tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88907906832994431502024-03-28T03:23:15.285-04:00JotCast Chat HostingModerated chats where you control the actionAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04628474286825017904noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-30603563950206099212023-11-08T11:24:00.001-05:002023-11-08T11:36:13.213-05:00For Your Eyes Only: JotCast Launches Enhanced Privacy Features<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>New features like password protection, message encryption, and controllable search engine indexing make privacy options at your fingertips when chatting</i></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi44dS2-ZKiuy1rZgpCNVZbMe_MkxVuGrI_I6gEae7XbK-uI5jg_fJD4CD3-SWT2IDOy22wKDE6qtmWuq4i-c6V1IR0tXQxKFoN3JnOuZfemWe30qOJ6x7SE0Ca8cDwnp5XUMfhMvOy0isU_B3vk4F4FKnmu3YxOSwn1BjvnKo7Dmb5Qo2NJZb7BmTXTb6X" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="309" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi44dS2-ZKiuy1rZgpCNVZbMe_MkxVuGrI_I6gEae7XbK-uI5jg_fJD4CD3-SWT2IDOy22wKDE6qtmWuq4i-c6V1IR0tXQxKFoN3JnOuZfemWe30qOJ6x7SE0Ca8cDwnp5XUMfhMvOy0isU_B3vk4F4FKnmu3YxOSwn1BjvnKo7Dmb5Qo2NJZb7BmTXTb6X=w221-h392" width="221" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-7bfc286a-7fff-7ec1-b403-f86dac9b92d2"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Forget diamonds; the internet is what’s forever. Public chats can be found by anyone looking for them, and sometimes – either due to a sensitive subject (like questions for a medical study) or concerns about anonymity, for example – that sort of openness might not be ideal. Sometimes, it’s better to have a little privacy.</span></div></span><p></p><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-569407ce-7fff-b7b2-4786-72334d71198d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Thankfully, JotCast now offers enhanced privacy features to keep your chats confidential. We currently have three layers of protection: password protection, message encryption, and optional search engine indexing. You can choose to enable these features when creating a chat. When creating a private chat, you’ll need to choose a secure password. This allows only the users you share the password with to attend your event. Even better, you can retrieve or change this password at any time from the edit chat page.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-2b856611-7fff-d0f9-9e61-0d6841ab236d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Even with password protection, extra protection is needed to make sure that messages aren’t intercepted. That’s why, in private chats, all messages — including private messages and discussion board messages — and all user aliases are encrypted using industry accepted best practices. Furthermore, private chats aren’t indexable by search engines. It’s important to know that while all public chats will have their results indexed by search engines after the chat is completed, you can disable this when creating your chat, or by editing a chat you’ve previously created.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-aa06caf7-7fff-eba9-4b05-76cefd592f49"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">This feature had been in the JotCast queue for a while, but advanced in priority due to feedback from our clients. JotCast takes client suggestions and requests very seriously. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-91daaf22-7fff-fce4-d203-10eec9450d05"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Still, just because we’re listening to the needs of our clients doesn’t mean those clients want the public at large to listen in to their chats. Now, JotCast enables you to have full control over not just the conversation, but also your participants. Happy chatting! </span></p></span></span></div></span></span></div></span></span></div></span></div>Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-65108385024545435432022-02-07T08:38:00.001-05:002022-02-14T15:31:57.043-05:007 Remote Collaboration Tools and Tips to Improve Virtual Meetings<span id="docs-internal-guid-6c2418cd-7fff-0210-26cb-9b4aba5fb4fe"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4q2uOxDh-IFYA__DYIcH4JVI62bcs1dwsqJS8kWRKztVWd2Vejl3-Ns02gJZNTl7p9mdoP_oL7kXVbE06AgfTiyDnmX5xwgY__hOGwQKRrdmTDOpmuZyVuaFQNniEK9eNDbcBbS0L6mEWBeZX0uUEhewhAfy_aCsTQnaR3Aye-tRjmB6i6WlE0nHdzQ=s2400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1601" data-original-width="2400" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4q2uOxDh-IFYA__DYIcH4JVI62bcs1dwsqJS8kWRKztVWd2Vejl3-Ns02gJZNTl7p9mdoP_oL7kXVbE06AgfTiyDnmX5xwgY__hOGwQKRrdmTDOpmuZyVuaFQNniEK9eNDbcBbS0L6mEWBeZX0uUEhewhAfy_aCsTQnaR3Aye-tRjmB6i6WlE0nHdzQ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For better or worse, remote work is here to stay, which means virtual meetings are also here to stay. However, meeting remotely comes with a host of communication challenges and potential pitfalls. Organizing and executing successful virtual meetings requires planning, intentionality, and an arsenal of tools. The right remote collaboration tools and processes allow teams to interact virtually as effectively as they would in person. Avoid wasted time and digital miscommunications by using some of the best communication tools and tips for remote teams:</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Clearly Establish Scope of Work</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before you start setting up meetings, it’s important that everyone understands why they’re necessary. This is basically two bits of advice rolled into one:</span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Create an agenda for the meeting and don’t deviate from it. Use a remote collaboration tool like an agenda setter if you need to. This will help everyone come prepared for the meeting and contribute more effectively.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meet only to execute work that participants can’t do individually. The common refrain, “this meeting could have been an email,” holds true in the virtual age as well. Clearly differentiating between collaborative work and individual work means you’re respecting everyone’s time and improving remote productivity.</span></p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Use the Right Conferencing Tool</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your conferencing platform is probably the most important remote collaboration tool in your arsenal. There are certainly lots of them to choose from — Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and more. Use the one that works best for your organization. Think about conferencing features you might need, like breakout rooms, screen sharing, or unlimited recording</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: line-through; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and more</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You’ll find that using the right platform can unlock significant productivity for all the participants and help you get more done during your meeting.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Use Moderated Chats</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moderated group chats are one of the best communication tools for remote team collaboration. How often have you seen conversations on ‘work’ chat groups devolve into meandering personal exchanges and spam-fests? A moderated <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/">chat platform</a> like </span><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JotCast</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a great way to have on-brand, productive discussions that are still lively and engaging. There are a number of reasons why you should think about using one for your company:</span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can moderate the chat content in real time. With JotCast, you can assign multiple people within a chat as moderators to police the content. You can even message someone privately for a one-on-one discussion that you don’t want to be made public. