Hello, and welcome to 2012! You may have noticed that we didn’t send you a newsletter in January. Well, we know it’s the beginning of a new year, a new business quarter, and you’re swamped – getting back to work after the holidays, making and meeting your first quarter goals, etc.

We’re patient Sherpas, as well as smart. And we’ll keep our message for February brief – we’re introducing a few new things and we’d love for you to come check them out.

First, is our Future Now blog, written by our CEO, Greg Gurev. In this new weekly feature, Greg will be exploring the how the rapidly evolving technology landscape is incorporated into best business practices and plans. You’ll get some stories from the field, as well as Greg’s take on what technology you should be thinking about for your business.

You can explore the Future Now blog or any of our other topics by heading over to our site, www.mysherpa.com/blog and looking under the “Future Now 2012” category.

Also, if you haven’t checked out our social media pages please take moment to “Like” us or send us a message and let us know what you’re working on. We’re always making appearances in the area, and we love meeting our clients and fans. Check us out on Google Places, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

We’d also like to field some of the more commonly asked questions about products and services, and post them in our newsletters in our new Simple Guides section. We all have questions on some of the technology and software out there – if you’ve got something on your mind, send us your questions here, and the best ones will get answered in our newsletter. Check out the first question in this edition.

Here at Sherpa HQ, we’re always working for our clients, whether it’s giving technology recommendations, or preventing network disruptions for maximum uptime. We’re always looking for the next mountain to conquer, and we’re always ready to help. If you know someone who could use a Sherpa on their side, let us know.

Thanks, and welcome to 2012!

Jessica, your Sherpa Brand Champion

Greg Gurev, Head Sherpa

In our youth, we have the distinct advantage of viewing the world in a straightforward manner. Cause and effect is a simple logic that we are taught to follow – if we want to buy something, we must earn the money. If we want to be healthy, we must eat right and exercise regularly. We know that that the things we do (or don’t do) have a direct relationship with how our lives develop.

Unfortunately, this cause-and-effect model can begin to break down within the complexities of the business world, particularly when paired with the shields that make up business technology.  Suppose for example, in our previous model, we had a client with a billing inaccuracy – we would hope that they would be able to call the billing department and be able to speak with someone regarding their invoicing and get a resolution. This is how we are taught to provide good business, right?

However, with voicemail and email as the primary sources of communications, there may be ample opportunity for many companies to “duck and cover” from these simple cause and effect transactions. Unanswered emails, avoided texts, and explanations of “I never got it” are commonplace with less than straightforward customer service types. What we are not doing is meeting our customer needs – and by our direct logic, this WILL affect our business.

So how do we reduce the number of phantoms in the system and get back to delivering? One obvious Future Now technology that I think enterprise class businesses should be embracing is the video conference/calling. We already see it in cell phones (FaceTime, Tango, Skype Mobile), so why isn’t it the standard in business applications, particularly in our global environment? Recent statistics state that more than half of business people are using smartphones to run their business while mobile – then, shouldn’t video conferencing be a technology we are rushing to meet, instead of using intermittently?

We all understand the pitfalls of misunderstood communications, particularly in email. But if you can see another person’s face, hear their voice, you will understand them better and likely be better understood.   In sensitive business transactions, this can be a deal-breaker. It seems like an obvious choice – one that will unclutter communications and bridge the gaps between people, and help solve problems.

I firmly believe that this is a change all business owners should be embracing – I encourage you to see what’s out there now, and give it a try. At its essence, isn’t the heart of good business making those personal connections and getting your customers what they want and need? Remove the phantoms that are preventing you from seeing the real people who fuel your business, and in return, show your customers how you are harnessing the technology of the future to get back to the basics of good business.

Best regards from the summit!

Greg

Sherpa compliment of the week:

“MySherpa eased our transition to EHR.  They provided immediate call-backs and resolved problems promptly and efficiently.”  Kathleen Law, Dr. Kevin Law, Hamilton, NJ.

You can find Greg’s blog at www.mysherpa.com/blog. For weekly sneak peeks, check out our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

Greg Gurev, Head Sherpa

Before I got into the technology business, I used to think of the “the future” as a projected time so far beyond my immediate reality that it seemed like a sci-fi movie. I would see this high-tech future in terms of outer space, like, “In the future, Explorer space probe will start sending high resolution photographs of Saturn’s rings.”  Or, “The next visible pass of Hale-Bopp comet will come in the year 4385.” It was always something way out of my reach or conceptual thought.

I felt the same way about computer technology.  The promise of a better, faster, smarter solution was always relegated to the future; artificial intelligence, speech recognition, wearable devices, etc.  But look around us – phones, laptops, tablets – they’re encompassing this technology right now. Technology has finally reached an important intersection where processing power, miniaturization, virtualization, and connectivity are all intersecting. I call this a Future Now state – and I think it’s one of the greatest achievements that we have reached, as a civilization.  My science fiction movie has crossed into real life, right before my eyes.

Late in 2011, I had the fortunate experience to see Daniel Burrus, eminent technology futurist, speak at a convention. I was stunned!  If you’re unfamiliar with Daniel’s work, then a must-read for you is his latest book, Flash Foresight. Daniel has spent many years accurately predicting technology trending, and this book makes it easy to understand the logic and steps he uses so you can correctly assess your own environment. What I found was my own ideas of evolving technology and its business application eerily echoed in his work – he sees how the future is approaching, faster than we ever thought. And this book helped me understand how to apply those approaching trends to my own business.

On that note, my new weekly blog will explore this Future Now phenomenon; I’ll be sharing some of my own examples how of how I’ve realized that Future Now is a predictable and vital part of your business. By realizing your own Future Now and learning how to apply it to your own business successfully, I hope to help you realize significant foresight and give you a considerable advantage to grow your business and free up your personal time.

