Black Friday - Retail Hurting?

Every year when black Friday approaches the media outlets always run stories around how bad the economy is and how this day is the most critical day for the retail industry based on their projected profitability. The media then proceeds to talk about how the economy and unemployment is going to cause sales to be down and somehow this year will be surprisingly the worst.

I always find this day comical as for one, most will not save tons of money when you compare to the time and hassle it takes to save a buck, then two, it always turns out to be record sales numbers and absolute chaos.

You have to ask yourself how bad of an economy can it really be? The news stories of people fighting, spraying pepper spray on others, not to mention trampling are Jerry Springer at best. People go nuts over saving $20 on an item to give someone or keep themselves and then be sick of in two months. I have to be honest, I enjoy a good deal like anyone else, but if I can't pay my power bill or put gas in the car then a blue-ray player 50% off is not going to be a priority.

Bottom line America is an interesting country. Times are so tough that iPhones are on back order and all teenagers have smartphones with data plans. Maybe our priorities are out of whack but one things for sure, your local Walmart shows just how tough times really are.

Email In The Cloud The Norm?

At last weekends NCLGISA fall Symposium I was chatting with a group of fellow IT Leaders in local Government concerning my experience moving to Google Apps. It was an interesting discussion and I think the response I received tended to lean more toward where the majority of many IT professionals stand regarding the cloud and/or cloud services.

I made the comment that two to three years from now the conversation we will be having at these events will go more like this, "hey there goes Jane Doe from whatever county or city, they're still hosting their email; must be rough". I think that caught the group off guard I was speaking to and I got the impression they weren't entirely convinced.

I am curious to know what others think, because often those of us working in the IT field feel we are more likely not to avoid change or stick to "the old way of doing things". Maybe because we are constantly bombarded with trendy topics and the latest geek gadgets that somehow we will not miss the obvious or the changing tides approaching.

I can think of one major approaching wind of change we noticed a little later than we should have and that was what I refer to as the "white box era". Building PC's from scratch and opening PC/laptop chassis's to replace and repair hardware ourselves as opposed to outsourcing that type work via contract or warranty provided with our desktop replacement cycles is hopefully where most have landed. Don't get me wrong I guess this PC tech type work can have its place and time but if you haven't moved to a standard lease, service contract and/or replacement cycle using standard after factory warranties then maybe we need to have a further discussion.

Sometimes its good to be patient and let some go first and try the waters. But like it or not the Cloud is no longer a buzz word and is a reality. When will we embrace it?

I would love to hear your comments and questions if you happen to stumble across this blog.

dw

Rockingham County United Way Campaign - Overnight Jail Stay

Rough night in jail stay for United Way...you can read story & pics here

News & Record

NCLGISA Conference Presentation

My first presentation at the NCLGISA conference in Asheville NC Thursday morning went great. I presented on Rockingham Counties journey to the cloud (Google Apps). As I expected I recieved a warm reception from my peers and friends in local Government. I am so thankful to be part of an amazing group of talented and knowledgeable individuals. My former years of employment are primarily in the private sector so I am always shocked at just how ready and willing everyone is to help each other out and lift their fellow IT professional up no matter what the circumstance.

I look forward to many more years and experiences with all of the members of NCLGISA.

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Google Apps Presentation

google app's web presentation I gave in conjunction with Google yesterday
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/08/live-webinar-rockingham-county-empowers.html?m=1

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Learning

Learning is a funny thing and sometimes ironic when it involves a particular discipline or trade. One generally needs experience to qualify but often lacks or perceives the lack of opportunity. Once experience is obtained one constantly becomes aware of how inexperienced they were and sometimes fearfully are. Often today there can be no mastery but rather familiarity or a progressive comfort which sometimes passes for experience. It goes without saying then that standing out or achieving an expert level of discipline requires more than most are doing and/or willing to sacrifice.

If greater distance is continually realized the closer you become to an object, goal, or end result then what does that really demonstrate and how does one determine achievement?

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Google Apps Enterprise Announcement-Rockingham County

Official announcement from Google Rockingham County choosing to go to Google Apps.

http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-and-more-government-agencies-going.html?m=1

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