Small Firms Ideas Exchange

Blah Bla Bla… we hear this all the time from our clients, excuses from the permitting offices, etc. It gets old. I have a way, I think, I’ve actually been doing more with less: Internet networking and using online resources such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

I’ve joined FaceBook primarily to keep in contact with family and friends.  I joined LinkedIn as my colleagues invited me. I joined Twitter at the request of the AIA to use during the upcoming AIA convention in San Francisco.

So far, I’ve found more business opportunities using FaceBook (after all, we like our friends; let’s work together and have more fun!). LinkedIn has actually expanded my resources when trying to “find answers” to some issues I’m searching.

Twitter – hmmm, the jury’s still out on that one.  I’ll play but don’t know what good it will actually do. I’ll report back after the convention. Look for me on Twitter. Apparently you need to “follow” someone to receive their postings.  I’m MustangDory or www.Twitter.com/MustangDory

To avoid the “technology searching for a solution” pitfall, I’ve limited my time on any/all of these media to 15 minutes in the morning (yes, I’ve been tracking it on my time sheet).  I have logged into LinkedIn when I have a specific question/discussion to start with one of the groups (i.e., LEED 2009 questions).

So far it’s working.  How about you?

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

Let’s talk a little pragmatics of an office. How do you handle the necessary “evil” of computers?  I have a small network (server, 5 PCs, plotter, scanner, network printer, etc.) that has developed over the years along with the methodology  and I've slowly (painfully) started to periodically upgrade portions of the full computer system (10-base T gig switches, newer processors, external hard drives, back up methodology, etc.).  Last week I had the gig switch die. No, I did not have a back up to use (duh, who does that?) so I had to wing it down to Office Desperate. It took a few hours to remove and replace and rearrange the pieces, but it was back up and running 98 emails later. I’m wondering if there is a better way to manage the technology that lets our office run.  Any one have any helpful tips?  My tip from this lesson is I’m going to keep the cheapie one I got from Office Desperate on hand and get a replacement unit for the one that fried.  Hopefully I’ll get some compensation from the battery back/surge suppressor manufacturer (that unit was only 2 months old!).

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

I’d like to thank Mimi J. of Pittsburgh for asking Revit be a new blog topic. At the recent Boston convention, she test drove it at the Autodesk booth and was “totally excited about what the software can do.”