25 Planning Tips to Planning a Live Online Meeting

Written by Rebecka Anderson September 2nd, 2009 1 Comment
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What does it take to host a web conference/webinar? I’ve been asked this several times over the past year, and its not likely this question will fade away as travel budgets continue to be cut. That said, it time to get things down in black and white.

 

25 Tips to Planning A Successful Live Online Meeting

  1. Designate an event producer. The event producer is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the event. The event producer may also be the person presenting, but not always… sometimes its necessary to utilize a subject matter expert. The event producer will have varying levels of involvement with the items listed below, but at a minimum, the event producer should be coordinating the development of the webinar. The event producer should:
    • be comfortable with technology
    • be able to provide a basic level of tech support with regard to the user of the tool
    • be able to provide feedback to peers/supervisors
    • hold excellent organizational skills (hold people to deadlines, ensure tasks were accomplished)
  1. Determine if the live format is right for you. If you are planning a presentation that does not include participation from your attendees you should seriously reconsider your decision to proceed with your plans. Instead create a PowerPoint with audio and post it to your website so that your audience can access the information when its convenient for them. Use email or a discussion forum for Q & A.
  1. Block out 6-8 weeks (first time). Why? You need time for:  marketing, registration, contracting of presenters, service/tool selection, presenter collaboration (meetings), storyboard preparation, script writing, development of your “PowerPoint, testing/training of the service/tool, practice sessions, unforeseen time delays etc.
  1. Now that you’ve blocked out 6-8 weeks, create a master timeline (to do list) to ensure all tasks/deadlines are being hit, and make sure everyone involved the planning process has a copy.
  1. Assign duties/roles. Its time to figure out who will be doing what. The list below includes  key areas of work and who MAY be involved from your organization. Mix, match and combine roles as needed.
    • Content preparation and delivery (presenter)
    • PowerPoint Creation (presenter, producer, admin support, tech)
    • Customization and thorough understanding of the how the service/software works (tech)
    • Event host—the person who starts the meeting (producer/tech)
    • Presenter support (producer/tech)
    • Moderator—start the meeting, read/organize chat questions, closing (moderator, event host, producer)
    • Marketing (producer, admin support, tech)
    • Registration (producer, admin support, tech)
    • Proofreaders (producer, admin support)
    • Tech support (tech, company providing support)
  1. Hold regular meetings. I suggest a weekly 1 hour meeting/checkin. It may be that you don’t use the entire time, but I suggest you at least checkin on everyone’s progress with their work. If you don’t use the time adjourn early.
  1. Select the service you will be using. A great free tool is Dim Dim. It’s free for up to 20 people. Other reputable companies include WebEx, Elluminate, GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect.
  1. Once you’ve selected your service, you need to begin training yourself and presenters in its use. The best way I’ve found to do this by having your planning meetings online (even if you are in the same office). It’s not enough to just show the presenters how it works. They need to be familiar and comfortable with it in advance of the event.
  1. When preparing the content, choose visuals that enhance your presentation. A nice resource is http://www.istockphoto.com
  1. Keep the presentation to 60 minutes (if you exceed 60 minutes you will begin to lose attendees).
  1. Have some type of user interaction every 5 minutes (chat, poll, whiteboard, voice). The type is dependent upon your content and the tool you select.
