Grand Rapids IT Solution & Computer Services Blog

An excellent approach! Many of us personally as individuals...

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:40:58 -0400

An excellent approach! Many of us personally as individuals and corporately as businesses could regain focus and purpose benefiting greatly by asking ourselves this very question.

jasonjohnsontv:

Simon Sinek shares a simple yet profound & powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with the question “Why?”

I picked up Simon’s book ”Start with Why” from amazon last night (http://t.co/E9mZndc) after seeing this TEDx Talk.

We came upon this video explaining what a nanosecond is and...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:42:00 -0400

We came upon this video explaining what a nanosecond is and then realized this incredible woman was none other than the Grace Murray Hopper as in, the person who found the first bug in a computer which literally was a bug; a moth stuck in a relay. Checkout this video where she talks about where she explains what a nano second is, it’ll give you a new appreciation for 1. time and 2. the ability for clearly explaining things. As expressed on liquidmatrix.org quoting their post “Nanoseconds with Grace Hopper” she’s the reason why we need more women in IT.

*the video is SUPPOSED to begin at 3m42s but doesn’t seem to work. That’s the segment we were trying to spotlight.

Just a short behind the scenes video clip of a few of our onsite...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:04:19 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Just a short behind the scenes video clip of a few of our onsite back office servers here at Micro Visions.

We’ve been having lots of fun re-organizing the server systems in our new rack. What do you think, looks awesome doesn’t it?!? I guess rack organization, cable management and cooling is kind of a geek thing but anyway, we’ve been busy in the back room at the office and wanted to share a quick view of some of the servers we use. We have an awesome colo (colocation center in non-nerd speak) too but we can’t show you because it’s a top secret secure location and we’d have to kill you, and we love all of our clients so we won’t tell you ;)

We’ve been having fun re-organizing the servers in our new...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:32:00 -0400

We’ve been having fun re-organizing the servers in our new rack. What do you think, looks great doesn’t it?!? Ah well, it’s kind of a geek thing anyway.

jasonjohnsontv: QR Codes are popping up every where! I saw this...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:18:31 -0400

jasonjohnsontv:

QR Codes are popping up every where! I saw this GR Tag Tour flyer while picking up a cup of joe this morning at West Coast Coffee. What a clever use of tech, an interactive tour of downtown Grand Rapids that you access via your smartphone and a QR code app.

*By the way Scan is the best QR Code scanner for iPhone

[ cloud overview | get your own cloud ]This is a Tumblr Cloud I...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 08:23:40 -0400

[ cloud overview | get your own cloud ]

This is a Tumblr Cloud I generated from my blog posts between Jul 2008 and Jun 2011 containing my top 20 used words.

Top 2 blogs I reblogged the most:

What “Futureproofing” really means (and how it can...

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:34:00 -0400

What “Futureproofing” really means (and how it can save you money); sure NCIX Tech Tips can lean toward building a gaming PC, but this applies equally as well when considering which business systems to purchase.

Social Media: Return On Investment “What’s the ROI...

Mon, 09 May 2011 14:45:59 -0400

Social Media: Return On Investment

“What’s the ROI of Social Media?” a question often looked at as the bane of social media advocates the world over. Steve Volkers of the Steve Volkers Group shares with Jason Johnson from Micro Visions, Inc., another way of looking at the value of engagement and helps put “the ROI of social media” into a new light which more businesses can agree with. Find out why it’s NOT as much about the clicks and the typical metrics as many business owners think it is.

Adopting Greener Technology in your Business

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:06:00 -0400

Did you know, that a desktop computer uses five times more energy than a laptop? How many desktop...

How to Recycle or Donate your Unused Technology

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:36:00 -0400

Finally, after having gone missing for many long winter months the sun is shining, the birds are...

Micro Visions is part of the “My Chamber App” for the Grand...

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:15:58 -0400

Micro Visions is part of the “My Chamber App” for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce! Download the free app for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry to discover businesses, events and local deals.

Has your company created any app’s for business? What are your favorites?

Why We Chose Tumblr for our Small Business Blog

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:09:00 -0400

In a recent post on Mashable, writer Brenna Ehrlich dove into “The Pros and Cons Of Tumblr For...

Browser Wars: Firefox 4 vs IE9

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:00:00 -0400

If you are one of the few who knew what the Internet was back in 1991, you’re probably part...

