Obama Did It Using Social Media and Collaboration Software

Not since the implementation of televised ads and debates in 1960 has politics seen such innovation take precedence in any election, be it for the presidency of the United States or the graduating class of a local high school. Newly elected president, Barack Obama, managed to render predominantly red states blue through a grassroots campaign that included house visits, phone calls, text messages and even Facebook reminders to citizens across the United States.

To run a campaign of this magnitude and outreach required tedious organization and concise communication that could only be achieved through Web 2.0 tactics, namely SaaS (software-as-a-service) and Social Media. Barack Obama managed to sway legions of young voters through a web campaign launched from social networks the likes of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and more while commandeering the efforts of thousands of campaign captains through the SaaS, collaboration software.

The Obama camp utilized the shared online workspace provided by Central Desktop to set up My Precinct. This allowed the Obama camp to manage and monitor the efforts of their nationwide network of precinct captains’ task assignments, calendaring, documents, lists of key information, and other pertinent updates regarding the campaign trail without the calamitous use of emails or haphazard bulletin boards.

Having embraced Web 2.0 tactics, Barack Obama and his campaign managers have accomplished what they had set out to do, that is, to elect

Barack Obama President of the United States

– a position still thought to be the most powerful amongst all elected officials in the free world. If collaboration software worked for Obama, just imagine what it could do for your business.

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THE BEST ALTERNATIVE TO TIME CONSUMING PRODUCTION MEETINGS

Collaboration software does away with the free for all’s of production meetings by seamlessly weaving the sharing of information and task delegation into the regular work routine.

So you managed to get your team to show up to work on time. Now all you have to do is cram them all into a stuffy room for one of those dreaded production meetings. Between distributing meeting outlines and waiting for everyone to be situated, you’ve probably already wasted a good half hour…which also means you have also fallen slightly behind schedule and you’ve just burned a good chunk of money on what was, essentially, a game of musical chairs. Welcome to the world of a third grade school teacher.

Production meetings are forums for sharing ideas, giving feedback, assigning tasks and establishing guidelines. Unfortunately, production meetings also consist of several or more individuals, each with their own workloads and agendas. Unless you were the former head of the United Nations, chances are your moderator skills will see your production meeting quickly morph into the trading floor at NASDAQ.

Collaboration software has been developed to rectify those weak points in project management where the dreaded production meeting falls short. When opening up the meeting to comments and suggestions, collaboration software delivers sophistication and clarity. Simply create a discussion, a “thought loop” where users have the ability to post their ideas as well as comment on others in an organized fashion. Production meetings are streamlined further with these innovations in the software-as-a-service phenomena of collaboration software:

• Easily Share Files – “File Sharing”
Because all files and communiqués are shared on an intranet, a private computer network, information is easily shared and distributed on this shared online workspace.

• Easily Engage in Group Discussions – “Centralized Communication”
Emails utilizing Bcc’s and Cc’s are reduced to easily accessible posts on a bulletin board. As an added bonus, collaboration software also provides access to its intranet network and the information stored on it from any where in the world with a mobile device.

• Easily Manage Your Team/Contractors/Customers – “Task Delegation/Time Tracking”
Your team members are displayed plainly, allowing you to upload documents or assignments wherever you see fit. Comments, questions and prioritizations are amongst the many details you can note on posted documents for the rest of the group to see. This saves time and money on travel and it allows your team to stay on task without having to break their flow to attend a production meeting.

Not only does collaboration software save you time and money, but its very user friendly as the user interface is template based. Additionally, setting up your company with collaboration software can be accomplished within minutes. Production meetings are not so much eliminated as they are seamlessly woven into the fabric of your team’s every day routine.

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Collaboration Software Central Desktop Launches the Industry’s First Customer Network

Collaboration Software Central Desktop Customer Network

Did you hear? Word on the web is collaboration software Central Desktop is launching its very own customer network. With well over 200,000 users world wide, this tight knit circle of web 2.0 savvy go-getters is going to be a veritable bee hive of productivity. From the small ‘mom & pop’ operations on up to the geographically dispersed conglomerates, Central Desktop users now have a water cooler to swap both implementation methods as well as success stories.

