As the Sun comes up in the east we see the new day. We need to think about our business, our clients, and our goals. Focus can give us a clear mind to get our name out, sell our product/service. Each day we need to find the best way to reach out.
Keyword research is important in your writing. Using the right words can make all the difference in the search engines.
iBerkshires.com helps get the word out.
We are happy that iBerkshire.com has interviewed a few clients and talk to me about what we can do to help you create a great web site, 
that will be seen and get results. We have a full suite of offerings to help you do what you need to do.
Our services:
- Green Web Hosting
- We work with you to setup Google Apps
- 7gb email boxes (works just like gmail)
- calendar.yourdomain.com (Private Google Calendar)
- docs.yourdomain.com (Private Google Docs)
- Through Constant Contact
- email marketing
- social media marketing
- Through e-Onlinedata
- Accept Credit Cards on your Web Site
- Accept Credit Cards in your store, on your Iphone/ Ipad
For more information click on the chat window to the upper right let us answer your question and get you started on the right path.
GraymatterHost Named In Top Five List At DC Green Fest
Great Barrington, MA (November 17, 2008) . GraymatterHost was selected for EcoScene Magazine.s Top 5 most intriguing products at the DC Green Fest, which was held November 8th & 9th at the Washington DC Convention Center. GraymatterHost was one of more than 320 green businesses at this year.s Green Fest, the nation.s largest green consumer event.
GraymatterHost, based in Great Barrington, MA, provides environmentally friendly website hosting and Internet consulting to customers throughout the US and around the world. Their 100% solar powered data center is housed in green buildings in Southern California. This carbon neutral system distinguishes them among green hosting companies as GraymatterHost doesn.t need to use any renewable energy credits to be green. Their solar powered redundant network has had a 99.9% uptime average for over 10 years, which makes GraymatterHost the most reliable web hosting available.
GraymatterHost provides green hosting and Internet consulting services to companies of all sizes and locations. A few of Graymatter.s Green Web Hosting clients include: Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, The Red Lion Inn, Space Program TV, and Green Body & Home who was selected for EcoScene.s Top 5 Best Websites at the DC Fest.
.It.s great to be recognized by EcoScene,. says Bob O.Haver, owner of GraymatterHost. .We.re proud of our green web hosting. We offer the highest quality hosting and customer service through the greenest system possible..
Related Links:
EcoScene Magazine.s Top 5 Takeaways: http://www.ecosceneinc.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/11/12/Our-Top-5-Takeaways-from-the-DC-Green-Fest
DC Green Fest: http://www.greenfestivals.org/
Green Body & Home: http://www.greenbodyandhome.com/
EcoScene Magazine.s Top 5 Websites: http://www.ecosceneinc.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/11/14/Top-5-Websites-from-DC-Green-Fest
The Red Lion Inn:Â http://www.redlioninn.com
Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce: http://www.southernberkshirechamber.com/
Space Program Films: http://spaceprogram.tv/
Managing Telecommuters: A Boss’s Perspective
Jet Blue’s got the right idea. All of their reservation agents work from home. They have created an entire webwork of telecommuters by using a computer network that feeds and monitors incoming calls to their at-home staff .
When I called Jet Blue to book a recent flight the reservation agent was very professional and pleasant. If I hadn’t read about their telecommuting practices, I never would have known the difference. At the end of the conversation I asked the agent, tongue in cheek, if she wears her bunny slippers to work (I couldn’t help myself). She laughed, but didn’t answer. I bet she does.
From a customer’s perspective, I appreciate the savings I get from Jet Blue’s cost cutting practices like the lack overhead for the reservations department. From a boss’s perspective, I was inspired by their system of managing telecommuting employees. According to an article on cbsnews.com, Jet Blue had a 25% increase in productivity the minute they switched to this work-from-home system that accurately keeps track of each telecommuter’s work hours and performance feedback.
But how do the rest of us quantify our telecommuters’ work? This is one of the biggest questions we bosses have about employees working from home. How do I know how much they are working? Continue reading “Managing Telecommuters: A Boss’s Perspective”
Greener Office: Cleaner Air
Graymatter’s Guide To Greener Business Practices
Part Two
The Air You Breathe
NASA scientists prove that house plants can remove air pollution from indoor environments.
When I first heard about NASA sending plants into space, I imagined ivy growing long tendrils in all directions like weightless spiders. Since then, research in the pollution fighting properties of plants has been carried out by several scientists including Dr. Bill Wolverton, formerly a senior research scientist at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
While more research is needed, studies show that houseplants help eliminate certain toxins, counteract out-gassing and contribute to balanced internal humidity. They even may provide a natural way of helping combat “Sick Building Syndrome”. Continue reading “Greener Office: Cleaner Air”
Green Web Hosting?
"Green what?" I knew my questions were usually annoying.
"Web hosting."
"What does that do?"
"It’s hosting," he explains, "It’s where your website lives."
"Huh. Where it lives." That took a bit more explaining to work for me.
