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Nothing Happens
by Itself
Copyright © 2024 Karl W. Palachuk
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Hello Karl, -
I was posting something on my technology blog this week (blog.smallbizthoughts.com), and went down a rabbit hole with the stats. I noticed a few fun facts.
- My blog receives about 39,000 views per month. Not bad after eighteen years.
- I've had just over 4.2 million visitors in that time.
- The most popular posts are split evenly between SOP (standard operating procedure) posts and all other.
- In the last year, the most popular post is an SOP on How to Use Velcro - from 2013! Whether or not that's the best Velcro article on the Internet, we get good traffic from Google.
Of course, that all led me down another rabbit hole: The popularity of blogs. Because there's so much attention on TikTok, video, even podcasts, some people have the perception that blogs are less popular than they once were.
My blog has maintained it's popularity despite the fact that the technicians who read it have changed dramatically over time. We've gone through a few waves of aging, retirement, and new technology that has resulted in massive turnover in the industry.
A bit of research shows that blogs are more popular than ever, and tend to appeal to people who are interested in educating themselves more than entertaining themselves.
It's a bit like the appeal of television versus radio. Television audiences are generally tiny compared to radio audiences. But there's more appeal to being on TV than to being on the radio. This is true even for people in the broadcast industries. They know the TV audience is much smaller, but higher status.
Don't get me wrong: Reading my blog is not related to any status for anyone. BUT it continues to do its job, which is to educate MSPs and ITSPs.
Thank you all for reading it from time to time.
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Revisiting Your Attention Span
Most of you know I love to read - pretty much anything I find. In the last year, I've found that my greatest source for new books to read has been the podcast Hidden Brain. It's all about - you guessed it - how your brain works.
Last week, I read Attention Span by Gloria Mark. It includes lots of research that supports much of what we all know about interruptions. But it also has a lot of very new and very relevant information about our online lives and habits. I recommend it.
One point really stood out to me, although presented it as a minor point. She mentions that movie editing has evolved from long, detailed shots to super-short shots that just give an impression, and make the point: This works with modern audiences because they understand how stories are constructed in the world of film.
You may have read reports of how people panicked during the original showing of The Arrival of a Train in 1896 (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FAj9fJQRZA). Audiences at the time literally didn't understand the technology, let along the story-telling process or creative production.
Today, we understand movies and movie-making so well, that we just need tiny snippets to come up to speed. We don't need to follow an actor walking down the street, climbing the stairs, and putting a key in a lock. A few flashes of street scene, stairs, and door brings us inside the building and the story in two seconds.
The same is very much true with our business lives. Fifteen years ago, you needed to describe managed, flat-fee maintenance programs. Now you can use that terminology and go straight to why you're better than the rest. Your prospects have learned the art of IT services.
Anyway, I think it's interesting to think of how we learn to consume information. And quickly grabbing the context allows us to move more quickly to the story behand that information. That does not mean our attention span is shorter. So we should be careful about jumping to that conclusion.
Just a thought.
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Misc. Notes
(This might be a lame excuse to share another picture of baby Emma. And yes, she really is happier than the average four month old.)
Because I'm a grandpa now, I'm planning to travel less in 2024. But I always try to hit at least one ASCII event each year, and they're headed to SoCal in February. So you can catch up with me in Costa Mesa (fly into SNA):
ASCII Edge
Feb. 28-29, 2024
Costa Mesa, CA
Deets at https://ascii.com/events
I look forward to seeing you there.
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Community Members: Be sure to scroll down and access the new member benefits from Susan Bradley and Chip Reaves!
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Only a few calendar updates this week. But keep sending me your updates!
Have a great week. I hope your team wins the Super Bowl. I know mine will.
:-)
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Join me live at . . .
- ASCII Edge - Feb. 28-29, 2024 in Costa Mesa, CA
- Channel Partners Conference - March 10-13 in Las Vegas, NV
- SMB IT Professionals - Oct. 25-26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia
- ChannelPro SMB Forum - Nov. 12-13, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA
Links below in the events calendar - or at WhereInTheWorldIsKarl.com.
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Next Class Starts Next Week! | |
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One of our most popular classes ever!
Managing Your Service Board
- Setup, Core SOPs, and Daily Procedures
Taught by Karl W. Palachuk
Author, Speaker, Blogger
- Five Tuesdays
- Feb 13 - Mar 12
Register Now - Only $399*
This course covers the most important pieces of making your PSA (Professional Services Administration) service board work effectively. Your PSA is the brain center of your entire operation.