“Central Desktop has become a key tool for us to manage and collaborate on day-to-day business operations both with internal teams as well as with customers and partners. It has essentially served as an ERP replacement for us, and I’m certain there are multitudes of other applications for the platform,” said Eric Golden, CEO, Equipois. “The Network is a perfect way for our team to share our experiences as well as learn from other Central Desktop users as we continue to look for ways of web-enabling additional business operations. We have implemented Central Desktop in some unique ways that add great value to our business, and we could certainly benefit from the resourcefulness of the hundreds of thousands of other Central Desktop business users out there.”

Discover every nuance of the software-as-a-service, Central Desktop, from the scads of user submitted tips & tricks that are sure to help you maximize your efforts through Central Desktop. You can even be a “Central Desktop Hero” and submit your own best practices. Interact, share and manage. With the induction of the new customer network, collaboration software Central Desktop is, truly, your anywhere, anytime business solution.

TRY IT FREE!

Visit Collaboration Software Central Desktop Customer Network

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5 WAYS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFIT

As team leader, your responsibility is to guide your team towards a common goal. How you go about stimulating productivity from your team is the tricky part. Are you looking to increase your company’s profit margins? Well, it starts with stimulating a higher productivity rate from your team.

Here Are Five Ways to Increase Productivity and Profits:

1. Create Your Winning Team. Surrounding yourself with capable bodies is vital. Whether it be tech savvy or pr wizardry, each team member should bring something different and yet complimentary to the overall skill set.

Really get your hands dirty when dealing with human resources by actually interviewing your potential candidates with one-on-one sessions. By adapting a more hands-on approach towards professionalism, your newly acquired team will be inspired to put out their best efforts. Leading by example is infectious in the workplace.

2. Get Your Supporters Talking. The streets are talking and the web has ears. Potential customers are more responsive to recommendations from friends and family. This positive feedback stems from competent customer service and satisfaction.

By going that extra mile to get the job done, your clients will definitely take notice and spread the word amongst their network of friends. Generating this type of buzz is far more valuable and affordable than throwing thousands of dollars towards a print ad campaign; however, the turnaround requires more time and patience. You may even want to consider a rewards system for leads and referrals.

3. Develop Your Internet Marketing Strategy. Cover all your bases as best you can. So you have positive feedback from your client base and the word is getting around, but not as fast as you would like. The World Wide Web is your next outlet to increase the demand for your services as well as increase your market share.

According to Internet World Stats, there are 1.407 billion users and counting perusing the web. These are all potential customers and with a proper internet marketing strategy, you can up your sites’ presence as well as increase traffic.

Email marketing, blogging, posting articles to article directory sites, engaging/contributing in forums and message boards – these outlets will help boost your site’s visibility thereby improving the volume and quality of your web traffic. By utilizing social media outlets the likes of Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, your company provides a home base for clients new and old to visit for updates and other pertinent information. Add to the fact that all of the aforementioned web stratagems are free; however, self serving. You have to do it yourself.

4. Collaboration Software. What once required lengthy man hours and salaried micromanagement has been done away with thanks to the SAS (software-as-a-service). This collaboration software phenomenon has revolutionized the process of project management as well as further reduced the need for office space thereby slashing your overhead.

By utilizing web access, your team shares a workspace in real time without having to be under the same roof. Task management, team meetings, and file sharing can be streamlined through a template based collaboration software. It’s easy to use and the set-up time is minimal, depending on the software you choose.

5. Goals. Incentives such as cash bonuses and or vacation packages are okay, but without defined goals, your team is more or less competing amongst each other rather than collaborating to accomplish a common goal.

It helps to have a finish line on the horizon to keep those legs pumping. By setting defined goals and posting them for all to see, your team productivity should spike considerably, especially since progress is more easily gauged. If they can visualize the end, your team will know how hard they have to push to get there.

