For Some Spam Remains the Original: The Digital Divide Still a Reality

By Devendra Shrikhande, Senior Project Manager

According to National Technology Scan, a study conducted by Parks Associates, approximately 18% of U.S. households (20 million in all) are without Internet access. While this number has shrunk from the 29 % (31 million homes) at the end of 2006, we are seeing the adoption curve flatten a bit as only seven percent of the 20 million “disconnected” homes plan to bridge the digital divide.

Need More Budget and Staff? - 2008 Survey on Initiatives in eHealth is Live

By Kristen Snider, Data Analyst 

As they go through the budget process, many healthcare organizations find themselves fighting for each dollar.  Finding and retaining adequate staff to complete all the little (which are usually big) marketing/IT projects that come through the door can become quite daunting.  What you need is concrete evidence. When your management team asks you to reach for the stars, you need evidence that proves you need financial and staffing resources to make it happen. 

Webinar Followup - Building a Social Network

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

I ran out of time during last week’s Webinar “Meet Consumer Expectations” and was left with some questions that were naturals for a response here on GeoVoices. These questions boil down to the following:

Geonetric Friends Lend a Helping Hand

By Linda Barnes, Vice President of Strategic Services

“In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.” John Curton Collins

Eastern Iowa’s recent adversity - the massive flooding - is giving us the opportunity to truly know our many, many friends.  And although we can never thank them adequately, I’d like to highlight just a few of the kind gestures we’ve received.

The Web is Opening Doors for People with Disabilities

By: Heather Stanley, Marketing Communications Writer

I’ll be honest.  Prior to working at Geonetric I knew very little about Web site accessibility or how people with disabilities are able to interact with the Internet. 

I remember when Michael Herring, our in-house expert, demonstrated a JAWs reader during a Webinar.  It was intriguing to hear how the technology works, and very illustrative of how important the coding is to ensuring the reader works properly.  I know how easily frustrated I become when maneuvering a Web site that is less than user-friendly.  I can only imagine the level of frustration experienced by those who are dependent on assistive technologies to read newspapers or shop online when they encounter a poorly coded Web site.

Your Brand, Microsized - Perpetuate Impressions with Favicons

By Heather Rast, Interactive Experience Manager

McDonalds may have dropped their “Supersize” menu upgrade due to increased attention on American’s diets and tendency to overconsume.  But the “moderation” bandwagon isn’t exactly overcrowded, as evidenced by walking down any grocery or convenience aisle, attending any major sporting event, or flipping through any consumer magazine.

My Experience with Mercy Medical Center’s Online Disaster Recovery Efforts

By Angie Brunow, Senior Project Manager

The Midwest flooding has been devastating to many individuals and businesses who call this area home. Mercy Medical Center, one of Geonetric’s’ clients, was no exception.

As the rising flood waters began to approach the hospital, Mercy Medical Center used every possible channel, including their Web site, to communicate with the public about the impact of the local crisis on their operations. That is until early Thursday morning when Mercy’s server - and their self-hosted Web site - lost power. Mercy contacted Geonetric and we immediately stepped in to lend a helping hand.

Geonetric is Surviving the Flood of 2008

By Sandra VanWyk-Fancher, Vice President of Operations

Thank you for your concerns

Recently raging rivers have flooded many Midwest communities and the city of Cedar Rapids, where Geonetric is located, was submerged in water (view the ABC news video). We’ve been receiving many messages of care and concern from the healthcare community - we appreciate your words of support.

Meeting vs. Movie: Which is More Entertaining? A book review about Patrick Lendioni’s book “Death by Meetings”

By Tracy Trettin, Marketing Manager

Would you rather attend a movie or a meeting? It’s a question asked by a character in Patrick Lencioni’s book “Death by Meetings.” 

Meetings are essential to leading and managing a successful business. It’s how we spend a majority of our time at work. Yet, many hate them. If we hate meetings, can we make good business decisions? 

EF5: Too Close for Comfort

By Josh Griffin, IT Manager

In March, I gave a Webinar on disaster preparedness. We discussed the importance of having a plan, and the fact that this plan will always require fine-tuning. If you have seen the news lately, you will recall the May 25th tornado that claimed eight lives and destroyed 200 homes in Parkersburg, IA.

Parkersburg is just 20 miles from Cedar Falls, IA where our production co-location data center is located. The very same storm touched down just seven miles from our data center, which is built to withstand an EF4 category storm. At the time of the storm, I wasn’t worried that a tornado was in Cedar Falls. The likelihood of a tornado in Iowa being stronger than an EF4 is rare - the last EF5 that came through Iowa was in 1976. So my data center is safe right?