FMYI | For My Innovation

Or Sign up

Forgot your username or your password?

Previous Conversations

• Our eighth anniversary

  February 03, 2012

  This week, we celebrated FMYI’s eighth anniversary. I started the company on January 28th because in Chinese, eight is good luck. I can still remember that first morning working out of Urban Grind Coffeehouse here in Portland’s Pearl District, which became FMYI HQ for much of the first year. Urban Grind owner Kevin Crawford created a thriving coffee shop for artists, knowledge workers, and the tech community in Portland. The irony is I don’t really drink coffee. I soon became a “social coffee drinker.“

  The goal from day one was to start as a bootstrapped company and focus on revenue, not raising external capital. I’m proud that thanks to the efforts of our team, we became profitably early on, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a little bit of money my grandmother left me when she passed away. Recently, I spoke at the Net Impact conference on a panel called, “Not your Grandma’s CEO.“ I first had to confess to the crowd that I am my grandma’s CEO because her values are integrated into FMYI’s culture (resourcefulness, continuous improvement, helping others, being creative).

  One of the early decisions was a name for the company. The original inspiration for “FMYI” came from all the emails flying around with “FYI” (an abbreviation of “for your information”). Wouldn’t it be easier to just post it in a centralized place instead of emailing it around? Unfortunately, “FYI” was already trademarked. So we came up with FMYI (pronounced “F-MY-I”) which is “for my innovation” because it’s about what all of us can do to spur innovation, not just share information. So now you know the story. And knowing is half the battle!

  Eight years has gone by quickly. Back in 2004, we were one of the first pioneers with the idea of combining a social networking site with tools for collaboration. The vision was to make the software easy to use, offer tools to get things done, host the platform in the cloud so clients didn’t need additional IT help, provide free customer support, and embed the triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit) into our business model. To this day, we are still focused on these things.

  They say it takes a village to raise a child. It definitely takes a community to grow a startup. The team here at FMYI would like to thank our clients, contractors, vendors, community partners, friends, family, and everyone who has helped us along the way. We’re looking forward to celebrating with you as we embark on our eighth year together!

  Onward and upward,
  -Justin

  • Tweet

  Continue Reading…

  

• Collaboration software: three key moments in 2011 and trends for 2012

  January 10, 2012

  It’s been a banner year here at FMYI [for my innovation] from new feature rollouts, being 14th on the Fastest Growing list, growing list of client testimonials, the launch of our Change Agents Unite campaign with major brands and NGOs, the start of our pilot with the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, and our Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility.

  But let’s take a step back and survey where we’re at as an industry. I know it’s getting late already for 2011 retrospectives and 2012 predictions, but I still haven’t seen any succinct recaps of last year and a look ahead to this year for the collaboration software industry. So here’s your look at key moments and trends in collaboration from behind the scenes:

  Three key moments for collaboration software in 2011

  1. Jive Software’s IPO is evidence that collaboration software is big business and something Wall Street believes in. Their enterprise sales success is well documented (although losses continue) showing robust interest in purchasing these kind of platforms. The market for collaboration software continues to grow, and Jive going public gives them the cash to try and compete with large players like Microsoft Sharepoint as enterprise IT rolls out more platforms.

  2. Google Wave’s demise came quietly compared with the hype surrounding its unveiling. Google’s official announcement about shutting down their Wave collaboration platform ended a short but wild ride, starting off with much fanfare, followed by eager “Googlers” trying out the software, and culminating with turning off the lights. The cautionary tale? Hype and pedigree can only take you so far - user adoption and revenue is what reigns with collaboration software. Also, if it takes you over an hour to demo a piece of software, it’s probably too complex for mass adoption. There’s a niche open source future for Wave, but for now, Google is content to mimic Microsoft by focusing mainly on their Google Docs service (like Microsoft Office) and traditional Gmail email (like Outlook Exchange). It remains to be seen whether their social (non-work) network Google+ will evolve into social collaboration and workflow productivity tools and get closer to a lofty new vision.

