ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions

A rather large number of our customers have been emailing our support desk, asking questions about what we’re going to do differently in the wake of last week’s 48 hour network outage that plagued just about all of our customers.

Todd, Cole and I have been manning the help desk ever since the network came back up and by now, I think I’ve typed ‘I’m Sorry’ about 1000 times.  Get ready!  Here comes 1,001:

I’m sorry

Before I took my Sunday nap, I was reading through the final chapters of “Driving Change:  The UPS Approach to Business.”  It’s funny, because I’m seeing a lot of parallels between the business model of ReadyWire and a gigantic global company like UPS.  UPS grew from a bicycle messenger company into an enabler of “global commerce.”   Sure, we’re still in the bike messenger phase, but without a doubt, ReadyWire enables companies to connect on a global level.

Hundreds of businesses depend on ReadyWire each day to communicate with their clients.  I’ve heard from dozens and dozens of individuals who were unable to collect orders as a result of our 48 hour downtime.  Hotels from Bolivia to Orlando were unable to collect reservations.  A home appraisal company in middle America couldn’t access their customer quote information from their digital database.  Throughout the world, many businesses came to a screeching halt as a result of our network outage.  This is something that we’re not proud of.

The success of UPS is a result of their strong pillars, one being their “ability to deliver – and not just packages and documents…UPS has long measured every aspect of its operations, from how many left-hand turns a driver will encounter on a route, to the number of packages the company delivers worldwide each day.  (Source:  Business principles that underpin a century of UPS).”

We need to take a chapter out of UPS’s book and measure every aspect of our operation.  To be perfectly honest, everything is being layed out on the table.  The following is some of the questions that I’ve been asking myself over the past few days:

1.  Network- Is ReadyWire’s network in shape?  Is our Houston data center serving our best interest for shared and reseller hosting needs and is our data center in Chicago providing us with the best solution for our streaming media customers?  Is our network safe and sound?  These are the tough questions that we’re asking ourselves right now.  If we find that the answers don’t measure up, we’ll certainly make changes.  Even going as far as moving servers to another data center is a possibility.

2.  Online Help Desk- When our network was down, ReadyWire clients such as yourself were unable to visit our website and communicate with our customer service team.  We need to correct that, and fast.  We’re working on making our website & technical support portal 100% redundant, so that you’ll always be able to reach us.

3.  Telephone Call Center- I reviewed our telephone records throughout the outage.  Hundreds and hundreds of calls poured into our phone bank, to the point where our provider couldn’t handle all of the calls.  We’re going to work with our phone company to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

But on that same note, it appears as if having a network status voicemail line could have been quite helpful to you.  We’re going to make a “Network Status Announcement” a standard feature of our phone tree.  Most importantly, we’ll work to keep it updated with useful information in the event of an outage.

Any suggestions or comments?   Just like the title suggests, this is an open memo.  I would love to hear your suggestions or comments.  Please do not hesitate to write me personally.  You connect with me one on one by emailing rick @ readywire.com.  If you would prefer to talk, shoot me an email and I’ll give you a call when it’s convenienant for you.

Sincerely,

Rick Hall
Senior VP of Operations
ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions

Take a quick look inside my refrigerator and make an observation.  What is the first thing that comes to mind?  Yes, my wife is out of town.

(Please note, only one beer is missing from the six pack.  Drink responsibly!)

My wife has been out of town since Thursday morning, so I’ve had a lot of time on my hands to kill (and pizza’s to eat).

Throughout the weekend, I’ve accomplished the following:

Off-site Backup -  Ever since we relocated all of our servers to The Planet, making client backups has been our responsibility as RW’s previous data center took care of  backups for us.  Keeping with our promise of out nightly off-site backups, we’ve contracted services with WebbyCart.  Thanks to our partnership with WebbyCart, ReadyWire technicians and customers can rest assured knowing that data residing on all of our servers is fully backed up, at an off-site facility.

As I’m sure you can tell, we’re making great strides at bringing everything “in house.”  At ReadyWire, we’re no longer relying on other companies to manage our servers.  I had mixed feelings about this at first but I’m loving the total control that we now have over our precious servers.

We are now safe and sound in the event of a hard drive crash or a server attack.  However, if one of these horrendous events occur, will we know that we’re out of commission?

Server Monitoring & Uptime Tracking - Please allow me to answer that critical question.  Yes.  In the event of a server crash, whether it’s a ReadyWire machine or a client’s dedicated server or virtual private server, we will receive instant alerts via email and SMS to our Blackberry’s.  The third-party system that we’re subscribing to is also monitoring & logging all outages on the RW network.  This will help us in prioritizing the replacement of equipment across the RW network.

