a.k.a. How On Target Were My 2011 Predictions?  It’s time once again to take stock of what happened in enterprise mobile learning and see if any of my 2011 predictions hit their intended targets. One year ago today, I offered nine predictions running the gamut of hardware, software, industry players and general market movements based on trends we were experiencing in the commercial mobile learning marketplace; here’s my analysis of where these predictions landed twelve months later.Prediction #1 - mLearning Engagements Expand. If 2010 was the year of the pilot, 2011 will be the year of the deployment. As I stated in the previous post assessing my 2010 predictions, the size and complexity of mobile learning projects/programs will continue to expand across all geographical and line-of-business boundaries. I think case studies from enterprise organizations on the leading edge will abound by year’s end for successful mobile learning initiatives by thus providing the "I want to do what they did!" examples the industry has waited for over the past many years. Case studies featuring accelerated ROI with tens of thousands of learners (or more!) using different types of devices in multitudes of languages across diverse geographies are sure to drive awareness in mobile learning and generate interest from organizations of all sizes seeking to achieve their own successes and become more innovative in the way the train and support their ever-mobile learning communities.  On the Target - But Barely.  2011 proved to be another year more focused on the pilot project rather than the production deployment for enterprise mobile learning solutions. True, most of our partners and customers who launched mLearning initiatives in 2009 and after all seemed to be ramping up their efforts to include other divisions and geographies but pilots remained "the norm" for newer accounts. There are certainly fewer obstacles holding back broader enterprise deployments of mobile learning solutions but an array of challenges remain including limited budgets, limited experience, the scarcity of flexible AND AVAILABLE authoring tools (see #5 below) and general macro-economic concerns every company is harboring.        Prediction #2. Device Diversity is the "New Normal". After years of BlackBerry dominance in the pockets and purses of enterprise personnel, iOS (Apple) and Android-based mobile phones and tablet devices will supplant RIM-supplied smartphones as the primary desired (and likely used) smart devices for mobile learning - at least in North America. This shift will be driven by a combination of factors including learner (and executive) demand, IT acceptance and infosec approval plus a movement towards the adoption of "bring your own device" use policies within the enterprise... Bullseye! This one was spot-on and even I was amazed how quickly the omnipresent BlackBerry wireless handset, the standard issue weapon of choice for mobile enterprise workers, started to lose its’ place inside every corporate pocket and purse. Not only did we witness many IT organizations allowing non-BlackBerry devices like iOS and Android handsets onto their networks, several historical "BB only shops" moved to cut the venerable BlackBerry totally out of their long-term device strategies. The BYOD movement certainly gained momentum in 2011 across a simple majority of enterprise organizations we work with too. Finally, the trend towards "single user with multiple devices" really started to resonate with mobile learners wherever the option was available for that learner to access training on whatever device they happened to be carrying, be it corporate provided or personally owned, and enablement of the notion they could switch between their handset, tablet, eBook reader or desktop/laptop to seamlessly continue a training interaction whenever the mood struck them.   Prediction #3. Mobile Apps Become Essential to Enterprise mLearning. As stated in our previous post, the mobile learning "app" has proved its superiority over less compelling mobile web-delivered training materials. True, mobile apps are harder to create and to support but the value derived from an installed app proves far more beneficial and powerful for the typical enterprise customer, especially those looking to support their own defined workforces versus a broad general audience…  Near Bullseye. I still think the Mobile App is King in the enterprise mobile learning space although the drum thumps of HTML5-based mobile web apps can be heard faintly in the distance. We still contend there’s no real comparison between a native app and any web app equivalent especially as it relates to core functionality that IT teams really care about like security, encryption, remote wipe ability, off-line access, support for device features (cameras, recorders), data synchronization, content tracking, and the overall playback experience. We should know - we offer a mobile web app and virtually no one opts to use it when the native app is also available given the lack of content types and features supported today.  