Tendenci – The Open Source AMS Blog
Community Blog for Open Source AMS Makers
We've added a new feature to our custom forms. This feature allows the person who fills-out and successfully submits your form to become an instant active user on your Tendenci powered website.
The Schipulites LOVE helping clients grow their businesses online – and engaging in social networks (like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter) is a great and very cost-efficient way to do it.
Check out the presentation above, given to a group of smart and hungry small businesses owners (just like you!) at the University of Houston’s Small Business Development Center, for help on crafting your Story and tips on jumping into various social networks.
Note that not ALL social networks are going to be a good fit for your business. The key is to 1) identify your key audience sectors and develop personas for them and 2) shape the message and response strategies that you’ll be relying on to communicate with them.
The concept of Story plays a huge role in helping your team prepare for any Social Media activity. Remember the 4 key elements of Story and use them to help guide your efforts online – and don’t forget to have fun and be playful! :
For those of us that can’t physically be in California for SMX West head on over the Schipul’s SEM Blog for up to the minute coverage from our very own Jonti Bolles. On top of being our very own nerdy cub reporter she has recently taken over the reigns of our SEM department. I hear the last guy who had that job was a real Canadian if you know what I mean. OK, it was me and yes I hail from the Great White North.
Here are some highlights so far from Santa Clara
Great work so far Jonti! Now travel safe and get back here as soon as possible, we miss you.
For more information on SEM, Social Media or Web Design visit Schipul.com
We made some changes to the events module. There is no longer a 'pre page,' we're not really sure what it was doing there to begin with, but it's gone so you don't have to worry about it anymore.
We have also given you the ability to show-off your attendees. This feature allows you to display the attendees to administrators, members, users, or everyone. Now the people you invite can decide whether they'll come to your get-together based on who's already going, we've all done this at one point.
Both of these updates have already been released and ready for your enjoyment.
The Schipul team recently released a new Web site design for Safety Vision, a global provider of mobile digital video solutions. It is a great example of the power of incorporating video clips to illustrate the core benefits of an organization’s products and services. The site includes actual examples of video captured by Safety Vision’s client cameras, including one case in which a parent gets on a school bus and (I suppose we should say allegedly, although it’s right there in the video) attacks one of the students.
Take a moment to take a look. It might give you some ideas about taking some existing video of your operations and posting them on your site.
A news account of the attack from CBS Evening News that also featured the Safety Vision video is below.
Safet
yTake a moment to check out the new Safety Vision Web site. Designed by Schipul – The Web Marketing Company and powered by Tendenci, the site grabs the Web user’s attention with its use of online video. This is actually something all organizations can consider: why aren’t you fully utilizing the video you have already produced? Safety Vision took some examples of real customer videos to showcase the benefits of their solutions. You probably have video that can similarly be utilized to give your Web site some additional power and life. If you don’t have video, why not shoot some? It doesn’t take a production crew and days of editing anymore. Just find a room with good lighting, have someone being in their video cam and have one of your executives walk through your services. It will take just a few minutes and could pay huge dividends.
It’s a boy!! Congratulations to the Houston Zoo family (disclosure: a Schipul client) on their latest arrival: a brand new Masai giraffe!
Early Friday morning, January 30 the Houston Zoo welcomed the birth of a bouncing baby boy Masai giraffe. ‘He was born around 6:30 a.m. and by 7:50 a.m. he was standing on his own,†Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal. The average male giraffe can reach a height of about 17 feet tall and can weight up to 3,000 pounds. The average female giraffe can reach a height of 15 feet tall. The average gestation period for Masai giraffes is 14 months.
Our Tendenci programming team has some super-exciting HUGE plans in the works for Tendenci this year – we are re-inventing our already super software to make it an even more profitable Web platform for your organization and members.
The sleeker, faster Tendenci 5.0 will migrate to the LAMP (Linus, Apache, MySQL, PHP) open source Web platform. This transition will still maintain our extreme devotion to Security that we have always had, but with greater scalability and improved data management.
By being part of a vibrant open source community and collaboratively working on a lot of the 'basics' of the Tendenci software, we will be able to spend more time working on cutting edge features like social network integration. Your Tendenci-driven Web site will be even more effective in the search engines and you'll find your entire site experience to be even more user friendly and beautiful.
So in the months to come, expect to hear more news on Tendenci 5.0. Change is good – we can't wait to share with you what we've got in store for Tendenci!
In the meantime, please check out our Tendenci Forums and let us know what kind of functionality YOU want your Tendenci-powered Web site to have.
We love teaching passionate people about using Social Media, especially when those passionate people are hard working non profits looking for creative ways to do more with less (which they are already pretty awesome at – but just need a nudge or two in the online direction 🙂 ).
Check out Ed’s recent presentation on non profits leveraging Social Media and online networks to help them grow their Communities and make an impact on their fundraising efforts. It’s all about telling your Story, making that emotional connection with your donors and rocking their socks off!
Some links to immediately check out for online fundraising ideas:
What makes you get out of bed every morning? 
Let that thought marinate for a moment…
Now how many of you thought: “because I’m pumped to go to work and become world famous!!!”
Slap me with a fish if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing not many. But if I was to ask the hearty men that work at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington the same question…well, there answer is clear, and I’m pretty sure I would still get slapped with a fish in the process:
‘…our commitment to having fun while we work and making a difference in the world is what makes us “World Famous.” ‘John Yokoyama, Owner of Pike Place Fish Market
When John Yokoyama bought Pike Place Fish Market in 1965 his first order of business was not about fish, but more of ‘who do we want to be?†They set out to cultivate a workplace in which ‘…customers leave with the experience of having been served. They experience being known and appreciated whether they buy fish or not. And it’s not good enough just to want that – it takes an unrelenting commitment.†My thoughts are if a group of men that constantly permeate a fish-esque fragrance are able to love their job…why can’t you?
‘We may not be able to do exactly what we love at the present time, but any of us can choose to love what we do. We can bring our best qualities to our work-it is our choice.‑Fish!
The book, Fish!, is a fantastic little tale that is based off the Pike Place ‘world famous†mantra, and of course, is all the rage here at the Schipul office. In fact, we even had ‘fish†cupcakes to celebrate the distribution of copies to all the Schipulites. (Thanks happykatie!) Yes, the book is that great.
Fish! relates to any sector of an organization and implores you to realize that you don’t have to be stuck in a ‘toxic energy dump†forever. Unfortunately, some people live their lives just going through the motions…wake-up, eat, work, ‘deposit,†sleep, repeat. I promise there are things in between daily patterns that can truly enrich your life; you just have to want it.
Here’s a little suggestion, I laugh at everything. You can tell me my zippers down or I have spinach in my teeth and I will just giggle and say, ‘Appreciate ya!†Aside from my suggestion, the lessons in this book can be life-changing…but once again, that’s if you want it to be.
It’s so simple. Don’t make me slap you in the face with a fish to make you realize the this.
Over and Out,
Thanks yohann.aberkane for the splendid flickr pic!
