Fans of Dropbox can collaborate with Paper
The only documents not worth the paper they’re printed on are the ones that never receive a second pair of eyes. At least, that’s how we’re interpreting the release Dropbox’s newest document collaboration service. Long a bastion of cloud storage, the company is broadening its offerings with a new online workspace called ‘Paper.’ Does it have the functionalities to compete with the likes of Google Docs and Office 365? Let’s find out. First announced one year ago, Paper promised to be an elegant and straightforward tool that focuses on the minute details. The average user hasn’t had much to go on since then as Dropbox kept everything under the shroud of a closed beta, but that’s no longer the case. With the release of iOS and Android apps, the mobile and desktop versions of Paper are moving into the open beta stage. What sets Dropbox’s service apart is how it liberates users from the constraints of document file types. Whereas other services force you to classify what you’re making, Paper is a completely blank canvas that provides the tools to create a document outside the boundaries of presentations, memos, and spreadsheets. Think of it more along the lines of creating a website, with photos, text, video and even HTML code all working together through an intuitive snap-in user interface. In addition to fundamentally shifting how we think about document creation, those at Dropbox want us to take a closer look at how we collaborate with each other. Live chats, comments and document notifications bring a depth of communication that Paper’s competitors would be hard- pressed to match. And although they’ve been kept intentionally clean and toned down, all these features are now available as push notifications for mobile devices in an attempt to keep everyone in the loop, 24/7. Ultimately, what makes Paper a worthwhile consideration is its overarching philosophy and goals. Dropbox doesn’t want a segmented platform where teams need to jump between different windows and services; they want to create a virtual meeting room with a fully functional whiteboard where everyone can create, store, and collaborate on documents simultaneously. It’s easy to get lost in the echo-chamber of big-name technology solutions. Professional advisors recommend the services and solutions they know customers will recognize and trust, while end users just don’t have the time to research all the available options. Fortunately for you, we believe being on the cutting edge of new technology means thinking outside the box and acting as the authority on oft-neglected third options. When you’re in the market for a new IT solution, call us — the team with more suggestions than the first two hits on Google. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
5 tips to build a better chatbot
In today’s tech-centric world, the demand for new apps is overwhelming the supply. Whether due to simple curiosity or just plain excitement, people are usually drawn to chatbots. In time, however, novelty wears thin and people lose interest. This may be partially due to the fact that bots aren’t as engaging as we initially imagined them to be. Fortunately, the silver lining here is that necessity — or in this case, boredom — is the mother of invention, so people customize these chatbots to create a better experience.Here are 5 tips to get you started: Emulate the WeChat Model This Chinese cross-platform instant messaging app has housed chatbots since 2011 and shows no signs of letting up. When compared with other countries, China’s bot market is at a further development stage, meaning there are many things to learn from WeChat’s chatbots. Here a few of them: Two types of bot accounts: WeChat offers Subscription and Service accounts. Subscription accounts mainly gather news and blogs, whereas Service accounts are fully-functional bots that offer features like speech recognition as well. News: News bots make up over 34 percent of the Top 500 Bots in China. This means that WeChat is the main news source for Chinese citizens. Top five categories: Current Affairs, Culture, Entertainment & Sports, Humor, and Emotions — these five categories compose almost 50 percent of the top 500 bots on WeChat in July 2016. Focus on chatbot-only use cases With every new technology comes new ways of doing things that weren’t possible before. So this begs the question: “What problems can you solve with chatbots that you couldn’t otherwise solve without them?” Take Uber, for example. The reason behind its success is the implementation of this strategy — leveraging smartphones with GPS and payment capabilities to get cabs (something that couldn’t have been done before). Currently, bots face the same challenge. Here are some examples of chatbot-only use cases: Legal Help: DoNotPay, the world’s first robotic lawyer, managed to overturn 160,000 tickets in London and NYC, saving over $3 million for customers. And since the bot takes 25 percent of the savings, the company made nearly one million dollars. Customer Service: Calling an 800 number is usually not the most pleasant experience, and so few people even bother. . Moreover, many companies struggle with improving customer service. Bots will change that. Make it special Chatbots are an extension of what we do practically every day: talk. An average person has between 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day; we constantly think in words and are constantly conversing with ourselves. A.I. isn’t quite at our level yet. We aren’t capable of schmoozing with our bots or telling them how bad our day went. But through speech, bots can take the first