Most Managed Service Providers don't use their PSA systems efficiently. In fact, most of them only use 10-20% of the capabilities of their PSA. This costs you money because you have the tool to run everything in your business more effectively. But if you don't put the right information into the tool, then you can't get the reports you need to improve your business.
This course covers the daily operation of a managed service business - or any IT shop with a service board and a one or more technicians who execute the service. It assumes you have a service board or PSA (Professional Services Administration) and a service manager.
Whether you sell “break fix” or flat fee services, a service board will take your company to the next level – if you use it right. In addition to covering setup and core standard operating procedures, we'll get into the "nitty gritty" of running a service board and managing the service department.
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Only $399
Which PSA?
I used ConnectWise for four years in my business. Then I switched to Autotask and used that for five years. Eventually, I moved to LogicNow and used that for more than five years.
On top of all that, I've worked closely with coaching client who have used all of these products. This course is intended to apply to all PSAs. I will point out areas where differences are most obvious.
You will learn
- How tickets should flow into, through, and off of the service board
- How to set up the core components of a service board
- Priorities
- Statuses
- Workflows
- Time Estimates
- The most important processes and procedures for making the board work effectively once it's set up
- Introducing new processes to you employees
- Getting clients to understand the new processes
- Time tracking the right way
- The most important reports you need to run
- Every Day
- Every Week
- Every Month
- When it's time for client renewals
- Avoiding the biggest pitfalls with service board management
- Building an Action Plan that works
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Only $399
Top Take-aways:
- Understand How the Components of Service Work Together
- Managing all the Time in Your Service Business
- Defining the Perfect Service Ticket
- The Most Important Reports You Need to Run
- Building Excellent Customer Service
PLUS lots more.
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Here are the specifics of what you'll learn, week by week:
Unit 1 Core Components / Building Blocks of a Great Service Board
Unit 2 Core Processes & Procedures for Success / Time Tracking the Right Way
Unit 3 Implementation and Daily Processes
Unit 4 A Day in the Life of the Service Desk / Policies that Drive Profitability
Unit 5 Build and Maintain a Well-Oiled Machine / Getting the Details Right
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Delivered by Karl W. Palachuk, blogger and author of the very popular "SOP Friday" posts at https://blog.smallbizthoughts.com.
Includes five weeks of webinars with related handouts, assignments, and "office hours" with the instructor. All classes are recorded for download.
This course is intended for business owners and managers. It is particularly useful for the Service Manager or Operations Manager.
ITSP University Certification:
Meets Certification Requirements for:
- Management
- Service Manager
- Technician
This class will be recorded. Each unit is generally posted within 24 hours of the live class. These recorded units will become the On-Demand class and you’ll have lifetime access to it.
Register Now - Only $399*
Note: * Members of the Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community attend at no additional charge. See details in the Community
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All the Resources That Are Fit to Print | |
Recent Blog Posts, Podcasts, and Videos | |
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Small Biz Thoughts Blog:
SMB Community Podcast - New episodes drop every Thursday
National Society of IT Service Providers News Blog
Relax Focus Succeed:
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Community News
SmallBizThoughts.org
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Join us every Thursday
9 AM Pacific / Noon Eastern
All members welcome.
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Members: Catch the Recording of our Roundtable with Chip Reaves from Bigger Brains
Bigger Brains is all about training - for you and for your clients. In "AI Year Two" we expect some major changes throughout our industry. One way to deal with that is training!
Chip told us about the AI training they have already at Bigger Brains - and what they have in development. I am committed to taking these just so I don't fall behind.
Chip makes an excellent point. He looked at several trainings, including paid trainings on AI, and they were just screen captures of someone poking around and trying things, NOT showing you how to use the actual tools in an organized, manner.
Chip also refreshed his discount program for Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members. You can all all the Bigger Brains training free for you self, and discounted for your clients. See the $ sign next to your profile picture in the Community to learn more.
And you can wat the Roundtable recording Here:
https://www.smallbizthoughts.org/member_content/chips-reaves-join-us-for-the-february-roundtable/
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Speaking of special offers . . .
I caught up with Susan Bradley, "The Patch Lady" and editor of the AskWoody newsletter. If you want a free month of the ultimate newsletter on Microsoft and other patches, head to the Community discounts and sign up today.
