PORTLAND, OR. – September 9, 2010 – GTS Services, a division of Pittsburgh Glass Works and the leading software and services provider to the glass industry, was honored today by Glass Magazine’s 2010 Crystal Achievement Award for Most Innovative Industry-Specific Software. 

GTS GlasPac^®LX Glazier Edition with Microsoft Dynamics^® empowers contract glazing companies to manage and control all aspects of their jobs from estimating to project management through financial accounting and business analysis. GlasPacLX eliminates complex steps and non-value added functions found in competing software solutions to deliver only what a glass company requires to improve profitability.

"One of the best decisions I've ever made was moving to the on-line version of GlasPacLX with Microsoft Dynamics GP."  Doug Linderer, Go-Glass Corporation.

Glass Magazine‘s 2010 Crystal Achievement Award winners are selected by a panel of judges representing all segments of the glass industry, the awards recognize the best products and glass applications the commercial, retail and fabrication markets have to offer. This year’s program includes 30 categories but only one winner per category.

“We are honored to be recognized as one of the best products in this industry. We know that contract glaziers are facing tough times during this economic downturn, and our software is making a difference by streamlining and automating their workflow which in turn increases their productivity and reduces overhead costs,” said Mike Jones, president of GTS. “GlasPacLX helps glass companies focus on the most profitable elements of their business.”

GTS attended the fourth annual Glazing Executives Forum on September 30th at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, as part of GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, at the same convention center.  Although overall GlassBuild attendance was down year over year, over 7,000 attendees were in Atlanta for the expo.

Just over 100 attended the Glazing Executives Forum, a day-long event that consisted of:

• A "State of the Industry" panel discussion led by Henry Taylor, Architectural Services Team manager, Kawneer Co., Norcross, Ga.; Rod Van Buskirk, president, Bacon and Van Buskirk, Champaign, Ill.; and Newton Little, executive vice president, Ace Glass, Little Rock, Ark.
• Economic forecast from from Jeff Dietrich, senior analyst, Institute for Trend Research, Concord, N.H.
• Breakout sessions on Estimating, Software Trends, Legal & Contracts, Talent Management and HR, Storefront & Curtainwall, Protective Glazing, LEED Projects, and Fire-rated projects

Before the group got into the day's agenda we watched a video on Leadership from Robert Trainor, CEO Trainor Glass.  He spoke about the importance of "over managing" projects to ensure you have easy, real-time access to all the project details so you can manage net profitability by job.  He stressed the importance of having systems and processes in place so that you can attack problems and resolve them quickly.  Additionally, he mentions having the appropriate reporting and anlysis in place so you don't make the same mistake twice.  The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBl5TWFPKU .

During the "State of the Industry" panel discussion, Kawneer's Henry Taylor shared a chart showing "non-residential building contracts awarded trend 1970-2013." In 2010, the square feet awarded is 993.2 million, a 40.5 percent decline since 2007's 1,667.9 million square feet. "We're still anticipating a 15 percent drop next year," he said. " A potential for a strong recovery’s out there if all the projects go through, but recovery’s going to be slow."

For the short term, Taylor advised companies to focus on core competencies and manage cash flow with a "cash is king" mind-set. For the long term, think about technology, he said. "Now is the time to upgrade or improve technology," he said. "Also take a look at your key positions and make sure you have the right people in the right position. Look at your facility, your process flow, now is the time to change those. You won’t have the time in 2011.

Henry's presentation slides can be found at http://www.myglassclass.org/courses/StateoftheIndustry_GEF2009.pdf

Economist Jeff Dietrich predicted a similar decline in non-residential construction in 2010 (12%) with a recovery coming in 2011.  Jeff's message was very similar to the panel - Conserve cash and implement technology and process improvements to emerge from this downturn stronger than the competition.

