It features great integration (contracts, billing, sales galleries, photo proofing gallery), and the UI/UX is nice. Perhaps unique to Sprout Studio, this CRM also offers great educational podcasts/resources.

While the many integrations are great, they can also be a con because users may not desire the particular integrated tools and prefer outside apps. If you want to change one module, it may be linked throughout the whole system so a small change can potentially cause other issues.

Nevertheless we think that Sprout Studio is probably the best option for a single-shooter studio (or up to 5 shooters).

Starting Price: $17/month with a free 21-day trial.

17 Hats

Website: Click Here

As an all-in-one-stop shop, 17 Hats is loaded with features for everything from lead generation forms to online payment collection and bookkeeping. The software can sync with Google Calendar and offers a variety of other integrated tools and automated workflow options.

While the software appeals to a variety of professionals, the lack of specialization for photographers leaves it wanting in terms of detailed automation and analytics.

As its name suggests, 17 Hats caters to a wide audience, from photographers to accountants and beyond. This all-inclusive approach brings with it a number of pros and cons.

Starting Price: $199/year with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Partner Discount: 15% Off (see the partners page)

ShootQ

Website: Click Here

ShootQ is one of the originals to create helpful, automated workflows, and it works well enough to help scale small businesses into bigger businesses.

ShootQ was bought by Pictage and sold to a newer owner. New features are being added and old ones are being modified. If stripped down and rebuilt to be what ShootQ was meant to be, it could become one of the best in the market.

At one time, ShootQ was the best, but become somewhat outdated over time as new competition arose. With their new ownership and new versions of the software being released, they are primed for a come back.

Starting Price: $29/month with a free 1-month trial | $24/month when paid annually.

  Iris Works

Website: Click Here

Iris Works covers basic automation (with emails, contracts, etc.),  and it is integrated with several companies/services, including ShootProof for image galleries, Quickbooks for accounting, and Square or PayPal for collecting payments.    Customer service is helpful and very quick to respond.

We passed on Iris Works because it didn’t have enough automations.  For example, they didn’t have automated invoicing.

Starting Price: $25/month with a free 30-day trial (and you can save 10% when you pay annually).

Studio NinjaWebsite: Click Here

This is one of the easiest CRMs to use; the features are plentiful, and the user interface is intuitive and logical. If you need assistance setting up your workflows, you can book a one-on-one call for a demo or account audit. Another plus is that you can customize many features, including emails, contracts, and more.

At our time of testing, we found that Studio Ninja would occasionally load slowly when running multiple tasks, such as filtering and updating leads.  Automation is also limited for email and other advanced workflow funnels.  Nevertheless, we found that the features and functionality make a great fit for smaller studios.

Starting Price: $21.95/month with a free 30-day trial | $17.95/month when paid annually.

SLR Lounge Discount: 35% Off (see the partners page)

Picr

Website: Click Here

As a newer start-up, Picr is open to feedback and working on developing features that meet their clients’ needs. The user experience is pleasant and the interface is easy to navigate. Because the features are basic (setting up and processing payments, signing contracts, etc.), they’re also easy to set up and use.

Picr is still developing much-needed features. The automation and analytics are not as in-depth as some of the other CRMs featured above.

Like a number of other CRMs in this list, Picr is recommended for smaller studios, or freelancers, in particular.

Starting Price: $29/month with a free 14-day trial and additional savings if paid annually.

other studio management solutions to consider

Here is a list of other candidates that we were unable to test out ourselves.

Shootzilla

fotoClient

Light Blue Software

StudioPlus: myStratus

Picspotr

StudioCloud

Our Recommendations

After reviewing all of the CRMs featured in this article, we have concluded that certain CRMs are clearly better suited for larger studios while others have been tailored to suit the needs of smaller studios.

That said, we recommend Tave for studios who employ more than five team members and Sprout Studio for smaller studios.

You’ll find that the level of difficulty for setting up the workflow for each CRM varies greatly, but the more complex the automation, the more work that will be taken off of your plate moving forward (hopefully).

In a sense, the results are subjective. It all comes down to what tools you need to maximize efficiency within your given situation. Although many of these CRMs aim to be all-in-one-stop shops, there is no one-size-fits-all CRM.

Poll

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