step toward that reality by helping us rationally solve problems. What do we really need? It’s undeniable that in today’s modern world, increasingly more people feel lonely and disconnected, so they look for ways to connect with the outside world. A recent survey of over 12,000 Assistant.ai users reveals that over 40 percent can picture a relationship with their A.I., and that 25 percent are actually open to the idea. Human beings tend to anthropomorphize and assume relationships since we’re constantly seeking to relate. If poorly-made chatbots can offer us an anthropomorphous opportunity, imagine what properly engineered ones can do. Strike a nerve For people to really care, you have to truly touch them on an emotional level — or as the expression goes, hit a nerve. An ideal way in to do this is by calling them to action via personality. This allows us to easily connect and establish a relationship, and that’s why bots are considered to be the ideal vehicle to a personalized marketing relationship. They allow for an intimately unique experience that meets both physical and emotional needs. So what makes a good chatbot? Sufficient problem solving capacities while being fun, positive and engaging. If you are unsure about anything written in the article, don’t hesitate to give us a call! We’ll be more than happy to answer any chatbot-related questions you have. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
8 hidden upgraded Firefox functions
Bouncing back from a short hiatus, Firefox returned with a bang by snatching the PCMag Editors’ Choice award for best browser. With a plethora of upgrades coupled with its nifty new layout, Firefox was poised for victory. While all browsers share some functional similarities — security and accessibility, for example — certain characteristics and functions make each one unique. Besides third-party extensions and add-ons, here are 8 hidden Firefox functions that may come in handy: Firefox Hello Introducing Firefox’s very own chat client complete with video chat functionalities. Access this bad boy by clicking on the smiley face on the top-right corner. Google Hangouts users should get the hang of it in no time — no software download necessary. Technically, you don’t even have to be on Firefox to use Hello; just be sure you’re on WebRTC-supported browsers like Chrome or Opera. Firefox’s secret interface Catering to the more tech-savvy users, Firefox’s secret interface gives you a peek behind the curtain into the world of coding. This helps you make adjustments to improve browser performance. Don’t have too much fun, though — exercise caution at all times! Customize your Control Panel Choose which items you want to see, and maybe even discover new ones you might have never known about! Decorate your control panel all you like! Click on the hamburger in the top-right corner and then click Customize at the bottom. Drag and drop desired items into the “Additional Tools and Features” window, and presto! Assess browser health Firefox’s Health Reports compiles data on user behavior and overall performance to provide you with comparisons and meaningful tips. Also, the aggregated data reveals various ways to improve your browsing experience. This personalized report consists of figures on browsing data, time spent browsing, crashes, as well as how long it takes to open a new tab (measured in milliseconds, of course). The master password ‘One can never be too safe’ is the mentality you should have every time you log on. Enter the master password. This acts like a key that unlocks all your vital passwords and information that could be detrimental if left exposed. Create your own by going to the Menu button > Options > Security tab. Then check the box next to “Use a master password” and follow the directions in the pop-up window. Customize your own shortcuts If Mozilla’s current shortcuts take too long to master, consider your problem solved. With the help of the Customizable Shortcuts extension, you have the luxury to design your very own shortcut sequences. No more confusion, no more time wasted. URL Auto-Complete To spare you the fuss of entering prefixes or suffixes, Firefox lets the new URL auto-complete feature do the work for you. For example, type in “wordpress” in the address bar followed by Ctrl + Enter (Mac: Command + Enter) and voila! Firefox fills in the www and the .com parts. Other variations include “Wordpress” followed by Control + Shift + Enter (Mac: Command + Shift + Enter) for .org sites. For any dot-net sites, you would type the URL followed by Shift + Enter. Firefox Share If you haven’t noticed the tiny paper plane icon in the top left corner, then say hello to the new Firefox share button. This enables you to share whatever you want to a multitude of social media accounts. Make sure you’re logged into the accounts you want to send to, and spread the word with a single click. Manage accounts by heading to the Add-ons manager > services. Improving browser usage is key to acquiring a competitive edge — a vital component to rising above the rest and achieving success. If you have any questions or are uncertain about any Firefox upgrades, feel free to give us a call. We are more than happy to help. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
SMBs turn to hybrid clouds for flexibility
