by Doug Foster on October 6, 2011
indieConf is back: Saturday November 19, 2011 at the NCSU McKimmon Center in Raleigh, NC.
If you were there last year you know it was good (here’s some photos). If you weren’t — and you’re an independent web professional — you need to go. It’s an affordable day packed with solid information.
Interested in a discount? Contact me (I’ve got a few to give out) then grab your tickets on Eventbrite ASAP.
Last year I talked about Convince Me! — the sales process I help people learn. This year I’m talking about how short stories and WordPress can help you sell a product, service, or point of view …
Categories: Tell by Doug Foster on September 22, 2011
Shh … don’t tell anyone. Compared to other indoor advertising, placing your ad on storyPanels is a steal.
According to national advertising rates listed by the Indoor Billboard Advertsing Association (IBBA), we don’t charge enough. In fact, advertsing on a storyPanel gives you MORE ad space AND costs LESS than the national average. Way less. But that’s ok. We figure your business is like ours: these days you have to offer and get the best deals you can. We’re confident storyPanel advertising is a deal you won’t want to pass up.
Where do other indoor advertisers place their displays? Well … when the IBBA says indoor advertising they’re talking about placing ads in restrooms. Now we’re not saying that doesn’t make sense, but we’ve got a different idea. We designed storyPanel displays to use very little floor space. And because of that, our business partners place them in the middle of traffic … not behind closed doors …
Categories: IM, Products, Tell by Doug Foster on September 1, 2011
storyPanels give you a simple, affordable, and elegant way to frame your corporate or personal stories.
Each storyPanel is an 18″x1” square frame of polished aluminum inset with a glistening clear acrylic window. Put pictures, words, video, or anything you can imagine into a storyPanel and watch it come to life! (Here’s our brochure.)
In the Fall of 2010 Allen Moore of TouchStone3D Services and Doug Foster of the Idea Mechanics moved into a new location. Needing new white-boards in the conference room, Moore outfitted the space with custom units using an “Industrial Erector Set” from the 80/20 company. The new boards looked great! In fact, so great that as Foster studied them he remarked “They look like giant story boards, only empty. Wait. I’ve got an idea …”
Categories: IM, Products, Tell by Doug Foster on July 27, 2011
I’ve been working with data/voice/video networking – and especially Voice over IP (VoIP) – for most of my career. I love it.
So why am I writing this short story? Because the other day I lived through the audio conference call from hell. The voice quality was abysmal. In fact it was so bad that my colleague and I almost lost control of a critical licensing deal on the call.
I came away from that thinking “Never again. There’s got to be better way to do this.” Good news. There is and … it’s free! And it supports VoIP! Wahoo!!
I’m not saying this is the perfect solution, but I’ve tried it and I REALLY like it. Even if it turns into a fee-based service I think I’d spend my money to use it. Too good to be true? Maybe. We’ll see. I need to do more research and testing before I can completely recommend it. But so far I’m REALLY impressed …
Categories: Tell by Doug Foster on April 4, 2011
Through one of my clients – Fuentek – I get to work with NASA scientists and engineers. I mean, these guys really are rocket scientists! How cool is that.
I learn about technology they develop, then help them find licensing opportunities for the Intellectual Property.
Sometimes when you’re educating prospects you need more than printed words to tell a convincing story. Consider the power of pictures and audio. You can build a powerful multimedia learning tool at a fraction of the time and cost to create a video.
Here’s an example: Electron Beam Free Form Fabrication (EBF3) …
Categories: Stories, Success stories, Tell by Doug Foster on April 3, 2011
Sometimes you can tell what a person does by looking at them. Most of the time you can’t.
I met a fellow the other month at a networking event. “So what do you do?” he asked. I replied simply “I help people sell.” He was stunned. He looked at me, smiled, and said “Wow, that’s simple. I wish I could tell people what I did so quickly.”
“Thanks.” I said. “Why, what do you do?” With that he rolled in to a several minute description of his job and his business. In the end I had to paraphrase it back to him: “So you’re a … and you … ?” “Yes.” he responded. Then he looked at me and said “You know, maybe you could help me work on that a bit …”
Categories: Tell by Doug Foster on April 2, 2011
Last night at Walnut Creek I heard what I thought was Jimmy Buffett’s best concert ever. I’ve bought enough of his music, books, and gone to enough of his concerts over the years to fund at least one of his expeditions. He is the master in finding a story, living it, and then sharing it with others.
So reminiscing back to the concert got me to thinking about how much social media and Jimmy Buffett have in common …
Categories: Stories, Tell 
