JASE Marketing blog

NORFOLK, VA AND MECHANICSVILLE, VA, JANUARY 01, 2009: JASE Group, LLC, a Norfolk-based leading and ground-breaking social media marketing firm and electronic solutions provider, announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Central Virginia Amateur Softball Association of Mechanicsville to continue to provide an online presence for its CVASA.com initiative.

JASE will continue to provide web and email hosting for CVASA and further develop the organization’s brand and social media campaigns. The marketing firm will consult CVASA’s corporate identity and guide the expansion of their social media presence on sites such as YouTube, Flickr, JASEzone, Facebook and Twitter.

More information on Central Virginia Amateur Softball Association can be found at www.centralvirginiaasa.com.

More information on JASE Group, LLC can be found at www.jasegroup.com or by calling (757) 715-4595. The JASE marketing division can be found at www.jasemarketing.com.

Tags: ASA, Brand, Central Virginia, Central Virginia Amateur Softball Association, CVASA, email hosting, facebook, flickr, JASE Group, jasezone, Marketing, Mechanicsville, Norfolk, social media, Twitter, VA, web hosting, youtube

I hope everyone had a fun and safe (!) New Year’s Eve and January 1^st of 2009. Despite our troubled economy I am excited about the upcoming year.

We have several exciting initiatives on our plate and are underway with integrating social media into almost every aspect of our business and services. Let us show you what we’re doing in 2009. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And we’d love to you have enjoy the ride with us.

Make sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed here so you don’t miss the action. You can also catch me on Twitter and in the JASEzone most anytime to see what’s going on in real-time.

Our JASE blog’s RSS feed is here. And you can follow the whole team in the JASEzone here and on Twitter here.

Thanks to everyone for supporting us in 2008 and we welcome an exciting 2009.

Tags: 2008, 2009, blog, JASE, jasezone, New Year, RSS, social media, Twitter

Our JASE office is open full strength today. We are back from the holidays and ready to serve you.

Call us and let’s talk social media, building your network, marketing your product, managing your brand, creating your persona, developing your website, securing your network, optimizing your content for search engines, smartphones & wireless devices or just to talk.

Main Office Address:

JASE Group, LLC
(757) 715-4595
614 Georgia Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23508-2912
www.jasegroup.com

Email Addresses:

General company information: info [at] jasegroup [dot] com
Sales inquiries: sales [at] jasegroup [dot] com
Employment information: hr [at] jasegroup [dot] com
Accounts & billing questions: billing [at] jasegroup [dot] com
Technical support: www.jasetechsupport.com
JASEzone support: www.jasezone.com/JZ/JASEzoneTeam

Tags: Brand, holidays, JASE, Marketing, network, social media

Where is the value and ROI for Chrysler on spending $100k on this full-page ad that ran in the Wall Street Journal last week? Mark Cuban translates this ad into “thanks for letting me waste your money.”

1. Why should Congress give this company money from our tax pot?
2. Why does this CEO, Bob Nardelli, still have a job?

Tags: Advertising, Bob Nardelli, Chrysler, Mark Cuban, Wall Street Journal

From the blog of our CEO, Keith Parnell -

How can JASE help you in 2009?

I hope everyone had a fun and safe (!) New Year’s Eve and January 1^st of 2009. Despite our troubled economy I am excited about the upcoming year.

We have several exciting initiatives on our plate and are underway with integrating social media into almost every aspect of our business and services. Let us show you what we’re doing in 2009. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And we’d love to you have enjoy the ride with us.

Make sure to subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed here so you don’t miss the action. You can also catch me on Twitter and in the JASEzone most anytime to see what’s going on in real-time.

Our JASE blog’s RSS feed is here. And you can follow the whole team in the JASEzone here and on Twitter here.

Thanks to everyone for supporting us in 2008 and we welcome an exciting 2009.

Tags: 2008, 2009, blog, CEO, JASE, JASE Group, jasezone, Keith Parnell, New Year, RSS, social media, Twitter

We hope all of your goals are reached in 2009! Well wishes from the JASE family.

Tags: 2009, New Year

Wireless hotspots are changing the way people work. These wireless local area networks (LANs) provide high speed Internet access in public locations, at home and in the office. They require nothing more than a mobile device with an internal or external wireless card. From Starbucks to airports to hotel lobbies, hotspots are ubiquitous. They are the de facto connection method for travelers and remote workers to access the Internet, their e-mail, and even their corporate networks.

Hotspots are all open networks that are vulnerable to security breaches. And that means it’s up to you to protect the data on your device. Here are a few tips to make working in public locations more secure.

