Here I am almost a year after my first post, trying to write my second post. The lesson here is that writing a blog is tougher than I thought it would be. Minutes after writing the first post I lowered the priority of this blog. Things like securing contracts, pleasing clients, managing staff and keeping the lights on always seem to be pressing, urgent, and unrelenting. Yet I want to keep this blog active, as an outlet for me and hopefully a resource for others. First an update on Barefoot Solutions. Like most other American companies, Q4 was tough - absolutely brutal. Nearly every client I had, including the very reliable long term clients, reduced or eliminated our contracts. Long term projects are a bit of a double edged sword like that. If a site has already launched, or an application is already in use, the development partners are no longer mission critical. When purse strings are tightened, temporarily cutting back or shutting down development is an option that many take. When a business owner is worried about making payroll or laying off staff members, all the "nice to have" features fall right off the list, and rightly so. But with this downturn came many positives. It gave me time to look at fine tuning many of the business processes that needed work. It forced me to, for the first time really, think about marketing our services. Gone are the days where we can rely solely on referrals for new business. While I see that method still being the primary means of making contacts and securing contracts, there are certainly other avenues that need to be pursued and I have been doing my business a disservice by ignoring them. Onto the good news. Q1 is looking great! New projects that were put on hold are starting to move again. Venture capital and investment in IT projects seems to be starting to loosen up.  I seem to fall right in line with a growing trend. This post from the man who inspired me to start this blog, Joel Spolsky, says it all in Is the tech recession over? Seems that this company has experienced something very similar to other software companies. This is reassuring. With that I will close this post. I plan on posting at least once a week from here out, so please stay tuned. More to come.

Watching sports and other competitive spectacles is as old as brain cells. The act of play is what we do to grow, socialize and otherwise participate with others in, and even out, of our own species. While playing games is naturally a part of the human experience, it is wildly popular in the US to spend free-time watching games, cheering as loudly as possible for teams of choice. There’s a camaraderie built with others who enjoy games that you do, no matter if you are physically involved in the win or loss. Just think about it - when a team wins, we tend to say to fellow fans, “we looked good out there today!,” or “we totally deserved that loss.” After all, how much more fun is it to play a game in front of people cheering for you, or watch a game cheering with others? Twitch took this concept to a 21st century level. Founded in San Francisco in 2011 with the intention of connecting video gamers online, Twitch has now become a dominant force in live streaming. The site commands 55 million people and counting to the site with one main purpose - to watch other people play video games. Today Twitch accounts for more than 40% of overall video streaming internet traffic, connecting like-minded people in yet another way online. The viral success was financially proven this year as Amazon finalized a deal to acquire Twitch for $970 million, marking the biggest purchase of the Seattle-based giant.   There’s a lot we can learn about the plucky startup gone massive internet competitor. How did Twitch tap into the human need for connectivity, love for competition, and the ever popular video gaming culture - and what can we learn for our businesses? Be Different and Listen The original site Twitch founders launched was Justin.tv, a live streaming site starring Justin Kan. In 2005 the live streaming phenomenon was still fairly advanced, giving the site an innovative boost the less-technologically inclined could command. Justin’s site certainly wasn’t the only one streaming the life of a young 20-something, but what made it different was the encouraged interaction between and with audience members. This was made possible via live chat feed, 24/7. However Justin used another one of our primary principles in growing his business - he listened to his audience. Not only that he made the most popularly demanded changes. As the price of webcam hardware/software plummeted, visitors to his site wanted to stream their own live video as well. So Justin.tv expanded to allow exactly that. Focus While Justin.tv gained some traffic, it didn’t attain the explosive growth Kan and his team were looking for. In response they pivoted their focus and went back to the drawing board, keeping the idea of live streaming and interaction, but became more deliberate with finding a niche. The next idea for the group was to maintain a social video streaming environment, but to totally nail it with one community. The gaming community became the target, and Twitch launched in 2011. The formula worked and Twitch quickly took off. Why? It answered a problem in the market - there was no one go-to place for gamers at a massive scale. From Disney to Diablo, Twitch facilitates a social environment for people who were already online, already enjoyed video games, and allowed options to encourage participation from all walks of gaming life. Offer Economic Opportunity The appeal to Twitch is two pronged - one is for social interaction by watching others play games. Yet a second appeal is to be the player of the games and make money from the service. Players who gain a sustained following on their channels can earn subsequent or even full-time income from the site. The most popular players can make as much as six-figure incomes. The way to make money? Twitch calls popular players “partners,” and allows partners to share with Twitch the revenue earned from their live streams. One way is by running advertisements on their channels, which can be controlled by the partner themselves. Another means is by activating a subscription program that enables a viewer to subscribe to the partner’s channel for $4.99 a month. Yet a third avenue for revenue is if fans are feeling particularly generous, they can pay partners they connect with donations via PayPal. Stay True to the Core - Keep the Clothes On It’s happened to the best of us. You’re online and fire up the webcam, but for some reason the idea of putting on a normal t-shirt slipped your mind. While everyone is permitted to make the mistake here and there, Twitch has recently cracked down on live streaming dress code. In an addendum to Twitch’s terms and conditions released this week, Twitch is requiring gamers to “Dress...appropriately. Nerds are sexy, and you're all magnificent, beautiful creatures, but let's try and keep this about the games, shall we?...You may have a great six-pack, but that's better shared on the beach during a 2-on-2 volleyball game blasting "Playing with the Boys.” What this does is keeps the core of what Twitch started as - a platform for all gamers. Enforcing the dress code can put parents and other Internet users at ease. Amazon Acquisition As you can see, Twitch is a big deal and corporate giants have noticed. The popularity of the platform climbed with explosive growth, which originally caused Google to make a play for the platform. Eventually Amazon won the battle with a $970 million dollar deal, and Twitch is a startup success story. What the rest of us can learn is that ideas, no matter how strange, can take off. Founders need to listen, not be afraid to make strategic changes, but still maintain the core of principles of the original idea. Take it from Justin Kan, who in his interview at TechCrunch last week offered some metered encouragement. “If you look at all startup stories, it’s not a straight line… to success,” Kan said. “If Justin.tv could work and be successful, then no one has any excuse. That was a terrible idea.”

