Nova Scotia Community College Hits a Sweet Spot for IT Education

It’s summer and, as Nat would say, time to roll out those lazy hazy crazy days of soda and pretzels and beer.

Well, maybe not so much the soda and pretzels, but certainly all the rest of it. And what better time to talk about… school!

In particular I’d like to talk about the Nova Scotia Community College and their Information Technology diploma program.

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Ruby on Rails Makes Programmers Happy

So my Chief Technology Officer walks into one of our Friday meetings and tells me he’s started a special interest group for users of Ruby on Rails.

Who, on what? And for that matter, why?

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Social Media can Enhance a Fine Tradition Like Christmas Daddies

Our favourite charity at Nicom is Christmas Daddies, an organization that has been dedicated to helping children throughout the Maritime Provinces since 1964. No doubt most readers have seen the telethons at one time or another, proceeds of which are distributed by the Salvation Army to needy families.

For a number of years now, we have been managing the Christmas Daddies web site and this year it is going through its fourth design. Besides giving it a new look and feel, the new design incorporates many Social Media aspects and for this reason I thought it would be of interest to my business readers. I met with Matthew Carleton who developed the site to discuss the objectives for the new site, and he told me some very interesting things I’d like to share with you.

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Simple Ideas to Increase Your Web Presence

If your idea of a web presence is just having a website, think again. Although a website is a crucial first step and should serve as a hub for your brand online, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

How are your customers finding your website? Sure, your URL is on your business card and brochure but if your customers don’t know you exist that’s not going to help. Having a presence on the search engines for key phrases relevant to your products and services is vital. So put yourself in your customers shoes and come up with likely key phrases they may type into a search engine and do it yourself to get an idea of where your website ranks.

There are many different components to search engine optimization (SEO), including on-page and off-page optimization (link building), as well as information architecture considerations, so an assessment of your SEO needs is the ideal place to start and get an idea of where you are and where you could go.

Oh and if your customers are looking for your services locally PLEASE go to http://www.google.com/local/add/ and add your business now!

Do you have several unique products that can stand on their own? Separate websites or minisites may be a good strategy for you, segmenting your products and optimizing for search by using unique domain names.

Thinking about having a photo gallery or videos on your website? Using services like Flickr or YouTube can help you spread your brand beyond your website. Don’t forget to tag your photos and videos with relevant keywords and descriptions. Make sure your profile page links back to your website and brand the profile with at least a logo.

Do your customers look to the web for help related to your products or services? If you have the expertise and time a blog is a fantastic way to connect with your customers. Some questions to ask yourself include: What results are you trying to achieve? And who is your target audience?

Having a presence on social networking sites isn’t necessarily vital for every company, yet. It all depends where your customers are. For a quick test, try going to search.twitter.com and typing in the name of the product or service you provide. If you sell mattresses try searching for ‘new mattress’ or ‘new bed’ or if you’re a restaurant try searching “restaurants” near:”Halifax”. See anyone worth talking to?

Is your company B2B? Encourage your staff to use Linkedin. Again, don’t forget to link your profiles back your company website.

This is just the beginning of what you can do to increase your presence on the web, but if any of these tactics make sense for you, the time to start is today. If you have any ideas you’d like to add or any questions please leave a comment!

Web-Enabled Software Applications Are Less Expensive to Maintain

When it comes to computer software applications, in many ways we have come full-circle since the mainframe days of the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, corporate information was housed in central locations with strict rules for access and modifications. To use the applications, we used “dumb terminals”, whose job was nothing more than displaying information and accepting user data.

When the personal computer revolution came, much more power was given to individuals so that mainframe computers were no longer needed for simple tasks, such as word processing for example. This allowed for huge productivity improvements because it reduced the dependency on the IT department for anything other than centralized systems, such as billing or inventory control.

But then “islands of productivity”, as we called them, emerged with no central control, very little security, and no sharing of corporate data. The first step towards solving this problem was to implement local area networks which connected personal computers together and allowed for sharing of information.

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