1. Try to choose more secure connections. It’s not always possible to choose your connection type but when you can, opt for wireless networks that require a network security key or have some other form of security, such as a certificate.
2. Make sure the firewall on your device is activated. A firewall helps protect your device by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network.
3. Monitor your access points. Chances are, there are multiple wireless networks anywhere you’re trying to connect. These connections are all access points, because they link into the wired system that gives you Internet access.
4. Disable file and printer sharing. File and printer sharing is a feature that enables other computers on a network to access resources on your computer.
5. Make your folders private. When the folders on your device are private, it’s more difficult for hackers to access your files.

A few simple precautions can help make working in public places more secure. And by selecting the best connections and adjusting settings, you can enjoy productive and safe work sessions no matter where you are. Here are two bonus tips.

1. Encrypt your files. You can protect your files further by encrypting them, which requires a password to open or modify them.
2. Consider completely removing sensitive data from your device. If you’re working with extremely sensitive data, it might be worth taking it off your notebook PC altogether. Instead, keep it behind the corporate firewall and use your company’s VPN to access it when necessary. This way, you have multiple safeguards in place.As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Security of your device and its data is very important. Treat it seriously and with respect.

Tags: encryption, firewall, high speed internet, hotel, hotspot, LAN, printer, sensitive data, starbucks, Wireless

The human brain is considered to be the super computer of all super computers. Logical thoughts are triangulated, analyzed and resolved in the human brain within fractions of a second. With these results the brain controls our central nervous system which drives the functions and thoughts of our human body.

Why the deep thoughts? Well, here’s a question for you - Can the human brain be hacked?

The answer is very simply, no. The human brain lives within a disconnected world. Every human brain is disconnected with that of other brains. Telepathy and emotional bonding are all there but apart from that every human brain is an individual computer by itself and that makes intrusion very difficult.

Let’s use this information to relate to electronic computers. 70% of the computers in the world are connected either through the Internet or an Intranet. This very nature of being in a connected world makes the computer systems hack-able (unlike our brains).

To prevent unauthorized access, mutual authentication and authorization play key roles. Authentication helps identify the user who is trying to access a resource. Establishing identity by supplying a user name and password is still a valid method to authenticate systems.

Password security is a most important factor in authentication. You should consider securing your passwords similar to your credit card number. The strength of the password decides how strong your authentication mechanism is. A weak password can be guessed by executing a brute force attack using a subset of all possible passwords or either by launching a dictionary attack.

Passwords are the first line of defense for protecting assets; guessing them is a popular and often successful attack method. A poorly chosen password can result in the compromise of an entire corporate network.

Strong Password Guidelines:

• Should include at least eight characters.
• Should use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters.
• Should contain numeric characters.
• Should contain symbols such as *, ?, or $ or other some special characters.

Last but not the least, please consider changing your passwords every 30 days. As a good security practice, passwords should be changed as frequently as possible to minimize the attack probability. Of course Passwords are not forever!

Tags: password, Security

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press recently surveyed 1,489 adults and asked, Where do you get most of your national and international news?

Not surprisingly, 40% of those surveyed said they get their news stories and alerts from the Internet, up 16 points over 2007’s results.

Television lost 4 points in the last year and newspapers increased by 1 point.

Where do you get your news?

Tags: international news, internet, national news, news source, newspaper, Pew Research, television

JASE Group, LLC is looking for very determined, fun sales professionals. Don’t be wooed by the big boys. Come with us where you’ll be appreciated and the strategists & developers will even talk to you.

The job is pretty simple. You work; you get paid. Your commissions are earned by how hard you try. The money is there. Come get it!

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Norfolk - Virginia Beach - Chesapeake, VA area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Newport News - Hampton - Williamsburg, VA area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Richmond, VA area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Washington, DC - Arlington, VA - Alexandria, VA, Baltimore, MD area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Charlottesville, VA area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Atlanta, GA area.

Click here to apply for the Business Development Professional position in the Rocky Mount - Wilson - Greenville, NC area.

Tags: Alexandria, Arlington, Atlanta, Baltimore, business development, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Greenville, Hampton, JASE Group, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Rocky Mount, sales professional, Virginia Beach, Washington DC, Williamsburg, Wilson

Over the course of my career, I’ve been deeply engaged in many different concepts, projects, visions and environments within the IT community. Each of them is unique in its purpose, direction and outcome. And each has a specific aim at definitive accomplishments.

Sometimes IT is the sole foot soldier and sometimes IT rides the horse of another organizational department such as marketing, accounting or human resources. Regardless of the team’s involvement, IT functions daily under a certain (sometimes unspoken) mission or creed.

