Final Discussion Entry #10

Today in class we reviewed and talked about the final project and the components of the Google ads and the drip marketing and emails that are involved. As a friendly reminder final projects are due by 12am Thursday night.

Jenni and Sharon are currently working their email responses for the drip marketing. Google ads have been completed and have been sent to Tamra for review. They will be sending them to Dr. Arroyo after hearing from Tamra and doing any tweaking that is needed. Currently they have began to start working on their response emails and will be sending those to Tamra for a review before sending them off for a final grade and presentation to Dr. Arroyo.

Derrick is currently working on his final blog post for the site and will be sending that off to Tamra by Friday and submitting all 5 blog postings to Dr. Arroyo by Monday for review and upload to the PIC website. He is also currently starting his Google ad keywords for his final project. Since Jenni and Sharon are working on consultants, Derrick will be focusing on the client side of the marketing and media.

Jenni's Online Portfolio

Hi Everyone!

Here's a link to my online portfolio.  It also links to my LinkedIn page. 

http://lynn83jenni.wix.com/jennijensen

If by chance you come across anything that needs to be edited, will you please let me know.  It always helps to have a fresh set of eyes! I'm planning on using this portfolio beyond this class, so I would like to make sure it portrays my abilities and my personality. 

Thanks!

Jenni

Discussion #9
Our Last Team Discussion Post  =(  

On Wednesday during class we conference-called Tamra to discuss the last tidbits of our project.  

What we have left to do on the website:

• final edit of verbiage
• make sure all pictures are appearing properly
• make sure all tag lines used throughout the site are applicable
• make sure all links are properly working

Things that we will have to outsource:

• combining Tamra’s personal blog posts with PIC’s blog
• adding the social media links to the website
• any cool technical things we want to add to the site
• changing the links’ url to PIC’s url

Sharon and I have moved on now to the marketing campaign for PIC. Since this campaign will actually be used (hopefully =) ), we are going to work together to make sure the campaign is premier!

We will also be presenting to the class our final product!  Tamra won’t be able to make it to our class meeting, so we are hoping to do a Google Chat so that she can be part of the presentation too!  Sharon and I will also be working on this part of the project this week to have ready for class on Monday. We are hoping to find some of the old site’s images and screenshots to be able to show a before and after. We did find the site’s original verbiage and will be showing the before and afters of it, along with all the other modifications we worked on.

All in all, it has been very enlightening and fun working on Tamra’s business website. We feel extremely lucky and proud that we are able to use this for our portfolios, and that after so many hours of hard work,  our product will actually be used in “the real world”!!

Discussion #8

In class, Sharon and I discussed what still needs to be done to the website concerning writing content (home page, services offered).  She will be working on editing content that Tamra drafted for the "Services Offered" main page.  After also looking over this section, I think a lot of this content can be used for the homepage to differentiate Tamra's company from other companies. We will collaborate together on this. I worked on fixing all the links that are currently on the website. I had help from Brian in class and everything was working great. However, after checking the links today, they are no longer working.  I'm not sure if this is because I did something wrong, or because of the website provider's technical difficulties due to Hurricane Sandy on the east coast (which is where the company is based out of). I will keep an eye on this for the meantime.  I am still working on adding a slideshow and more pictures throughout the website. As of right now, we have one page that is 100% done and two more pages that are 99% done!!!

I've revised grade breakdown for your group based on the chart I received listing who is doing what. I will explain more about what you should do to earn the points for each section in the breakdown.

As you know, you have already completed the website analysis project, and you already have your grades for that.

I've combined the assignment for the other group called the "website editing project with video summary" and the "Interview Project" to include 40% of your grade. For Jenni and Sharon, this will entail finishing up all of the content on Tamra's new website and establishing her social media presence. For Derrick, this will entail producing five solid blog posts (8 pts each) following the blog post guidelines on the syllabus and covering the topics Tamra has approved. Derrick, your project is similar to what the Cloud Sherpas interns are doing, since your blog posts will entail either interviewing someone or conducting research on the topics at hand.