How To Green Your Office
Graymatter’s Guide To Greener Business Practices
Part One
Find Sustainable Strategies
When we set out to go green at work, I was amazed to learn how toxic our office was (and still is!).  Nearly everything was suspect. Obvious culprits like computers and light bulbs didn’t surprise me but I hadn’t considered the adhesive on post-its, the ink in the toner cartridges or the furniture itself. It was almost too much information, which made the process seem daunting. So, after a deep breath, we decided to take things one step at a time. As a matter of fact, I came to realize that the act of going green itself can be waistful. You don’t necessarily want to rush right out and get rid of old computers and furniture (unless you have a hyper sensitive immune system). That just adds to a landfill. As with anything, the middle path, the path of moderation is often the wisest. We came up with some broad stroke ‘strategies’, and I use that term loosely, that were sustainable to the environment and to our budget. So, for us going green is an on-going process. We’re more green today than we were yesterday but not as green as we’ll be tomorrow (I hope!).
Here are some of the first sustainable ‘strategies’ we came up with. Maybe they’ll work for you or maybe you’ll come up with your own. Continue reading “How To Green Your Office”
Internet in the Election Year
The use of the Internet has changed the landscape of the American election process. Candidates are using free resources like http://ustream.tv and http://youtube.com to get their message out with great success. Web sites are used collect campaign money and put out calls to action. Social networking sites have helped reach voters young and old.
These green methods are replacing the old wasteful election mailers. We suggest these cadidates make a committment to greener business practices by using green web hosting such as Graymatter Green Web Hosting.
No Polar Ice This Summer? Holy Sh**!
I’m sure I’m not the only one to catch their breath at the news. Fifty percent chance the North Pole will be ice free for a short time this summer. No ice. None.
Scientists say it’s a 50-50 bet that the thin Arctic sea ice will completely melt away at the geographic North Pole.
The CNN video is a must-see if you haven’t already. When I first saw it I felt paralized, then panicked, then paralized again. I had the impulse to act, do something, anything, but nothing felt big enough. My overflowing recycling bin seemed puny. My oath to lower our electric bill seemed puny. Walking to the store almost every time, seemed puny. But if you took the time to add it all up, they didn’t seem quite as puny anymore. Continue reading “No Polar Ice This Summer? Holy Sh**!”
Telecommuting as an Employee Benefit
When we offer employees the chance to work from home, they usually love it. It’s become a perk for working with us – and it’s easy to set up. There are a variety of ways to work with telecommuting employees, but I like videoconferencing the best. It’s great to be able to see someone when you’re working with them. There are two videoconferencing tools we use, iChat and Skype. Some people feel iChat has better quality video but I prefer Skype. The audio quality is so far superior it out weighs any minimal difference in video. Bob O’Haver, my partner/husband here in the Berkshires has spent hours on end working virtually side by side with an associate in the LA area via Skype. I admit it can take time to get used to being on camera, but after a while you forget it’s even on. Be careful though… forgetting you’re on camera can be embarrassing! If you prefer, you can always make the video one way – so you can see them but they can’t see you. I’ve also found the mute button to be a saving grace. 🙂 Continue reading “Telecommuting as an Employee Benefit”
The Five Biggest Mistakes in Telecommuting
FlexPath recently put out a listed of the five biggest mistakes individuals make in telecommuting. Having been both a telecommuter and employer of telecommuters, I thought it was useful. Here is FlexPath’s Five Biggest Mistakes in Telecommuting (in bold) with my perspective thrown in afterwards:
1. Neglect to set boundaries for themselves regarding work and personal responsibilities. I still find this quite challenging, even now after years of telecommuting. Here’s what works for me (sometimes):
- Have at least one work-dedicated phone line installed;
- Set up a room or area that is exclusively for work;
- Set a time when you ‘go home’ after which you don’t answer the phone or continue working (yeah, good luck with that!).
Continue reading “The Five Biggest Mistakes in Telecommuting”
Solar Power: From Simple to Sophisticated
My neighbor just put up one of those old fashioned clothes lines. It seemed a bit of an eye sore when I first saw it there, the metal pole holding up a spiderweb-like array in the middle of her lawn. "The dryer uses a lot of electricity," she explained. Her simple use of the sun made a lot of sense. I briefly considered getting one myself – but I knew I’d have trouble actually using it. Her sheets waving like flags were a salute to the ‘good old days’ when technology was simpler… and perhaps in some ways smarter. I just read an interesting article on Dailytech.com about the potential use of the sun’s energy (besides solar powered web hosting, of course!). A group of MIT students have created a solar array that can melt steel! Check it out:
MIT Students Develop Revolutionary Solar Dish That is Hot Enough to Melt Steel
The solar industry is booming. With waves of investment and grants, the solar power industry is for the first time becoming a serious business. New power plants will soon be pumping power out to consumers, while other firms market to sell panels directly to the consumer, providing them with a more direct means of experiencing solar energy.
There are many forms of solar power technology. Today the most dominant is photo-voltaics, which comprise the traditional solar panels that come to mind when one thinks of solar power. However, there are other promising ways of capturing the sun’s energy that are merely less developed. Continue reading “Solar Power: From Simple to Sophisticated”
Tools for Telecommuting
Telecommunting is on the rise for various reasons. Gas prices, environmental issues, and the affordability of virtual office tools to name a few. I’m constantly on Skype or iChat (two video conferencing tools). Last week I spent four days in California… virtually. I literally had Skype on 8 – 10 hours each day, working closely with my employees in Los Angeles. It took them an hour or so to get comfortable having my ‘Max Headroom’ like presence on the computer screen in the room, but after the initial transition period, it worked surprisingly well. We could talk in real time, with no annoying delays, and work virtually side by side. Continue reading “Tools for Telecommuting”