  1. Designate a time keeper. This person’s role is to keep the presenter informed of the time during the event. I suggest blocking out the content into 4 pieces and that the time keeper display a flash card (or use the chat tool) to the presenter so the presenter can adjust their pacing as needed at any of those 4 points. The timekeeper should be included in the practice sessions.
  1. During the event, and all practice sessions, make sure the event host has a view of a Mac and a Windows computer, in addition to the computer the meeting was started on. This ensures understanding of what is, or isn’t happening on your attendee’s screens.
  1. Plan to have 3 practice sessions using the computer/phones that will be used during the event.*I can tell you right now people will complain as soon as they find out this is a requirement (and yes this should be a requirement), but in the end I guarantee they will thank you.
    • Use the first session to go over the storyboard and rehearse who will do what. You don’t need to have a detailed script, but you should actually move through an outline of the presentation. Practice transitions of introductions, transitions to speaker(s), and transition to the conclusion.
    • Ideally your second session would be in final form, or nearly final. Practice as if this were real, but stop as needed and make adjustments to your script, PowerPoint, or timing notes.
    • Your 3rd practice is really about fine tuning your script/timing, and most importantly helping everyone to feel confident about the upcoming event. This is your dress rehearsal. Behave as if this were the real deal.
    • During your 2nd /3rd practices secure volunteer participants and ask them to behave as if they are an actual participant of the meeting, which means they should respond to presenter questions etc.
    • Failure to practice will ensure a less than stellar performance.
  1. Do not use VoIP. It will eat-up bandwidth and potentially slow the rendering of images for your attendees. Use your own teleconference service or the built-in teleconference service. Use the built-in service if you plan to record the event.
  1. The host and presenters should be using land lines. NO CELL PHONES.
  1. Do not use the video feature (web cams). They too eat-up bandwidth and for the most part do not add any value to the presentation. Additionally, do not show videos from your computer. The video/audio are almost never in synch with your users view.
  1. The event host and presenters need to have a wired broadband connection….NOT WIRELESS.
  1. Have a plan B. At the most basic level, make sure your attendees receive the materials that will be displayed in the presentation in advance so they can print them and then refer to them in the event they become disconnected from the internet. As part of your plan B I also suggest recording the event so that you can refer those that had technical difficulties during the presentation to the recording.
  1. If you will be showing a PowerPoint presentation, number the slides. This will prove invaluable if go to Plan B. In the event of a tech glitch you can refer to slide numbers.
  1. On each slide, include a photo of the person who is speaking at that time. This is especially helpful to participants if you have multiple presenters, moderators etc.
  1. Provide your event attendees with the technical information they will need at least two weeks prior to the event so they have time to configure their computer. Some attendees may need time to schedule an appointment with the IT department to install the plugin because they don’t have administrative access to their computer.
  1. Make sure your attendees and presenters understand how to mute/un-mute their phones. If possible, use the teleconference service mute controls.
  1. If possible, have more than one presenter. In short the variety keeps people more alert and more tuned in.
  1. Spend time at the beginning of the presentation explaining what attendees can expect. Provide them with a brief orientation to the meeting environment and include contact information for tech support.
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Why YOU Should Be Using Gmail