Best of all, after the first month, the Premium AskWoody newsletter is "pay what you want." Check it out today.
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Our first Community Breakout last week went well. You are welcome to join us on February 15th for the next one.
Our breakouts are a special hybrid of
- Content
- Member engagement, and
- Peer group.
Our first Breakout is: The 2024 Year of Intention. We held classes in November and December based on the new book.
ALL Small Biz Thoughts Technology Community members are welcome to attend for free. The earlier classes are not required.
See details and member access here.
If you have questions, send me an email. karlp@smallbizthoughts.com
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Here's the last Community News video: | |
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I am planning a marketing program around my branded picnic blanket. I figured it could also be good for changing a flat tire. So I asked Freepik's Pikaso tool (https://www.freepik.com/ai/image-editor):
Please show me a cute animal changing a car's flat tire.
Not sure that animal is. Panda inspired, but it might be a cute face added to a badger body. There's a car. There are two tires.
At least the poor animal does not have a freakish number of toes!
:-)
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What's Here?
This calendar lists two kinds of things: LIVE in-person events from any organization that focuses on the SMB consulting community; and MY events, whether live, webinar, etc.
If you have live events on your calendar that may be useful to others in the SMB Community, please let us know. We'd be happy to list them.
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February 2024
ConnectWise Automation Nation
Feb. 5-8
Tampa, FL
More Info: https://info.connectwise.com/events/automation-nation-2024-announcement
Cisco Live
Feb. 5-9
Amsterdam, Netherlands
More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/emea.html
Microsoft Envision AI Tour
Feb. 7
Sydney, Australia
More Info: https://envision.microsoft.com/en-US/sydney
SMB TechFest
February 8-9
Irvine, CA
More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/showdates.asp
World AI Cannes Festival
Feb. 8-10
Cannes, France
More Info: https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/events/advancing-ai.html
MSP Expo
February 13-15, 2024
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: http://www.mspexpo.com/
NerdioCon
Feb. 12-16
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
More Info: https://nerdiocon.com/
MSP Expo
Feb. 13-15
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: https://www.mspexpo.com/east/
TDWI Transform
Feb. 19-23
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://tdwi.org/events/conferences/las-vegas/home.aspx
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
Feb. 26-27
Phoenix, AR
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/cio-us-west
Mobile World Congress
Feb. 26-29
Barcelona, Spain
More Info: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/
ChannelPro LIVE
Feb. 28-29
Chicago, IL
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
ASCII Edge 2024
February 28 & 29
Costa Mesa, CA
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
Join me Live!
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March
XChange Orlando
March 3-5
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
VSLive!
March 3-8
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://vslive.com/events/las-vegas-2024/home.aspx
Cloud Expo Europe
March 6-7
London, England
More Info: https://www.cloudexpoeurope.com/
Right of Boom
March 6-8
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.rightofboom.com/event/22f53824-56a7-4e87-9dc4-c25d1d93baf7/summary
MSP Summit
March 11-12
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://channelpartnersconference.com/msp-summit
XChange UK
March 6-7
UK
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
Channel Partners Conference & MSP Summit
March 11-14
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.channelfutures.com/channel-events
Join me live!
Gartner Data & Analytics Summit
March 11-13
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/data-analytics-us
Microsoft Envision AI Tour
March 12
Paris, France
More Info: https://envision.microsoft.com/en-US/paris
NVIDIA GTC
March 17-21
San Jose, CA
More Info: https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/
Datacenter Dynamics Converged
March 18-19
New York City, NY
More Info: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/dcd-connect-live/connect-nyc/2024/
CloudFest
March 18-21
Rust, Germany
More Info: https://www.cloudfest.com/
Midsize Enterprise Summit IT Security 2024
March 18-19, 2024
Indianapolis, IN
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/events
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon
March 19-23
Paris, France
More Info: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe/
ASCII Edge 2024
March 20 & 21
Houston, TX
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
Days of Knowledge
March 21-22
Birmingham, England
More Info: https://www.directionsforpartners.com/conferences-and-events/days-of-knowledge/uk-2024
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
March 25-26
Hollywood, FL
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/cio-us-east
Microsoft Fabric Community Conference
March 26-28
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://fabricconf.com/#!/
MSP Rescue from SMB Nation
Date TBD
Los Alamitos, CA
More Info: https://msprescue.pro/
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April 2024
Fortinet Accelerate
April 1-5
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.fortinetaccelerate.com/home/3861565
Intel Vision
April 8-9
Phoenix, AZ
More Info: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/events/on-event-series/vision.html
Google Cloud Next
April 9-11
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://cloud.withgoogle.com/next
North American Cloud & Collaboration Summit
April 9-11
Dallas, TX
More Info: https://www.collabsummit.org/
ChannelPro LIVE
Apr. 10-11, 2024
Orlando, FL
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Days of Knowledge
April 12-13
Odense, Denmark
More Info: https://www.directionsforpartners.com/conferences-and-events/days-of-knowledge/nordic-2024
Directions
April 14-17
San Diego, CA
More Info: https://directionsna.com/
Black Hat Asia
April 16-19
Singapore
More Info: https://www.blackhat.com/asia-24/
ASCII Edge 2024
April 17 & 18
Newark, NJ
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
eMerge Americas
April 18-19
Miami Beach, FL
More Info: https://emergeamericas.com/
TDWI Transform
April 28-May 3
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=777592&_gl=1*x88u25*_gcl_au*NjI4NDAyOTQxLjE3MDE3Mjk1NjI.