You all have already done one team presentation, so you have 5% of the 10%. Your second team presentation will take place near the end of the semester when you can present to the class all of the work you have completed for Tamra's company.

Your Team Discussions will follow the same schedule as the CS team -- every time you see "team discussion" on the syllabus, make sure that you post something on your blog describing what you discussed that day.

We will determine what your final project will be over the next two weeks. I'm leaning toward creating videos, based on what I have heard from you and Tamra. But, we can come up with something else if you want.

You all will create a professional portfolio just like the CS team, so make sure to follow the guidelines when they are posted.

And, of course, you will receive participation points just like the CS team as well based on your participation in group activities in class and online.

Grade Breakdown:

Website analysis project

(includes collaborative video summary) 10%

Website editing project

(Includes one video summary)
Interview project 20% + 20%=40%

Team Presentations 10%

Team Discussions
(and products that result from them) 10%

Final Project 20%

Professional Portfolio 5%

Participation (class and online) 5%

Please let me know if you have questions!!! 

Best,

Dr. Arroyo

Discussion #7

The team has been making major changes to the ARC website!  Content was combined or moved to different sections/pages and now the overall flow of the site seems to work much better. Images were also inputted as well as some design elements, such as color and font styles, to add depth and character.  The project is still in the works, but is coming along nicely!  Tamra’s company is also the new owner of a Tumblr site and making a start in the social media world. However, we are still working on a new company name… something with “Premier” in the title.  We are also editing each page of the website to make sure it is exactly what Tamra wants for her company!

Blog Posts

Here are some ideas for blog posts.

• Changing environments of the workforce: companies need to run in a more lean way, more people want a flexible work environment (don't stay with one company for too long, want better integration of work/life)
• On-shoring: keeping/bringing technical workforce in the US, challenges of doing work with an international offshored workforce, the trend of keeping expertise here and better using knowledge about US culture/business
• Growing fields in technology, engineering. 
• Disconnect between job openings and unemployment - what are the areas where companies need workers and experts 
• Application of systems engineering skillsets to other industries, beyond aerospace/defense and IT

My Personal Social Media

www.linkedin.com/in/tamrajohnson

https://twitter.com/tamrajohnson

Personal blog: www.tamrajohnson.com

And I'm on Facebook, but would prefer to not connect that with my more professional image
http://www.facebook.com/tamrajohnson

And I have a lot of pictures on flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/tamra

Discussion 6

Today Jenni and I spoke with Tamra about the new ideas that were posted from Monday's brainstorm.

• The one that we all seemed to like the most is "Premier Power." We also started thinking that we could even possibly use this as the new company name. Tamra also liked the equation for work (W=Fd). We were thinking Tamra's consultants could "provide the Force for the Work" 
• We also started looking at templates on Wix to see what ideas we could use from Wix and incorporate those into the SS templates we are using. Derrick also started looking at the coding being used for SS so that hopefully more customization could be made to the website. 
• Tamra also talked more about what exactly she hopes the company will be doing and the types of work they will be involved with. Which gave us a little more insight about how we can tailor the website to the target market we hope to reach. 
• Derrick also came up with a good idea for a company slogan, "Bridging people and solutions together." The idea behind this is her company is the connector between the customer (people) and the solution they want to reach for their company.
• We need to make sure that images are client focused. 
• Putting a spin on work can be a theme for the consultants. 
• The theme for the clients needs to be focused on the product they are receiving. We need to find a connection between the equation for work and premier power. 

• We previously spoke about having deadlines for the work
• Web content: 10.10
• possibly push back date to have focused around theme
• Media & Design: 11.05
• Videos: Semester

Squarespace - Beta for Developers

Hey guys,

Looking forward to talking tomorrow. I just read through the post from yesterday, and I like the template and some of the images/taglines you have generated.

How did the briefing go last Wednesday?