As I see it, here is the mission or operational purpose of IT teams:

1. To automate labor intensive tasks to assist in making employees more productive and efficient.
2. To automate processes with a goal of reducing overhead expenses.
3. To improve the productivity of employees in order to achieve better results.
4. To assist management in making better decisions by providing tools to efficiently gather, organize, merge and report information.
5. To improve the profitability of the IT technical division, the IT business division and the organization as a whole.

If a project of any IT team does not or cannot succeed in accomplishing these mission statements, the project should be rethought as far back as budgetary placement or visionary brainstorm sessions.

Essentially, IT should be the smart support department of the organization.

Tags: information technology, IT

Merry Christmas from the JASE family to yours on this blessed day.

Tags: Christmas, family, JASE

Every advance or innovation seems to come with both benefits and risks, improvements and (often unexpected) complications. Whether you chalk it up to the law of unintended consequences, hype, hubris, passivity, karma or whatever cosmic force, the best-intentioned and most-benign-seeming tech initiatives and developments frequently seem to backfire in some way.

Although I have been a part of many successful implementations, everyone knows about ventures that went awry. The point is not that innovation and transformation should be avoided, but rather that an understanding of the potential risks needs to go beyond technical analysis and expense tracking. The human element often sabotages the best-laid plans.

My guess is that the next big occurrence of these kinds of contradictions will come out of our well-planned and well-executed efforts to adopt and leverage the catch-all technology known as web 2.0 — wikis, blogs, portals and other Web-based services based on user participation. With so much focus on customer experience, loyalty and retention - not to mention efforts to keep up with demographic change and the implications of the youth market in terms of both customers and employees - we should expect to see more really innovative web 2.0-related initiatives coming soon.

Tags: blog, CEO, innovation, IT, Keith Parnell, R&D, reward, risk, technology, web 2.0, wiki

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I think I care more these days about how fast I could chuck the wood than how much wood I could chuck.

With the existence of Giga-speed switches and Giga-speed NICs even in our notebooks, moving data through today’s intra-networks has become luxurious to the average computer user. And figuring that most offices now have at a minimum T-1 speed, the hazards of downloading large documents have become an after thought.

But let’s think about transfering data for a moment. Maybe electronic transfer is not as efficient as we ‘assume’ it is just because it’s become convenient and easy for us. Referencing the chart^*** below to gauge the size of data I’m talking about, let’s think about moving a petabyte of data from a hosting facility, across the Internet, to a remote backup facility. Let’s make an assumption that we’re talking about T-1 connections which allow data transfer of about 1 MB per second (rounded estimates for my non-mathematical brain today). A petabyte of data equates to one billion megabytes. So quick thinking tells me that I need one billion seconds (assuming a great connection at both points and no outside interfering forces), or 16.67 million minutes, or 277.77 thousand hours, or 11.57 thousand days or 31.7 years. Wow!

Okay, okay. So who’s going to download a petabyte of data? Well believe it our not, this attempt is common. Or atleast the need to is commonplace in today’s IT world.

Let’s get back to my original question. Moving a petatbyte of data - can I drive to California (from Virginia) and back faster? Let’s map out the fastest route on Google Maps and see what Larry and Sergey and the boys say. From Norfolk, VA to San Jose, CA is 5,914 miles roundtrip equating to 88 hours of drive time or 3.67 days. Huh? Dare I say the rather absurd question that I asked may turn out to be my best option? Over our beloved technological abilities?

As a person that manages projects and budgets everyday, I’m now asking my network guy to hop in his car and drive for 3.67 days versus starting the data transfer from our servers that will take 31.7 years to complete. No brainer! Right? Or wrong?

^***
Quantities of bytes
kilobyte (kB) 10³ = 1000¹
megabyte (MB) 10⁶ = 1000²
gigabyte (GB) 10⁹ = 1000³
terabyte (TB) 10¹² = 1000⁴
petabyte (PB) 10¹⁵ = 1000⁵
exabyte (EB) 10¹⁸ = 1000⁶
zettabyte (ZB) 10²¹ = 1000⁷
yottabyte (YB) 10²⁴ = 1000⁸

Tags: California, data, EB, exabyte, GB, gigabyte, kB, kilobyte, MB, megabyte, NIC, PB, petabyte, T-1, TB, terabyte, Virginia, YB, yottabyte, ZB, zettabyte

Newegg.com has a 4 GB microSD card on sale for $6.49 with free shipping. There is a limit of 2 per customer so grab a friend and order a few storage cards.