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JotCast helps improve engagement during </span><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/landing/webcasts.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">webcasts</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and long presentations. Features like live Q&A, polls, and quizzes can help make your meeting a two-way interaction and allow you to quickly source audience feedback. You can directly embed a JotCast chat on your website and even customize the theme to mimic the look of your website. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A remote collaboration tool like JotCast creates value even post-meeting. You can export transcripts of your chat, making it easier to maintain meeting minutes. The tool also gives you access to meeting analytics so that you can review audience metrics quickly and easily. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://blog.jotcast.com/2020/11/jotcast-is-now-more-interactive-than.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Interactive features</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> like the ability to add images, YouTube videos, and real-time tweets help keep the discussions fun and interesting. JotCast supports chat in 11 different languages, which is perfect for companies with remote employees distributed worldwide.</span></p></li></ul><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Implement Project Management</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A good project and workflow management tool is critical for remote collaboration. If your company doesn’t use one already, you should consider investing in one. You’d be surprised at how much the tool can help avoid redundant check-in calls and emails, improve efficiency, and boost productivity. They’re broadly similar, although each will offer you a little something different. Canvas a few of them to see which one best suits your style of work.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Schedule Well</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When multiple people are involved in a meeting across time zones, scheduling a date and time slot that works for everyone is half the battle. You can try doing it by email, like in the good old days. You’ll likely end up with a million back-and-forths and a line of nested emails to drive you up the wall. Try using a scheduling tool instead. Remote collaboration becomes a cinch when all you have to do is send out an invite and the tool automates follow-ups and scheduling for you. Create a link for your JotCast chat and attach it to the event so that your chat is easily accessible for attendees.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t ignore scheduling etiquette either. Plan the meeting far enough in advance so that your employees have time to prepare and rearrange priorities. This is especially important if you have lots of remote colleagues and contractors working flexible hours. </span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. Use Visual Collaboration</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A visual collaboration platform is one of the best communication tools for remote teams to collaborate, brainstorm, and ideate together. It serves as a centralized reference point for everyone in the meeting. It’s particularly useful when you want to continuously record your work progress during a meeting and come back to it when you need to.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. Follow Up Effectively</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once the meeting ends, make a note of discussion points and action items that you can share with everyone involved. Try to keep your meeting minutes concise. This will encourage people to actually refer to them to keep track of their to-dos. If you’ve had particularly long meetings or you simply need help maintaining an accurate record of everything that happened, consider investing in an auto-transcription tool. This helps remote collaboration in that nothing gets missed, and if people want a verbatim account of everything that was said, they can automatically receive an emailed transcript of the meeting once it ends. With JotCast’s built-in functionality, you can easily export and share transcripts of your conversations with coworkers or employees.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make sure everyone’s on the same page when it comes to your collaboration technology. You could be using the best communication tools for remote teams and still struggle to see traction simply because some of your team members might not be comfortable with it. Invest in technology that improves engagement rather than dissuades it.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Try out JotCast’s moderated remote collaboration tool for free or </span><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/pricing.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">upgrade your plan</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for a more advanced user experience. Learn more about the </span><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">features</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that JotCast offers to drive productive conversations among your team members. Feel free to </span><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/contact.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">contact us</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with any questions. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-44990016330407931292021-11-01T08:00:00.001-04:002021-11-01T08:00:00.205-04:00Smile -- JotCast Now Has Emojis<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>A picture is worth a thousand words, and emojis are fun!</i></b></span></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-bf937200-7fff-74e3-98f9-daaa71c5b941" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here at JotCast, we believe communication should be as clear and easy as possible. Sometimes, though, things can’t be expressed only in words. That’s why we're happy to announce that in addition to photos, videos, and music, you can now add emojis into your chats. In other (lack of) words:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">😀😊😁👍</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Besides easy and clear, communication is best when it’s dynamic. Emojis allow for all of this and can add personality to a wall of text. When there’s a complete absence of vocal intonation, emojis can convey the intent that might otherwise be misconstrued or missed completely. Sarcasm, emphasis, and humor can now be displayed with flair.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzybnbQVoRteI6EDhh3HRfmgmYtr-f4XyLiRIvqTDV7r1SiQaih7_9QF5iyh95wPSV8k6yaGX8nYlpurRSbTdWN084hBfUfxJkwx14DTFENjuwkUSV0BMEdGK_spv06h3EKn6x1Jpyqaar/s638/emoji-picker.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="616" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzybnbQVoRteI6EDhh3HRfmgmYtr-f4XyLiRIvqTDV7r1SiQaih7_9QF5iyh95wPSV8k6yaGX8nYlpurRSbTdWN084hBfUfxJkwx14DTFENjuwkUSV0BMEdGK_spv06h3EKn6x1Jpyqaar/w242-h251/emoji-picker.png" width="242" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-b95ae7b8-7fff-b466-bc97-aefefc1a4b2d" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can insert the icons you need -- on both mobile and desktop -- by clicking on the smiley face in the text area. Now, you can give chats the same friendly, comfortable tone of a text message between friends, but without sacrificing control. Your events become more personable, which makes them more memorable.