I got an email from Squarespace today: http://view.s4.exacttarget.com/?j=fe8a1777706105757d&m=fe8c157076630d7473&ls=fdfa16707d650d7576157575&l=fece16707061007c&s=fe251772776d017a701677&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe5d127171640d797112&r=0

It looks like there is now the ability to do a lot more coding and customization beyond what is in the templates if one is so inclined. Perhaps Derrick would have interest in this?

-Tamra

Discussion 5

October , 2012


Today in class we looked at templates on Square Space. SS is the website that Tamra is using to design her webpage. Jen and I played around with color schemes, font size, font color and placement. We also looked at potential images that could be displayed on the page as well.




This is the link to the template we saw: http://peak-demo.squarespace.com/?invitationId=FA6ELD5LWP2RDJHH7YM9



This is something that we looked at that we liked because it has a static feature (image) and an alternating feature (multiple pictures), with three sections at the bottom for her main sections. We also liked that the top tabs were more centered and the font was bolder.


For potential imgaes we thought:
Puzzle- Her people are the missing puzzle pieces of the contractors
Clocks/moms= taking time off to start family, clock is ticking, time to go back to work, hard finding time to be full time worker and full time mom
Woman stading at front- group minded, everyone is part of the team; consultants work in groups
Papers/hands on desk- working together with contractors
Girl with glasses- nerds rock

 

 

 

 

 

Slogans:

 

 

We came up with a few slogans/ name ideas that we liked that could be integrated into the ARC webpage.

 

 

These are:



Premier (best or most important)
Part-time Power (capacity to do something)
The missing puzzle piece
Use of energy (consultants energy) (go green, save your company’s energy by using ours!)
Equation for work
W=Fd
Work= force x distance (drive)
Strength of employees x the distance they’re willing to go to get the job done right = work
X the drive of the employees to be the best
"we're putting a whole new spin on Work"

Inputs from Tamra on Webpage and Name

Jenni, Sharon and Derrick,

It was great to meet you all today - I'm excited to have your help with moving my company forward. 

I realized after you left that I am using squarespace forwww.autoresponseconsulting.com layout. 

The login is 

www.squarespace.com

username: tamra

password: SummerTimeFun

Please take a look at it, and see if you are able to find templates that are similar to what we were discussing today. If not, we can move over to wix, though I've paid for squarespace through another 1.5 years. 

I will also share a google doc with you that contains a company name brainstorm. 

Thanks,

Tamra

Also, here is the link to the google doc that I was using to brainstorm the company name before: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RRACK9Bj1sAO5gKRDXXwe1efbY81Itlk9r-xJwBvsZM/edit

Content for ARC’s website:

I really liked Jefferson Consulting Group’s entire website.  It was straight to the point, clean, easy to follow and navigate through, simple but efficient, and it was obvious what their company’s focus is.

www.Jeffersonconsulting.com

Specifically, I think their “about us” page would work really well for your site.  You can give the overall company business plan and mission statement in this section and the history of the company being woman owned and etc. (like you already do). But you would also be able to list your consultants, describe their areas of expertise, and give a brief bio of them.  It would kind of work two-fold as a resume and as advertising the various skills your company possesses and offers. In particular about this specific page are the summary boxes in the corner of each employee’s bio, which allow someone to easily browse the consultants without having to read all of the bios. Just a possible suggestion, but in the individual bios you could add a personal touch by having the consultants talk more about why they want to work part time. This is kind of a double-edged sword though because employers like to know their employees, but at the same time they tend to have the attitude that they’re running a business and leave the personal life at the door.      

Their “news” page would also work for your company because it lists in various media forms all the various projects they have been successful in. For example, if you were working on a space shuttle that went into space, you could post an article (or other media form) on that shuttle and describe how your company worked on it.   Their news page has audio (with summaries to read), video, and articles.

The different “Practice Areas” that their company focuses on is kind of like how you focus on two fields of study. So you could have a page for each field and then go into more detail about those fields on their own pages. This way people looking at your site won’t have to scroll down and read as much stuff that may not be pertinent to what they are looking for. 

