New Website

We've launched a new version of our public website. The purpose has been to better clarify what we do as a company. Our problem has been that even though we serve a rather specialized niche, we provide a whole lot of services and solutions.

• We measure space and create CAD files.
  
• We calculate area.
  
• We provide marketing drawings.
  
• We run an online application to organize and update drawing information.
  
• We create stacking plans.
  
• We integrate into marketing websites.
  
• We scan and organize paper drawings and documents.
  
• We manage leasing information.
  
• We provide executive dashboard reports on portfolio performance.

To further complicate things, our services provide different benefits to different stakeholders.

• For asset managers we help boost the portfolio performance by finding more area and by reducing risk due to unreliable information.
  
• For leasing managers we speed up and facilitate the process of getting new tenants into buildings.
  
• For property managers we make life easier by organizing and providing access to building information.
  
• For other survey companies we provide the opportunity to be part of a network that will get them more work and widen their product offering.

On the old site I listed the products and services on a folding left-hand menu and provided links to various market segments across the middle that would allow site visitors to see benefits applicable to them. Unfortunately the result was a bit confusing to the casual visitor.

For the site redesign we worked with our strategic advisor, Josef Zankowicz, to zero in on a few key descriptions and benefits. We also worked with a professional web designer, Steven Cantor, to simplify the look and message of the site.

Now the site gives you a quick intro of what we do: create drawings, manage information, and turn this information into marketing collateral. We have a quote from John Zsolt about just one key benefit: we can increase rentable area. With this simpler positioning, visitors can drill down and find more information.

You can compare the new site to the old one.

• The new site is at http://www.spacedatabase.com
  
• For a while I will be keeping a copy of the old site at http://www.spacedatabase.com/OldWebsiteNov2008

What do you think? Have we clarified our message? Is this clear, memorable and compelling?

Twitter

Is this a solution looking for a problem to fix?

The fascinating thing about Twitter is that it is a community experiment. People and organizations are using it in different ways. Ways that may not have been anticipated by its creators.

Jack Dorsey set up Twitter for the purpose of keeping up with what his friends were doing. At the top of the page, Twitter asks you "What are you doing?"

The idea is that it is easy, short and fast. You are limited to 140 characters and you can send and receive updates from whomever you want on a phone using SMS, by email (using twittermail.com) or through the Twitter website.

So how is Twitter used?

• Many people use it for the original purpose to stay in touch with a group.
  
• Politicians use it to communicate to a large group of people. Barak Obama has 134,375 followers, but the feed suddenly ends on Nov 5th!. Bob Rae just set one up. I'm following it to see what he does with it.
  
• Many bloggers use it to share what they find online, voice opinions, take polls and ask questions. Check out Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble, Jason Kottke and Paul Dunay.
  
• Jesse Hirsh has a thoughtful article on his experience and strategy using Twitter. You can find it on his blog: http://www.jessehirsh.com/how-ive-been-using-twitter
  
• There are several third party applications and sites that let you use Twitter in other ways. For example, I am using Twitterfeed to post my RSS feeds to Twitter. Every time I bookmark something in Delicious or Google Reader or post on my blog it is feed into my Twitter account.

Twitter is an experiment and we need to keep experimenting! At Space Database, our staff travels a great deal for site work. We think it will be a great tool to help teams stay in touch. At our sailing club, I think it would be a great idea for the race committee to be on Twitter for delays changes and results. We'll try that out next year.