I’m looking forward to this journey with you…best regards from the summit!

Greg

For weekly sneak peeks, check out our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter. You can also find Greg on LinkedIn.

Sherpa compliment of the week:

“Yes, we are lucky to have an IT team like yours, and we know it!”   Sharese Alston, Produce for Better Health Foundation, Wilmington, DE.

The big difference between Android and the iOS is the fact that, on an Android device, you can play Flash videos. There are times however when this seeming advantage can be a disadvantage as Flash (such as Flash ads) can slow down your browsing experience or even crash your browser. There is a solution.

You can turn off Flash if you choose to. Simply go to your Browser's Settings by pressing on the Menu/Options button, then go to Advanced and change 'Enable plug-ins' setting from "Always on" to "On demand." Flash applications will now appear as an arrow that you must touch to start.

There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad's screen. That’s easy to do on an iPad.

Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all of your captured screenshots.

For those of you using Google Mail or Gmail, chances are you're familiar with the "stars" feature, which serves as a visual reminder to follow up on certain messages or mark their importance. You may not know, though, that you can use different types of stars. To do so, click on the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen, click Mail Settings, and on the General tab look for the Stars section.

You will see many different types of stars that you can cycle through. Drag the stars between the lists that you want to use and in the order you prefer. Another neat trick is to use the name of the star to filter messages. Simply hover over the star to learn its name (i.e., "red-bang"), then use the "has" prefix to filter by star name. For example, typing "has:red-bang" in your search box will show all messages with that star name.

It's not enough to simply put LinkedIn on the radar of your social networking marketing strategy. These tips will help you maximize the value from this unique professional social networking tool.

With a still-growing user base of at least 120 million, LinkedIn has become THE professional social networking tool of many businesses. While Facebook is still the major network on the personal side, LinkedIn's importance in the business-to-business world is growing.

With LinkedIn, your social networking strategy doesn't have to be complex, and smaller companies, in particular, can quickly see results with just a little effort. Here are a few pointers to help you maximize the positive effect of your LinkedIn connections.

Be comprehensive. "Short and sweet" may be the rule of thumb in any other kind of forum, but for professional purposes it's always best to include as many credentials about you and your business as possible. It's helpful to give potential clients and connections the full story on your strengths – which means listing past employment and work experience, academic backgrounds, pertinent skills, competencies and certifications, and even educational backgrounds. It's important to understand that many of the people who will enlist your services will only have your online credentials to go on, so give them a complete picture of what you've done and can do.

Customize your URL. When you create a LinkedIn profile, the site auto-generates a URL for that profile. But did you know that you can customize and change that URL? By changing it to reflect your business, it makes you much easier to remember and find.

Be involved. Much like in Facebook, a LinkedIn profile is useless if you simply post and forget. It's essential to keep your info up to date, and interact with people by posting questions and comments. Proactive, educational input into the groups that serve your potential clients will build a good impression with professionals who are looking for the services or products that your company supplies.

We are always ready to help you build your business, so let us help you build your customer connections.

Did you know you can have the activity feeds/social stream or live updates from your favorite social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn appear in the latest version of Windows Live Messenger? Simply sign in to your Live Messenger account, select Add/Manager Services at the bottom right area of the application, and then choose a service you wish to integrate to (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn).

The application will ask you to sign in to the chosen service and give permission to integrate. After you have given permission, you will see updates from, and be able to post to, that social network in Live Messenger.

The words "hacking" and "printers" usually don't go together, but recent research on the vulnerabilities of IT systems are now suggesting otherwise. A flaw in many printers (those connected to the Internet) has been discovered which allows hackers and online thieves to infiltrate an otherwise secure network.

When it comes to printers, we usually think about ink, paper jams and minor irritations – but certainly NOT getting hacked. But recent research suggests that printers can be used by hackers to infiltrate computer systems.

According to researchers at Columbia University, printers that are connected to the internet are the weakest (and almost always unnoticed) link that can compromise an otherwise secure system. Details are emerging, as the research was done under government and corporate grants. The Federal Bureau of Investigation got the first look at the research results, followed by people from Hewlett-Packard. What is clear is that this new research reveals that printers CAN be used by hackers or online thieves not only to infiltrate networks, but also to steal personal information and even identities.

The security flaw involves the printer software used to run "embedded systems" which enables both advanced functions and connects the printer directly to the Internet. Alarmingly, researchers were able to hack into a printer, and give it instructions to continuously heat up the part of the device that dried the ink after it's applied to the paper. The resulting heat caused the paper to turn brown and smoke.

The implications of this type of security flaw are concerning, but can be addressed properly and promptly with the right planning. HP is looking into the study for their own line of printers and business owners should also take precautionary steps to protect already installed devices on their networks.

If you want to know more about how you can ensure that your systems are secure, give us a call so we can sit down with you and discuss a security blueprint that meets your specific needs.

Microsoft is helping the public understand where technology is headed in the future in a new video posted on their website recently. The video is a fascinating 5-minute look into how the latest developments in technology today will possibly appear in tomorrow's workplace.

The video from Microsoft gives us a glimpse into a day in the life of Ayla, a travelling executive, her daughter Shannon, at home with her Dad, and Qin, Ayla's colleague. The video is the latest in a series from the Microsoft Office team. You can see past videos here, or view a behind the scenes video from Kurt DelBane, Microsoft Office Business Division President, who explains the technological concepts behind the video, such as collaborative technologies, data visualization tools, mobile technologies, and cloud computing.

Interested in finding out more? Check out the actual place where this technology is developed by Microsoft demonstrating some of the video's concepts in real life.