The two breakout sessions I attended were "Estimating" facilitated by Newton Little of ACE Glass and "Trends in Software" facilitated by GTS's own, Erik Miller.  There was a great deal of information shared during these round tables.  Below are a few of the specific bullets I thought you might find to be of interest:

• The majority of the attendees used GDS Storefront Estimating http://www.glazesoft.com/
• Key Metrics used to measure the effectiveness of estimators:
• • Dollars Closed / Dollars Bid; compared with,
  • # of Jobs Won / # of Jobs Bid; and lastly,
  • Profit Dollars per job
• Group felt it was a best practice to have completed a AIA Prequalification sheet.  Florida Glass was cited as a best practice of posting their pre-qualification form http://www.florida-glass.com/prequalification.php
• Group felt it was a best practice to set daily goals for the field crews.  Field crews should be rewarded when they outperform the daily productivity goals
• Field crews should be measured against historical benchmarks for productivity.  In other words, a team of three should be able to set so many lites of glass per day.
• Group felt that real-time infomraiton is needed to take corrective action as a job progresses.  30-45 days after the job is too late.

Washington, DC (August 6, 2009)  The National Glass Association announced today that GTS GlasPacLX Glazier Edition will be included in the special “Innovations Pavilion” at GlassBuild America 2009, to be held in Atlanta, September 30 through October 2. The pavilion will showcase cutting-edge technologies and other groundbreaking advances from across the glass industry.

Information on GTS newest version (5.0) of GlasPacLX Glazier Edition will be featured in the Innovation Pavilion and in the GTS booth #1711.

As our valued customer, we’re pleased to offer you a FREE registration admission to the trade show – a $70 value. To pre-register and to find out everything this industry event offers, visit www.GlassBuildAmerica.com .  Use our Customer Guest Pass Code: 09GTS.

Please visit us at booth # 1711 at GlassBuild America: The Glass, Window & Door Expo, Wednesday, September 30 – Friday, October 2, in Atlanta, GA.

Last year, GTS rolled-out GlasPacLX Glazier Edition complete with a Job Management module.  Keeping with our commitment to continually improve and evolve GTS solutions for the retail flat and commercial glazing markets, GTS will be announcing significant GlasPacLX and Microsoft Dynamics product advancements at this years' GlassBuild show.

GTS Internet Marketing Division will also be in attendance to evaluate your website with www.ScoreMyWebsite.com and talk with you about increasing your sales through an effective on-line strategy.

As our valued customer, we’re pleased to offer you a FREE registration admission to the trade show – a $70 value. To pre-register and to find out everything this industry event offers, visit www.GlassBuildAmerica.com .  Use our Customer Guest Pass Code: 09GTS.

Attendees must pre-register by September 24, 2009. After this date, FREE Guest Pass Codes expire.

We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!

With social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter being all the rage lately, there are bound to be questions about how these popular online tools should be deployed in a business environment. Some companies fully embrace social media, creating Facebook and MySpace profiles and pages, Twitter accounts, and using them to interact with customers, as well as advertise to potential customers, and manage their online reputation. Here are some best practices for implementing social media in your company.

1. DO use Social Media as a customer service tool. Your customers—and potential customers—are already talking about you online. To their Facebook friends, on their blog or via Twitter. Why not become a part of those conversations? If a customer has a gripe, they are much more likely to post something about it online, and social media is an increasingly popular place for online rants, especially about customer service. Social media is a great way to manage your online reputation. By engaging people who may have experienced a less than optimal situation with your company, you can greatly reduce the amount of negativity associated with your company and brand. Resolving issues in plain view of the general public goes miles towards building a reputation for transparency, as well as building trust in your company/brand. Comcast has been particularly successful at using Twitter to resolve customer issues.

2. DON’T use social media for recycling data or automated feed dumping. Nothing is worse than a company reposting the same thing that is on their website on their Facebook page or Twitter feed all the time. Linking to the website or blog post from your page/feed is great, but always save some unique information for social media. You want to engage your audience, not recycle information. One recommended use would be posting an online coupon just for your Facebook friends/fans, or Twitter followers. Make sure it is a ‘limited time only’ offer, to ensure the coupon isn’t abused. Some other potential uses would be “web only” deals or specials, free gifts, or complimentary services and perks.

3. DO be conversational. Monitor your pages and feeds (most social media sites offer email notification for this), and interact with your customers. With Twitter, use “@username” replies and “re-tweet” interesting and relevant posts as much as possible. On Facebook, respond to questions or requests for information on your company or its products. When someone has a gripe, respond publicly, and use the opportunity to show you are human, and willing to work with someone to resolve an issue.