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moderators, it’s also worth knowing that you can feature emojis of your choice so that they will be shown above the text box of chat participants. This can encourage your audience to express themselves in a way that you feel best fits your event. Of course, these pictorial emotions and objects are not beloved by everyone, so featuring them is optional.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether you choose to incorporate the featured emoticons or not, we’re happy to offer the choice. Have fun with this new feature, and let us know how it’s impacted your chats in the comments. </span></p></div><p><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-60397197078523255432020-11-11T09:00:00.002-05:002020-11-11T09:00:24.368-05:00JotCast is now more interactive than ever before<p><i><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two new features will allow both moderators and participants to interact with each other in exciting ways.</span></b></i></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1300abc5-7fff-6ea7-4114-d35db0b48166" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hi JotCasters,</span></p><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1300abc5-7fff-6ea7-4114-d35db0b48166" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s a quick question for you to answer:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JotCast now has….</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The ability for moderators to create quizzes</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The ability for users to send each other private messages</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> All of the above</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">D:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> None of the above</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re proud to say that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C is the correct answer</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Private messaging between users and a quiz function are both now live on our website.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moderators can create quizzes under the Polls tab in the moderator panel. The moderator can decide if a question has a single correct answer or multiple right responses, and they can also choose to have the quiz go live in the chat all at once or to publish each quiz question individually to keep users engaged throughout the event. As users begin to answer, moderators will be able to see statistics for each quiz question showing the total number of people who responded, the total number of people who responded correctly, and the percentage of correct responses. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When new quiz questions are published, your users will be notified via the quiz blinking to alert them. Moreover, users who stop mid-quiz will be able to automatically continue where they left off. As always, quizzes are optional and users do not have to participate. To that end, the quiz window can be minimized so that it occupies a very small portion of the screen.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other news, users also have the option to private message each other now. If someone says something in the chat that you find interesting and want to respond to, there’s no need to wait and hope the moderator publishes your reply. Instead, you can message that reader directly. Moderators can enable this setting when creating a new chat. As always, moderators can disable this new ability if they’re not interested in it.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s all for now. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!</span></p>Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-90877128313251909352020-04-29T10:26:00.001-04:002022-02-14T15:28:11.600-05:003 New Features Available<h3>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-9fbc01ab-7fff-b16a-52c4-cca9c127ba1e" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Pinned messages, chat subscriptions, and unmoderated chats are now available with JotCast</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-c6b0db4e-7fff-0c27-4dca-dc7f6d66fdba" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hi JotCasters,</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in these challenging times. Here at JotCast, we’ve been working (from home, of course) to create features that will make your chats even better. We’re now very excited to share that we’ve unveiled three new features: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pinned messages</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, <i>Chat </i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Subscriptions</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and an </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unmoderated Chat</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> option. Details below!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">1) Pinned messages</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The point of JotCast is to allow you control of the conversation (sound familiar?). We want to make it easy for you to convey the information that your readers need to know. Since it’s possible -- and, in fact, likely -- that readers will enter and leave chats throughout the discussion, if there’s important information that you want every reader to see, a pinned message is a great tool to ensure this. Moreover, the pinned message can be closed by readers after they’ve read it so that it doesn’t become distracting. If a reader closes a pinned message and then a moderator creates another one, it will reopen. This way, nobody misses vital messages *and* nobody is stuck staring at a message they no longer need. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">2) Chat Subscriptions</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fret not, JotCasters. We are still a contract-free service. The subscription option is a simple way to help increase traffic to your chats. Readers can choose to subscribe to any chats hosted by a specific moderator. With this new feature, regular readers can opt in to receive email reminders 15 minutes before a chat owned by that moderator begins. Now, readers won’t worry about missing and / or forgetting about a chat they wanted to participate in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">3) Unmoderated chats</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But,” we hear you wondering, “isn’t JotCast specifically a <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html">moderated chat service</a>?” First, moderated chats are still available. We’re simply offering the option to directly publish messages from all readers -- not just those with “trustee” status. Moderators can turn this option on and off as they please. Moderators can allow a period of time for readers to talk among themselves if they need a break, or if someone’s looking to start a chat but doesn’t want to moderate everyone’s messages, they don’t have to. The way we see it, more options are always a good thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, there you have it. Three new enhancements for you to use -- or not, it’s your choice! As always, we want to hear how your experience with JotCast is going. Are there features you need or questions you have? Let us know! Until then, we’ll be working (from a socially safe distance) to make JotCast the best it can be. </span></div>
Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-64705868997038553422019-04-17T09:41:00.002-04:002022-02-14T15:30:43.671-05:00Direct Replies Are the Helpful Tool You Don’t Know You Need<i>Direct replies are here, and they’re more beneficial than you realize</i><br />
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Imagine you’re at a party with your friends. At some point in the night, a small circle forms as a group begins discussing something like the latest binge-worthy show. Everyone enjoys the discussion, but there are those… conversational hazards. That is, those small, unavoidable <i>faux pas</i> that annoy everyone, but are never spoken of aloud.<br />
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You know them. There’s the awkwardness where two people start talking at once and then spend the next few minutes in a politeness showdown as each insists to the other, “You go. No, no, go ahead.” This is sometimes done twice or -- please, no -- three times in a row. Or there are the times when someone says something funny and you missed it, and it’s the sort of thing that isn’t funny when it’s explained. Then there’s the thing where you have something to contribute, but you were talked over or cut off and it’s not worth the effort to get everyone’s attention and repeat yourself.<br />
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These things happen in groups, so we’ve learned to laugh them off and move on. There are similarly frustrating things that happen in a <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html">group chat online</a>, even if it’s moderated. For example, a moderator might be answering a question when another moderator publishes a new comment. This can make the conversation hard to follow.<br />
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Enter the direct reply -- that little curved arrow which allows a moderator to post their reply directly underneath the question or comment they’re answering.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7CeRt-Qjo7ec7916OrgDsySfG8qDlqMi7bDhmgdwaycoucUcDp-jGw8vY5g216sEXpC4Q5pWKqXdZUTvwDx3eXbYLtmFYB99QV1VWtmLBoLK0RzCFugSqkzFFKHzufT4M_320q1bpjXD/s1600/direct-replies-blog.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7CeRt-Qjo7ec7916OrgDsySfG8qDlqMi7bDhmgdwaycoucUcDp-jGw8vY5g216sEXpC4Q5pWKqXdZUTvwDx3eXbYLtmFYB99QV1VWtmLBoLK0RzCFugSqkzFFKHzufT4M_320q1bpjXD/s1600/direct-replies-blog.png" /></a></div>
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With this feature in the toolkit, conversations become easier to follow. As the eyes naturally scan down a webpage, the indented reply can be identified easily and quickly, especially if multiple moderators respond to a single comment. Direct replies also help the chats run more smoothly for multiple moderators because everyone is alerted when a moderator is typing a reply to a message.<br />
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Then again, sometimes it’s nice to be able to go back, to say the thing that popped into your head five minutes after the discussion has moved on to a different topic. Maybe it’d be nice to expand upon something you said earlier, to offer a more nuanced answer. No problem -- a direct reply can be posted after a message has been published. If a direct reply is added after a message has been published, all readers are alerted, making it less likely to get passed by as the conversation goes on.<br />
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And we haven't even gotten to the best part yet. Our favorite aspect of our new direct reply feature is that it came <b>from our clients</b>! We had a few different clients suggesting this as an improvement. We listened, and we’re glad we did. We’ve got plenty of other initiatives we’re working on, but we’re always excited to hear from our users. Who knows -- our next upgrade could include a feature you came up with!Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-59138779935309675062019-03-25T08:35:00.004-04:002021-09-23T10:32:14.727-04:005 Benefits of Our Private Messaging Feature<i><span id="docs-internal-guid-40428aca-7fff-bfdf-e370-8a1ce5a8f5a3" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Get the most you can out of JotCast’s latest upgrade.</span></i><br />
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In case you’re not aware, it’s official: JotCast now has private messaging! Please note, this is different from a <i>direct reply</i>
-- another new improvement! -- which allows you to publish a response
directly under a specific comment. Instead, the private messaging
feature allows a moderator to send a message to a reader that pops up at
the bottom of the intended reader’s screen. The reader can respond and
continue the personal conversation, but only a moderator can start or
end one.<br />
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But why?<br />
<br />
Obviously, a group
chat works best if there’s… well, a group. It’s fun to see the wide
range of opinions and the interesting exchanges between everyone. Even
so, there are times when the ability to privately communicate would be
helpful. Occasionally, it might be a necessity. Consider private
messages if any of these issues come up in a chat.<br />
<ol>
<li><b>A reader sends in a message with sensitive information.</b> <br />There are readers that sometimes will pose moderators a hypothetical or a
general question, and there are also readers who will ask a more
personal query. If you get a message from a reader that inquires about a
more personal matter, it doesn’t need to be publicly published to be
answered. Instead, you can choose to respond to that reader by sending
them a private message. This means that it’s easier to discuss more
sensitive topics on JotCast.<br /><br /></li>
<li> <b>A reader is having technical issues while trying to participate in a chat.<br /></b>While technology usually tends to make life easier, it’s not without its
own frustrations. With the private messaging feature, if a reader’s
comment mentions experiencing any difficulties with joining a third
party presentation, or participating in the conversation, a moderator
can suggest possible troubleshooting measures for them without derailing
the focus of the chat.<br /><br /></li>
<li><b>A moderator needs to discuss something with the other moderators that doesn’t pertain to readers.<br /></b>While we’re all for transparency, there can still be times where
moderators want to keep the discussion just among themselves. Do their
readers really need to read messages about how these chat statistics are
looking in comparison to last week? More importantly, even if they
could, would they want to? A private message would mean that the
business end of a chat -- issues important to the hosting company --
could go on as needed during the chat, and readers will be none the
wiser. Instead, they’re focused on getting the details on the topic they
care about -- and that’s what we’re here for in the first place!<br /><b><br /></b></li>
<li><b>A moderator needs to remind a reader about the rules or guidelines of a chat.</b><br />Sometimes, people become emboldened behind a screen, and suddenly feel
comfortable expressing themselves in a way that they wouldn’t ever dream
of doing face-to-face. While moderators can block users who make
inappropriate comments repeatedly, it might not be necessary for a
reader who typed something during an intense debate that crossed a line.
A first-time offender, so to speak, can be let off with a warning.