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7 MUST HAVE TOOLS AND SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Must Have Business Tools

When it comes down to big business versus small business, it is not so much the classic case of ‘David vs. Goliath’ where the underdog fells his opponent with one lucky shot from his sling. No, in the business world, big business and small business have more of a big brother, little brother relationship where the big brother sets the standard for all the smaller siblings to emulate and learn from.

Small business owners take note. Here is a list of seven must have tools and services that will solidify your foothold in the industry.

1. ADP. With an automatic deposit payroll system in tact, you eliminate the expenditure and waste of paper resources as well as the delay in payment resultant of utilizing the snail mail parcel system. Instant gratis – a happy employee is a paid one.

2. VERTICAL RESPONSE. The time tested adage of ‘supply and demand’ is easier said than done. How will you know what your customer base wants or no longer wants? By sending out surveys and advertorials via email, you are able to collect information from your web site visitors, customers or prospects. This form of vertical response makes it possible to market intelligently and measure your results quickly.

3. SKYPE + SPEAKEASY. Voice over IP (internet protocol) is essentially the transmission of your voice through the internet rather than the customary phone line. Services like Skype and Speakeasy offer an exponentially cheaper means to keep your company connected, regardless of magnitude.

4. FRESHBOOKS. Tracking man hours and overall productivity as well as invoices has never been more efficient thanks to the SaaS (software as a service), Freshbooks. You no longer have to waste paid labor rummaging through file cabinets for a time sheet that dates back to Reaganomics. Searching through backlogs has been reduced to a quick query in a search engine – something any business will appreciate come tax season.

5. WORDPRESS. Blogging has quickly become a vital facet of online marketing. To keep your business name in the mix, you constantly have to keep pumping out material for the masses to consume. Aside from giving your blog an aesthetical facelift, blogging software generates a stronger web presence through tags and key phrases thereby eliminating the dependence on marketing managers and saving your company money in the long run.

6. FACEBOOK BUSINESS PAGE. With over a hundred million active users worldwide, Facebook is a melting pot of potential customers and even prospective investors. Because it is also a free service, not having a company presence on Facebook or any other social networking site would be downright ignorant. Social networking is free advertising, which further spreads brand awareness without any overhead.

7. CENTRAL DESKTOP. Collaboration software such as Central Desktop has taken task management to new heights while maintaining a simple yet comprehensive interface. Within minutes of acquiring and setting up your workspace, your small business will have the infrastructure necessary to get your team up and running at full stride.

With these tools in tow, your small business’s productivity is magnified to its fullest extent. By maintaining a streamlined work force and operating under a simple yet systematic methodology, the odds of rising to the top amongst the bog of other lesser prepared companies is increased. Small businesses take note. That was just a list of seven must have tools and services for your small business.

Connect with Central Desktop in Social Media

Central Desktop Social Media

They’re everywhere! Amongst the hundred million plus consumers of social media, Central Desktop has set up shop across the spectrum of social networks from MySpace to Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn and Delicious. Their presence can be felt. Central Desktop is there providing answers to any and every question a prospective user may have. Central Desktop is not only interactive but also proactive in its implementation of social bookmarking sites the likes of Delicious and microblogging site Twitter.

Aside from providing the best in collaboration software, Central Desktop also practices what it preaches in terms of business savvy. Venture over to their MySpace page and treat yourself to the bevy of information provided in their blog. They discuss everything from the latest in features added to the Central Desktop software to pertinent web news.

Since its launch back in February of 2004, Facebook has surged to the forefront as the industry leader in social networking, drawing an astonishing 132.1 million unique visitors in the month of June 2008 alone. Look Central Desktop up and add them as your friend so you can receive all the updates because there are plenty. Their Facebook page reads like a brag sheet detailing their buzz on USA Today, CNNMoney.com and PC World to name a few. Central Desktop’s Facebook page is fully interactive and user friendly as well, allowing users to contribute feedback, add notes and even view instructional videos.

To further spread the word across the expanses of the World Wide Web, Central Desktop also employs social bookmarking sites Delicious and Twitter. These sites utilize a non-hierarchical keyword categorization system in which users can tag each of their bookmarks with a number of freely chosen keywords thereby increasing search engine visibility.

