WiFi Hotspot Instead of Magazines

Do your customers come to your place of business and have to wait?

Why not give them access to the Internet? Companies like McDonald's and Starbucks have recognized the value in providing free WiFi to their customers -- what is holding you back?

Many years ago, a smart business person recognized the painful experience waiting room and put out some magazines. Continuing the trend, some waiting rooms have televisions.

Many of your customers are carrying smart phones and the numbers are increasing fast -- in all age groups. If they know there will be a wait, you can expect them to bring tablet computers like the iPad.

These devices work on cell phone networks but that can be slow and some people do not have plans which support data. This is where you can be seen as progressive and customer-focused: provide free Internet access via WiFi.

Make the move but be smart about it.

When you decide to provide your customers with free WiFi, do not just give them access to your private business network. You should not do this anymore than you should let your customers use your computers. You need a separate setup -- a WiFi hotspot. 

Do It Yourself WiFi Hotspot versus Managed WiFi Hotspot

Like many things IT, you can buy a wireless router at the local electronics store and with Google's help get it up and running. The downside of doing it yourself is the security and financial risk. With an improperly configured wireless router, you could expose your customers or your business to unnecessary risks. Also, if you do not setup usage controls, your customers, employees or neighboring businesses might incur extra usage charges. 

A managed WiFi hotspot company will simplify your job by installing, securing and running your hotspot -- which leaves you to run your business.

More Than Plain Vanilla

Depending on your business, you can do more than simply provide Internet access to your patrons. One easy to implement system is vouchers. When a customer makes a purchase or arrives for an appointment, you provide them with a small card that has a unique code printed on it. Each code is allows a connection for a set period of time. By using a code, the customer is aware you are providing something of value.

Sent Them to Your Website


With a good WiFi system, you will also be able to direct your customers to your website first. You can have a survey, a promotion or just have them visit your home page. They are in your office, what better time to tell them about the other products and services you offer?

Weehooey WiFi


If you have a high speed Internet connection, an existing router and a single waiting room, you can get started for less than $300. If you business has a large area to cover, need multiple access points or more complex needs we can cost effectively deliver a system for you. Please give us a call for more information.

We are Now a Google Apps Authorised Reseller #in #fb

Please see the following Google Doc for our announcement: http://goo.gl/SwSdj

What is the Cloud?

The Cloud can be a confusing term even for techie types and downright intimidating to those people who just want to get a job done.

The Cloud from a business owner/manager's perspective can be best explained by analogy.

At one time, businesses had to generate their own electrical power. In the late 1800's, innovations allowed for power to be cheaply and reliably generated centrally. These changes allowed businesses to plug into the Grid and free themselves from the messy business of generating electricity. The Cloud provides similar benefits today's businesses.

Rather than managing your own servers and software, you plug into the "Cloud grid" (i.e. the Internet) to get the computer services you need. The improvements in Internet connectivity and innovations in data center technology make centralized computing more secure, reliable and cost-effective than managing your own servers and software.

Examples of a Cloud-based Applications

Most people have seen or used web-mail of. Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Squirrel mail are examples of web-based email. You don't have to install any software and you can access them from anywhere you have an Internet connection and a web browser.

Google Apps is a quickly growing Cloud-based service. Your email, calendar and documents all in one service that allows you to collaborate in a way that once was only available to large enterprises.

Another great example is Salesforce.com. Many businesses use customer relationship management (CRM) software. You can do it in-house or you can go to the Cloud. In-house, means a server, software, people to install, configure, maintain and troubleshoot the application. If you had more than one office, you have even more expenses to bear.

Or you can use Salesforce.com. No server and no IT department needed. Your IT investment would be a computer, a web browser and a per-user subscription. You can access it from whatever computer you sit at. If you have more than one office, the savings get larger.

Cloud Friendly

Hopefully, you know have a better understanding of what people mean by "the Cloud". If you would like to learn more, check out Wikipedia's article on cloud computing or give us a call. 

Google Adwords $100 Free Advertising

We are now able to offer our customers $100 Google Adwords Coupons to use when they setup a new Google Adwords account.

Need to drive motivated customers to your website and business? Google Adwords is the way to go.

When customers search online for the product or services you sell, you need to be there. You only pay if your potential customer clicks and visits your website.

The majority of people do an online search before buying.

Weehooey can help you setup you Google Adwords account and if you don't have one, we will setup a Google Analytics account so you can track the results.

Give us a call today at 613-344-2068 to see how easy it is.

Live Streaming Video -- From Your Phone!

If you have a smart phone, you have to check this out: www.qik.com

You download an app on your phone and setup an account with Qik -- presto! You are streaming live to the web. I was literally streaming live to the web within minutes.

Qik saves your streams so you can share them later. My first video (well, first I didn't immediately delete):

I 'm no James Cameron or Anderson Cooper but think about the family and community events that can now reach the web instantly. May that be good or bad...

Edit: It didn't take me long to figure out Qik is a little slow over 3G. You really need to connect via WiFi to have a good stream.