HTML5 web apps might be ideal for consumer-centric marketing efforts, mobile games and some social tools but these experiences are one-dimensional compared with the full-on, multi-functional mLearning experiences mixing formal and informal interactions, performance tools, ready access to information and experts, gaming systems and more. We’ll certainly see the features and functionality of HTML5 maturing through 2012 along with access to better and faster networks (LTE, 4G, Wi-Max) but, for now, we still feel the best customer/user/learner experience happens via a native but customizable app framework.  After all, would you rather check your email, Twitter or Facebook on your smartphone using your device’s native email/twitter/FB app or launch your mobile web browser to stay connected? Vendors (and consultants) touting the "myriad benefits" of the mobile web over the mobile app are everywhere but most are latecomers playing mobile catch up and haven’t spent the requisite time needed to learn and master the  native app IDEs that are central to success today.  Prediction #4. Pad/Tablet Use Explodes! The emerging pad/tablet market will gain further momentum and an increasing number of enterprise organizations will start to support/provide the larger form factored devices to their field sales, technical and professional staff.  Given the fact these devices slot into our device lineup somewhere between the typical smartphone and a laptop in terms of size and capabilities, many organizations will start to drop the laptop and supply BOTH a tablet and a smartphone for every mobile worker/learner - and don’t be surprised if these are supplied by different vendors too like having a BlackBerry (or similar) handheld AND an iPad (or similar) tablet. Bullseye #2! The adoption of tablets, initiated by Apple’s iPad but closely followed by several others, proved to be a true driver for enterprise mobility in general and mobile learning is a real beneficiary of this trend. We witnessed more than two dozen companies who had purchased 200+ tablets for their workforce because it was cool rather than with a plan in mind - this situation drove ample opportunity given employee training and workforce development are universally needed and desired by every organization and tablets are viewed by many as the first practical mobile device to overcome the plethora of perceived limitations in mLearning (e.g., tiny screens, static content, awkward user experience, others). The other interesting tablet trend we experienced in 2011 centered on heterogeneous versus homogenous device selection criteria; either the customer wanted their mobile learning accessible on any tablet (iPad, Android Xoom, RIM PlayBook, Kindle Fire, whatever!) or they locked down their choice to just one platform (iPad only, Android only, PlayBook only) based on a combination of factors including support for existing content and sometimes just price. Wherein more deals were "iPad only" in the first half of the year, an increasing number of mLearning programs went non-iPad in the latter half of 2011.  As tablets get ever more popular, and people start bringing their own to work in their briefcase or satchel, we think this form factor will be the key ingredient to driving mobile learning adoption and leverage into the enterprise.      Prediction #5. Authoring Tools Will Evolve. Flash will still not be supported on iOS devices in 2011 but this fact will matter far less over time. Apple’s insistence on never wanting to support Flash content on iOS devices will drive innovation across the authoring tool market that is sure to benefit everyone in the Training & Development field. I feel the time is just around the corner than "Publish to HTML5" options appear within the leading content authoring tools making it easier to design, generate and support compelling interactions and animations without needing a Flash Player on-board the device. On balance, the downside to this means we will actually need more tools to create content that spans all the mobile devices we are targeting for training delivery given most older enterprise mobile devices support neither Flash nor HTML5 due to their very dated browsers. If we lived in a world where everyone had brand new (and updated) devices, mobile learning would be easy but they don’t so it isn’t.    Near Bullseye. The prediction was right but the market timing lagged a bit as the leading authoring tool vendors accepted the fact Flash content wasn’t going to rule the mobile learning market the same way it did the online learning space but the practical reality was it harder for these established vendors to design and ship their next generation, mobile-friendly alternatives to their waiting customers than I thought. As 2011 draws to a close, Articulate’s new Storyline offering is about to be released but without the promised "Publish to HTML5" option in its inaugural flavor. Adobe’s Q4 announcement that it planned to stop developing Flash Player plug-ins for future mobile web browsers was huge and then they directed they were redirecting their own focus towards adding HTML5 output options in Adobe Captivate and their other popular learning market tools also took many by surprise especially given the timing; they essentially burned their ships with these announcements given the needed tools to support their new notions were far from commercially available.Other capable suppliers have jumped into the void left open for now including some nice offerings like dominKnow’s Claro package, Rapid Intake’s mLearning Studio, Impatica’s Impaticafor PowerPoint version 5, Brainshark’s Slideshark (iPad only), Xyleme Pastiche, edCetra Anan, and a few more.  