Recently I spent some extended time down in Florida assisting my Dad. He does not have internet access at his home, and is not interested in having a service hooked up to his house. Needing and wanting 24×7 internet access meant I started research for a service which would solve my access issue. Enter DayPass Wireless, which provided an easy, cost effective solution.

At this point I should comment that I paid for my service through DayPass Wireless, and I have no relationship with anyone, or even know anyone with this company. I found them via a Google keyword search. DayPass Wireless has not paid me for this blog post. I just found their service useful and wanted to let other folks know via my blog.

There service could not have been easier. I entered the address of my Father's Florida home, and they determined what connection (i.e. what carrier) would be optimum for my location. Day Pass Wireless then shipped a mifi mobile hotspot to my Dad's home. It was waiting for me when I arrived down in Florida from Duluth, Minnesota and worked perfectly over the next 11 days. I was charged $7.79 per day plus $9.90 for shipping. The cost seemed reasonable. When I returned north last Friday, I just put the mifi in a prepaid shipping US Postal Service shipping envelope and popped it into my Dad's mailbox. Could not have been easier. My data allowance was 335 mb per day, which was fine for normal web browsing and activities. However, my wife and I instituted a "no video" rule to insure we would not go over our data limit. Missing YouTube videos of cat herding for eleven days was not a hardship

I hope to test DayPass Wireless later this Spring up in the northern Minnesota wilderness. If this service works for my remote cabin that would be sweet!

Three weeks from today I retire from Honeywell. It's been a good 28+ year run, but when life changes, it's important to manage one's social networks. Over the years I've always actively managed my social contacts, particularly upon my favorite social network for professional relationships, LinkedIn. Thus, I ask the question, how many of you actively manage your contacts?

Earlier today I consolidated my LinkedIn contacts from 750+ to slightly under 350 individuals. While the 400 people I eliminated are good folk, when life changes, one needs to manage that change. With my impending retirement, and startup of limited software consulting, my approach will become more regional. Thus, I decided to eliminate noise in my network feed. While you may not agree with my approach, you should actively manage your networks.

LinkedIn's announcement today that one will now be able to "at/@" mention someone in an update drove my change to limit noise. I love their new feature, and in this case will be able to better handle the value.  

Over the past several years, friends and colleagues often have asked me … does your operation have a Facebook site? While a presence on Facebook may be important, better questions are:

• Who are my customers?
• Where might they may "hang out" online
• When my customers are online, is their frame of mind focused towards leisure or work?

The theme of these questions are … unless you understand your customer, the "knee jerk" reaction to spend resources and create a Facebook site may be an unsound business decision. With respect to my personal Facebook usage, I limit that experience to "friends and family". This means Facebook has a "leisure time" focus for me. If your customers are similar, it does not make much sense to create a business focused Facebook site with which your customer may not be very inclined to interact.

Let me explain it another way … not many aircraft engines are sold via Facebook, but for a business with a "leisure time" focus like Betty's Pies on the Northshore of Lake Superior, Facebook is a good investment. Although most of you have never seen the wilderness beauty of the the Lake Superior's northshore, many of Betty's Pie's customers are from the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro region 225 miles to the south. These customers think "vacation" and "leisure" in terms of Lake Superior and Betty's Pies. Thus, a Facebook site is logical, and your customers / Facebook users may be favorably inclined to interact and help market your business.

What if your company is more like the jet engine example? If your customers are more industrial in nature (i.e. your products and their usage of same), it is not likely that a large investment in Facebook will make sense. Given this scanario, one's focus should turn to LinkedIn. 

In a recent study published by the University of Massachusetts, the top 500 companies as represented by Inc Magazine now invest more heavily in LinkedIn rather than Facebook.

Here are two quotes from the study:

• LinkedIn leads the way. The platform most utilized by the 2012 Inc. 500 is LinkedIn with 81% of companies using it. It has replaced Facebook as the tool of choice for these fast growing companies. The use of Facebook has dropped 7% in the past year while both LinkedIn and Twitter have gained users. In 2011, Facebook was being used by 74% of the Inc. 500 and Twitter by 64%. In 2012, 67% of the Inc. 500 used each of them. 28% are now using Foursquare and 18% use Pinterest. 

The other comment which jumped out at me was the increasing use of blogs. Obviously I've invested heavily in NorthStarNerd.org over the years. Blogs give one the opportunity to reach out with a more in depth commentary where you control the message. Like any of these tools, any resource should be part of an overall strategy.

• Blogging jumps among the Inc. 500. Thirty-seven percent of the 2011 Inc. 500 had a corporate blog. In this new 2012 study, the use of blogging jumped to 44%, increasing by 7% after remaining stagnant for years. Sixty-three percent of CEO’s report contributing to content as this mature tool enjoys a bit of a resurgence. 

You may be intersted in reviewing some of my own LinkedIn research published over the past five years

In closing, here is a graphic from the study. The same questions which have always driven good marketing and sales efforts still hold. You need to understand the needs, desires and actions of your customers. Your social media strategy should reflect that understanding.

Click to maximize the graphic and view at full resolution.

Ever wish you had the same tools that large corporations utilize for virtual meetings? Your wait has ended thanks to Zoom.Us. This startup company whose principals herald from both Webex and CISCO allow up to 15 people to use their virtual meeting tool at no charge.

I've thoroughly tested the service, and am most impressed. It even allows one to include iOS devices in your meeting! In addition, one can accomplish the normal tasks such as screen sharing, and chat. If desired, one can also watch live video of each participant. Zoom.Us does require your computer to have a microphone (uses VOIP) and an optional webcam. Here are a few screenshots from the setup process, which was very easy. (obtain an account)

Click upon any image to view at full size.

Configure Settings 

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Meet Now!

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Invite Someone to an Instant Meeting!