4. DO have fun and be human. Give your customers some personality to enjoy. Being a social media automaton is not going to get you any fans or followers, and could even hurt your potential to gain new customers. Make social media fun and interesting to your fans and followers, and they will think of you first when they need your product or service.

5. DON’T be rude or condescending to people online, even if they are a troll or are trying to flame you. Most things posted online can remain there indefinitely. Having rude interactions with people online won’t win you new customers, and will just remind everyone that you didn’t handle a situation appropriately. If needed, you can always appeal to moderators or help staff of the social media platform for help with trolls and people who flame you online.

6. DON’T share sensitive information. If you are managing a social media presence for your company, you definitely don’t want to post things about layoffs, gossip, and other sensitive or potentially harmful information. Avoid things that could put your company in a negative light, or cause distrust among your potential customers. That’s just common business sense!

7. DON’T let your page, profile or Twitter stream go stagnant. Social media is all about engagement, and creating a profile or page, and then letting it sit there, is not going to do you any benefit. Post links to interesting articles in your industry. Ask questions, post surveys, contests and/or special offers…anything to engage your fans and get them thinking about your company and its offerings.

Use of social media is growing at an exponential rate. What are you doing to capitalize on these exciting new online tools?  Are you doing enough?

I need your help.  Many of you have requested that GTS add Pilkington to our software as an available wholesaler for electronic inquiries and ordering.  Interestingly, most of the requests come at us "tongue in cheek" assuming that GTS wouldn't be interested in that given our PPG/Pittsburgh Glass Works connection.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  Our stated mission is to help you achieve your goals for growth and profitability.  And we believe that utilizing technology to help you better manage your purchasing and quoting process to maximize margins is essential in today's marketplace.

So what's the problem?  Why isn't Pilkington available in GTS software?  We do offer PPG Auto Glass, Bartlestone, Old Dominon Glass, and will soon be announcing the addition of one of the largest independent distributors in the U.S.  So where is Pilkington?

I think the problem starts with me.  I have made repeated attempts to contact and invite Pilkington to connect to GTS software.  Unfortunately, I don't buy glass. That is where you come in.  I have a feeling that Pilkington will be much more interested in speaking with you and looking for ways to meet your needs.

If you are interested in adding Pilkington to the line-up of available wholesalers available for electronic ordering within GTS software, please tell your rep how important it is to you and that they should contact me to get things moving.

With any luck we could be up and running soon.  Thanks in advance for your help.

I have been avoiding this....but, the Super Bowl is over (Go Steelers!).  The groundhog saw his shadow.  I need to accept that 2009 is here and make a New Year's resolution.  I'm not sure what is holding me back this year.  Maybe the uncertainty of what lies ahead in the economy, etc.  Regardless, 2008 is history and it is time to focus on overcoming what lies ahead to deliver a better performance than last year.

I have been speaking with a lot of our customers about this and I am finding out that I am not alone.  One thing is certain, all of us need to focus on actions that will enable our companies to emerge from this downturn stronger than the competition.  Most of my conversations have focused on conservation of cash or launching projects to improve productivity and reduce costs.  Some of our customers are investing heavily in marketing during this time in an effort to build their brand and pull in customers that can later become loyal advocates for their service.  These are the most interesting conversations given that many companies cut their marketing budgets to reduce expenses whenever times get tough.

These companies are focused on ROI for their marketing investment.  This is not the time to create a beautiful brochure that everyone likes unless it can be proven that it drives sales.  Many of these firms are shifting their marketing investments on-line so that they gain visibility into what drives new business and what does not.

Based on what I have learned from these companies I offer you the following 5 possible New Year resolutions in case you are like me, still struggling to pick one:

1.     I will establish an on-line presence – This is at least half the battle.  Establish a budget, allocate the funds, define your site's business objectives, and dedicate the people necessary to make it happen.

2.     I will engage and delight those who visit my website – Each customer’s experience should lead them down a path. A path that ends in a sale. Based on your knowledge of your target customer, what content will keep their eyes glued to your site?  What will make them take that next step towards the sale.  In the autoglass market GTS tool www.glassquoter.com has proven to be a viable interactive solution for on-line consumers.

3.    I will capitalize on my company's reputation – Your customers are conserving cash just like you for fear of what the future may hold. They can’t afford to spend money with a company that they do not trust. Capitalize on your good reputation and community involvement in your marketing messages. Activate your loyal customers and word-of-mouth recommendations with an e-mail campaign, on-line blog or customer review section on your website.

