Erich Stauffer

Category: Technology

  • Google Set to Launch Chrome App Store

    Google to Launch Chrome App Store in Time for HTC Tablet in November

    Google plans to launch its Chrome App Store in October, Google executives told a German Gamescom audience in Germany this week in August. This store will essentially be Google’s iTunes, supporting devices like the HTC Tablet running Chrome OS, due out in November.

    The HTC device is said to have a relationship with Verizon.  This is critical as most of the ‘big iron’ in the tablet will be in the cloud and apps may not be able to run without being connected to the Internet.  Questions remain on whether or not there will be caps on the data plans like AT&T did to iPhone users, but this may be the new normal.

    Again, like Apple, Google will be opening up the opportunity for developers to write programs and apps for Chrome and Chrome OS in exchange for a cut of each sale, rumored to be at 5%. The app store would be available to users of its Chrome browser and the Chrome OS, which means the potential market is much bigger than just tablet PC users running the Chrome OS as Chrome can be ran on any computer.  It will be interesting to see both how the store performs and how people like using mobile devices that only work when connected to the Internet, ala cloud computing-style.  I personally use a HTC Droid, which mostly only works when connected, so maybe it will be okay.

  • Facebook Buys Chai Labs’ for Semantic Search Technology

    Facebook has acquired online search company Chai Labs for $10 million

    As Facebook vies to compete with Google and expand it’s search functionality from searching Facebook.com to searching the world wide web, it has looked to a vertically focused company steeped in Internet glory including Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen, LinkedIn chairman Reid Hoffman, and Google Ventures general partner Joe Kraus who are all investors and/or advisors at Chai Labs.

    Chai Labs specializes in a technology it calls “Semantic Search,” which “uses proprietary crawling, artificial intelligence and data mining technologies to analyze and extract insights from millions of real-time data points across the web,” according to the company’s website. The “Semantic Web” is a term coined by World Wide Web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee, which is a, “New form of Web content that is meaningful to computers.” The semantic web is gaining momentum as HTML5 includes more support for it.

    So what does Facebook want with the semantic web?

    Unlike when it has aquired online sharing sites like Friendfeed* and ShareGrove or purchased Web-based image-hosting companies like Divvyshot, Facebook’s purchase of Chai Labs does not have an immediately apparent value to users-the value it seems, is to Facebook who may be able to use the semantic functionality to hone search results based on a person’s profile, making results theoretically more accurate. While Facebook does have a built-in search engine that lets users search the entire Internet (which is basically just an embedded Bing engine), many users still use Google or Yahoo for search, but Facebook is trying to change that. While Google is trying to become more like Facebook by creating Orkut, purchasing Jaikut (and then abandoning it), rolling out Wave (and then pulling it back), and now Buzz (and possibly a Buzz/Wave combo called Google Me), Facebook is trying to become more like Google.  Why?

    Follow the Money

    Search engines and social networks both make money by selling ads and they are successful at doing so because ads are displayed to the users most likely to click on them (and purchase the product or service).  How they are able to do this has everything to do with the purchase of Chai Labs.  The more targeted search results are, the more likely users will find ads relevant, and the more likely users are to click, which makes Google and Facebook gobs of cash.  While Google makes some money from Google Apps customers, the majority of their revenue is from ad sales and Facebook wants a piece of that pie.  This is all part of the recipe.

    *FriendFeed’s executive team included Paul Buchheit, creator and lead developer of Google Gmail, and Bret Taylor, who was responsible for the launch of Google Maps. Taylor is now chief technology officer of Facebook.

  • What if Microsoft Bob Was Released Today as Microsoft’s Social Network

    I am one of the 58,000 Microsoft Bob users from 1995 and to celebrate 15 years I thought I’d write a fake news article imagining what Bob would be like today if released as a social network.

    Microsoft Announces ‘Bob’ Social Network Based on Microsoft Bob
    Could this be a Facebook killer?

    Microsoft Bob, the toy operating system within an operating system, which debuted in 1995, is now back in a big way as a new social network. Although revolutionary at the time, the three dimensional software that let you store and retrieve files from an actual file cabinet in a virtual office room is regarded as one of the worst applications ever made after Windows ME. But this version of Bob hopes to change that perception and get back to Microsoft’s original interpretation of Neil Stephenson’s Metaverse by taking the house, rooms, and avatar to a new level. In the same way that you got to your PC’s desktop in Bob .’95, at Bob.com PCs are used like widgets to display RSS feeds or Facebook. In Facebook terms, your profile is your house in Bob. When someone is “viewing your profile” on Bob you will see their avatar in your house if you are logged in and there too.

    How is this different than Second Life?

    In Second Life there is a virtual world that you explore and create things like houses in. In Bob, the world is created by you building a house, liking a band, or following a friend. Each time you add something to Bob it gets a physical place in your virtual Bob world. Each user’s world will look different un layout, but the content of each unit will be the same to all users. For example, if you want to live next door to Ace Freely and he agrees to be your friend, his house would be next to yours, but from his perspective, your house may be blocks from his in his Bob world.

    Integration

    Because Microsoft is involved expect to be able to integrate pictures and files from your PC in Bob, which will use Azure and will enable sharing and collaborations much like the Microsoft / Facebook project, Docs.com. Also Bing search and maps will be used. Expect Bing local search to be heavily promoted as businesses get on board and begin joining. Unlike Facebook, expect to be able to buy things from shops you have added to your network.

    Summary and Analysis

    In the same way we didn’t need a layer on top of Windows 95 to use Windows 95 I’m not sure we need an Internet world layered on top of our existing Internet, but it would be nice to hang out with other friends in their avatar forms in some sweet man cave I built in my FRIGGIN mansion on Bob.