This concept also ties in with their “home page” because they have three blocks/sections on the bottom of the homepage that coincide with the sectors they practice in. So users can click on a sector from the main page as well. It keeps the site clean and easy to navigate through. You can do this with the sectors you focus on. Even though there are generally three sections on the layouts for these templates, you could possibly put “legal coming soon” or even your blog or media feed at the third section.  One thing that really caught my eye about their homepage was the stagnate tag line with the rotating pictures that reflected what the company’s area of focus is on – government.  I think this is something that you should incorporate because it would add movement to your page and also inform people of your business focus area.    

 www.UltimateStaffing.com

Ultimate Staffing’s website has the two sections that users can browse at that I briefly mentioned before.  So if a job seeker went to your site, they can click on the job seeker tab and then get information that would pertain to them; same with the business customers.  There are also tabs at the top of the page so if the user skips this intro, they can still find the section they want.  What I don’t like about this site is the inconsistency with the wording; it tends to throw someone off. That is something that I noticed with your site: your company name is consulting, but you se different terms throughout the site such as “contractors” or “part-timers.” We need to stay consistent throughout all of it. Also, Ultimate’s website seems really cluttered to me. I think we should keep yours clean and simple, but efficient.

Your Blog

I definitely think you should tie in your blog, but I think you might need to start incorporating more part-time work versus women in the job field since you are opening your company up to both sexes. You could possibly put your blog in the new section.  I really liked March’s blog posts because it talked about unemployment and so forth.  Maybe tone down the pro-woman (or just keep that primarily on your personal blog) and add some articles about the future of aerospace and things along those lines that are gender neutral.  If you want to incorporate a pro-feminine voice, I think it could be done in the history of the company part and it would also portray more of your personal voice and character to it. That way you can talk about how you came to develop this site and how men were also interested in working part-time; it’s not only women. Maybe it can lead into a blog post about what this says about people in the work force – they’re more interested in quality of life or balancing work and personal life.  

WIX templates

These are the templates on WIX that I really liked. They pretty much all have the same overall layout though (obviously I like it if I’ve chosen four that are close to the same!).

·         Business Services

·         The Consultant

·         Strategy Consultant

·         Strategic Consulting

Team Discussion #4

Sharon and Derrick were both out sick today, so I took the liberty of making a quick outline for the group of the order I think we should work on things.  Please feel free to make any comments or adjustments to this. When all changes have been made, I will create a more detailed form and post it on the blog so we know who will be working on what, our deadlines, and so forth. Highlighted in pink is what I think needs to get done first.

Monday, 9/24

·         Discuss the content that we have presented to Tamra

o   What she likes, doesn’t like, etc.

o   How to differentiate between audiences

·         Choose a template from WIX

o   Choose a color scheme

o   Work on the layout and placement of content

·         Incorporating her Blog

·         Content Editing (current content)

·         Adding Content

·         Pictures

·         Headers/Titles

·         Incorporate Media (Videos, Audio, etc.)

·         Social Media

Homework for this weekend:

·         Write a blog post each (on ARC’s blog) of content we have seen on competitors’ sites that we think should be incorporated into Tamra’s site (include how it can be incorporated, any links or pictures for an example, why you think it works/why you like it, etc.). Also, try to come up with an idea on how we can differentiate the two audiences (customers and consultants), as well as how we can incorporate Tamra’s blog.

·         Choose 2 templates each from WIX that we think will work for ARC.

·         Read Chapter 9 from Writing for the Web and come up with a game plan on how to incorporate this into ARC.

Tamra will most likely be coming in to meet with us in class on Monday.  In order to make this meeting as useful as possible, please have these posted no later than Sunday at noon so that Tamra can look them over and give us feedback on Monday.