Kaseya Connect Global
April 29-May 2
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.kaseyaconnect.com/
Microsoft 365 Conference
April 30-May 3
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.m365conf.com/#!/
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May
Red Hat Summit
May 6-9
Denver, CO
More Info: https://www.redhat.com/en/summit
RSA Conference
May 6-9
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.rsaconference.com/usa
ServiceNow Knowledge
May 7-9
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://knowledge.servicenow.com/events/k23/getupdates
SMB TechFest
May 9-10
Irvine, CA
More Info: https://www.smbtechfest.com/showdates.asp
European Collaboration Summit
May 14-16
Wiesbaden, Germany
More Info: https://collabsummit.eu/
Gartner Application Innovation & Business Solutions Summit
May 14-16
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/applications-us
ChannelPro LIVE
May 15-16, 2024
Baltimore, MD
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Dell Technologies World
May 20-23
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/events/delltechnologiesworld/2024/index.htm
IBM Think
May 20-23
Boston, MA
More Info: https://www.ibm.com/events/think
Microsoft Licensing Boot Camp
May 21-23
Atlanta, GA
More Info: https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/members/get-training
Nutanix .NEXT
May 21-23
Barcelona, Spain
More Info: https://next2024.nutanix.com/
MSP GeekCon
May 21-23
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.mspgeekcon.com
ASCII Edge 2024
May 22 & 23
Denver, CO
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
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June 2024
Cisco Live
June 2-6
Las Vegas, NV
More Info: https://www.ciscolive.com/global.html
Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit
June 3-5
National Harbor, MD
More Info: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/security-risk-management-us
ConnectWise IT Nation Secure
June 3-5
Orlando, FL
More Info: https://www.connectwise.com/theitnation/secure/cybersecurity-conference
VeeamON
June 3-5
Fort Lauderdale, FL
More Info: https://www.veeam.com/veeamon
Microsoft 365 Educon & PWRCON
June 3-7
Seattle, WA
More Info: https://pwrcon.com/
Infosecurity Europe
June 4-6
London, England
More Info: https://www.infosecurityeurope.com/
ChannelPro LIVE
Jun. 5-6, 2024
Columbus, OH
More info: https://events.channelpronetwork.com/
Databricks Data + AI Summit
June 10-13
San Francisco, CA
More Info: https://www.databricks.com/dataaisummit/
European Power Platform Conference
June 11-13
Brussels, Belgium
More Info: https://www.sharepointeurope.com/european-power-platform-conference/
North American Information Security Summit
June 16-18
Denver, CO
More Info: https://infosecurity-summit.com/
Commsverse
June 26-27
Weybridge, England
More Info: https://www.commsverse.com/
ASCII Edge 2024
June 26 & 27
Chicago, IL
More Info: https://events.ascii.com/
XChange Best of Breed
June 2024
East Essex, England
More Info: https://www.thechannelco.com/xchange
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Note: If you know of any in-person event for SMB Consultants, please send info to karlp@greatlittlebook.com. | |
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Small Biz Thoughts is a subsidiary of Great Little Book Publishing Co., Inc. | |
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AI Transparency Statement
We do not use artificial intelligence apps in the writing of any content for this newsletter. Some of our royalty-free paid graphics might use AI-generated images. But all of the writing is by Karl W. Palachuk, or others as noted.
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