  • Introducing a Brand New Way to Market Your Business

    Grow Your Business Organically

    A lot of SEO companies market how they will promote your business online using Internet marketing and online advertising techniques, but Erich Stauffer noticed a gap between where promotion stops and business begins and so we used social media management to not just promote your business, but grow your business.

    Digital Marketing Strategy

    We’ll work with you to create a comprehensive strategy to marry your business brand, vision, values, products, and services with traditional outdoor, radio, TV, and yellow page advertising alongside social networking and social spaces like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other technologies like apps for the iPhone and Android phones.

    SEO is Not Enough – Content Marketing

    It’s no longer enough to have a top-ranking website in Google if your web site is not converting traffic, your story is not consistent, and you are not creating lasting relationships with customers. Erich Stauffer can help you to do all three with content marketing.

    Social Media Management

    We are excited to offer social media management to help your business organize and streamline their marketing efforts with a consistent message that is in-line with their mission, vision, and values. We believe so strongly about this product that we would be happy to take you out to lunch to show you how it works in a one-on-one session. Are you interested in learning more?

  • Sell the Hole

    Merchants who sell drills are in fact selling pieces of mechanized metal, but the actual reason for the drill’s existence is to make holes. What the merchant is really selling is the hole.  The person buying the drill either wants to make a hole or drive a screw.  That’s it.  If they didn’t need one of those two things, they wouldn’t need the drill.

    So how can we relate that to our customers? Are we trying to sell our customers “the drill”? Are we helping our customers sell the drill or sell the hole? Why are our customers customers buying their product? Is it because of the product or the result they get from the product? Of course it is the latter.  We help customers identify what the “holes” are, what the end results of their products are and sell the solution, not the tool.

  • Action Management

    Erich Stauffer believes in managing actions for better results.

    Managing actions involves actively managing your business and its employees. Erich Stauffer specializes in business process management (BPM), business continuity planning (BCP), and staffing models. Erich Stauffer can also offer business-class web design and development for the Indianapolis area. Erich Stauffer wants to help make your business better.  Here are a few of their management services:

    Process Auditing – Find out your company’s risk level by analyzing who knows which tasks and whether or not each task has a written procedure.

    Staffing Models – Create utilization models that your supervisors can use to plan for – and report on – daily staff productivity.

    Business Continuity Planning – Be prepared for various disasters by creating a plan for how your business will go on in midst of environmental and social variables.

    Management Consulting – From business process modeling to staff utilization models, we can help your business setup and diagram the functions that keep your business growing daily. Better manage your current employees using data, not gut instincts. We can provide custom tools that allow supervisors to anticipate staffing needs and run scenarios of changes in work loads before they happen.

    Business Process Management – Whether your business is brand new or well established, if your company is growing, then there is a need to get organized. Documenting what each task within the company does, who knows how to do it, and if anyone is cross-trained on the subject can be an arduous task, but it is what we specialize in. We can help your company get organized.

    Business Continuity Planning – Its wise to plan for various environmental or social events that could seriously impact the ability of your business to continue on afterward. Is your data backed up? Have the backups been restored to test? Would you be able to function if 30% of your staff became ill? How long could you remain in business without electricity? These are the things we can help you find out.

  • Email Expectations

    Customer: I need a website for my business so I do a web search for a web design company to make it and I look at the work that they have done before I ever consider price. I judge what their prices might be based on the site and their work. I might put a feeler email out there or call for information, but I don’t want to commit in any way. I want information without commitment.

    Us: Emailing or calling us amounts to an information request only. Any commitment comes with a contract, which only occurs after you’re comfortable and ready to get started. We won’t be sending out a newsletter or cold calling you, nor will we be sharing your information with anyone else. We value your privacy and the privacy of your project. However, all of our customers receive a monthly email detailing any software updates and/or testing we have done that month in addition to a detailed report about your website’s traffic.

  • Indianapolis Dentist Hires Pre-Med Teen as Summer Intern

    Indianapolis dentist, Dr. Ted Reese, DDS, MAGD, has hired a local high school graduate, Kishan, to intern this summer before entering the Pre-Med program at Duke University thus fall. Kishan graduated at the top of his class, but hopes to learn from one the best dentists in town. Dr. Reese allows Kishan to shadow him during patient visits in between Kishan’s other roles of assisting the office manager, Karen, and doing a summer email marketing newsletter for the Indianapolis Center for Implant and Sedation Dentistry where he is working.

    Erich Stauffer has been assisting Dr. Reese with his marketing campaign and recently with Kishan as he learns how to use Constant Contact, our preferred email marketing software. Kishan is a whiz on the computer and a fast learner. We’re sure he’ll do well at Duke and we wish him well this summer in Indianapolis.

  • Introduction to Groupons

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    Groupons is a company and a website with a unique business model that is mutually beneficial to vendors, customers, and Groupons itself. Vendors like retail outlets contact Groupons about goods or services they would like to package and promote. Groupon reps work with the vendor to create an ad that runs in a daily email newsletter. Each coupon has a quota and if enough people purchase a package, all packages sell at once. Groupons takes a small percentage of the sale and mails the vendor a check the next day. Customers get the coupon immediately for use.

    Because Groupons only makes money when you, the vendor, makes money you can be sure that the ad reps will help paint your company and products in a good light. There is very little risk and a lot of potential exposure. Even if not enough coupons are sold, your brand will still go out to thousands of potential new clients who may use your business in the future.

    If you want to learn more about how Groupon works, check out their guide site. At Erich Stauffer, we can also assist with helping your company apply to Groupon or setup an email marketing campaign of your own. We prefer Constant Contact, but we are also familiar with Delivra. We recommend email marketing be a core part of your overall marketing strategy and advertising budget.