All that said, it is worth noting that HTML5 content is not a 100% solution either given most of the HTML5-based outputs we're testing don’t run on every mobile device - the older the device the less likely it will run - and the content itself isn’t scalable in the same way Flash content always has been meaning certain handsets with super high resolution displays -- like the latest Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- will render courses optimized for last year’s Samsung Nexus One with a huge border around that content. Prediction #6. Private Social Networks Win Over Public.  It was no surprise to many of us that Facebook was the most heavily trafficked web site in 2010 and displaced Google for the first time in many years. There’s no denying the power and reach of social networking in the technology space but we remain convinced that PUBLIC SOCIAL sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube all have diminished value as part of an enterprise learning community when compared with the various PRIVATE SOCIAL sites and applications now available. We strongly agree having anytime/anywhere access to our business social network can provide great value, that having tools to share information like pictures and videos and podcasts generated by users instead of business functions can bridge learning divides, and that weaving informal into formal makes us all better equipped and informed.  We believe that public sites like Facebook and Twitter (amongst others) will not end up becoming the hubs where the learning organization wants their community to gather and share insights due to the lack of security, privacy, oversight and control that are relevant today and even more essential tomorrow. As such, most business-centric social interactions must to seamlessly integrated into the enterprise learning environment and at every mobile access point too.   Target Missed! I missed this one completely…perhaps planting the arrow in my foot instead of the target given public social networks like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter still reign supreme over virtually all private social networks. That said, the trend towards enterprise social collaboration is still one to watch and will probably become something of a reality in the coming year as companies like Yammer and Jive Software (who delivered one of the most successful tech IPOs of 2011) have proven that enterprises want to build and manage their own internal and proprietary social networks and that security is key to marshalling our intellectual assets as they ricochet around our social circles. Google’s new Google+ offering aims to start making inroads into enterprise social interactions as well and the message layer social functions of Microsoft’s SharePoint platform are perhaps the only mobile friendly features of that platform ready to work on today’s most popular mobile handsets and tablets. Suffice it to say, mobile and social are becoming intertwined so this prediction may just need another year.  Prediction #7. Market Consolidations Will Occur. Some form of consolidation will come to the mobile device/handset sector as a few of the key but descending players -namely Nokia, Microsoft, HP and RIM - aligning themselves together to try and overcome the momentum of the two ascending players - namely Apple and Google.  We wouldn't be shocked to find Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 OS appearing on upcoming Nokia handsets or tablet devices, or RIM getting acquired by Microsoft or another tech titan like IBM Global Services in a deal akin to HP acquiring Palm in 2010. Bullseye #3. As crazy as I thought this prediction was last year, it proved to be center-of-the-target with several large transactions and events occurring throughout the year. Indeed, Nokia not only decided to ship Nokia handsets with Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile OS they actually killed off their own Symbian OS in the process; talk about burning your ships on the shore! RIM was beleaguered throughout 2011 with tepid market perceptions about its aging handset line and its not-ready-for-prime-time PlayBook tablet resulting in their stock being off 75% from historical highs and even rumors of a possible buyout in the future. Google surprised everyone by buying Motorola Mobility for $12.5B in 2011 and plans to jump square into the hardware game to better control the Android experience. We can all trust there will be more market consolidation next year across both markets and industries as mobility becomes a central tenant in every overall IT strategy.  