Written by Rebecka Anderson August 21st, 2009 No Comments

gmailIf you have multiple email accounts and/or you are checking your email from different computers, you should seriously consider switching to using Gmail as your email client instead of relying upon something like Outlook or your email’s webmail offering.

Benefits of Using Gmail

  1. Gmail is FREE and allows you to funnel in all of your email accounts into one location with one login (store over 7 GB….Gmail always displays your current percentage of use).
  2. You can send emails out using one login while using your current email addresses. You are not limited to yourname@gmail.com. When you send a message for work, your work email address will show. Send a personal email to a friend and have your personal email account appear. Additionally, you find all those smtp error messages will disappear!
  3. Gmail is web-based, which means you visit a website to access your email. Because its web-based, you can access your email from any computer with an internet connection.
  4. Because Gmail is web-based you are always synched. For example, if you delete 10 messages while using Gmail from home, the messages will be placed in the “trash”. The next time you access your Gmail (lets just say your accessing it from work) you will find the 10 deleted messages are still located in your trash.
  5. Gmail automatically organizes messages as conversations so you don’t need to search multiple emails to follow an email conversation. They are grouped together for you.
  6. Gmail is integrated with Google docs, so when you receive an attachment you can choose to move the document there on the fly. Conversely, you will mostly likely eventually find yourself needing to collaborate on a Google doc with someone else, and to do so you need to have an account with Google.
  7. View attachments without software. Gmail provides you with an option to view attachments as HTML, which means you view the document in your browser instead of downloading it, and then opening something like Microsoft Office. This a great feature for those times when you are using a computer that doesn’t have software (perhaps an internet cafe) as well as a quick way to view the attachment (as with your current email program, you can download the document to your computer). This is one of my favorite features.
  8. Gmail relies upon labels to organize messages. You are most likely familiar with organizing your email through the use of folders. Folders are great as it keeps things nice and tidy, but unless you manually copy a message, you can’t have an email assigned to more than one folder. Gmail allows you to assign multiple labels to a message to help you organize and manage your email. Additionally, Incoming messages can automatically be assigned a label.
  9. Gmail is integrated with Google Chat. If you have someone in your Google Address Book, who also has a Google account, you can engage in a real-time chat if they are logged into your account at the same time you are.
  10. Gmail is integrated with Google Calendar. When you receive a message regarding an event you can easily add it to your Google Calendar (that is if you are a Google Calendar user).
  11. Google is riding the “Wave” of the next generation in computing…literally. Already a pioneer in “cloud computer” Google is developing “Google Wave” which is their take on improving communication and collaboration. I think its fair to anticipate that a Gmail account will be required.

Summary
Google isn’t going away, and a Gmail email account is the foundation to the use of its tools. That said, if you have to create a Gmail account why not take full advantage of what it offers, and more importantly let Gmail make your email life less complicated through the use of one login. Its free, its easy to use, it allows you maintain your identity, and provides quick access to other Google tools.

If you don’t already have a Gmail account, move your other email accounts into to Gmail. If don’t have Gmail, Sign Up!

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50 FREE Cross-Platform Applications & Services

Written by Rebecka Anderson August 14th, 2009 1 Comment

The 50 FREE  Tech Resources listed below are truly free and are cross platform (many are web-based). There is no cost to download, nor do they have an expiration date/trial period. This list includes everything you would need to operate your organization or your business, aside from your computer and internet access. It even includes free web design, hosting, and domain name.

This not a comprehensive list of free cross platform tools. This list is made up of tools that I have used and tested (among many others not listed here). When it comes to “making the cut” I selected tools based upon 1. its ease of use 2. its ability to accomplish the task at hand 3. up-time. A tool that can perform miracles is great, but if no one knows how to use it, or if its constantly broke, its useless. Please also keep in mind that this is my list as of today’s publish date.

 

Productivity Suites
These suites include word processing, presentation, and spreadsheets, and more.

Free Cross Platform Tech ResourcesOpen Office (download)
Google Docs
Zoho

 

Synchronous Collaboration (Real-Time)

Dim Dim (free for 20 people)
Elluminate (free for 3 people)

 

Document Collaboration

Google Docs
Writeboard
Wiki Spaces
Adobe Buzzword

 

Survey/Polls

Survey Monkey (max 10 questions & max 100 respondents per survey)
Survey Gizmo (max 250 respondents per month)
Doodle

 

Database

Zoho Creator (max 2 users, 3 databases, 1000 records)

 

Phone

Google Voice (you have to request an invite)
Skype (download)

 

Email

Gmail
Yahoo

 

Free Cross Platform Tech Resources

Discussion Forums

Forumotion

PunBB (download & requires web server installation)

phpBB (download & requires web server installation)

 

Chat

Zoho Chat
Skype

 

Calendar

Google Calendar

 

Event Registration

Evite

 

Project Management

iTeamwork
ToodleDo

 

File Sharing

Media Fire (unlimited amount of files, each can’t exceed 100MB)
4Shared (store up to 5GB, each can’t exceed 100MB)

 

Video Converter

Handbrake
Squared 5
Media Convert (download or service)

 

Video Editor
Platform specific but both come pre-installed.