Better still, a moderator can give that warning without embarrassing the
reader by calling them out in front of everyone.<br /><br /></li>
<li><b>A moderator wants to interact more directly with a particular reader.<br /></b>It’s possible to… ahem… click with someone you meet online. If there’s a
reader in a chat that makes comments that are particularly clever or
insightful, why not send a private message so you can delve into the
topic or bounce an idea off them? Readers often enjoy feeling like
they’re getting to know the moderators they follow consistently. Since
moderators are the only ones who can initiate and / or end a private
conversation, there’s no need to worry about unwanted interruptions or
about starting a sidebar you regret.<br /> </li>
</ol>
What other ways have you been using private messages? Let us know in the comments!Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-7983889431665499732018-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:002018-03-26T09:11:45.192-04:00JotCast Unveils New FeaturesHi everyone!<br />
<br />
We know it’s been a while since we’ve posted, but don’t mistake our lack of noise for a lack of work. We’ve been working hard on creating some new features that we're excited to announce.<br />
<br />
The first feature we've added is themes. Themes give you the ability to <b>customize the chat</b> using your choice of colors and fonts. We've also added support for <b>in-chat advertisements</b>, with a few different options on how to configure and display them. Finally, we've added the option to <b>brand your chats</b> with an icon from your website or organization.<br />
<br />
These improvements should give your chats a better experience overall. With the ability to customize how it looks, your chat can be consistent with the style of your website. Or you can create an entirely different aesthetic -- it’s up to you! Advertisements provide you with the possibility of having sponsored chats and more directly monetizing your user base. Embedding your brand’s logo in the chat window allows participants to easily go from JotCast back to your website.<br />
<br />
To try out these new aspects, check out our <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/support.html">support guide</a> to help get you started.<br />
<br />
Many of these features were created in response to feedback we’ve gotten from you, our users. We truly value what our users have to say, and when they say they want features, we make them! Let us know if there’s any other features or improvements you’d like to see on JotCast. You never know… it might just end up in our next release.Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-78311017331781161602017-04-19T10:00:00.000-04:002017-04-27T18:36:46.625-04:00JotCast Math: Addition and Subtraction in Our Latest Release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3CV_rHDQVebOXl8WGSbHDoOTeFUX-P0Toyd73mXGAqm3yalFmLJpZkekQ5dq6Bh1Zs5LfJu_RALyvB_BVPMnM0S-xouPrzXLImL6Hvnv8FJm9trgKHGmK6gOJKuRM3DndRmnoA6NdKOp/s1600/math-1547018_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3CV_rHDQVebOXl8WGSbHDoOTeFUX-P0Toyd73mXGAqm3yalFmLJpZkekQ5dq6Bh1Zs5LfJu_RALyvB_BVPMnM0S-xouPrzXLImL6Hvnv8FJm9trgKHGmK6gOJKuRM3DndRmnoA6NdKOp/s400/math-1547018_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This past weekend, we released a new version of our software. We've added features and subtracted unnecessary complications. We're hoping the changes we've made will improve the user experience exponentially.<br />
<br />
First, let's talk about the new features. It is, after all, about numbers and statistics. We've added a new page containing chat analytics. You'll be able to see how many questions were asked and how many you answered in a given chat. There is also data on the number of readers in your chat and how many read the transcript afterward. Not only are the raw numbers there, but the data is visually represented using graphs. We believe that the more information you have about the chats you host, the better you'll be able to determine what topics draw the biggest crowd or which time of the day people are more available.<br />
<br />
Now, the subtraction. In the previous version of JotCast, users had to use the media button to embed images and videos into the chat. In our new version, that button is now obsolete, and so we went ahead and removed it. We'll now automatically detect any images or videos in your message and embed them for you.<br />
<br />
We believe that small changes can make a big difference. If you'll recall, that was our resolution for this year, and we're sticking to it. Feel free to let us know what you think. We'd love to hear your thoughts, and they may even be incorporated into one of our upcoming releases!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308012851973077914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-60390056291207868862017-04-06T23:00:00.002-04:002022-02-14T15:29:14.548-05:00Why We Love Online Meetings (And You Should, Too!)Ok, I'll admit it - I don't like meetings. Not such a shocking statement, I know. Meetings are a significant part of a lot of professions, and since many of us spend hours a day both in and preparing for them, we should try to do them right.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to my main point: <b>I love online meetings!</b><br />
<br />
That's not to say in-person meetings aren't useful. Sure they have their time and place, and can be better for activities like whiteboarding, meeting clients, or collaborating with physical objects, for instance. But there are many perks that make online video meetings #1 in my heart. To name a few...<br />
<br />
<b>Video camera control -</b> Have to sneeze? No problem, turn off the camera. Delivery at your front door? Just turn off the camera! Have an annoying boss that you want to make silly faces at? You know what to do.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbN-eIWsUSJJkdg__ou3YfMz1WTNMr6S8SEQF0g4MChIJ3cOnc-iILIuCJRVFq6VGALDcsBWU4rZYYMeSLB-E8oFpNLtogv9ne7jrk7-EQVse6oGU2Pp_FIfJvZXMqnkVWE1MYbT4Yloo/s1600/Oversleep.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbN-eIWsUSJJkdg__ou3YfMz1WTNMr6S8SEQF0g4MChIJ3cOnc-iILIuCJRVFq6VGALDcsBWU4rZYYMeSLB-E8oFpNLtogv9ne7jrk7-EQVse6oGU2Pp_FIfJvZXMqnkVWE1MYbT4Yloo/s200/Oversleep.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Enhanced punctuality -</b> If you're stuck in traffic or your train's delayed, hop into the nearest coffee shop for an espresso, a table, and free internet. When you sleep through your alarm after a long night, just pull on a shirt, comb your hair, and fire up that laptop.<br />
<br />
<b>Ease of communication -</b> Walking to someone's desk can be a nice break if you're sitting all day. But if you frequently have to communicate complex ideas and you don't want to wear running shoes to work or spend 10 minutes typing back and forth, consider having a quick video call. Maybe even with screen sharing! You don't always need to tell people what you mean when you can show them.<br />
<div>
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The awe of technology -</b> How amazing is it that you can have 30 people in a video chat room and still see everyone clearly?! Next step - virtual reality!<br />