Features:

• Fully compatible with SD 2.0 Standards
• Only 10% the size of a standard SD card
• MicroSD adapter allows it to be used in standard SD Card slots, compatible with all SDHC-labeled host devices
• Easy to use, plug-and-play operation
• Built-in Error Correcting Code (ECC) to detect and correct transfer errors
• Complies with Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) portable device requirements
• Supports Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM)
• Allows In System Programming (ISP) for updating firmware
• Supports auto-standby, power-off and sleep modes
• Mechanical write-protection switch
• RoHS compliant

Speed: Class 6

Tags: microSD, Transcend

“Rapid, flex development in a controlled space”

What does this mean to you? Could you work in this environment?

Tags: CEO, development, efficient, Keith Parnell, production

Mark Brownstein gave us 10 things we should avoid doing in 2009. What others can you add?

1. Do not go into next year without a worst-case-scenario plan.
2. Do not panic. Doing nothing only leads to failure. Go out there, and face it head-on.
3. Do not forget about The Work. In your efforts to navigate your agency through 2009, be sure your agency’s work is as smart as it can be.
4. Do not take your eyes off of your P&L. Slow-paying clients that promise to get current will only eat away at your agency’s cash flow and profits.
5. Do not manage by hope. If you sit back and wait for the next new-business win to avoid making tough budget and staffing decisions, the hole you dig may be too deep to climb out of.
6. Do not take your clients for granted even for one day. When was the last time you visited every one of your clients in the same month?
7. Do not become safe. Slow client spending is not an excuse to go conservative with your work.
8. Do not stay holed up in your office. Better internal communication can only make your team stronger.
9. Do not stop looking for the best talent. This economic downturn has put a lot of really good people on the street.
10. Do not veer off course. Just because times are tough, this is no time for your agency to steer away from the strategic course you set when the economy was strong.

See his full article here on Advertising Age.

Tags: Advertising Age, budget, economy, focus, goals, Mark Brownstein, Marketing, P&L

Can small-to-medium size businesses really afford to go green? In keeping with this week’s theme on my blog, I decided to ask a few questions of the SMB owners again.

Can you afford to go green?

We all want to. We all agree going green is the hip thing to do and on most fronts the right thing to do. But can you afford it? Here are some ideas to think about.

• New energy efficient computers - tough to tackle on SMB budgets. Try to budget for them prior to your next buying cycle.
• New energy efficient monitors - easier to tackle than new computers, plan ahead.
• Recycle paper products - easily done but more costs from the city for waste collection. Check with your local recycling service vendors.
• Paperless office - means additional software purchases and employee training costs (while losing productivity initially) but more than likely a good investment.
• Reusable coffee filters - most offices have a constant brew of coffee going. Be smart with the filters.
• Give up paper towels - use cloth towels that can be washed.
• Think before you print - do you really need to print that document?
• Ride a bike to work - leave the gas guzzler at home one day per week.
• Telecommute - of the job functions that can allow, telecommute from home one day per week.
• Buy laptops instead of desktops - laptops use less energy than desktops. But be smart with who you give them to. Developers normally can’t work with a less powerful machine.

Going green takes dedication and more importantly to an SMB it takes a monetary investment and committment. Yes, it’s worth it to our environment and our earth needs our support. But make sure your budgets can afford the dollars necessary to make the initiatives happen.

More information on recycling and going green can be obtained from our friends at Keep Norfolk Beautiful, www.norfolkbeautiful.org, and the Green Alternatives General Store, www.greenalternativesstore.com.

Tags: budget, CEO, energy efficient, green, Green Alternatives, JASE Group, Keep Norfolk Beautiful, Keith Parnell, paperless office, recycle, reusable, small to medium business, SMB, telecommute

During my 10 minutes of downtime this weekend I was able to catch up on a little reading. I ran across this quote: “Out with the new, in with the newest.” I was excited. This kind of thought gets my blood rumbling.

But then I paused. Aside from the blink at the end of the sentence that made me re-read it 2 or 3 times, the quote brought on a few thoughts. Really I think it brought more questions to mind than thoughts or answers.

If we stick with the original context, technology solutions, can we really afford to always stay in the newest? From a small business perspective, technology upgrades are usually permitted solely through planning and budget allowances projected months in advance. SMB budgets usually don’t allow for that type of extensive flexibility.

Also keeping inline with ’smart’ thinking, do we want to stay in the newest? We all know the problems with jumping on a version 1 solution and dealing with launch bugs and patches and bugs and patches. SMB productivity goals usually can’t afford the luxury of delays that could be caused by nagging problems.