Prediction #8. Here Come the Experts! The growth of mobile learning in 2011 will beget a slew of newly-minted mobile learning and mobile content experts, boutique consultancies, mobile development shops and "me too" vendors all claiming they possess the knowledge, expertise and experience we all need to make us successful in mobile; take most such claims with a grain of salt…  Middle Ring. A few popped up but not as many as I predicted.  That said, every vendor and consultant is now a tablet-carrying, smartphone talking resource and where there’s money to be made, there’s plenty of shingles to get hung out. Content shops are definitely getting into the game and offering expertise in the design and delivery of content and games for tablets like the Apple iPad. The web sites of virtually every top tier LMS/Talent Management provider now touts their mobile capabilities and makes sure their customers (and investors!) know they’re in position to take advantage of any mobility opportunities that come their way. I also find it interesting the concept of mobile now gets injected into the conversation as early and often as possible in industry announcements and press releases.  For example, the byline of press release detailing SAP’s recent acquisition of SuccessFactors clearly states the importance of mobile in their decision to acquire (and pay handsomely for) SFSF’s cloud and mobile-centric offerings but the actual depth of that mobile offering is weak in comparison to other available solution sets. Prediction #9. New Features and New Possibilities.  One of the greatest joys and challenges of being in the mobility space is keeping up with the constant pace of change and innovation. In our experience, learners within and teams supporting enterprise mobile learning environments are all interested in finding ways to derive the benefit of new features and functionality offered on better and faster devices. Our own development roadmap is expanding with the many possibilities afforded through upcoming advances like (a) geo-location, (b) near field communications ("NFC") that may help contextualize learning at a specific location or assist in the bi-directional exchange of pertinent data, (c) augmented reality delivering just-in-time learning opportunities via interactive overlays, (d) the use of gaming scenarios integrated within a structured mobile learning experience, and (e) tighter integration between learning and a devices universal in-box function.  And along the way we plan continue to innovate and iterate on "mil-spec" mobile security, authentication/single sign-on, cross-platform integration tools, and interface customization features that will benefit all our customers and partners. A Hit and a Miss - for Now. We start each calendar quarter with some solid ideas of what we’re going to be working on as a development team - or at least what we planned to work on - but the real world tends to bend your arrows as they leave the bow (so to speak). My predictions about working on near field/NFC and augmented reality/AR functionality certainly got sidetracked for a variety of reasons (lack of devices in the first case and lack of market interest associated with payment in the second) but that didn’t matter and those missions remain on the long-term road map.  What did we fill our time doing? We actually scored direct center hits on several fronts with these efforts:We succeeded in our efforts to make our entire platform more enterprise IT friendly with enhanced security functionality, single sign-on integration and more sophisticated APIs to tie our tools into other 3rd party platforms (e.g., LMS and TM platforms, CRM, ERP, SFA platforms too).Our quest to support the universal inbox concept matured far beyond our vision for it with the outcome of a extensive scripting library we developed that makes it much easier for our customers to integrate whatever learning tasks they’ve defined with not only the learner’s inbox but provides pipes that connect to other 3rd party applications as well.We added device-specific Mobile Apps to support several new tablets including Android 4/Ice Cream Sandwich, Cisco Cius, Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook eReaders, and RIM’s PlayBook. We’ve now added a new gamification layer to our enterprise mobile learning platform - think support for badges, leader boards, rewards/incentives, levels, etc. and these are available to learners whenever they are online or mobile.  While all of these advances are great in and of themselves, the most demand we’re experiencing is coming from the interest in using these new gamification features.Conclusion.  All tallied, not a bad showing on my 2011 predictions. It is safe to assume that 2012 will prove to be an even more interesting, challenging and rewarding year for everyone involved in enterprise mobile learning. Thanks for reading this far down the page and in advance for sharing with others as you feel appropriate! All the best to everyone in 2012.  And watch for my new predictions later this week too! Robert :?)