Lest We Forget

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:06:48 -0400

Lest We Forget: jasonjohnsontv: “Do you know what the #1 selling phone was 5 years ago? The...

SafeCall, Inc. Partners with West Michigan IT Consultants, Micro...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:00:00 -0400

SafeCall, Inc. Partners with West Michigan IT Consultants, Micro Visions, Inc. for Web site Redesign.

March 21, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAFECALL PARTNERS WITH WEST MICHIGAN IT CONSULTANTS, MICRO VISIONS, INC., FOR WEB SITE REDESIGN- Local medical product supplier, SafeCall, approves Micro Visions for Web site redesign

Grand Rapids, MI – SafeCall has selected West Michigan IT consulting and services company, Micro Visions, Inc., to redesign their current Web site. SafeCall offers family caregivers a variety of home medical products to better assist in the care of their elderly loved ones.

“Micro Visions’ design team will enable SafeCall to reach more people who are searching for tools to help their loved ones to stay independent,” states SafeCall president, Sanford Freed. As a 16-year-old West Michigan business, SafeCall offers a variety of products such as alarms, monitoring systems, help buttons, automatic pill dispensers, and other safety devices. All monitored devices may be purchased with monthly service contracts.

The new Web site will provide visitors greater opportunity to explore the benefits of each high-tech product. Alysse Chichester, marketing specialist and consultant on the new design, states, “One of our goals is to provide SafeCall visitors with a site that will guide them through the purchase of SafeCall’s products. SafeCall has helped many families gain peace of mind and I believe those numbers will increase with a more streamlined interface.”

Using other resources such as videos, blogs, and white papers, SafeCall will also provide visitors with additional tools to maintain their loved ones’ independence.

Welcome to our team, SafeCall!

# # #

If you’d like more information on this topic or regarding Micro Visions, Inc. and our services, please email Alysse Chichester at achichester@microvisionsinc.com or visit www.MicroVisionsInc.com.

Have you seen today's Google Doodle?

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:09:00 -0500

Why Women (and Micro Visions, Inc.) LOVE Fat Tuesday. Today may be popularized as Fat Tuesday...

Tips for keeping your computer safe, secure, and running...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:48:00 -0500

Tips for keeping your computer safe, secure, and running quickly.

Our newest video is up! Curious how to keep your network 100% reliable, 100% of the time?

Look no further, check out our newest video!

Orchard Harvest Candles: E-commerce & Web Site...

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:27:54 -0500

Orchard Harvest Candles:

E-commerce & Web Site Redesign

Orchard Harvest Candles, LLC specializes in selling eco-friendly, richly scented candles online, and with a new web site, they are now operating better than ever. The new Orchard Harvest Candles web site was a previous project we were thrilled to have worked on and had the pleasure of not only redesigning the website, but also developing and integrating an elegant e-commerce solution to ensure a smooth online customer shopping experience. Take a moment to checkout our client’s new web presence and see an example of a project we’ve developed and completed.

jasonjohnsontv: The Social Sharing Button Blight...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:36:00 -0500

jasonjohnsontv:

The Social Sharing Button Blight [infographic]

Sunday morning I was scrolling along, reading one of my favorite blogs while I sat in my favorite chair enjoying my coffee. After taking in a smooth long sip of fresh hot french-pressed hazelnut, I returned my gaze to the screen and for a split second I had a fleeting feeling of deja vu; I felt dizzy. It wasn’t that the coffee was that good (I wish), it was more along the lines of being displaced or as if I’d half lost my place on the page. Had I bumped the track pad and shifted the page or relapsing back up the page to a spot I’d already read only a second ago? I thought I was reading right alongside that patch of icons there. Oh wait…that’s the wrong smattering of social sharing buttons. I realized that I didn’t move the page at all, and I was floored by the number of icons scattered onto an already busy, limited browsing area and I was reminded of something I’d read many posts ago.

In “It’s the Content, Not the Icons” on 37signals’ blog Signal vs. Noise, Matt Linderman wrote: “What’s with all the social bookmarking icons at the bottom of every single friggin’ blog post out there?” At the bottom of the post? Those were the days, weren’t they — when the share buttons were at the bottom of the post? “It’s the Content, Not the Icons” was posted to SvN on October 31, 2006. Since then, that issue has gone from superfluous to ridiculous. Today, social sharing buttons are at the top, some are on the side and travel with you as you scroll down the page, and still others are at the bottom of the posts.