  3. The rise of Dropbox and Evernote is evidence that people are getting very comfortable with storing their information in the cloud, whether they’re files or notes. Why are they so successful? The barrier to entry is low because the user experience is seamless and intuitive, and their freemium model is affordable. As we’ve seen lately with the iPhone, iPad, and social media, enterprise has been following consumer technology because people demand easy and fun ways to work. Although Dropbox and Evernote are primarily ways to store your individual content, they do have basic collaboration features. And their focus on making things easy directly relates to one of the trends I’m predicting for 2012…

  Three trends for collaboration software in 2012

  1. Simplicity for user adoption is going to be the name of the game as collaboration software becomes more a part of our daily work lives. Groups are interested in collaboration software, but there are two main barriers to success: too many steps (from a time and budget perspective) to pilot a platform and struggles with user adoption after the launch of a platform (especially with large enterprise platforms that need a lot of customization, handholding, and gatekeeping from IT). The name of the game isn’t putting out 50 page RFPs and cramming every feature under the sun into a platform. People at work are extremely busy and won’t use anything that requires months (or years) of customization before deployment, and they certainly won’t use anything that can’t be figured out or configured quickly by themselves without IT or training. And being hosted externally in the cloud doesn’t always mean it’s easy to rollout and generate user adoption. Salesforce is a case in point - paid training is needed for greater adoption. Yammer and 37Signals’ Basecamp product are examples of folks doing it right in terms of simplicity. And how will we know if collaboration software has hit higher levels of user adoption through simplicity? As Fred Wilson put it, you know you’re successfully achieved critical mass when you’re “Mocked and Misunderstood.“

  2. Tools for action, not just sharing are going to be demanded this year. People are trying out simple status update software platforms like Yammer and specific tools like Basecamp’s project management service, but to get full value and actually change the game for reaching their goals, platforms are going to need to do more than share info. Solutions need to offer recommendations, such as ways to operationalize ideas, connections with project team members who can help realize a goal, and analyze data posted to the site for productivity adjustments, but in a simple way. There are elements of this in LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman’s Web 3.0 talk at SXSW last year. If ecommerce sites have been doing recommendations for years, it’s high time for collaboration software solutions to do this more.

  3. Creating meaning has always been a tricky subject for the industry. Most lack a commitment to the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) baked into their DNA. It’s mostly an afterthought, lagging behind the corporate responsibility commitment of other industries. With all of the significant global issues these days around economic growth, the strength of local communities, and the environment, the time is ripe for more collaboration software Benefit Corporations. We don’t want to be lonely. To all our competitors: join us as B Corps and help us provide solutions and business models that walk the talk when helping businesses, government, education, and nonprofits work together to create a more prosperous future for all. There’s enormous opportunities out there to sustainably solve major issues through simplicity, tools for action, and triple bottom line goals. Let’s do this together.

  Onward and upward,
  -Justin

  • Tweet

  Continue Reading…

  

• A Review of GoToMeeting’s Video Conferencing

  December 06, 2011

  I’ve been working remotely for FMYI over the past six years. With team members in Portland, Seattle, Austin, New Orleans and Orlando, it can be challenging to stay on the same page. I’ve used GoToMeeting for screen-sharing with clients and when they released their new video conferencing solution for a team meeting, I was eager to give it a shot.

  We’ve experimented with so many providers: Skype, Google+, iChat, iMeet, and others. Each lacked in some significant area for team meetings – dropped connections, out of sync audio/video, echo without headset, and not enough spots to include everyone. Cost was also a factor that ruled out some providers. So when GotoMeeting video suddenly gave us our best video conference experience ever, I was ready to shout it from the mountaintops!

  GoToMeeting allows six people on video at once, plus the ability to simultaneously share a computer screen (including sharing a presentation). The quality was impeccable – the images were large and there were no technical issues. We’ve learned to set five minutes aside at the start of team meeting to address any challenges of getting connected to so many locations, but usually we’re up and running quickly, giving more time to bond with fun personal interactions. (Continued below the jump)

  

  So what’s missing from GoToMeeting?  Most remote workers in our company work from home (I used to until I moved into a small office). We can’t have face to face time too often, but we do need to interact in small conversations frequently – picking up the phone or setting up a meeting each time can be overkill so we use instant messaging for the quick one-on-one conversations.