<br />
<b>Build connections -</b> More people are able to permanently telecommute than ever before. But that doesn't mean we have to wait for conferences and holiday parties to get to know our coworkers. Video chats make it easier to have casual "face to face" conversations, especially while waiting for others to join. I've worked with and gotten to know people all over the country through our regular video chats.<br /><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0RnHLXR88QYrB7OH7m8bLCzIYNreV4cMVVQ4YH6ZiADmWnMf6L5Y0kzlgVFNWltdIIFlOZQ4iWB2CMlOUjWt-_BamXw7r7uVqsMHRnu6PDMX2qngKUtEp71rk2MPvbi1CcwMb2ngBAU/s1600/pirate.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0RnHLXR88QYrB7OH7m8bLCzIYNreV4cMVVQ4YH6ZiADmWnMf6L5Y0kzlgVFNWltdIIFlOZQ4iWB2CMlOUjWt-_BamXw7r7uVqsMHRnu6PDMX2qngKUtEp71rk2MPvbi1CcwMb2ngBAU/s200/pirate.jpeg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Built-in amusement -</b> Some video <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html">chat platforms</a> allow you to add accessories like hats, sunglasses, mustaches and more to the people in your meeting. Have fun turning your coworkers into pirates! Don't forget to check whether or not they can see your doodles, and keep it classy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As great as video chats can be, there are a few potential problems. Sure no one's perfect, so look out for...<br />
<u><br /></u>
<b>Lag -</b> A slightly delayed video can be infuriating. It's not enough to abandon the video chat altogether, but it's more than enough to have everyone constantly interrupt each other. Before you invest in video chat software, make sure it can handle your usage needs.<br />
<br />
<b>Staying focused -</b> It's much easier to get distracted during online meetings versus in-person conversations, even if it's by other work. I've been in several meetings where a question is asked, followed by several seconds of awkward silence until someone eventually admits they weren't listening. Don't let that happen to you.<br />
<br />
Have I sold you on video chats yet? If so, here are some platforms that support online video conferencing you that should consider:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zoom.us/" target="_blank">Zoom</a> - Free accounts support 50 people for up to 40 minutes per meeting.</li>
<li><a href="https://hangouts.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Hangouts</a> - Talk with up to 10 people for free, no time limit!</li>
<li><a href="https://www.skype.com/" target="_blank">Skype</a> - Up to 10 people in a video call, and 25 for audio.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.lifesize.com/" target="_blank">Lifesize</a> - An enterprise level HD quality conferencing tool geared towards connecting conference rooms plus individual users.</li>
</ul>
<br />
And if you don't love video chats, feel free to let me know why. Now get out there and meet people - online!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991508532780488752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-82715732217404934792017-03-26T15:22:00.002-04:002017-03-30T09:19:00.731-04:00What if Supervillains had JotCast?<span id="docs-internal-guid-b9033cd0-0c03-26de-5cc9-71278ce1c4c8"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easy, clear communication helps everyone -- even supervillains. While the heroes band together to fight evil in various groups like the X-Men and the Justice League, their nefarious nemeses are also gathering, taking questions from fans and minions. Their meetings take place in cyberspace, though, on the JotCast platform. Let’s join the conversation.</span></div>
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</iframe></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308012851973077914noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-52364701630289018152017-03-16T16:23:00.000-04:002017-03-16T16:23:37.644-04:00Expanding Your Reach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kAilZv5qX6MyHYN_xxHAcKRltsZu2sn95hv9u2NMY262g_dvwo7yMOkDQYK7OXZzO5_Bfst6fgMdpkHPJUXe9c1kMY0yJXBtLUZcHBM58ZChVww8htyJc46BKyS7RoubdCgiucUcsZ5l/s1600/Expandyourreachblogimage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kAilZv5qX6MyHYN_xxHAcKRltsZu2sn95hv9u2NMY262g_dvwo7yMOkDQYK7OXZzO5_Bfst6fgMdpkHPJUXe9c1kMY0yJXBtLUZcHBM58ZChVww8htyJc46BKyS7RoubdCgiucUcsZ5l/s320/Expandyourreachblogimage.png" width="240" /></a></div>
We've all been there (and many of you still are). You have a terrific product, service, Halloween costume, etc that you're extremely passionate about. You're sure it's a game changer. First-page-of-Reddit worthy, in fact! But, you're struggling to reach your audience. The internet is a place crowded with many interesting, bizarre, and sometimes scary things. How do you break through all that to find your market. Or rather, how do you let others find you?<br />
<br />
Step 1 is making sure your website (step 0 is build a website!) implements the best practices for basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This can span a number of areas, from your <a href="https://moz.com/blog/15-seo-best-practices-for-structuring-urls" target="_blank">URL structure</a> to what you have on your <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/on-page-factors" target="_blank">page</a>.<br />
<br />
But lets say you've checked off all the basic TO-DOs. What's next? Today, it's all about content. Even Bill Gates agrees that <a href="https://www.craigbailey.net/content-is-king-by-bill-gates" target="_blank">Content is King</a>. You need great content to drive people towards your site, which means you need content that people want and are excited about. That's the tricky part -- generating unique and valuable content that your audience craves, even if it doesn't directly lead to a sale.<br />
<br />
The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can generate content and expand your reach. And a lot of them allow you to express yourself as an individual, not a faceless corporation. For example, you can start <b>a company blog</b> and encourage individual employees to make posts. They don't even need to be related to what your company does. But by showing the human side of your organization, you're going to connect with...wait for it...other humans! So unless your target market doesn't include homo sapiens, strongly consider creating a blog.<br />
<br />
<b>Podcasts</b> are another exciting way to create material and let people learn more about you. It doesn't take much to start your own. You can create it directly through <a href="https://itunespartner.apple.com/en/podcasts/overview" target="_blank">iTunes</a> and record from your personal computer. If you have the time and energy -- and ideas you want to share -- go ahead and do some research on podcasting <a href="http://www.cision.com/us/2015/04/7-podcasting-best-practices/" target="_blank">tips and tricks</a>, then give it a whirl. Or if you don't want to start your own podcast, search for existing ones in your field and try to make a connection with the owners. Listen to a few of their podcasts and see if you can come up with a topic the host and their audience would enjoy hearing about.<br />