Who would have guessed that clouds could be so complex? Yet in a day and age of seemingly continuous technological advances, “cloud” computing has become one of the more intricate and interesting approaches to managing IT resources for businesses. Not to mention one of the most cost effective, flexible, and secure, thanks in part to something known as the “hybrid cloud.” Hybrid clouds, as the name suggests, are a version of cloud computing that are made up of two different components. They are a combination of private clouds (where data and applications that require tighter controls are hosted either internally or privately in the cloud space); and public clouds (which are operated externally by third-party providers with the express purpose of reducing a company’s IT infrastructure). A recent “State of the Cloud” report indicates that 71% of all cloud users are now implementing hybrid cloud solutions, mainly because the ways in which they benefit small- and medium-sized businesses are so numerous. Here we’ve highlighted what we consider to be the 4 most significant benefits of hybrid cloud solutions. Cost efficiency Does your industry go through seasonal workload increases? With a hybrid cloud solution, you’ll be able to easily handle spikes in demand by migrating data from maxed-out on-premise servers to scalable, pay-as-you-go “servers in the sky” whenever needed, without incurring any extra hardware and maintenance costs. Adaptability Having the ability to choose between on-site/privately-hosted cloud servers and ones on the public cloud gives you more than just cost flexibility. It also gives you the capacity to pair the right IT solution with the right job, like keeping smaller projects on your local or private cloud, while utilizing the more robust computing resources on offer from the public cloud for your bigger projects. Scalability What exactly does this common IT buzzword mean for your organization? In a nutshell, it means that the hybrid cloud allows you to “scale up” or “scale down” on an as-needed basis. So if there are last-minute demand increases that your hardware can’t support, or if you’re simply planning for future expansion, hybrid cloud solutions allow for on-demand increases or decreases in capacity. Security Last, but certainly not least, are the security advantages of a hybrid cloud solution. SMBs are able to host within the private cloud their more sensitive data such as an e-commerce website or HR platform, while using the public cloud space for less sensitive data where it’s more cost effective and there is less likely to be major problems should there ever be a security breach. SMBs can set up their hybrid cloud model in a few different ways, depending on their precise needs and the types of providers available to them: By employing one specialized cloud provider who offers soup-to-nuts hybrid solutions By integrating the services of a private cloud provider with those of a public cloud provider themselves By hosting a private cloud themselves and then adopting a public cloud service which is incorporated into their infrastructure So as more of our customers’ IT infrastructure moves to the cloud, we’re adapting and developing innovative ways to maintain hybrid cloud environments. What this means for you is we’ve got the know-how to provide outright cloud solutions, or at the very least the expert consultation you need, to ensure that your day-to-day operations transition to a hybrid cloud solution without interruption and in a cost-effective manner. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits that the hybrid cloud can bring to your business. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Better Squarespace analytics for ecommerce
There are quite a few content management systems (CMS) available for small and medium sized businesses to market themselves on the internet, all working to maximize the value of their features and eliminate gaps in service. One of these, Squarespace, has made a big splash with the addition of their ecommerce analysis functions. When choosing which CMS is right for you, one small feature could make or break your profitability. Let’s take a closer look at Squarespace’s new offerings to see if they’re right for you. Squarespace publicly admits that their earliest iterations of Commerce, the platform’s ecommerce tool, were targeted at businesses that didn’t see their online sales as their number one objective. Unsurprisingly, that mentality didn’t last long and the website creation company caved in to consumer demands for deeper functionality. Squarespace Commerce originally did offer some data analysis via a service titled ‘Metrics’, but was recently granted a huge upgrade and the new title of ‘Advanced Analytics’. To access it, simply click ‘Analytics’ from the ‘Home Menu’ on your site. From there, you are taken to a dashboard that displays an overview of seven of your most important data points: Revenue, Units Sold, Orders, Visits, Conversion Rate, Average Order Volume and Revenue per Visit. You can see the performance of these variables over any period of time you set and exact values can be found by clicking on the graph wherever you need more specific information. So far this isn’t anything that several other CMS platforms can offer you. What begins to set Squarespace Commerce apart is the ability to sift these seven data points by source. You can filter the indicators by sources such as device (desktop, mobile, tablet), site/social network (Google, Facebook, direct, etc.) or by specifying which product produced the data. Although, potentially the most helpful upgrade of all is the ‘Abandoned Checkout’ feature. As one of the biggest problems among ecommerce sites, Squarespace sets its sights on determining why your customers fail to finish their purchase in your online store. It does this by tracking data from all seven of the aforementioned data points and allowing you to create custom followup emails for anyone that has entered