4.     I will fail quickly – Because web marketing is real-time it provides an inexpensive way to experiment and come up with creative ways to close business. You can quickly implement a new tactic or promotion and see results. If an idea is successful immediately test a slight variation of the idea to see if you can outdo the last one. If something is going to fail, do it quickly and then move on.  It is all about ROI and continuously improving to drive better results.

5.     I will seek expert advice – This is not a sales pitch!  Your budget can be wiped out quickly if you don't know what you are doing.  Expert advice is available for free on the Internet if you have the time to do the research.  Or, find someone with digital marketing as their core competency.  This will let you focus on your business while they help you bring on-line buyers to your company's doorstep.

We all know what’s happening in the economy. We’re living it. Homeowners are in trouble. Home buyers are nowhere to be found. Banks aren’t lending. Consumers aren’t spending. The sky is fall. Responsible businesses are slashing spending across the board to ride out the storm… Or are they? Or should they be?

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business * study, “Turning Adversity Into Advantage: Does Proactive Marketing During a Recession Pay Off?" , finds that companies that proactively market during a recession not only survive but thrive. Marketing dollars spent during a down economy are more powerful than the same amount spent during the good times, because each dollar represents a greater percentage of the marketing pie.

This isn’t time to launch a huge branding campaign, but it is the time to weigh every penny against results. Just getting your name out there isn’t enough. Accountability is important in every aspect of your business. Marketing shouldn’t get a pass.

·      How many people are seeing/hearing your advertisement? (If you can’t answer this you’re losing money!)

·      How many people are responding to your ad?(Same as above!)

·      Your buyers have changed the way the research and buy. Have you? Forrester Research found that in the next six months 26 percent of interactive marketers plan to increase their interactive marketing investments and 46 percent will maintain them at current levels.   GTS' own Mike Jones has a great blog post on this subject.

What have you found that works? Are you doing enough?

*I sincerely apologize to my fellow University of Pittsburgh alumni for noting a Penn State Study.  I tried desperately to find something from anywhere else.  (It could be worse.  It could be West Virginia).

It's a new year, and a time when many are trying to improve themselves through one or more New Year's resolutions.  Maybe its health related, exercise more, eat healthier, quit a bad habit.  Or, it could be other self-improvement goals, spend more time with family, save more for retirement, etc.  We are creatures of habit, good and bad.  And, we will continue to do the same things we have always done without proactively making an effort to change.  This is true for business processes as well as personal life.

If you have been using your business software for quite awhile, there's a good chance you have developed a comfortable routine.  You run the same reports every day.  And, sales processes and product structures created when the software was new are still being used.  While everything seems to be working fine, you may be missing out on significant value from new reports and functionality that have been added since your system was implemented.

To ensure you are getting the most value from your software:

·        Read the release notes. They are a valuable resource to highlight new features that have been added.

·        Review the resources available on www.gtscommunity.com . Online training and user discussions can highlight creative new ways to use your system.

·        Review the available reports. If there ones you don’t recognize, print them out and see what information they provide. The next revenue generating or cost reducing idea may come to light by looking at the information in your system differently.

·        Review the product structure. For complex products with several options, utilizing the Fabs & Options features properly can speed up order entry, standardize pricing, and maximize profitability.

·        Capture crucial information. Think of information that could be valuable to analyze your business and capture it in a new custom field.

So, take some time soon to get reacquainted with the capabilities of your business software. It will go a long way in helping you achieve your business goals.

It is brutal out there. Banks won’t lend to each other, consumers are holding back spending uncertain of the future, and companies are cutting back as they have lost faith that consumers will buy.

Although times are tough, history has shown us that companies that invest wisely in marketing during economic downturns can steal market share and strengthen brand image.

You only have so much budgeted for marketing.  A wise move in 2009 might be to shift some of those marketing dollars on-line.  Internet marketing can prove more cost effective, targeted and measurable than traditional advertising.

Here are five on-line marketing strategies that I believe can help you survive the downturn to emerge stronger and ahead of the competition.

Demand Accountability and ROI

Is data driving your marketing? Do not rest until the value from your marketing plans and activities can be quantified and measured.