<br />
Another often underutilized method of finding people is to physically walk out the door and start looking! No, I don't mean meeting random people off the streets. But sites like <a href="http://www.meetup.com/">Meetup</a> and <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/">Eventbrite</a> let you search for all types of activity and <b>networking events</b>. These can be kind of hit or miss since you don't really know who's going to show up, but then again, you never know who's going to show up. You might make a terrific business connection or a new friend, or you might have fun hanging out and learning about other people. It's kind of a win-win. And by interacting with a diverse group of business leaders you're bound to come up with some new ideas for generating information.<br />
<br />
In case you were wondering, we're not just giving out random advice we don't believe in. We practice what we preach. We go to meetup events to find new and interesting people and we participated in <a href="http://blahblahinc.com/index.php/2017/02/23/blah-blah-podcast-episode-101-jotcast/" target="_blank">our first podcast</a> recently. Clearly, we're fans of blogging, too.<br />
<br />
So get started creating content and connections. You'll be amazed how much your reach can grow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04628474286825017904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-60626155622622159942017-03-08T20:51:00.000-05:002017-03-08T20:51:00.377-05:00Website Redesign - Sneak PeakWith spring coming up fast, we decided to refresh our look a bit. We're really excited about the results, so we wanted to offer you a sneak peak of the changes.<br />
<br />
We're making the site more streamlined and modern with a cleaner, more minimalist appearance. The screenshot below shows the new form for creating a chat. You'll have to wait for the next release to see the other pages!<br />
<br />
What do you think of the redesign? Let us know in the comments.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFvrCrhy6JE1_TlJqgHg3LWV58T42wlGv9u0qTj9VVfu1LD2XHlbSHC_SDQGlTR47PZPwr7hFc7oAOO6MzLHJOMR3W3RQLeaMf0XH5nn-Qx7bBukXDV74ZzoC-RIrEXZvVNsCEAhLB5t3/s1600/jotcast-redesign-preview.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFvrCrhy6JE1_TlJqgHg3LWV58T42wlGv9u0qTj9VVfu1LD2XHlbSHC_SDQGlTR47PZPwr7hFc7oAOO6MzLHJOMR3W3RQLeaMf0XH5nn-Qx7bBukXDV74ZzoC-RIrEXZvVNsCEAhLB5t3/s640/jotcast-redesign-preview.png" width="493" /></a>Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10174450580873464598noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-24279638660334739562017-02-22T16:54:00.000-05:002017-02-26T13:24:23.334-05:00Communication is KeyWe are in a state of transition. We have a new President, new members of congress, new department heads, and pretty soon we'll have a new Supreme Court Justice. That's a lot to take in, especially considering how divided our country has been. Whether it's about race, religion, or politics it feels like we're <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/america-really-is-more-divided-than-ever/2016/07/17/fbfebee6-49d8-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html" target="_blank">more polarized than ever</a>.<br />
<br />
So, what are we going to do about this? <a href="http://whatdoidoabouttrump.com/" target="_blank">A lot</a>, hopefully. Whether you plan to volunteer your time helping the needy, donate money to causes you believe in, write letters to congress, protest, or even run for office, there's one thing EVERYONE needs to be doing right now - COMMUNICATE!<br />
<br />
We want to remind everyone that regardless of your beliefs, the best way to enact meaningful change is with constructive communication with those who agree with you, and those who do not. In case you were wondering, constructive communication does not mean a vicious back and forth on Facebook where the focus is on insulting whoever disagrees with you. We mean real communication - listening, hearing and understanding what others are saying and why they feel the way they do.<br />
<br />
Yelling at someone until they've had enough and agree with you isn't a solution (or realistic). Neither is retreating inward and surrounding yourself with people who think just like you do. Instead you have to look outward towards those people who do not agree with you. Engage them! Make a sincere effort to understand their point of view, and then make a sincere effort to communicate your point of view without making them feel like they're under attack.<br />
<br />
Lastly, make sure you communicate whatever actions you do take. Let people know what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how they can get involved. Social action is the vaccine, you are the carrier!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991508532780488752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-16396735362882583242017-02-08T19:21:00.001-05:002017-02-08T19:23:04.649-05:00Resolving Your ResolutionsWelcome, and happy 2017! This is the perfect time to reflect on the past year - to spend time thinking about your accomplishments, shortcomings, and goals. If you're like most people, this process probably helped you create a few resolutions for 2017. And if you're like most people, you probably gave up on your resolutions about two weeks ago. That's OK, resolutions are tough! But they don't have to be. Here are some <a href="https://psychcentral.com/lib/10-sure-ways-to-keep-your-new-years-resolutions" target="_blank">great tips</a> for how to follow through on your resolutions!<br />
<br />
One of the biggest barriers to achieving your resolutions is, in fact, the resolution itself. It's easy to get carried away with all of your hopes, desires and dreams. But reaching for the stars can easily leave you empty handed. Instead, try focusing on a few simple things you'd like to accomplish. Maybe call your parents or loved ones at least once a month, or give your pocket change to someone in need, or brush your teeth every night before bed (you should all be doing this)!<br />
<br />
The point is, don't go crazy with resolutions you won't be able to keep.<br />
<br />
Case in point - this year JotCast resolved to identify small feature improvements that will have a substantial impact on user experience, and to release those changes as soon as they're ready (in addition to our regular release cycle). And with that, we're proud to announce:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Network Disconnect Detection - We've all been there. You take the time to craft the perfect message just to hit send and realize you've lost your internet connection, and your message too. Well, you no longer have to worry about spotty or lost internet connections! You'll now be notified when your messages don't send, and you'll have the ability to resend them.</li>
<li>Automated YouTube Links - It's now even easier to insert YouTube links into your chat. We've cut out the media insert button, so you can now paste your YouTube links directly into the chat message.</li>
</ul>