Matt, with his succinct writing style, goes on to make some strong points and a great case for not cluttering up your content with a bazillion social sharing buttons or badgering readers with “vote for me” pleas. The bullet points:

  • People respond to and share content due to quality - not the ease of sharing

  • Using a ton of share buttons results in extraneous visual noise and makes a site look cheap

  • Focus on great content; people can share it just fine on their own

At the time “It’s the Content, Not the Icons” was posted, “share buttons” were still sort of a newish novel thing and well on the way to becoming all the rage as a way to boost traffic back to websites and blogs by making it easier for visitors to share content.

When posted, Matt stated: “Zero out of Technorati’s top 10 blogs feature those icons. Only two out of the 15 entries in the current crop at Digg’s Top Today page offer “Digg me” icons.” However, take a look today and you’ll find a much different story. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Nowadays nearly ALL of the blogs that blip in and out of the top 10 blogs featured on Technorati parade several buttons, averaging 7.2 options per post, scattered across each page, not including the “print” icons! What’s worse, usually the share options are duplicated and sometimes come in triplicate; talk about ineffectual overkill. Note to website owners and bloggers: we can scroll to the bottom, we know how to print, we can tweet, share, stumble, submit, post, blog, reblog and email with the best of them. Chill out with the barrage of icons, badges and buttons. It’s more insulting than convenient.

At first read, I thought Matt’s take on the social sharing was a little extreme. I thought, “Dang Matt, it’s nice to be able to easily share stuff we find and a button or two doesn’t bother me a bit.” Admittedly, sometimes I even find it interesting to see how many times something has been shared into Facebook or tweeted out on Twitter, but are seven repetitive options necessary? I’m with Matt when he said, “This focus on campaigning over content seems like a classic case of misplaced priorities.” Get a grip on all the button plastering and stop bulldozing us with all those social sharing options. Pick one or two, or if you can’t, use a single compound sharing button solution like ShareThis or AddThis and keep it simple and clean.

The outright pleas to “Vote for Me” and petitions to “Please Share” seem to have subsided considerably as we’ve all settled into social sharing and its place among online content. Anytime I run across a blog pestering me to do so, it makes me want to respond with “Please write something worth sharing!” or “I was going to share this, but your supplicatory sniveling pissed me off.” If you’ve created awesome content people will be happy, nay, compelled to share. Here’s an easy way to think about it: when I share great content I’ve found, people they think I’m awesome for finding and sharing it with them. It’s true, the simple act of sharing something cool makes me cool; I like it when people think I’m cool. Help me be cool.

I’m not saying sharing isn’t an important aspect of online content - I think it’s critical. But share-ability isn’t plastering buttons all over the page, it’s about creating great content. Now get to work. CREATE GREAT CONTENT and get rid of at least five of those buttons, because you’re making me woozy.

*Tip of the hat to Matt for a great article that was before its time.

**Another tip of the hat goes to 37signals as no more than one, lone share button appears on SvN today. A single “tweet” button which appears one time at the bottom of a post and only within a post. None appear on the main blog page.

***Ironic? The tweet count for the SvN post this article is based on is still at zero. Maybe they didn’t have any share icons on SvN at the time this was written back then? Or nobody dares to share. I will. I’ll be the first.

The New Twitter Background! We’re in the process of...

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:58:27 -0500

The New Twitter Background!

We’re in the process of redesigning our online platforms - let’s be honest, it was time for a face-lift! We’re redesigning, retouching and revamping our Twitter, Facebook and perhaps even the blog. Keep checking back to see what new designs, layouts and icons we create.

Our first site we are experimenting with is redesigning our Twitter page. If you’d like to see the new background in full effect - check us out @MicroVisions (and follow us!!)

Our new Twitter sidebar is simple and sweet, with a narrow size to ensure all users can see it, no matter what their browser size is. We hope to create more visual appeal for our followers and to show them the other places they can view Micro Visions, Inc. online. And yes, we had to add our own Twitter bird.

Not only have we redesigned the background to better match our other designs, but we’re playing around with our logo too. We like experimenting with incorporating our logo into an icon look and feel - it adds better visual elements to our pages. We have several of these icons created. Keep an eye out for more!

We’ll be continuously updating our social sites. Keep checking the blog for design updates and of course, news on social media, IT, computers, the Internet or anything cool in the tech world.

Not connected to our facebook or twitter yet? Check out the Micro Vision’s conversation on our other social sites:
@MicroVisions
Facebook.com/MicroVisionsInc