By using web analytic tools you can see how visitors found you and interacted with your site. You can determine what messages work and don’t work. And by integrating your on-line efforts with your off-line advertising you can deliver consistent, planned messages to move buyers comfortably through the decision making process.

Test, test, and re-test. The web provides an inexpensive way to experiment and come up with creative ways to engage customers and prospects. Continue to iterate and test focusing on continuous improvement.

Leverage Search Engines

Although the market is tough, buyers still need information on what to buy, where to buy it and who is providing the best deal. And today, over 80% of consumers and businesspeople turn to search engines to get the information they require.

Traditionally, we try to interrupt potential buyers with our advertisements to get their attention. On search engines you serve up an ad that is relevant to exactly what they are researching. Ads are actually welcomed by the buyer.

Build Your Brand On-line

Determine where your target customer is performing research and consuming on-line content for advertising opportunities to hammer home your value proposition.

Stay Close to Customers

By participating in or spending time exploring social sites and blogs that relate to your company’s demographic or target customer you can learn more about their needs and your competition. You can merely listen in or even contribute.

Focus on Trust

Buyers are generally skeptical of marketing messages and advertising. And now, the economy is delivering a major blow to consumer and business confidence. Because they have limited funds the risk of buying the wrong product or service is increased. They need to turn to companies and brands they can trust.

In today’s connected marketplace it is more critical than ever to leverage the fact that consumers trust each other more than they do marketers. One bold move you can take is to allow customer ratings and reviews on your Website. Although the possibility of negative comments may make you nervous, buyers will appreciate your company’s openness and vulnerability.

This economic downturn will be difficult. But, there is an opportunity for those that choose to act.

A recent blog posting referenced Meredith Willson’s The Music Man regarding the value of yesterday; “If you pile up enough tomorrows, you'll find that you've collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.” I would like to share my thoughts on the value of yesterday.

    We can and should learn from yesterday but not live by it.  The decisions we make every day should be based on the most current information we have. That doesn’t mean we have to second guess every prior decision made, but we should be challenging our processes on a regular basis. In order to make the best decision we need to remove all of the constraints affecting our decision. One of these barriers is the holding onto our past. We should come to work each day asking the question, “What is the best way to handle this task/project/process today?” How we did something yesterday, last week or even last year may have been the best approach at the time, but it doesn’t mean it is the best approach today. Keeping our past experiences in mind and using this information to make better decisions today should be our goal. Next time you are asked to change a process and you find yourself thinking or saying, “…we can’t do that…” or “…we have always done it this way…” STOP and THINK, are you holding onto yesterday or do you really believe the old process is better. Change is inevitable and can be stressful but change can be very rewarding. Without change there will be no improvement.

"Facebook?  MySpace?  Twitter?  Aren't these just teenage fads?"

To some degree, you are right.  But it is MUCH more than that.  They are examples of titles you may have heard before: Social Media and Social Networking.  Are they valuable to you?  Without a doubt.  Let's review what these terms mean, how they have worked in the past and what you can do to take advantage of them.

SOCIAL MEDIA

In its essence, social media allows us to easily exchange information in many different formats without time or distance being a factor.  One example of this is the Community Portal.  Us GTS folk can create information and share it with you in an instant, no matter where you are.  You, in turn, can create information and share it with us.  It may be in the form of a discussion (forum), a blog post, a video or more.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Social networking allows you to keep in touch with people you would normally lose track of.  Because of that, you can keep in touch with many more people.  In the past, to keep in touch with someone you would have to keep a rolodex, or use Outlook to manage contacts.  But what if one of those contacts changed their email or phone.  You might not ever know.  Using social networking they change the information and you are always updated.  You may use LinkedIn and get connected with many professionals you would not normally be able to keep in contact with.  Sometimes you only want a casual connection and don't always want to send a Christmas card.  This allows for those casual connections.  It also helps you find people with the expertise you might be looking for - like our "People" section of the Community Portal.  (In fact, if you are so inclined, sign up for LinkedIn and join the AUTO GLASS networking group and get connected with others in the industry.)

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Sure, social media and networking can be abused (and my opinion is that often it is).  But within the tools out there are silver linings that can turn golden.  Here are a couple examples of how social media has helped two companies.