Wednesday, 9/26

Team Presentation (20 minutes and MUST have Visuals)

·         Tamra’s Business Plan

·         What we learned from analyzing competing websites

·         How we plan to transform ARC (we might want to take screen shots of the current ARC for before-and-after shots for this presentation and the final presentation)

Since we will most likely not have time on Monday to work on this presentation, please let me know if you would like to get together this weekend to work on it.  If not, I think the easiest way to handle this project would be for each of us to take a section and create a PowerPoint presentation that we can all add to.  Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Notes from the Google Doc

Tamra, Please look at the lists below so we can discuss on Monday


Keywords:
part-time engineering
High caliber technical consultants
Short term technical support
Flexible work environment
Qualified experts
Highly experienced, top quality (consultants)

Possible terms for “consultants”
Advisors
Candidates
Representatives
Professionals
Experts
Specialists
Mavens
Mavericks

Video Examples

Edge Link Staffing (Introduction to the company)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izw8-6tffxA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCXlL2MgIxA&feature=related

Social Media

(The need for social media... I believe we are posting this one because we liked the importance it placed on social media, as well as the overall creation/editing of the video)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aconjR6uH4&feature=fvwrel

Video Resumes (Just an example of a video resume to possibly include on your site)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2RlnDqI-JQ

Website Analyses

Student Name	Company Name	Business Category
Derrick	BLUE TECH INC.	General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services
Jenni	JEFFERSON CONSULTING GROUP, LLC	Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS)
Sharon	KNOWLEDGEBASE CONSULTING GROUP, LLC	General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services

Sharon’s Website Analysis

Content: On the left they have places links to their products and services as well as a login portal for clients. Since this company ship out their materials they have links associated with shipping and handling. Main page contains their products as seen in the news as well as their social networking page links. Mission statement can also be found on the main page too.

Purpose: To provide online training materials for programs such as Projectwise, MicroStation,  and InRoads Support. These online materials are purchased through this company and can be customised for a skill-specific company. KGB aims at providing the student with the knowledge and skills required by the programs to efficiently implement them in their work environment.

Audience: The audience of this website is mainly for employers looking for training materials for their employees.

Tone or Voice: instructive, helpful, knowledgeable, authoritative.

Design: Top portion of the web site contains a rectangular picture stretching through the entire top. left side contains all the links to the various types of programs, contact information, download area, as well as their social media links.

Links and Site Map: This web site has about 40+ links. Most of these links take you to different types of training materials as well as places to download or ship the materials. Apart from these types of links, they also have social networking sites and blogs that encourage making connections as well as referring potential clients to them.

User Participation: Knowledgebase Group Consulting offers the materials for sale that can also be downloaded straight off their website. Apart from that they can also ship you the materials. they have a place for log-in and they also have a place to interact with their social networking sites. KGC also has a place for employers to connect to their social media sites to help KCG gain more notoriety. Clients can add KGC to facebook, twitter, and gmail/google+.

Style, Grammar, Sentence Structure, and Precise Terminology: KGB has a very pedagogical style of writing. The purpose of their text is to get you straight to their product. Since they are in the business of selling computer programs they do use an extensive amount of computer terms. This gives them an edge because its lets their clients know that they are competent in the world of software and programming.

Derrick’s Analysis:

Content: On the top of the main page they have the typical headers/drop down menus that can give a person a wide amount of information about company. These same drop down options are also listed on the bottom of the page. While on the left and right sides of the main page they have a lot of clickable options to explore that talk about who they are, what they can do for you and your company, and lastly who some of their top contracts/clients are.

Purpose: To provide possible customers with information on the wide array of services that range from full IT services to simply installing and helping to manage software and hardware for a company. All products and services are purchased through Blue Tech and managed by them to help meet a client’s specific needs and wants.

Audience: The audience of the website is geared towards companies who are looking to have a comprehensive IT solution integrated into their business. Blue Tech offers several options that range from complete IT solutions and support to software and hardware that can be installed into a current system

Tone or Voice: Knowledgeable, direct, authoritative, helpful, concise

Design: Overall, there is a lot of unused white space that runs along the website. the top of the site has a drop down menu with general information on the company, its services/products and how to contact them. on the left and right sides of the page before the white space are news updates about the company and who are some of their top contracts/clients.

