Emerge Inc. Blog

To signal that we would be starting soon, we played a short video at the beginning of each of the 3 Credibility Conversation events. There are a number of high quality videos on the Internet that pack a lot of interesting information into a short time span. As an added bonus, they almost always include compelling, upbeat music that set the right tone for our audience.

During the November 11th event featuring Lewis Howes and Shown Morton, we played “Did You Know 4.0″ from xplanevisualthinking.

In the first of the Credibility Conversation event, Shawn Morton, discussed how Nationwide Insurance uses Twitter to communicate with NASCAR fans during races.  Asking fans what information their pit reporters could provide and what questions they would like to ask NASCAR team members.  I would like to give two examples of how I have used Twitter in the past two weeks.

eNom’s DDOS Attack

On January 11, 2010, a client called to say that their website was unavailable.  Following our standard “My Site Is Down” procedure, I started off by checking the to see if the server was available, it was.  Next checked if I could visit other domains on the server, check. Next, see if there are any issues with the domain name registration and the DNS server.  This domain is different than many of our other customer domains, in that it’s DNS is hosted by a 3rd party eNom.com.

Using Twitter, I did a search to see if anyone was having issues with eNom’s DNS servers?  Typing in “eNom” in the twitter search, I found a Tweet from @eNom, “We are currently managing through a DDOS attack. All resources are focused on solving this issue ASAP. More updates shortly.” (http://twitter.com/eNom/status/7635807363)

I was able to inform the client of the issue and follow eNom’s progress towards solving the problem through twitter. When they posted that it was solved, I informed the client.

India Visa New Rules

In February, I am traveling to India to visit my younger brother Dan.  I recently sent away my passport to receive a Visa from the Indian Government.  I have received back my passport along with the Visa.  Tuesday, I received an e-mail from Travisa Outsourcing, the company helping facilitate my Visa, telling me effective January 15 there are new rules regarding multiple entries into India within a 2 month period.  I have questions on these new rules and if they apply to me as I already have my Visa.

The e-mail gives me information that Travisa Outsourcing is on Twitter.  I have questions, they have a Twitter account, bingo, I have a way to ask my question.  I go over to Twitter and ask my question.  ” @Travisa_Visa re Indian new restrictions: Visa issued Jan 11 will be taking trip to India, Sir Lanka and back to India, do new rules apply?”

Within an hour, my Twitter account shows I have an @reply (at reply), clicking the reply I receive “@mskimin The new rule of which you speak has been in effect since Dec., so the answer is yes, unfortunately.”

Now I have my answer and can plan my trip accordingly.  If I have further questions I know I can ask via Twitter.

If you have questions for me you can find me on Twitter @mskimin .

Emerge believes that the more value we create for others, clients, venders, team members, investors and our communities, the more valuable we become.

We believe in focusing on big goals rather than short-term revenue generation.

We believe in working on projects that 1) matter, 2) make a difference, 3) are exciting and 4) are noteworthy.

Note: adapted from Tim O’Reilly

Emerge believes that in order to create the sustainable environment where we work cooperatively with clients and fellow team members, our actions and intentions must be clear.

We believe that trust and credibility are values that underline every business relationship and that actions that are not authentic, transparent and ethical undermine trust and credibility.

Emerge believes it is vital to generate a sustainable, fair profit. This profit ensures the company will continue to grow to meet the needs of customers.

We believe that profit provides a measure of the long-term value created with clients.

We believe that profit enables Emerge to continue to build a strong team and reward team members who help create long term value.

We believe that profit helps add value to the community through taxes to support essential government services and charitable contributions to quality community programs.

Emerge believes that motivated professions should not be unnecessarily constrained.

We believe team members should be able to do their work in the time and place that is most productive for them and best serves the client’s needs.

We believe team members should be entrepreneurial and never be constrained by unnecessary corporate bureaucratic rules.

We believe that the applications and websites we develop should increase the ability for clients and their clients to become untethered.

Emerge believes in leadership over management.

We believe in defining a clear vision and a definition of success. We trust motivated, passionate individuals and self organizing teams to make fast and smart decisions to navigate a changing environment and achieve the vision.

We believe leaders take strategic risks, take responsibility for the occasional mistake and find amazing breakthroughs that would not be possible through risk-averse behavior.

We believe in continuous learning, proactive action and pursuing unexplored paths.

Emerge believes in the power of individuals who are passionate, knowledgeable and socially connected.

We believe recent technological advancements enable small, focused, expert teams to create more value than the previously needed bureaucracies.

We believe that each Emerge team members should become a micro-brand, a recognized expert in their area of passion and connected inside and outside of Emerge in ways that create value for their connections, themselves, the Emerge team and Emerge clients.

To supplement the Emerge team, we believe in putting together the most effective and efficient team possible for each project, including using expert freelancers and outside firms.

Emerge believes customers should not be locked into proprietary software or processes that restrict their ability to make decisions in their best interest.

We believe that if Emerge is no longer the best choice for clients, they should have the ability to leave and take their data with them.

We believe that in addition to being good for clients and the right thing to do, never locking in clients is in our own best interest because it provides a feedback mechanism to let us know if we are providing enough value and the right value for clients.

Update (1/14/10 @ 9:35 p.m.) – In the final sentence, removed the word “not”; changed “or” to “and” and changed “to” to “for”. It originally read, “We believe that in addition to being good for clients and the right thing to do, never locking in clients is in our own best interest because it provides a feedback mechanism to let us know if we are not providing enough value or the right value to clients.”

Emerge believes that competitive advantage, both for Emerge Inc. and for clients is achieved by responding to changing circumstances and adjusting to lessons learned.

We believe in iterative development over long-term detailed plans that may not account for changing realities.

We believe the focused, simple solution is better than the complex solution with unnecessary features.