We are about thirty days out from the Float Mobile LearningSymposium and I am getting excited! I’m ready to pack my saddle bags, mount the proverbial horse and head up the cattle trail to Chicago for this year’s event to be held at startup incubator 1871 and in conjunction with TechWeek 2012 Conference in Chicago. This year’s Float Symposium builds on momentum gained from last year’s inaugural event held down the trail in Peoria, IL (Float’s outpost/HQ) and is sure to please.Why am I excited?  That’s easy, Tex! It is all about the people - from those putting it together to those hosting the venue and everyone speaking but, more importantly, those attending. This event may be boutique in size compared with mega learning events but everyone in the crowd are likely "twin sons (and daughters) from different mothers" who each think about mobile with every action, reaction and breath they take. Sure, there will be sessions and speeches along the way, but the real opportunity is in the connections you make with peers who are excited to share their experiences - both good and bad - with others.If you know about the event, you’re likely part of the "minority crowd" of real mobile practitioners rather than the "majority crowd" still sitting on the fence and not out there riding the mobile rodeo bull.  My advice -- strap in, listen for the bell, and hold on for eight seconds as best you can! When you fall (and you will at some point), know the distance down isn’t too far and just make sure you get out of the way!  Mobile is something to experience, not just talk about, and the best way to learn from others is to share your own practical lessons with them so we can build on what’s proven possible, practical and productive.For my part, I’m pleased to be delivering a session on Enterprise Security for Mobile Learning, an often overlooked and misunderstood topic for individuals and teams tasked with the creation, delivery and management of mobile learning that live within the confines of an information security department’s strict policies and expectations. The introduction of mobile devices across nearly every aspect of our business lives has introduced a wide array of technical, operational and managerial challenges every organization must understand and find ways to address. Every organization approaches security in their own way and the variables differ across industries and use cases.  A combination of IT policies like BYOD, varied use of mobile devices/operating systems, the selection of native apps/mobile web, the need for online versus offline content delivery, to issue of track or not to track, and even exempt/non-exempt employee work rules can all coalesce to make security something many teams think of last and, before they realize it, their projects can be in real jeopardy.My primary goal is to share experiences on security with everyone at the Symposium seeking to plan, implement or manage an upcoming mobile learning initiative, and arm them with tips and tricks to get their IT, infosec and management teams comfortable with the fact mobile is here, it’s real and it really can be secure. My other goal is to connect with other rodeo riders (and clowns) like me and learn as much from their time in the saddle as I have mine.Yippee, ki-yah!

Hagemann is the CEO of Executive Development Associates, a boutique consulting firm specializing in top-of-the-house executive development and the development of high potentials into senior leaders. Hagemann has over 13 years of experience successfully leading consulting firms through times of rapid growth and acquisitions as well as economic downturn and downsizing, in addition to 22 years of experience coaching, educating and developing leaders. As a leader, Hagemann drives a visionary culture with high quality, extreme professionalism and a deep compassion for the leaders and organizations EDA serves. Her firm focuses on excellence in client partnerships and delivery, offering to clients some of the best and most authentic consultants in the industry as well as innovative programs in such core leadership areas as Critical Thinking, Cognitive Readiness and Influential Leadership. She has delivered over 300 presentations and speeches on leadership issues. She has 33 published works including a book on the shifting workforce demographics and their impact on leadership called Decades of Differences. She leads research initiatives and publishes results in the areas of Trends in Executive Development, Executive Coaching and High Potential Development. The post Test Post appeared first on Bonnie Hagemann.

Here are a couple more images from a character I designed. We were supposed to make a character and draw it in different styles. Here is a comic book rendition and a style of one of my favorite artist's, Sean "Cheeks" Galloway.Hope you guys like 'em!As for Sonic, I've been working on it a little bit every few days. Act 2 should be finalized by the end of the month. I'm excited!

After hours upon hours of beta testing the movie in different browsers, computers, versions, I've come to the conclusion that the latest flash player version, v10.1.53.64, sucks. It has been the constant factor that has given me problems while viewing the movie. When viewing the movie using this version, it will randomly drop or skip frames making the animation appear choppy or slow. Sure, if you have a slow computer to begin with you may not be concerned with this issue, but for those of us with powerful PCs, this abnormality seems out of place.For the untrained eye it might not be a big deal, but I know every frame of this movie and when I don't see one, I find out why. There are a few fixes for this if you experience issues and you want to watch Cosmic Chase without a problem.NOTE: These fixes only apply to flash player v10.1.53.64. All other players I've tested turned out just fine. To find out your flash version, click here.There is a built in navigational system in the movie. Once it begins, hover your cursor over the bottom of the movie to bring it up. Usually clicking on the emerald will readjust the movie and the frame skipping will go away temporarily. Downgrade your flash player. From what I can see, the next one down, v10.0.45.2, is your best bet. It's the one I'm currently running and the movie works as intended. To do this, simply visit Archived Flash Player Versions and scroll down and download the flash player 10 archive zip. Inside that you'll find all the releases and simply install the /10r45_2/flashplayer10r45_2_win.exe.Rigorous Beta TestingSo if you follow those directions if you have any problems, you should be fine. I managed to squeeze the file size down to 9.84 MB so we're still on schedule for the release.