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – EVERYONE is on their mobile. Over the past 2 years smartphone adoption has grown from 36% - 61%. Of those users, mobile apps dominate over three-quarters of phonetime. Sure, many kids are goofing with games but businesses have much to gain by entering the mobile app market. Seattle-based jewelry giant Blue Nile realized the importance of mobile commerce the first time the site made a $40,000 diamond sale via mobile device. “This is the future of shopping,” pointed out then CEO Diane Irvine. Many things will move the needle for your business. Today one of the most important is the mobile app – and here’s why.   More Sales Opportunities People are addicted to their phones. Standing in line, sitting on the bus, or waiting for change from the teller – these are all small pockets of time your customers are on their phones. While they could be checking former colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles, they should be checking out that shopping cart they put together on your app and place that order with you already. They could be browsing the newest and greatest you have to offer - but you need to make it easy for them with an app.   Simplicity Given the small screen necessity of big buttons and clean design, you can focus your audience on exactly what you want them to see. Not only that, but providing your clients with on demand access to your service is not only imperative, but gives them the easiest way to reach you better. Think of an app as a bookmark taking stable residence on a user’s phone screen. It’s familiar, always there, and easily accessible as a part of your customer’s everyday phone life. Now THAT’S simple.   Geo-targeting Knowing where your customers are can sound a little creepy. Even worse, knowing that your competition is already utilizing your customer’s location and sending them offers...while you sit idly by. Think of geo-targeting as helping your customer right where they are. A young couple is strolling by a movie theater and the fair lady receives a 10% off push notification to a movie showing starting in 30 minutes. They happen to be a 5 minute walk from the theater and decide to head on in. Thank you mobile app! Geo-targeted advertising is not only helpful for your customer, but can be profitable for you. Use the information everyone else already has - and capitalize on it.   Reward Your Customers Who doesn’t love earning rewards? Or getting free stuff? Providing a rewards program for your customers is easy via mobile app, and a fine way to encourage user engagement. Rewards programs can efficiently be tracked and redeemed via mobile app, while the instant gratification of this method makes for a fun and satisfying game your customers. Then you can be the fun company with a loyalty program that engages your customers and encourages them to interact with your brand.   Boost Team Productivity You want to be the boss who gives your team the right tools to do their jobs well. Mobile apps are a great way to simplify complicated programs to get your team the data they need quickly.  For example CRM mobile apps are a great way to assist sales teams while they are on the road closing deals. What could be more important to a sales professional than the ability to quickly find the information they need, without the complications some of the most robust CRM software programs can provide? Additionally sales tracking apps are a great way to manage deals while running around meeting clients. Mobile apps are a great way to make every trade show, convention, and off site meeting simple and well documented.   Brand Building Much of traditional marketing has died with oversized 90’s desktops, but the importance of boosting brand recognition will never change. The mobile app is a great place to do it. I wasn’t kidding about phone addiction - the average consumer spends 127 minutes a day on mobile apps. Now remember how your app could be a bookmark on their everyday mobile home screen? Yeah, that’s cementing your logo right into their everyday life - making your brand memorable, friendly and familiar. The added joy? It’s fun to get creative with your branding. For example, Volkswagon’s SmileDrive Android app allows users to share fun moments with their friends via virtual travelogue. They connect via Bluetooth (safety first fellas) and record their adventure whilst traversing the road. They can earn badges and points for passing other SmileDrive users, and at the end of the trip can share experiences with friends and family. All the while, Volkswagon gets the attention - and business.   Mobile apps are one of the best new ways to grow your business - hands down. Don’t know where to start? Just ask us here.