Links and Site Map: The Blue Tech website has many links built into it. Most will lead you into a specific service they offer. But there are some that are dedicated to social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc), careers, their online catalog, and current contracts they have. All links strive to get a potential client more motivated to work with and hire Blue Tech.

User Participation: Blue Tech offers user participation by being able to connect with them on the company’s social sites, send direct contact to them via email, or even log into an online catalog to shop and start getting support/help.

Style, Grammar, Sentence Structure, and Precise Terminology: Blue Tech has a rather friendly, but serious note to the language they use. They try to come off in a friendly and inviting manner when discussing their company. However when they speak about services and products offered, they use direct terms and language that helps convey they are experts in their field.

Jenni Jensen

Jefferson Consulting Group, LLC

Content:

The content of Jefferson Consulting Group’s (JCG) website is to communicate their professional services and expertise in the political arena; specifically focusing on consulting, business development, and lobbying sectors. JCG accomplishes this by describing the professional services they offer for each sector; displaying their achieved results; and introducing service area team members, their knowledge, and their specific areas of focus.  Through this content, JCG conveys the message of being “leverage” for customers that choose to retain them.

Purpose:

To advertise JCG’s professional services in the government consulting, federal business development, and lobbying sectors.

Audience:

JCG’s primary audience is government and industry personnel. This is evident as JCG’s website displays their client list, as well as indicates their focus on government and industry relations and consulting.   

Tone or Voice:

The tone of JCG’s website is professional and concise, portraying the company as being straight forward, organized, and equipped to handle any and all matters.  JCG consistently uses the terms “expert staff” and “decades of experience” throughout their website to promote their knowledge and proficiency within their area of business, as well as posting news and case studies of their achieved results.

Design:

JCG’s website design and layout is consistent with their portrayed tone: concise and professional.  Their Home Page displays their tag line (Leverage: Decades of experience in government and industry to achieve results for our clients) in crisp, bold lettering that is stagnate while images of government buildings rotate in the background. These images complement their area of focus within the political arena.  Underneath this main section are JCG’s three areas of focus—government consulting, federal business development, and lobbying—each with their own relating hyperlinked image, title, and brief description of what JCG can do for each of these sectors. At the top of the Home Page is the search bar that contains short titles of other pages within the site; such as Practice Areas, About US, Clients, News, and Contact Us. This search bar, as well as JCG’s company logo that is placed in the upper left hand corner, are consistent throughout the site’s pages.    

Links and Site Map:

There are various types of links throughout JCG’s website:

·         Media Links (on all pages)

o   Twitter

o   LinkedIn

o   Facebook

Below is JCG’s Sitemap that I have added to.

Sitemap

Practice Areas

• Federal Business Development
• Case Studies
• For Clients Entering the Federal Market
• For Clients Seeking to Expand Federal Business
• Lobbying
• Case Studies
• Government Consulting
• Acquisition Support Services
• Strategic Assessment of Acquisition Operations
• Acquisition Workforce Studies and Analyses
• Training
• International Procurement Consulting
• Commercial Services Management

About Us (Mission Statement)

·         List of Employees

o   Experience (Paragraph) and Picture (gives a personal touch)

(bulleted summary at top of page)

Clients

News

·         Achieved Results

o   Articles

o   Videos

o    Audio

Contact Us

·         Practice Area Leads’ emails

·         Company’s contact information and address

User participation:

JCG’s website is designed to encourage user participation: they limit the content to only market their experience and practice areas so that users must contact JCG to obtain more information.  This scheme allows JCG to personalize each customer’s experience, as well as focus in on the customer’s direct needs. 

Style, Grammar, Sentence Structure, and Precise Terminology:

JCG’s content is focused and brief, using short paragraphs and bulleted lists when acceptable. Their terminology and sentence structures are precise and appropriate for their audience as well as for all site viewers, while their language is succinct and consistent throughout their site.