Lastly, all of Central Desktop’s associated web sites and exploits are collected and posted on their blog where they invite their readers to participate. Readers can leave comments regarding some of our helpful “how to’s” or even ask questions in response to some of latest features added to the Central Desktop repertoire. Central Desktop invites all inquiries and or suggestions, which is why Central Desktop can be found in all of the major fronts of social media.

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COLLABORATION SOFTWARE: Get Your Team on Board

Sure, collaboration software makes life so much easier for the task manager, but what does the worker bee stand to benefit from adopting new methods of conjointly accomplishing goals. Here are some high beaming features that are sure to win over even the most skeptical of teammates.

Collaboration software is not a hard sell provided your team is fully geared towards optimization. That is to say, collaboration software is an absolute no-brainer provided your team wishes to improve in every aspect possible from efficiently delegating tasks to sharing information to communicating ideas in real time. The concept of a shared online workspace renders file sharing centralized in a forum easily navigated and accessed by your teammates.

Because of recent innovations in collaboration software, project management is a breeze; however, what is beneficial to the group leader is also beneficial to the group itself. Here are some selling points your team should consider when making the jump from the old school methodology to the new school technology:

• Collaboration software is template driven and thereby eliminates the need for special certifications and extensive IT knowledge. Collaboration software is more attuned towards the business minded and not so much the tech heads.

• Workspaces are set up within minutes rather than months of implementing strict policies, which serve only as a way of gradually conditioning certain desired behaviors from your team members. With collaboration software, you can quickly establish that precious infrastructure necessary to spur your team into full stride towards that goal mark without the grueling grace period and learning curve.

• The shared online workspace also encourages the entire team to contribute, because each task and communicated idea is represented visually with a file icon and author information, a tally of one’s productivity is easily kept therefore stimulating some healthy competition amongst your team members. Who can be the most productive?

• Information is easily accessible by all including any and all conversations communicated through the collaboration software. The pressures of faulty human memory are relieved.

• Collaboration software also allows mobile access from web enabled phones for on-the-go productivity and interaction.

These reasons alone should convince even the most stubborn of ‘Doubting Thomas’s’ to make that jump into the 21st century and utilize the advancements in information technology to boost their work efficiency.

Collaboration Software Bridges the Gap

Collaboration Software

Innovations in collaboration software have eased the process of project management thereby leveling the playing field that much further. What once required costly micromanagement execs can now be delegated to collaboration software.

Collaboration software does not reinvent the wheel. No, collaboration software merely streamlines the grooves and lightens the material. In the advent of the World Wide Web, files were stored as hard copies in cabinets and shared using copy machines and courier services. This, in turn, meant communication came with a delay… comparable to a bad satellite feed from some remote locale not yet touched by modern technology. Project management was, at least by today’s standards, a joke.

Projects get tackled tactically. Each member of the team is responsible for a fraction of the whole project. Everyone is given the same time frame in which to complete their respective task. Ideally, when the deadline comes and goes, the pieces are assembled to form a completed product. Whether the goal was reached satisfactorily is another ordeal unto itself. Although the aforementioned was worded to make the process of task management to appear as easy as following a few steps, the reality is far from picking up a ‘Project Management For Dummies’ book.

Humans are not perfect so why should anyone expect the task master to be also. Collaboration software has been developed to boost certain weaknesses and oversights in organization. Because of these innovations introduced over the past two years, the efficiency of project management has reached new heights.

• MOBILE ACCESS. Blackberry’s, Treo’s and iPhone’s …the introduction of internet accessible mobile devices has wedged a need for collaboration software to allow its users to access its intranet network and the information stored on it from anywhere. No more being anchored to a hard line connection.

• FILE SHARING. Upload documents and files via email to a shared online workspace easily accessible to fellow members of the team. Comments, questions and prioritizations are amongst the many details you can note on posted documents for the rest of the group to see.