Quell [kwel] verb (used with object) 1. to suppress; put an end to; extinguish. We base our work year around quarters, like a lot of companies do. At the end of each quarter, we have a "quell" week. It’s the end of the quarter, and it’s time for us to spend some time and think about what we did and what we’re going to do next. Quell weeks are a mix of meetings, good food, and change. We change a lot around here, but that’s how we get better. Quell weeks make some people nervous, and some excited. As our last quarter ended, some of our developers suggested that we do a "hackathon", and see what we could achieve. We decided to do it. But in the true Rustici Software spirit, we couldn’t call it a "hackathon" — we called it a Quack — half quell, half hack. Mike and Tim (the owners) stayed out of it. They let us come up with our own ideas and organize into groups as we saw fit. …and there were awards. $500 to the team that Mike and Tim saw as the winner, and $500 to the team that the company, as a whole, voted to win. We quacked last week. We built things. We created things to help the company and our customers. I’m not going to list them all here; they’ll be explained in a subsequent blog post. While Mike and Tim retreated to Mike’s office to discuss their "winner", we all voted. It’s important to note that we had to put our names on our ballots, so if you self-voted, everybody would know it. It could be an endless opportunity for your peers to shame you (not that we’d do that). There were too many good quacks for Mike and Tim to decide on one winner, so their award was split between two teams. Winner #1 was "Team John and Andy", with their easy-to-use Tin Can API statement generator that can be deployed to customers that want to let their users capture their experiences. Winner #2 was given Ervin, Nathan, and Brian M. for their work in making our software development process more efficient. The "Mike and Tim" $500 award was split between those two teams. It came from an envelope full of $20 bills, so I’m not sure which team got the extra $20. The company-voted prize was awarded to the team of David, TJ, and me, for giving the SCORM Cloud LRS a real home inside SCORM Cloud. So, my team had to figure out how to split up our $500 between three people. You can’t split up twenty-five $20 evenly, so somebody had to get an extra $20. We left that job up to TJ. TJ’s personal quack vote went to Joe Donnelly. Joe didn’t finish his quack because he got wrapped up in helping our customers with their support issues, but TJ realized the value of Joe taking the time to take a deep dive into our code, the Tin Can API spec, and learn more about code in general. When our customers have issues, Joe is the first person that has contact with them, and by Joe having a better working knowledge of the code, over time, the added value to our customers and our company is priceless. TJ divided the cash award and handed me a folded stack of $20 bills. I didn’t count it. I didn’t know where the extra $20 bill went. Mike made a joke about how it would be funny if TJ gave the extra $20 bill to Joe. TJ: "What else would I have done with it?" I was speechless. Awesome. That mindset is what makes Rustici Software the best place to work.

We’re happy to announce we have a new addition here at Rustici Software! When I first heard that we hired someone from Mississippi, I was overjoyed! You see, I get teased a lot around here for my super southern accent. I was thrilled that I would have someone to spread the teasing around with. I mean… he’s from Mississippi, surely he’s got a southern accent, right?! Boy was I WRONG! While Tim Edwards doesn’t have a southern drawl, he has a bunch of other great qualities that made him a perfect fit for our DevOps position. Tim (or Tedwards, as we call him) will be joining Ben, our chief worrier, in the never-ending task of keeping our services available and scalable. If you’d like to learn some more about him, check out his profile! Welcome aboard, Tim! We’re glad to have you, even without a southern accent

All work and no play, well, that’s just not how we do things.   The first thing people usually learn about our company is that we work with e-learning standards like SCORM and the Tin Can API. The second thing that people tend to learn about us is that we have fun. Part of the fun we have at the office revolves around ping pong — singles matches, doubles matches, inventing new variations of pong (we have one called "grand canyon pong"), and keeping track of our office rankings on the "Pong Ladder". We even have our own language around the pong table…almost every score combination has its own codename. Here are a few: 10-8: we call it "Ten-eight-cious"…or "Tenacious" 7-7: we call it "un-cola"…get it? 7up? 10-4: "over and out" 0-0: we call it "7-2", because John is terrible at keeping score and has been know to call the score "7-2" when it’s really "0-0". Side note: I’m as bad, if not worse, at keeping score. 5-8: vivacious 9-9: nein! 4-2: fortitude 10-0: ten-o-cious (a very prized score) …and there are a lot more, not to mention our doubles teams’ names (The Wooves, The Kings, 7 Wonders, Engine Room, etc.) So, you see the importance of pong at Rustici Software — it’s serious business here.   