Unleash Your Productivity with Dual Monitors

Take the 21 day challenge. Use two monitors on your work computer for three weeks (it doesn't actually take that long) and you will never want to go back to working with just one screen. It is incredible how confining you find working with just one monitor.

Let me be clear, that size is not as important as having separate screens (for most people). Dual monitors is definitely better than a single monstrous one. Why? The maximize button.

For many years, everyone has worked on screens too small to entirely display what you were working on. We were always starved for screen space. As a result, we instinctively maximize any window we work from. If you are working on two documents, you will print one and maximize the other.

Moving to a larger monitor, people will continue to maximize out of habit. Only if you get a truly huge screen will you stop maximizing and use multiple windows.

With dual monitors, maximizing will only result in one screen being filled. Also, it is uncomfortable to work on a file that is spread across two screens -- you will naturally keep it to one screen or the other. If you use more than one program (or multiple files from the same program) and switch between them to do your work, you will be surprised how much better it is to work with dual monitors.

Multiple screens are not for everyone, some professions actually benefit more from a single large screen. If you are a designer or photographer, you might benefit from a screen that will display the entire file you are working on.

How about three monitors... or ten?

It really depends on what you use your computer for. From my experience, two 20-24" monitors is the sweet spot for most people. After that, you start to struggle with organizing space -- both on screen and on your actual desk. Programmers, designers, cartographers, scientists and engineers come to mind as people who might need several monitors or very large screens.

Get It Now

The fun part is when people ask me about cost -- often I sense they expect me to be selling them a 'solution'. The reality is, adding a monitor is pretty straight forward. Windows 7 and Ubuntu both make it real easy. For a number years, computers have come standard with two video ports. Buy a couple of monitors from your favourite hardware supplier (hopefully Weehooey -- but, I'm a fan of Canada Computers in Kingston too), plug them in and turn on your computer. No computer technician needed.

One last piece of advice. If you decide to move to dual monitors, get two identical monitors. It is much easier to move things from one to the other without resizing. You will be much happier.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Create QR Codes for Fun & Profit

There are a variety of different tools to create qr codes for your marketing materials.

The Google URL Shortener will shorten a web address and generate a qr code (if you have an account). It takes a long URL like:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/GAUDY-BEAD-STRETCHY-SINGING-GRINCH-UGLY-XMAS-SWEATER-M-/290513972051?pt=US_CSA_WC_Sweaters&hash=item43a3fb6b53#ht_715wt_1141

and creates a shorter URL like http://goo.gl/eVkTh with a qr code to match.

You need to have a Google URL Shortener account to get the qr code image but it does give the ability to see how many people have followed the link (built-in mini analytics). It will also keep a record of all the shortened web addresses you have created.

The downside of using Google URL Shortener is it does not give you any control over the error correction level or the resolution. Also, you cannot send the individual directly to your web address -- may be a branding issue for you or your company.

Sidneyeve Matrix suggested these generators to me: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ (a simple to use) and http://www.facebook.com/QRcode.generator (a facebook app with more features).

If you are creating QR Codes regularly, you might want have your own generator. One of my customers needs to regularly create QR Codes for printed direct mail pieces so I wrote them a simple program. Later, they will be doing a mail-out and each printed piece will have a custom qr code -- the program will definitely come in handy.

QR codes are here to stay. Smartphones will continue to decline in price and the number of users will continue to rise -- do not miss the opportunity to leverage this simple but effective tool.

Don't be Square, Join FourSquare

(originally posted on Lindsey's blog)


"Foursquare is a location-based mobile platform that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. By “checking in” via a smartphone app or SMS, users share their location with friends while collecting points and virtual badges. Foursquare guides real-world experiences by allowing users to bookmark information about venues that they want to visit and surfacing relevant suggestions about nearby venues. Merchants and brands leverage the foursquare platform by utilizing a wide set of tools to obtain, engage, and retain customers and audiences."

My take on it is people use it to tell the world the cool places they are and the cool people they are there with. But it's more than just a bragging site. It's also:

1. It's a way to tell the world the good, the bad and the ugly of what is going on there in real-time. 
2. A place to figure out who else is nearby so maybe you can arrange a quick hello or pint together. Just the other night in the Duke, a friend checked in just minutes after I did, so we walked around and found her and got her to join our table.
3. And for businesses, it's a way to geotarget customers that may just otherwise walk right on by and not notice you. A great example of this one comes from our trip to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania (right near Scranton for you Office fans). We were checking in to our hotel, for real and on FourSquare. When I 'checked in' I noticed a little 'offer nearby' icon in the corner of my blackberry screen. So I clicked it and the offer said "Travelling? Look across the parking lot and you'll see the RadioShack. Show us this and you'll get  pack of those batteries you probably forgot." Brilliant! I hadn't even noticed the RadioShack in the complex we were in. So we went in, got our free pack of batteries and bought 3 other things well were there.

It's still new, and Facebook places could probably squash it if they put some effort into it, but for now it's a fun, low cost way to connect. Time will tell if it really helps boost the business bottom line, but if it does hopefully you get the 'badge' to prove it. And besides, it's probably the only way I will ever be mayor of 3 places at the same time!