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We'll keep you updated with our resolutions as the year progresses. Feel free to comment on how your resolutions are working out for you!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991508532780488752noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-51336370082214025202016-12-19T00:18:00.000-05:002022-02-14T15:29:54.078-05:00Enhance your blog with live user engagementIn case you haven't heard, blogging is in. Just how in is it? Well, <a href="https://hostingfacts.com/internet-facts-stats-2016/" target="_blank">2.7 million</a> blog posts are published every single day. Tumbl alone has over <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/256235/total-cumulative-number-of-tumblr-blogs/" target="_blank">319 million</a> blogs created in the last five years. And it doesn't stop there, just look at how quickly this daily <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/blogs/" target="_blank">counter</a> of published blogs goes up.<br />
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So, unless you've been cut off from civilization for the past 35 years à la Brendan Fraser in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124298/" target="_blank">Blast From the Past</a>, you should be very familiar with how popular blogs are. They're an excellent way to communicate your beliefs, feelings, inspirations, and random thoughts to millions of people all across the globe.<br />
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But despite their broad reach, individual bloggers can still find it difficult to stand out among the rest of the World Wide Waste. Even bloggers with thousands of readers can struggle with keeping things new and exciting for their readers. So while the blog format is very much alive and well, a new twist on an old platform is needed. That twist is <b><a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html">live user engagement</a></b>.<br />
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With traditional blogging, writers make a post and then leave it for their audience to read later. They sometimes respond to user comments, but that's not the norm. Live user engagement in the form of an interactive Q&A chat turns this paradigm upside down. It doesn't replace the tried and true blog format, but is a supplement that enhances the user experience by letting your fan base ask you whatever their heart may desire!<br />
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Consider the possibility. Once a month try <b>NOT</b> making a blog post, and instead field questions and comments from your users in a live chat. It's easier to do than you'd think. Just check out this post explaining how to set it up, or go to www.jotcast.com and click Create Chat. And of course remember to tell your readers in advance when you'll be starting the chat.<br />
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I haven't even gotten to the best part yet. Don't worry, here it is...you can put the chat directly into your blog! Don't believe me? Look below! I created an ongoing chat and placed the HTML into my blog. Pretty nifty right? Just don't expect me to reply to your comments right away. Happy blogging!<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" src="https://www.jotcast.com/embed/chat/1783" style="height: 600px; width: 550px;"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991508532780488752noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890790683299443150.post-26073172991900942952016-12-18T23:58:00.004-05:002022-02-14T15:24:59.911-05:00JotCast Has a Blog!<b>Welcome to the first installment of the JotCast Blog.</b><br />
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Our mission is to help you interactively communicate with and engage your user base so that they keep coming back to you for more. Whether you're an educator fielding questions from students, a sports writer discussing the day's games and trades, a news organization following the latest trends and hashtags, or a fellow blogger looking to interact with your readers, we're here to help you develop and grow your brand.<br />
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Lets start with the basics.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha61myD6eNDN3kuoF4k-QyZ71M5LuMstpb0JfO64T9cEZhOWfyEmv2sByhfavugksY_wRfwTeKH1i1FawrCxzBer67M_o8PXgopGw62FwwdoR32y6ZRrA4kvF4mtcrfurc8bQNAnVo0a38/s1600/marketing-man-person-communication.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha61myD6eNDN3kuoF4k-QyZ71M5LuMstpb0JfO64T9cEZhOWfyEmv2sByhfavugksY_wRfwTeKH1i1FawrCxzBer67M_o8PXgopGw62FwwdoR32y6ZRrA4kvF4mtcrfurc8bQNAnVo0a38/s320/marketing-man-person-communication.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><b>So what is JotCast you're wondering?</b> Good question! JotCast is a <a href="https://www.jotcast.com/product-tour.html">chat program</a>. Well, not JUST a chat program. You decide which comments to publish, which to reject, and which to save to publish later on. Only once you publish a comment will everyone else see it. That way you control the content and flow of the discussion, while filtering out any unwanted input. After all, this isn't the Wild Wild West.<br />
You see, anyone can enter the chat and submit comments or questions, but as the chat host only <b>YOU</b> see those comments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9cz8rDvM6dm5hHchnz62iKNeAlwoFLcFTS9UbVnnXvuE9HMbx3ZWlSOxMy4DClz_IpwIcX5fGhX62Ul373lw8iIWeHfDjemfcRhuulLs6zsvoYOrxakaPPGXk2eosO7edAAAf4GEzsqy/s1600/createChat.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9cz8rDvM6dm5hHchnz62iKNeAlwoFLcFTS9UbVnnXvuE9HMbx3ZWlSOxMy4DClz_IpwIcX5fGhX62Ul373lw8iIWeHfDjemfcRhuulLs6zsvoYOrxakaPPGXk2eosO7edAAAf4GEzsqy/s400/createChat.png" width="400" /></a><b>Ok, how do I use JotCast?</b> Well that's easy. First create a chat by going to <a href="https://www.jotcast.com">www.jotcast.com</a> and clicking Create Chat in the navigation. Fill in some chat details, like chat name and start time, and hit submit. You can then create a free account, or log into your existing account. It's that simple! Once the chat is created you can share the chat URL with your users, or use the iframe code we generate to put the chat directly onto your website.<br />
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How can the service be free, is there advertising? Nope, we don't advertise at all in our chats. Your free account gives you 1,000 minutes of reader time per month. That means that you can have 1 reader in your chat for 1,000 minutes each month, or 1,000 readers for 1 minute, or anywhere in between. If you don't have a lot of users, don't have a lot of chats, or just want to see what JotCast is all about then the free account is probably what you're looking for. If you have a larger user base from hundreds to thousands of readers than you'll probably want to upgrade to one of our paid plans, or contact us to create a custom plan that matches your specific needs.<br />
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Well, I think that's enough for one day. Thanks for reading!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991508532780488752noreply@blogger.com0