  The other big aspect missing from GoToMeeting is to fill in all the gaps between meetings. It’s important for a team split across multiple time zones to stay organized, efficient, and secure – for that we use our own collaboration tool, FMYI. It’s our shared drive, intranet, contact tracking/CRM system, project manager, resource library, shared calendar, task manager, and social tool all-in-one. Security for a decentralized workforce also requires a remote hub for documents and notes, leaving minimal data on computers. For under $50 a month (try it free for a month, or use our free version forever), FMYI can help a team operate like a well-oiled machine, regardless of location. We’ve honed our service thanks to feedback from our clients at small, medium and large Fortune 500 companies.

  So there you have it – GoToMeeting for immediate face-to-face interactions and screen sharing, instant messenger for small talk, and FMYI to manage the asynchronous aspects of communication and organization. Now you’re productive wherever your team is!

  Take care,
  -Seth

  • Tweet

  Continue Reading…

  

• Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility

  December 02, 2011

  Note: This was an internal post I shared with our team on our own FMYI social collaboration site when we won the Sloan Award. I’m republishing it publicly so all of you can read about workplace flexibility and FMYI:

  It was a dream of mine when I started FMYI to create a company with a commitment to work life balance, and a culture that embraces our desire to spend time with family and friends. I know many of you share this same spirit as well. Even though it can be difficult to do this given our industry, going through the startup phase, and the challenges of the global economy, we are committed to improving in this area.

  I’m proud to say that last week we received the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility and a letter of recognition from State Senator Diane Rosuenbaum, the Oregon Senate Majority Leader. The Sloan Award is unique because it emphasizes employee input, is work-site based, and workplaces compete against a national standard.

  Family Forward Oregon hosted the event where 20 workplaces received awards, including Intel, Portland State University, gDiapers, Mercy Corps, KPMG, and the Oregon Environmental Council. Several members of our Portland-based team attended this celebration. We were inspired by the efforts of our fellow winners, such as Rose City Mortgage. Founder Renee Spears has created an amazing culture that lets its staff set their own hours, hides buddhas around the office to create a fun atmosphere, donates a major portion of their fees to charity, and creates rapid economic growth.

  Here are some of the workplace flexibility policies that we have at FMYI:

  • Encourage and support employees with personal or family needs by finding solutions that work for both employees and the organization.
  • Allow some employees to work all paid hours from home to accommodate temporary and permanent relocations (such as when a spouse/partner assigned or needs to move somewhere or to care for family).
  • Provide more than the required amount for job protected leave for FMLA even though we are not required to do so by law because of our company size (16 weeks).
  • Accommodating to the needs of families by allowing employees to care for children and spouses when they are sick through flexibility in schedules.

  It hasn’t been easy though — distance and real time collaboration tools can’t completely replace face to face in terms of building bonds and reducing misunderstandings. To address this, that’s why we have our annual summits that bring together FMYI team members from around the country.

  And a big part of making this all possible is the FMYI collaboration platform. It would be harder to implement workplace flexibility without using FMYI sites. Much of the attention when it comes to telecommuting focuses on real time tools like video chat and screensharing. We use those, but most of the day, people aren’t meeting in real time. Asynchronous or communication that doesn’t happen at the same time make up most of our day and needs. For example, emails and social networking site posts are an important way to stay up to date. It captures what happens in between meetings, whether it’s catching up with a colleague or a high school friend you haven’t seen in awhile.

  We know that FMYI is the perfect solution for powering a flexible workplace because whether you’re in the office, out visiting clients, traveling, clearing your mind, getting creative, or permanently working remotely, you can stay on the same page through FMYI’s built in social network, and get access to projects, contacts, resources, and a calendar all in the same place. The free email and phone support we offer and our social and environmental commitment are icing on the cake.

  Congratulations on receiving this award, and I’m looking forward to doing even better with empowering work life balance!

  Onward and upward,
  -Justin

  • Tweet

  Continue Reading…

  
• « Previous Entries