COMCAST

A technician came to a customer's home to do some repair.  Instead, the person ended up sleeping on the couch for over an hour while on hold with Comcast.  The home owners took a video, quickly edited it and posted it to the Internet:

Thousands of people saw it.  They passed it on to friends.  Others (who had similar experiences) posted their videos.  Soon, ComcastMustDie.com was born.  Anyone who had a bad experience with  Comcast could post their experience.  It was a PR nightmare for Comcast.  Then one Comcast person decided to use the very thing that created the mess to their advantage.  They joined ComcastMustDie.com and started resolving customers' concerns.  Another employee created @ComcastCares on Twitter and started servicing customers there as well.  Instead of making the customer come to Comcast to voice concerns, the employees went to the customers.

As a result, Comcast's service has greatly improved and they turned a disaster into a an opportunity to deliver better customer service.

BLENDTEC

How do you make a food blender popular and stand out from all the others?  That was the question the president of Blendtec was trying to answer.  Think of it - nothing could be more generic than a food blender.  But how to do you make the world take notice of YOUR blender?  The answer was to do what blenders do best.  Blend.  Blend without reservation.  Blend iPhones, garden hoses, Transformer toys, oh, and food (even if it is still in a can).  Then video the blending and create WillitBlend.com and make it easy for people to share it with others.

The result?  Thousands of people viewed it and passed it on to thousands more.  The blender was featured on the Discovery Channel.  The president of Blendtec is now on a speaking tour.  There is a rumored 500% increase in sales.

And these are not the only two companies that have benefitted from Social Media.  Dell.  Zappos.  McNeil Consumer Healthcare. Southwest Airlines.  Companies of ALL sizes, shapes and products.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Don't think that people have been talking about your business?  Think again.  Do some research.  I would not be surprised if people are already talking about you.

THE BOTTOM LINE

You can ignore the conversations and pretend they are not happening or you can go to your customers.  You can use social media to increase your business, or you can let your competitor do it.  It is up to you.  But to ignore it is pure craziness.

If you need help, let us know.  But don't ignore this so-called teenage fad.  Sure, there are faddish elements, but there are other elements you and your business can really take benefit from.

UPDATE: POST SCRIPT

I mentioned Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.  Let me explain each very quickly in reverse order...

TWITTER - Say what you want to say, but you are limited to 140 characters.  When you "tweet" (create a message on Twitter) everyone can see it.  It is referred to as a micro-blogging platform.  This basically means that you can post information out to the world and anyone can answer.  Not that everyone's posts come to you.  When you sign up you can follow certain people or companies and receive only their updates.  For example, follow GTS.

MYSPACE - This was the first site that made it easy for anyone to customize their site and add anything they want to - videos, music, flash animation - anything.  It also allowed you to connect to others very easily be 'friending' them.  Teenagers are the largest group of users.  This was the first attempt at any service like this.  Since many people are on it, it is still a good place to sign up with to advertise your business.  Since its creation this type of service has grown up and the most popular current one is...

FACEBOOK - Originally started for college students to stay connected with each other, this is often referred to as a 'grown up MySpace'.  It is not nearly as busy and, in the end will allow users to keep in contact with each other.  Where as LinkedIn is more for keeping in contact with other professionals, Facebook traditionally is more for keeping in contact with friends on a social level, although it is heavily used on a professional level as well.  Join the AUTO GLASS group on Facebook.  (I know not everyone is auto glass focused - more groups coming...)

We have now officially launched Not authorized to view the specified community 2123!  We are excited about this one because it gives you, our customers, the ability to let your ideas be heard.  We want to know how we can make GlasPacLX better for you.

LXStorm allows you to submit ideas / enhancements to GTS. We welcome feedback and ideas from you, the people who use it every day.

This also gives another level of customer service that you did not have before.  Now you are given a place where not only can you submit an idea, but if you like an idea someone else submitted, you can comment and thus cast your 'vote' on it.  As this gets used more and more it will allow us to have a fresh perspective into what you need.

Each idea will, in the least, be responded to by someone from the GTS Support department.  In addition, we welcome anyone to post on any other ideas.  Would you like to see an existing idea, but modified a little?  Add a response.

So, let your voice be heard!  Submit your ideas and suggestions today!

Forums?  Discussions?  What is the difference and why would I ever use them?

Answer #1: There isn't a difference.  They are the same.

