February 2012

To Blog or Not to Blog?

Blogging isn’t an easy task to take on, nor is it simple to gauge whether the effort put forth will pay dividends.

Common objections to blogging include not having the time; not having a platform to blog upon; not having an audience to write to; not having content to regularly fill a blog; and not having the skill set to create interesting, useful copy.

All are sensible reasons – but definitely on the wrong side of the trend. That handful of blogs on the Internet in the late 1990s has mushroomed into hundreds of millions of blogs today. As many as one out of six people now blog for a variety reasons, and the number of bloggers will continue to rise as the barriers to entry disappear. Considering that you can go to a site like Wordpress and set up a free blog in less than an hour, the only remaining barrier today is Internet access.

Please read the rest of the article on our own blog page.

Five Ways to Guard Against ‘Blah’ Presentations
Most of us think our lives would make a pretty boring memoir. We can’t all be Kim Kardashian after all. The fact is, even the most vacuous life can be made interesting to its audience if presented well. Again, Kim Kardashian comes to mind. What some might consider a boring topic can be quite engaging with strong presentation skills, or an interesting subject may fall flat if the presentation isn’t likewise.

Here are five basic tips to avoiding the presentation “blahs.” (Click either link for the full story.)

Coming Soon – Online Course Content Delivery
In keeping with our customer-driven approach to software development, we are in the process of adding functionality that will allow users to put training courses online through the upload and presentation of video and other multimedia files. Soon, customers will be able to create online courses, accept registrations, track participation and more, all through ABC Signup.

If you are interested in learning about this soon-to-be-available functionality and its pricing, please e-mail us or call us (866.791.8268 ext. 0).

Need a Training Refresher?
The next New User Training session is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. via GoToMeeting. The training, for those new to ABC Signup or in need of a refresher, covers the basics of the system – from administrative setup to creating events/listings/forms to reporting options. Register here. The fee is $75, and there is no additional charge for multiple people sitting in on the same conference call viewing the same computer session.

Odds and Ends
First, congratulations to Sanethia Nixon, training coordinator of ChildPlus, who came closest to matching our departments with their new office paint schemes (the quiz in last month’s newsletter). We said there would be a prize, and Sanethia can now put her interior design acumen to work with a gift card from Bed Bath & Beyond.

Second, speaking of design elements, how do you like ABC Signup's new themes interface and design tools launched in December? With a new year and a new round of programs and events upon us, you might want to give your ABC Signup pages a bit of a redesign, and we think these tools will make it easier than ever. However, we'd really like to know what you think about the new features, so please tell us here.

A Note to Close out Each Newsletter
Please tell us what we can do better – starting with our software, but also with our customer service, administration, communications (e.g., this newsletter) and so on. Just drop us a note here.