But one of the advantages that SMB’s like to tout is the ability to be nimble and change directions like Barry Sanders. How do we exercise quick technology adaptation that could make a difference between winning a contract and losing to the big boys but yet keep security risks low with productivity high? There’s an art to walking this fine line that I think many successful SMBs have found through experience.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Tags: Barry Sanders, budget, bugs, goals, patches, productivity, sales, Security, small to medium business, SMB, technology

Alltel Wireless! That’s what Verizon just paid for Alltel Corp. after today’s approval of the proposal by the Federal Trade Commission. With the deal Verizon becomes the largest wireless carrier in the United States.

Does this mean no more Alltel commercials with Chad and his bumbling buddies?

What do you guys think about this deal? Good for Alltel & Verizon subscribers with the added coverage areas?

Tags: Alltel, Chad, FTC, Verizon, Wireless

Alexandra Krasne of PC World recently wrote an article for LinuxWorld with suggestions on ways to save money for your organization.

Are there others you can think of to share?

1. Use open-source and free software: When you’re trying to keep your business afloat, plunking down lots of cash for off-the-shelf software can really hurt. While not as polished as Microsoft’s Office suite, OpenOffice.org is a free, open-source alternative with a full suite of applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases that are compatible with Microsoft Office formats.
2. Telecommute: Working at home lets you save on gas costs, yet you can remain just as productive when telecommuting thanks to tools that permit you to connect and collaborate almost as if you were in the office.
3. Hold online meetings: Why fly out to see a client when you can save time and money by holding the meeting in cyberspace? Using free videoconferencing software such as Skype you need only a Webcam, a PC, and an Internet connection– saving money not only on travel costs, but on long-distance as well.
4. Make Strategic Purchases: If your employees are complaining about slow computers, buying entirely new machines may not be the best way to fix their problems. Very often, an old (Pentium-3/4 class) computer is more than capable of typical office tasks–if it had enough RAM.

Read Alexandra’s complete story for LinuxWorld here.

Tags: Alexandra Krasne, Intel Pentium, Linux, LinuxWorld, Microsoft, open source, PC World, Skype, telecommute, webcam, Windows

It’s very refreshing to see advertising presentations elegantly delivered with a powerfully emotional message.

Tags: Adam Rodríguez, Aisha Tyler, Alfonso Ribeiro, Amaury Nolasco, Amber Valletta, American Sign Language, Anson Mount, Auden McCaw, Austin Nichols, Barack, Bryan Greenberg, caucus, Cliff Collins, Common, democrat, Ed Kowalczyk, election, Enrique Murciano, Eric Balfour, Eric Christian Olsen, Esthero, Fonzworth Bentley, Fred Goldring, guitar, Harold Perrineau, Herbie Hancock, Hill Harper, John Legend, Johnathon Schaech, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kate Walsh, Kelly Hu, Maya Rubin, Nick Cannon, Nicole Scherzinger, Obama, piano, podemos, President, primary, Qen Annu Yecholim, Samuel Page, Sarah Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Shoshannah Stern, Si, speech, Taryn Manning, Tatyana Ali, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vera Farmiga, violin, vote, will.i.am

Tags: holiday, JASE Group

Aaron Strout is hosting a webcast on December 16th at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST on Content and Conversations - Engaging Your Customers Online. His guests are Jeremiah Owyang, Sr. Analyst at Forrester Research and Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs.

Aaron will cover topics during the 60 minute webcast such as:

• Creating content people care about.
• Tapping into the power of social marketing to create an environment that marries conversation with content.
• Improving customer loyalty through deeper engagement with your customers.
• Deploying strategies that create meaningful conversations with your customer.
• Case studies of companies that are doing a good job creating valuable content AND providing the means for conversations to unfold.

Aaron’s announcement of the webcast can be seen here.
Register for the event here.

Tags: Aaron Strout, Ann Handley, CEO, content, customer, Forrester Research, JASE Group, Jeremiah Owyang, Keith Parnell, MarketingProfs, social marketing, webcast

Paul Dunay has published a list of C-level executives that are active in the micro-blogging scene. He has subdivided the list by Chief Executive Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers.

See the full list of executives and links to their respective Twitter pages here.

Our CEO, Keith Parnell, is of course on this list. His personal blog is here. His JZ page is here. And his twitter page is here.

Tags: blog, C-level, CEO, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Technology Officer, CIO, CMO, CTO, executive, JASE Group, jasezone, Keith Parnell, microblog, Paul Dunay, Twitter