We used to keep track of our rankings (the Pong Ladder) on a white board. There were some specific rules, but it wasn’t too high tech. Well, when we hired TJ, he realized that the pong ladder could be better. We have a big screen in our main meeting room/pong room that displays important company stats, and TJ had a vision for a system that we could put on that screen that would include a new pong ladder. It would keep track of all of our singles & doubles matches, our rankings, and it would use the Elo ranking system. He found an open-sourced Elo ranking system on Github, but it was written in Ruby, a language that he hadn’t used before. TJ did exactly what any of our developers would have done. He took a little time to learn Ruby so he could implement the Ruby Elo ranking system for our company. Voila! We had a new pong ladder on the big dashboard in our main meeting/pong room. It looks like this:     It’s fancy, it stores all of our game results, and it even sends Tin Can statements to our public LRS when a pong match is done. What does all of this have to do with hiring the right people?   Whenever we tell people that we’re looking for good software developers (which is all the time,) the first question we get is "what language?" We give the same answer every time. "If he/she is good enough to work here, then their familiarity with certain programming languages doesn’t matter." The story of TJ and the pong ladder is a perfect example of this, but it’s not just TJ. This is how all of our developers are. So, now it’s time for me to be a marketer: if you know somebody that fits our definition of a good developer, let us know. We want to have a conversation with him/her.

I like to take care of people. It’s in my blood. I like to think that being "southern" has a lot to do with it, but most likely it comes from watching my mom take care of everyone I knew growing up. It just comes naturally to me, I guess. A few months ago, Mike and Tim (the owners of Rustici Software) asked me to head up a new project that would change the ways in which we cared for our employees. They wanted to launch a new program that would amp up our existing employee benefits package, allowing us to be able to recruit more amazing talent and give them (and existing Rusticians) an even more awesome place to work. Thus, "Jenafits" was born. You might have even seen our new #Jenafits shirts here and here… pretty cool, huh?! Jenafits is our new employee benefits program that goes way beyond the normal health, vision, and dental insurance. We want our employees to do awesome work while they are here, and lead exciting lives — free from some of the everyday stresses of life — when they aren’t. We believe in the power of a happy, less-distracted workplace and I’m here to make sure our employees stay that way. With Jenafits, our employees have access to twice-monthly house cleaning (yes, the employee’s house or apartment), a pretty cool wellness program, lawn care, and a bunch of other pretty sweet services. Rustici Software pays for these things, for our employees. They also get Jenafits on-demand, which covers everything from picking up cat food for Little Guy, to dropping a package at the post office, to planning a birthday party for our employee’s children, and everything in between. There are some companies, not many, but a few, that offer things that are similar to Jenafits (although without that awesome of a name — am I right?) Most of them have a catch — you’re expected to put in more hours at the office, since the company is taking care of so many "personal life hassles." Not here. We still work 40 hours a week; the only difference is we’re all a lot happier now. Oh, and your friend that’s the best software developer that you know…you should tell him/her about Jenafits, and send them our way.

The Jenafits that you pick at Rustici Software can be pretty telling. My Jenafits profile is "Wellness + Internet." It’s no secret that I like to run, bike and swim — A LOT. So, when I heard that there was a Wellness Jenafit that can help offset the costs for my gym membership, coaching fees, race entries etc., I was super-psyched. Triathlon training can get expensive! My other Jenafit, the high speed Internet + Amazon Prime membership, feeds my guilty pleasures. I call this one the "instant gratification package". Some might love this for the streaming videos etc, but not me. Now I can surf and shop at lightning speed, without leaving the living room. Many folks at Rustici will tell you that I’m a bit of a Groupon hoarder (I’m a sucker for those deals). So, a faster way to buy the latest massage deal is right up my alley. But, my online shopping habits aren’t just limited to Groupons. If I can buy it online rather than go to the store, I’m all for it. That’s where Amazon Prime comes in — free 2-day shipping? Dog food delivered to your door? All for it. So there you have it — the Jenafits that I chose. Want to learn more about any of us here at Rustici? Just ask us which Jenafits we picked.