• COMMUNICATION. Interacting with co-workers via the World Wide Web not only eradicates the overhead of having to lease office space, but it also leaves you with a virtual paper trail of every communiqué you have within the organization and with clients. Servers back up every email and are accessible from anything connected to the internet. Additionally, you can make an announcement to a group of however many without disturbing their work flow. Simply point and click the box next to the people you wish to notify.

• EASY-TO-USE. Collaboration software is template based so computer literacy is not too demanding. Plug and play is the norm.

Because of recent advancements in collaboration software, project management is one less hassle. Companies, corporate or mom & pop status, now have a level playing ground. The infrastructure necessary to keep your team running on all cylinders towards that finish line is available to all.

Project Management Solution: How to Choose a Web-Based Solution

Project Management is an indispensable tool for busy project managers. Given the ever-escalating prices for purchasing and supporting project management software, web-based collaboration software has become a viable option.

Project management software provides collaborative workspaces where team members can communicate their ideas, coordinate all of the disparate tasks for projects, and manage project deliverables in real time regardless of location or time zone.

The following are some ideas to help you choose a project management solution that meets the needs of your team, client and project.

• Security
When you are sharing information online, you should always be confident in the security of the web platform. Choose a solution that allows users to have ready access to their projects while being assured that their content is secure and protected.

• Easy Set-Up and Administration
The workspace should be intuitive and easy to set-up and administer so that users can get to work without a steep learning curve. All of the resources should be clearly labeled and easy to find in the workspace.

• Ability to Manage Multiple Projects
Does the software allow users to manage more than one project simultaneously? How easy is it to switch back and forth between projects?

• Manage Access Control
Look for the flexibility to manage access to your collaborative workspace, and determine the levels of access that each team member should have.

• Custom Reporting
You’ll want to choose a web-based collaboration platform that allows you to create custom project reports quickly and easily without having to request IT support.

• Manage Project Milestones and Tasks
Project managers should be able to easily assign and track tasks and milestones, set deadlines for deliverables and always be able to quickly see which tasks or milestones have been completed, who owns them and be alerted when there are overdue items.

• Project Calendar
Look for project calendars that can be used to track tasks, and milestones across projects and workgroups.

• Scalability
It should be easy to add additional members to your team workspace as your team expands.
Choosing the right web-based project management solution can make a big difference in the success of your project. These tips can give you food for thought as you take a look at all of the options available.

Resources:
Web-based software listings: http://www.centraldesktop.com/tour_overview

Using Collaboration Software to Increase the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams

Virtual teams often face many challenges when it comes to working effectively as a team because they rarely—sometimes never—work face-to-face. Virtual teams need the support of a secure, easy to use, web-based collaboration environment that allows them to work and share ideas across time zones and continents. Central Desktop (CD), is as an online collaboration software solution that supports efficient communication among members of virtual teams, their superiors and their clients.

Central Desktop’s web-based collaboration software provides group calendar management, task management, online conferencing, group forums, wikis and spreadsheets. It also has a time tracking feature that allows users to track the actual time they spend on a project, which is valuable from a project management perspective. Central Desktop’s new database API allows users to work seamlessly between CD and other software applications. So, once a user is logged in to CD, they don’t have to switch windows and log into several accounts, toggling back and forth between several applications.

In order to be successful, virtual teams have a few basic needs in common:

• communicate in real time

• share files, photos, audio and video

• manage project milestones, resources and tasks

Most importantly, all of the members of the team need to have access to the most current information in real time so that they can effectively complete their tasks, and contribute to the team’s objective.

Online collaboration tools have greatly facilitated the effectiveness of virtual teams. These tools have saved organizations substantial amounts of money in travel and relocation expenses and allowed teams to assign tasks to employees in distant locations because they help to solve many of the dilemmas suffered by virtual teams.

Most knowledge workers have used email and IM or chatting as a means of collaborating with team members and other co-workers for many years now. But online collaboration software is quickly transforming the world of online collaboration. These online tools provide several different options for virtual collaboration that are easy to adopt and enjoyable to use.

So, with the support of a robust online collaboration environment, virtual teams can use the various collaboration software tools that Central Desktop provides to manage their tasks, communicate with each other, and share resources easily and securely to help the team be as effective as possible.