Software Updates - Early Friday morning, I finished upgrading software packages on all of our servers, bringing our entire fleet up to date.  These updates did some pretty phenomenal things.  Our servers are responding quicker than ever.

Now, it’s time for a break.  I think I’m going to watch season 4 of Entourage on DVD.  But remember, even when we’re taking a break, the network is covered.  Safe and sound.  And that’s my promise to you!

Rick Hall
rick.hall @ readywire.com

I’m delighted to report that as of now, all of our shared and reseller hosting clients have been officially migrated to our new set of servers at The Planet.  Special thanks to the entire ReadyWire crew for working overtime this week to ensure that the migration was a success.

I thought that now would be as good of a time as any to bring you the latest “ReadyWire Report.”

• First off, welcome HostLayer customers!  We’re delighted to welcome you to the ReadyWire family.  You’ve been awfully quiet.  We’re really looking forward to working with and getting to know each of you.
• While we’re on the topic of HostLayer, let me point out that now that the migration has been completed, we can start focusing on growing and merging both brands.  As I’m typing, one of our programmers is working to integrate the two companies billing and support systems.  Currently, the ReadyWire team is having to manage two different help desk and billing/customer management systems.  We’re perfectly fine with this arrangement for the time being, but as ReadyWire continues to grow, something will have to give.That’s why we’ve decided to give Kayako a try.  HostLayer absolutely loved this product and we think we will too.  We’ve just finished installing Kayako and hope to bring it online for you to use shortly.  Bear with us please, will you?
• A clever blog reader such as yourself probably noticed that I didn’t write that we’ve finished migrating our VPS and dedicated server customers.  The process of setting up and hardening additional servers in our virtual rack at The Planet is taking us a little longer than we anticipated.  We’re hoping to have all of the nodes & servers provisioned by the end of the weekend.  If this process goes as planned, we should be able to start migrating data over early next week.  We sincerely appreciate your patience.

In closing, thank you for helping make ReadyWire one of the fastest growing web hosting companies in the biz!  It truly is an honor to serve you.

Rick Hall
Senior VP of Operations
rick.hall @ readywire.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 
ReadyWire Press
press@readywire.com

ReadyWire Announces the Acquition of HostLayer

9/18/08, Chicago, IL. –  Chicago based Internet website hosting company, ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions, has announced it has acquired the Ontario, Canada based hosting company, HostLayer.

Rick Hall, President of ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions remarked, “We are very excited to be able to add HostLayer to the ReadyWire portfolio of brands.  HostLayer is a strong brand, and it is a perfect complement to our strengths in the web hosting arena.”

Since it’s inception in 2006, HostLayer has been a leading hosting provider, delivering highly scalable Internet solutions including shared, reseller, and virtual private server hosting.  HostLayer hosting solutions have helped counless businesses and individuals achieve high-powered Internet solutions at a fraction of the cost.

###

About ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions
ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions, a Chicago based website hosting agency, delivers a diverse suite of high-end Internet based products and services.  Since 2001, ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions has provided shared and reseller website hosting, Microsoft Exchange email, and streaming audio to individuals and businesses of all sizes.  For more information about ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions, visit www.readywire.com.

If you attempted to purchase a ReadyWire product or make a payment to your account, you may have encountered an error.  Our technicians worked with WHMCS technical support and had the situation resolved.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.  If your account is overdue, please know that our Billing Representatives will withold any late charges and will not terminate any accounts as a result of this computer glitch.

If you would like to speak with a support representative, please dial (877) 854-0538 or visit http://www.readywire.com/

This past month, ReadyWire websites (including but not limited to www.readywire.com, readywire.com, secure.readywire.com, & community.readywire.com) received more traffic than ever!  To be exact, a 28% increase in website traffic!

To be perfectly honest, we have not altered our marketing in anyway to result in such a dramatic increase in traffic.  The only thing I can contribute it to is Website Grader, a free SEO tool that measures the marketing effectivness of a website.  Last month, we tested our sites using Website Grader and made adjustments per the report card’s recommendations.

This free tool has made a big difference in ReadyWire.  Take a moment and see what it can do for your website.

Click here to check out Website Grader.

Rick

P.S.  As you can see, we still have some work to do.  We’re shooting for a grade of at least 95%. 
And in case you’re wondering, we started with a grade of 35%!

READYWIRE BREAKING NEWS:  ReadyWire shared hosting accounts are now setup instantly!!

One of the most frustrating things about switching hosting providers is waiting for the account to become active.  When I first started working in the web hosting business, it was quite common for it to take us 24-48 hours to setup web space.  Thankfully at ReadyWire, we’ve been able to iron that down to a matter of minutes or even seconds.