their email address and added items to their cart without finishing their purchase. The email can act as a simple reminder or even include a ‘Complete your Order’ call to action in the text of the message. And since Squarespace is putting such a huge emphasis on data, there’s a whole tab under the Analytics menu titled ‘Purchase Funnel’ that allows you to see how far into the shopping process your customers get. You can compare the number of site visits to the number of users that viewed a product, added an item to a cart and completed a purchase, all in one screen. This will allow you to see where in your sales process you’re losing customer interest. Of course with any announcement comes all of the finer details like adding templates for ecommerce websites, the addition of a mobile app that allows store managers to keep an eye on their ecommerce from mobile devices and an order delivery calculator. Although Squarespace promises more availability of customer data is on the way, it still believes that business owners don’t want to be inundated with overly verbose data. Right now they want to focus on simple, key indicators that result in higher profits. Nowadays the vast majority of SMBs will be offering at least one product or service for sale over the internet. There are a lot of different ways to go about it, but something as simple as improved conversion tracking or mobile management on your ecommerce store could become the reason your company is in the black, or the red. We’re well versed in all of the CMS vendors operating today and we’d love to help you find out which one is best for you — ask us today! Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Chrome extensions: 6 productivity boosters
The future of work lies in human cloud
5 web design trends you should consider
New, native ad blocker coming to Opera
Ads are becoming increasingly intrusive on today’s web browsers. They can slow down the load time of pages, and cause potential security and privacy issues. So it’s no surprise that ad blockers are becoming more and more popular. However, as they do, they’re also cutting into the revenue of online advertisers. With the upcoming release of Opera’s new ad blocker that’s incorporated directly into the browser, business owners may be both excited and disturbed. On one hand, their own personal browsing experience will be smoother with less disruptive ads, and on another their advertising reach may become more limited. How it works When Opera’s new ad blocking feature becomes live, it will be switched off by default. However, when an ad is causing a web page to slow down, the user will be prompted to turn it on. If you’re an Opera user who’d like to do this for yourself, simply click the shield icon in the upper right hand corner of your browser. For whatever reason, if you don’t want to block ads for a specific website, you’ll also have that option, which can be adjusted in the browser’s settings. Why is Opera doing this? One spokeswoman for Opera remarked, “Ad-blocking technology is an opportunity and a wake-up call to the advertising industry to pay attention to what consumers are actually saying.” In other words, consumers are annoyed with intrusive ads that are irrelevant, and Opera believes this is an opportunity for advertisers to create better, more engaging ads. When that happens, ad blocking will become less of an issue. How will this affect your business? Ad blocking is not new, as other browsers provide a similar service. The only difference is that competitors like Google Chrome and Firefox use extensions to enable this feature. However, Opera has said that with the use of their native ad blocker, their browser on average runs 45% faster than using Google Chrome with the AdBlock Plus extension and 21% faster than using Firefox with that same extension. In today’s browser competition, and really the world in general, speed is currency. And this could cause users to abandon their current browser and flock to Opera. You should bear in mind that right now, Opera isn’t an incredibly popular browser. According to the online statistics service W3Counter, Opera was only used by 3% of all Internet users this past February, while Google Chrome was used by 47.5%. With that said, many of Opera’s technological advances have later caught on with other major browsers. For example, Opera pioneered both pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing, which are now the norm for major browsers. So if your business heavily relies on online advertisements, should you be worried? Unfortunately only time will tell. With that said, it’s likely not time to panic just yet. What can your business do? Some companies, like Forbes and New York Times, are already taking action, and experimenting with preventing ad blocking users to access their site. While this probably isn’t an option for you just yet, there are other marketing avenues you can explore. For example, businesses that rely on inbound marketing, which drives users to your business by providing free valuable content, will see little effect (if any) by Opera’s new ad blocking feature. Also, it should be noted that Opera’s ad blocker will not block all ads. It is predominantly focusing on those that are intrusive to users and cause browsing slow down. So if you’re a big on those pesky flash ads that many Internet users despise, it’s likely wise to shift focus to creating leaner, more engaging ads. They’re much less likely to be blocked. Want to learn more about ad blocking, browsers or cloud technology? Send us a message. We’re happy to help in anyway we can. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.