Stuart Crawford, a good friend of mine and someone I look to as a mentor in business, released his free eBook “Connecting the Dots to Business Success in Today’s IT Business”.  While the booklet was written for IT Professionals, it can really be used by anyone.

Stuart talks at length about the rapidly changed IT industry. He talks about customers and the role of a service provider. You need to understand where the market is today, and this is what the eBook is about. It is about “Connecting the Dots” today, so you can be successful right NOW!

Stuart wrote “Why is this book free?  …I am not charging anyone for this eBook, it is completely free.  Life is about helping others and providing assistance to our colleagues in the marketplace.  Life is about giving back to the community.  So pick up your eBook today!”

I enjoyed reading Stuart’s report and found many parallel’s between his thoughts on the IT Business and our business of website design and development.  Thank you Stuart, for sharing your thoughts and advice.

Get your free copy here – http://blog.itsuccessmentor.com/connect-the-dots

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

Stuart Crawford and I will be presenting at the upcoming Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group. The meeting is on August 14th, in Calgary, at 6:30pm.  We will be discussing “Stickiness on the Web”.  We spoke together last month and I really enjoy presenting with Stuart.  We are both very excited about the Intenet and how it is impacting business. I think that becomes very clear when you see us interact in this some-what formal “discussion” on the ‘web’.

Click on the …more link to get the full details and learn about the Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group. This Group is a great opportunity to network, learn and grow your business!

The Calgary Entrepreneur Meetup Group is the largest and longest running meetup group in Calgary. If you are an entrepreneur, if you would like to become and entrepreneur, or if you want to support entrepreneurs then join us at our next meeting!

Our monthly event is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get together, mingle and relax. The event is not meant to be a sit down structured event but one where entrepreneurs kick back, network and enjoy themselves.

Cost is $5.00 to attend
You are responsible for your own food bill

Visit our website at http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/5/

Start Time: Thursday, August 14 at 6:30pm
End Time: Thursday, August 14 at 9:30pm
Where: Calgary Coast Plaza Hotel – Horizon’s Restaurant

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West

1996 was when I first started instant messageing my long time friend Robin Lecomte. After high school we went off in our own directions, me to Toronto, him to Edmonton.  I ended up in Calgary in 1991 and in 1996 Robin and I started chatting away on ICQ.

I tried MSN over the years… but something about it didn’t really work for me

We, as a business, Adopted Yahoo IM

We adopted Yahoo messanger as our IM tool of choice after testing both Yahoo and Skype around 4 years ago.  At the time voice chatting was only supported by Skype (if I recall correctly) and while voice via an instant messanger was kinda cool… the voice quality wasn’t.  We still chat primarily with IM text messages… until this week.

Testing IM Voice Quality with D.A.D.

The true test for voice quality over the last few years has been a quick call to my father – Larry. He isn’t much tuned into technology, but he has no quams about telling me if he thinks it’s a “bad technology”. So over the years when I test various voice-over-ip services, I just give Dad a call.  Just the slightest echo or static will put him over the edge. “Are you talking to me through that dumb computer again?”, he would say. I called my brother the other day using Yahoo and a new speaker phone for instant messangers… “Can’t you afford to call me on a real phone…” he asked.  I concede, they were right. The voice quality from Yahoo messanger wouldn’t cut the mustard in business.

What About Skype?

I installed the latest version of Skype and made it my default internet phone software.  I dial Dad’s number… slowly and with a degree of apprehension. What unique and colourful remark will he have for  me when he detects that I am talking to him through my PC again?

Dad: Hello.
David:  Hi Dad.
Dad: My Son!  (yes, it’s true, he talks that way)
David: What have you been up to today?
Dad: …well…

He goes on to tell me about his adventure building a fence gate.  My fence of course, I am not very handy with a hammer… I type fast though

To my delight, Dad didn’t detect that I was talking to him through my computer on a speaker phone.

Skype has evolved into an excellent, quality service. They have tons of plans, services and options available.  I am quite excited about the possibilities!

My business… we are holding our first conference call using Skype this Saturday. There will be 7 of us connecting at a pre-determined time to do a full project review. Helen will be connecting from her Hotel in London.

We will be adding Skype support to our growing list of products and services that we recommend to our small business clients.

Hey – why not get Skype now and give me a call?

Cheers -
David A. West