  • iMovie (mac)
  • Windows Video Maker (windows)

Video Player

QuickTime (cross-platform BUT to view .wma & .wmv on Mac use with free Flip4Mac)
Flip4Mac
VLC

Free Cross Platform Tech Resources

 

Audio Editor

Audacity

 

Image Editor

pixlr
Picnik
picasa

 

eLearning

MyiCourse

Udutu
 (free course authoring/export)

Moodle (requires installation on a server)

 

Basic Website Creation

Weebly (includes hosting  & free domain name)
Yola (includes hosting & several widgets)

 

Advanced Website Creation

KompoZer (HTML/CSS Editor & includes FTP)
Joomla (content management systems and templates)
Drupal (content management systems and templates)
Open Source Web Design (free web design templates)

 

Blog

WordPress (service or web server install with your own domain)

 

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Stop Website Spam with reCAPTCHA! FREE Tool

Written by Rebecka Anderson July 18th, 2009 No Comments

Picture 6

These days its not uncommon to see a web form that requires you to enter a series of malformed letters, or to answer a math question in an effort to prove that your submission as been made by you—A HUMAN (as opposed to a computer). This process of validating human vs. computer is commonly known as CAPTCHA, which is an acronym for “Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart,” and its used to block spam submissions made through a website.

One of the websites I manage was recently the target of spammers. I tried implementing several CAPTCHA options, but the easiest one to use is called “reCAPTCHA”. Its a great FREE tech tool (service) that was easy to implement and it took minutes to setup. Once setup, the spam stopped. Success!

reCAPTCHA is especially great because it does not require you to add an “action” or “onsubmit” to your html form so you don’t need to mess with your already working code (chances are you’re already using those form elements). Implementation of other CAPTCHA scripts would have required that, and would therefore require some rewriting of php—not really my game.
Another great feature about reCAPTCHA is that its accessible. Users can choose to either type in what they see, or hear. If your website requires adherence to Section 508 of the Disabilities Act, then this may a good solution for you.

Using reCAPTCHA is easy:

  • Simply visit http://recaptcha.net/whyrecaptcha.html and sign-up for a free account.
  • Upon submitting the form you will be prompted for the domain name of the website in which you will be implementing reCAPTCHA. Once you have submitted your domain name you will then receive a public key and private key. Keep this information handy as you will need to use it when adding reCAPTCHA to your web page.
  • Next visit http://recaptcha.net/plugins/php/ as it includes instructions and the link to the file you will need to include on your web server, as well as the script to add to your web form (assuming you are using php). You don’t need to know php to implement this, but you do need to have your web pages hosted on a php enabled web server.

IF YOU’RE NOT USING PHP, there are other reCAPTCHA options available to you.

reCAPTCHA php script inside html

The  image above shows how the reCAPTCHA php script sits on the page in relation to the existing html. As you can see in this example, the script sits by itself, and in this case, I have made it the last item in form.

I opted to implement a php solution on my page, but reCAPTCHA offers other solutions that may be of use to you if running php is not an option. Additionally, they offer several plugins for some common content management systems.

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One Click! Open Multiple Websites in Safari Simultaneously

Written by Rebecka Anderson June 17th, 2009 1 Comment

Safari

Safari users you may find this tip to be particularly useful if you need to access the same websites regularly. For example, lets assume you need to check your WebEX office daily, your web-based email account, and Twitter. You could bookmark them, or you could even create a quick webpage and list your links. But wouldn’t it be nice to click one button and have all of your desired websites open at the same time in multiple tabs? Here’s how you can make this happen.

Step 1
Open Safari, and make sure you have already bookmarked websites you want to automatically open.

Step 2
Click on Bookmarks>Show All Bookmarks

Step 3
Click on “Bookmarks Bar” which is found under “Collections” (left column at the top)

Step 4
The right column (bottom row) is a pane called “Bookmark”. Click your mouse into that pane and create a folder called “Opener” (you can name it anything you want so long as you understand its contents). You can create a new folder by clicking the plus sign at the bottom of the pane.

Step 5
Next drag any bookmarks you want to have automatically opened into the folder you just created.

Step 6
Click the check box under Auto-Click next to your opener folder.

Step 7
Drag the opener folder to the top of the list in the bookmark window so that it will appear first on your bookmarks bar.

The bookmark bar should now display the new folder name. Click it and all of your favorite websites will open simultaneously in multiple tabs so that you can easily move between tabs/websites without needing to navigate to a bookmark.

Create Opener Folder

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FREE Cross Platform DVD Ripper

Written by Rebecka Anderson June 10th, 2009 No Comments

Logo

Sometimes its hard to believe they are FREE, but there are some amazing FREE TECH RESOURCES out there. Today’s focus is on video. I’m often asked how and what software should be used to rip (copy) a DVD to a computer. My recommendation is Handbrake. Handbrake is FREE and available for Macs, Windows, and for the true geek users of the world, Linux.

Handbrake is easy to install, and is very easy to use. Upon launching the application you are immediately presented with a window to select your video source. Simply select the DVD you wish to rip (you don’t need to select any of the files/folders on the DVD) and then click open. Handbrake will then scan the DVD and provide a list of chapters. Either choose to copy the full DVD (select the full playtime of the dvd), or choose to copy a specific chapter by using the drop-down menus. Upon clicking start your video output will be saved to your desktop (macs). If you want to change the output, location use the browse button.

Handbrake Window

Handbrake offers a great time and space saving feature through its availability of presets. If want to rip a DVD for future playback on your iPhone or older iPod simply select the appropriate preset and your clip will automatically be encoded and resized for playback. I highly recommend using the presets if you are sure of your playback method. If you’re not sure what your final output will be, or if you intend for video playback to occur on multiple devices, you will want to stay with the default setting of normal. Later you can import/export the movie into whatever format later using iMovie or Windows Movie Maker (both are pre-installed on their respective platforms). Note: Handbrake is NOT the tool to use if you are seeking to create a duplicate DVD.

So its really that easy. Select your DVD, select your chapters, select a preset, and then click start! Its FREE, its quick, and its easy. If you want to get down and dirty with Handbrake you might want to checkout their Documentation & Wiki as well as become a part of their Community.

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FREE Document Collaboration Tool: Writeboard

Written by Rebecka Anderson June 4th, 2009 No Comments

Writeboard

If you are seeking a FREE document collaboration tool for those less enthused, or unwilling to learn new technology, listen up as I’ve got one word for you: Writeboard. In less than 30 seconds (not an exaggeration) you can easily create a place for you and others to collaborate on a document for FREE, and independent of a registration process.

How It Works
Its very simple. You visit http://www.writeboard.com and create your Writeboard by completing a form which requests three items: a name for the board; a password for the board; and an email address.

Once you’ve created the Writeboard, you can immediately being typing content into the blank text box, or you can copy/paste from another file such as a .doc. After content has been added, save it, and then invite collaborators via *email.

Collaborators access the site through the web address and password that was provided via *email. Once logged in, collaborators begin editing the document by clicking the edit button. When finished they enter their name at the bottom of the page and click save. The most recent version is then available for the next person to visit the Writeboard. Its important to note that Writeboard is considered to be “asynchronous”, which means that people can access the Writeboard at any time. People don’t have to be online at the same time to edit the document.

*Email
Upon creating the Writeboard, an email is sent to the Writeboard creator, which is inclusive of the Writeboard’s name, web address and password. The Writeboard creator can then forward the email on to future collaborators.

Versions
If you are worried someone may delete critical information, or perhaps you are just interested in tracking who made edits, utilize Writeboard’s version tool. If you want to go back in time, simply click date/time/author stamp found under versions (right side of the page).

Comments
Writeboard provides a comment feature at the bottom of the page which allows people to provide feedback without actually editing the document. This is especially useful for situations in which you need people to approve content.

Formatting
Writeboard’s strength is in allowing people to collaborate on content creation and/or organization, not formatting. Once you’ve finalized the content and organization, you should then format the document in another word processing program like Microsoft Word. Your Writeboard content can be exported as a .txt file (most word processing applications will open this) or copy/paste your board’s content into another document.

Administration
A nice feature Writeboard provides is a RSS feed to the board. As the creator of the board you might want to consider subscribing so that you can receive alerts of of when the board has been edited. Anyone can subscribe to the feed, but I’ve found this tool to be most helpful when I’m responsible for gathering input.

Conclusion
While document formatting is not its strength, Writeboard offers a quick and easy (in the clouds) approach to document collaboration by providing a simple web page that allows contributors to add, delete and edit content while tracking versions. Its free and allows anyone to create an unlimited amount of Writeboards, while inviting an unlimited amount of collaborators through a simple email invitation. Tour Writeboard

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FREE 508 Compliant Survey Creation Tools

Written by Rebecka Anderson June 1st, 2009 1 Comment

survey tool logos

If you need to conduct an online survey, I highly recommend taking advantage of one of two tools: Survey Monkey or SurveyGizmo. Both provide FREE survey creation and data collection, but more importantly they do not require a programmer or knowledge of how to create web pages.

Anyone can easily & quickly create a survey regardless of their technical knowledge!  So whether you are a web developer, or someone with no knowledge of HTML, these services will save you time and money, while also helping to keep you sane!

IMPORTANT: If you require a 508 accessible survey, either of these options will work for you.
Survey Monkey & 508 | Survey Gizmo & 508

Comparison of Free Offerings

Features Survey Gizmo Survey Monkey
Requires Ads On Site No No
Unlimited Surveys/Polls Yes Yes
Unlimited Questions Yes 10
Unlimited Responses 250 per month 100 per survey
Generate Link for Website
or Email Distribution		 Yes Yes
Survey Completion Bar Yes Yes
Require Responses Yes Yes
Survey Logic (Branching) No, requires upgrade No, requires upgrade
Custom Thank You Page Yes No, requires upgrade
Color/Font Customization Yes Yes
Brand with Logo Yes No, requires upgrade
Edit CSS/Template Yes No, requires upgrade
Embed in Website Yes Yes
Export Data (csv/excel) Yes No, requires upgrade
View Live Results As They
Are Recorded		 Yes Yes
View Results As Graphs etc. Yes Yes
Embed/Download Results No, requires upgrade No, requires upgrade

Tip!
Be sure to consult with the content creator of the survey and/or the person who will be analyzing the data collected. They likely have some concrete opinions about how and what they want collected. Having this information in advance will likely save you some headaches down the line

Recommendation
Based on personal use, and the table comparison listed above, I recommend SurveyGizmo. It has the most free offerings including the ability to download responses, and it provides for a much higher level of customization and branding. Additionally, I found the user interface more comfortable than that of Survey Monkey, but in the end this is really a matter of opinion.

When you start looking at paid features it’s my opinion that Survey Monkey is the better option, but I highly recommend you experiment with both services, and choose the option that feels the best to you. Both sites offer excellent lists which detail their pricing plans and features.

Survey Monkey Features | Survey Gizmo Features

Conclusion
Both tools are excellent as they offer simple and quick (508 compliant) survey solutions, that do not require the expertise of HTML or other programming/markup language. To choose the tool that is best for you, talk with the person responsible for the content and analysis of the survey, and then compare the tool features list with their survey requirements.

Both are also great tools to add to your cloud toolbox.

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FREE Event & Meeting Scheduler: Doodle

Written by Rebecka Anderson May 28th, 2009 No Comments

Doodle Free Meeting Scheduler

There are several tools on the market to help you schedule a meeting or event, but none offer the simplicity that Doodle does, and you can’t beat its price of FREE. Doodle is a free web-based tool that allows you to quickly schedule a meeting/event with multiple people without the hassle of email flying around or a registration process. Here’s how it works.

Schedule an Event
In three simple steps you create a poll in which you indicate possible meeting days and time.

Once you’ve created the poll, Doodle generates a private web address for you to email to your potential attendees. Attendees then click the link, enter their name and then indicate their availability. Below is an example of a poll completed by three people. As you can see Wednesday the 27th at 12:30pm is the day/time that works best for the attendees.

Doodle Example

Make a Choice
Doodle also offers up the ability to create a poll so that you can quickly gather input from multiple people. For example lets assume you need to find out from 25 people where they would prefer to eat lunch. Simply fill out the form (two step process), send out the link generated for you by Doodle, sit back and wait for the responses. Below is an example of this type of poll. As you can see Quiznos is the popular vote.

Doodle Make a Choice Poll

Its Simplicity
Doodle relies upon the old adage of “less is more” which is perfect for the “technically challenged” who often become overwhelmed when there are too many choices or too much instructional text. The homepage offers only two options: “Schedule and Event” or “Make a Choice”. Upon clicking either you are prompted through the setup of the poll and are guided through each page through the use of a Next button, which only becomes available once you’ve added text. Additionally, if you missed something and try to proceed you will receive an error message, which will clearly state what you need to do before you can proceed. If you do happen to get lost, Doodle offers step-by-step instructions on how to create your poll. Help Scheduling an Event | Help Make a Choice

Tracking
If you happen to be one of those people that likes to track your work and keep everything in one central location you can choose to register yourself with Doodle, but its completely optional. If you don’t register, but want to take a look back an previous polls you will need to hold on to the administration link provided to you (provided upon successfully creating your survey).

Integration
Doodle offers a mobile site http://www.doodle.com/mobile/main.html so you can create polls with your mobile device. If you are a Facebook user and want to invite your Facebook friends you can. You can also add Doodle to your iGoogle account, but you will need to register with Doodle.

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FREE FileMaker Hosting for Non-Profits (Charity)

Written by Rebecka Anderson May 27th, 2009 No Comments

FileMaker Icon

If you are a non-profit/charity organization seeking the ability to share your FileMaker databases with others, then this is your lucky day. Neo Code Software provides FREE FileMaker hosting to charity organizations. This is a great savings considering the cost of FileMaker Server Advanced is $2,500, not to mention the cost of paying  for hosting services,  or purchasing your own server.

The free hosting plan allows you to have multiple files uploaded to the server, although you may only have 2 files open at the same time. To apply for the free hosting account you will need to contact Neo Code Software and you will need to provide them with documentation of your charity status along with basic contact information. sales@neocodesoftware.com or call 1-888-748-0668.

If you want to take things to the next level you might want to consider Neo Code’s fee based products and services. They offer an integrated suite of products that includes content management, order processing, and email outreach, and they offer custom development to extend their products or create new products unique to the clients’ needs. They have their own data center, offering hosting and management services to insure solid deployment and response. In addition Neo Code software provides web development, consulting, support contracts and remote desktop and server administration work down.

If the you are happy with Neo Code and would like to reward them, here are some ideas they suggest:

  • official donation receipt
  • adding this text to your website “FileMaker hosting proudly sponsored by Neo Code Software” with a link to us
  • hiring our IT managers, developers, troubleshooters and network administrators to assist with projects

This is a very generous offer from Neo Code so be sure to reward them appropriately!

I personally am not eligible for this Neo Code’s hosting service so I was unable to test their setup process and speed, but I can tell you that FileMaker Server 9 Advanced is a great product, that allows you to also work from the clouds! If you have a chance to try out Neo Code’s free service, go for it!

Would love to hear comments back on this one….I’m sure new readers would as well!

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