Answer #2: Oh my goodness.  If you are not using them you really are missing out on a TON of information.

As a personal example, my clothes washer started to leak - no wait - it started to gush out water.  I did a Google search and it took me to a forum which walked me through diagnosing the problem.  Bam.  Found the source of the fountain in one minute.

Then I went back to ask my next question, "How do I fix it?"  Other people had the same question.  Fortunately for me many other people have answered that question.  Each answer had a little different slant (which is a good thing - I'll show you later).  Again, the forum gave me step by step instructions on how to take out the defective part and replace it.  I took it out (with ease) and my wife picked up the new part the next day.  Now, to get it in... Again, with the simple instructions it didn't take me long.  But there was one step that said, "To do this next part, you will need two people."  Well, guess what?  I figured out how to do it by myself.  After I was all done I went back in and told everyone else how to do it without the second person. My wife thought I was a genius and for a small investment I saved TON of money on a Maytag Repair Man.

I didn't have to wait until the morning to get on the phone and call someone.  I didn't have to take a training class in washer repair and learn a whole bunch of information when all I wanted was something very specific.  I didn't have to lose sleep over it at all.  Ahhhhh.  Peace of mind.

I also run other social networks for other organizations.  On a conference call last night I was asked, "What are the benefits of using discussions instead of the phone or email?"

1. Your Own Time:  You don't have to wait on the phone with "Maytag Support."  When YOU have the time, you create a new Discussion, ask your question and walk away.  When someone answers (and they will) you will be notified, or use Not authorized to view the specified document 2612.

2. Many Different Perspectives: When you ask the question, it doesn't go to just one person.  It goes to potentially thousands of people (and in the case of the Community Portal, it goes to over 1000 members including our Support department).  Anyone can answer it.  And the beauty of this is that everyone has a different perspective.  Sure, there may be one basic answer to a question, but we all have our own view.  My view of it may not match yours - it may be just a bit off.  But someone else may share your view and give you the exact answer you are looking for.  Also, if the answer can be debated, you get a wealth of knowledge in the exchange of ideas.

3. Searchable:  Email and phone conversations are for that one time.  After that you delete the email or hang up the phone.  With Discussions the questions and answers will always be there, waiting for you.  Do a quick search, use TAGS(like topics) or browse by 'Community'.  There are a number of ways to find the information.  But it will always be there for you.

4. 1:Many: You get to benefit from others' curiosity!  They ask the question (the '1') and anyone (the 'many') can see the answer.  It is not so with phone and email.

Try it!

Do you want to know how a piece of the software works?  Ask a question in the GlasPacLX community.  Want to see what others are doing for a particular part of their business?  Ask your question in the Industry community.  The more that ask, the more that answer, the more information you have at your fingertips.  (You must be logged in to ask a question, but not to view any of the Discussions.)

It is yours for the taking!

We just returned from GlassBuild America 2008 in Las Vegas and despite the poor economic conditions the attendance at the event was healthy and the mood was positive.

GTS had a lot to unveil at this year's show and it was a great opportunity for us to get feedback from customers and prospects:

• One-of-a-kind partnership with GDS Storefront Estimating that now connects GDS output with the Job Management Module within GlasPacLX Glazier Edition

• http://www.scoremywebsite.com/ that lets you score your website on 100 critical optimization criteria..and best of all, it rates your site specifically against the competition in your industry

• Currently released enhancements to our Glazier Edition and Microsoft Dynamics GP Financials Partnership

• New commercial glazing features scheduled for release in early 2009

The feedback we received at the show was great. We were able to identify some new solutions that will drive increased efficiencies for our customers. And, most importantly our future plans for our flat glass software and Internet Marketing Services were validated. It was great to hear that we are on the right track.

Many thanks to Microsoft for joining us at the show with the "Microsoft Across America Truck" and to the NGA and GTS staff for making the show a success.

Although this was primarily a flat glass focused show it was a real treat to watch the American Master Installer Auto Glass Championship. Jeff Olive of Glasspro won the competition to become the 2008 American Master Installer Champion! And we were especially proud of this year's first-runner up, Randall Layton of Mr. Go-Glass in Delaware a long-time GTS customer. Great job Randy! You can watch an interview with Randy at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcCsfJJQHGc.