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Thursday, July 1, 2010
Response to Rebranding My Town, Alameda, California
In dismay to Alameda Sun’s article, Brand Name City, I felt compelled to write a letter to the editor detailing my views on re-branding Alameda. Here it is:
Money, meet mouth
As a local business owner, resident of Alameda for more than 30 years, and active member in my local community, I was shocked and outraged to read that the city of Alameda, which supposedly promotes “buy/shop local,” has contracted with design companies outside of our local business community to re-brand Alameda. It was also alarming to learn that local businesses were not even given a chance or an opportunity to bid on the project.
Whether or not the initial bid came in under the $75,000 threshold ($200 less), local businesses still should have been considered to participate in the bidding process. If an out-of-town company, after the bidding process was complete, won the job, fine, at least local companies would have received the common courtesy to compete.
I understand — to a degree —the need to re-brand our city and update the website to attract businesses, but again, local businesses, who know the town of Alameda, were not even considered. It’s also disheartening to know that our city government will be using our tax dollars to work with companies outside of our town. What is even more surprising is that our city can spend up to $75,000 without having to go through a formal bidding process.
From my own research, a number of marketing and web design firms in Alameda were never contacted. Heck, these firms didn’t even know the city was entertaining the idea of rebranding. The city says they wanted to find a company with experience building city websites and building a green identify. Just because a firm doesn’t build city websites doesn’t mean they wouldn’t do a good job. And who would know more about Alameda than its local businesses? I believe Alameda does have the resources to provide our city with a quality functioning website and brand identity. For instance, Jiva Creative or West Advertising, I’m sure, would have been honored to have been elected to re-brand our city.
I own and operate MJS Web Solutions, a local web development firm, and I am passionate about this town and buying and doing things locally. We are proud to work with many local firms and have helped organizations, including the Alameda Boys and Girls Club and the Alameda Midway Shelter, get online.
I always ask myself before going out of Alameda to do business, is there someone who can help me locally? And usually there is. You can see why I’m frustrated. What kind of example is our city government setting for the local business community and the businesses they are trying to attract?
Alameda may or may not need a new image, but was this the right thing to do?
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I hope this issue doesn’t get swept under the table and forgotten about. It’s too important.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 10:52 am
Comments: None | Filed under: Business, Personal
Friday, October 30, 2009
Happy Halloween
Be careful out there.
 Don't get too crazy Happy Halloween everyone!
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 5:03 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Personal
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Test Everything
 Whoops!
I almost sent out a confirmation email without seeing if I could login to their application or not. Well, I can’t. Good thing I didn’t send that email.
Test Everything
I learned that early in my career. There are so many things you have to check before launching a website, application or a simple web form.
What I learned was:
- Make one change
- Test it
- If it works, move on. If not, test again
If you test each change individually, you’ll always know what did or didn’t work. You’ll never figure out what isn’t working if you make too many changes at one time.
“Test, test and test again”. You can never be too careful.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 4:58 pm
Comments: 1 Comment | Filed under: Business, Computer, Personal
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Completing Tasks With Basecamp
 Getting it done. Doesn’t it feel good to cross off items on your To Do list or finish that project or just get something accomplished and taken care of?
Well, I’m using a new To Do list program. I didn’t use a program before, I just had a piece of paper to keep track of my to do’s. Now I use the To List in Basecamp. Basecamp is an online project management service. It includes, Milestones, Whiteboards, Notes/Messages, Project Lists, Contacts, Calendar, and To Do Lists.
To Do Lists in Basecamp are my favorite feature.
You can create many types or categories of to do lists. And after you’ve completed the task, Basecamp records it and adds a strikethrough, just like you would do with your pen.
So far Basecamp has really met my needs. Easy to learn, setup and use. I may just toss out my current project management software and go with Basecamp.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out”
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 10:51 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Business, Personal, Web General
Monday, August 27, 2007
Keep On Track With a Simple To Do List
 Everyone has got their own way of keeping track of projects and tasks.
For larger projects, I use the Project Manager solution in Goldmine. For most of my everyday work and personal tasks, I use a simple customized spreadsheet.
I used to just use a plain piece of paper, but now my to do list has gotten much larger and in dire need of some improvements.
Here is my new simple to do list (.pdf).
I print out a blank sheet and fill it in for a few days, cross off (my favorite part) completed items and migrate ‘open’ items to a new sheet. It works for me.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out”.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 2:36 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Business, Personal
Monday, July 2, 2007
Save Web Surfing Time With RSS Reader Sage
We’re back!
It’s been an amazing past few months. We’ll first off…I got married on May 12, the day we first met 6 years ago. Justine and I got married in Alameda at the First Presbyterian Church. Jack Buckley was the kind gentleman who married us. Thank you Jack. We spent our reception on the San Francisco Bay exploding to the KABOOM fireworks where Justine and I met for the first time. It was the best day of my life! Thank you everyone! You made our dream come true.
Now back to business… 
Another reason for not contributing to my blog recently is that my workload here at MJS has been off the charts. I have not been able to devote enough quality time to my blog. Customers came first. I’m sure you understand and I thank you for tuning in.
 Saving Time With Sage
Since my time becomes more valuable each day and I need to stay on top of the SEO world (I used to visit Threadwatch exclusively, but it just recently shut down), I setup an add-on to Firefox called Sage. It’s an RSS reader that pulls specific data you choose (to a certain extent) to view from your favorite sites and lists all that content into one place. (This is the true definition of an RSS reader).
Now I can surf the internet and view all the latest SEO headlines from one place. A great time saver!
Mike Swartz says, “Check it Out”.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 7:49 am
Comments: None | Filed under: Computer, Personal, Web General
Friday, December 30, 2005
Happy New Year’s Resolution List
 Well, it’s that time of year again – New Year’s.
It’s that time of year where we sit down and make a New Year’s resolution list. I like to call it my 2006 Goals list. (A resolution list for me never seems to get resolved, if you know what I mean).
I have a 2006 business goal list and a personal goal list. And here they are:
Business
- Email Newsletter
- Partner with other web developers (XHTML/CSS)
- Accept Credit Cards
- Setup new Blogging software
- Revamp logo, website, etc.
Personal
- Exercise (set aside an hour or hour/half a day)
- Join a band. Spend more time creating music.
- Sync up computer with guitar, etc.
- Spend more time with family and friends
What goals or New Year’s resolutions are you planning for 2006?
Looking Back on 2005
It’s also a time to look back at your previous New Year’s resolutions list (if you kept it) and see what was accomplished or not. Two of my main items were accomplished: Developing a business plan and purchasing a new home. A couple items ended up on this year’s list – go figure.
More Lists
Speaking of lists, I just read a great article on Boxes and Arrows about creating lists and how different list systems work better for some than others.
My most successful list is one that I keep right on my desk, right in front of me.
It’s a Master ‘To Do’ List that includes everything I need to do for that day and days to come. What doesn’t get done, goes on a new list and what does get done, gets crossed off (I love that part). I got the idea from the book “Time Management for Dummies “. I also have more of a long term list or ‘Idea List’ that I keep in my email program, Goldmine.
What list system helped you survive through 2005 and what list is going to get you through the New Year?
I hope the New Year is a safe and successful one for you.
Cheers and, of course, Happy New Year!
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 12:12 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Personal
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