Setting up new accounts is one of the main technical priorities here at ReadyWire.  I’ll be perfectly honest, in most cases, it’s a pretty simple process.  Plus, we’ve been able to automate the majority of the process to speed things along.  Manually provisioning accounts on servers is pretty much a thing of the past.

For good reason at ReadyWire, the process is not automatic like at some hosting companies, where accounts are setup as soon as the funds have reached the companies back account.

At ReadyWire, we’ve implemented a series of “checks and balances” to ensure that only the right individuals actually become ReadyWire customers.  We actually have a number of preset conditions that a client must meet before we’ll even accept them as a customer.  We don’t want spammers on the ReadyWire network, we don’t want blog trollers, & we don’t want individuals who are going to post illegal content on their website.  And most importantly, we don’t want folks using stolen credit cards to attempt to become ReadyWire customers  (Don’t even try it … we will help the authorities find you!).  Frankly, we just want good people.  :)  And we’re ready to turn away business to ensure that these individuals don’t make it onto our servers.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to beta test a new shared hosting account setup process.  Essentially, we’ve setup a semi-automated process to creating new accounts.  When new ReadyWire customers establish service using their major credit card, their accounts will be setup in near instant time (90-120 seconds).

So to wrap things up, sign up for service with ReadyWire, take a bathroom break & pour yourself a cup of coffee, and you’ll have your hosting login information in your inbox.  We anticipate being able to extend this feature to reseller accounts in the near future.

Thanks for reading my latest rant.  To reward you, I’m going to hook you up with 15% off ANY ReadyWire service.  Simply enter coupon code “BLOG0820″ on your order form.

Rick Hall
Senior VP of Operations
ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions
http://www.readywire.com/

P.S.  Remember to take advantage of this special offer.  Use coupon code “BLOG0820″ to save 15% off ANY ReadyWire service (Web Hosting, VPS Hosting, Domain Name Registration, etc.).  This special offer expires 9/30/08.

Though I’d love to pay you for your thoughts, I’m afraid that would be highly unethical. 

Whether you love us or hate us (hopefully you love us), would you mind sharing your thoughts with some friendly website hosting review sites?  Your review helps other buyers know more about the level of service offered by ReadyWire Multimedia Solutions.

Please post your review on any (or all ) of the following sites:

HostSearch - Click here
WebHostingStuff - Click here
WebHostingTalk - Click here
You’ll need to become a member of this site to complete your post.  However, don’t let that discourage you.  WebHostingTalk is a community full of webmasters & webhosting companies alike.  If you’re ever in need of assistance or someone to talk to about all things hosting, turn to WebHostingTalk.

Thank you for your assistance in furthering ReadyWire! 

Rick Hall

P.s.  If you do hate us, will you please tell us?  I’d like an opportunity for our team to hear you out.  You can email your thoughts to me directly by clicking here.

Did I say affordable?  I should have said cheap. 

A quick glance at some of the leading stock photography sites will show you that photos for use in your web design are down right expensive.  I understand that photography is an art and as a result there should be some sort of premium placed on it.  Naturally, if anyone could pick up a camera and snap a picture, prices would be much different.

In the past, I’ve had to budget hundreds of dollars into my design proposals for stock images and bill my clients accordingly.  A new company based in Nashville TN, known as Dreamstime, is out to change all of that.  Rather than $50 per image, which many sites charge, Dreamstime sells digital photos starting at 39 cents per image.  They even offer a monthly subscription plan that could provide you with images at an even lower price.

In some ways, it’s a Web 2.0 project.  Anyone can contribute images to the collection and receive compensation.  I’ve even considered snapping pictures myself.  :)  There is the potential for you to make around ten bucks each time someone purchases your image.  But I digress.

To learn more about Dreamstime, click here.

Can I be frank with you?  The links above will point you to Dreamstime via our affiliate link.  I sat here contemplating whether to link to them directly or to link using our affiliate link.  I’ve chosen to include our affiliate code because I don’t think it would be wise not too.

So I’m trying to be up front here.  :)  ReadyWire will receive a small percentage of your purchase cost.  Please know that I’m not writing about Dreamstime soley because we’re apart of their affiliate program, rather I’m writing about them because of their incredible service.

All of the images on the ReadyWire site were purchased through Dreamstime.  I’m literally blown away by their services.  I’ve spent less than $15 on digital photography and walked away with dozens of beautiful shots.  It’s highly worth checking out.  If you’d rather visit without clicking using our affiliate link, click here.

Thank you for letting be speak openly

My wife is in the process of publishing a paper for an academic journal and needed to spend some time researching at a bookstore this past weekend.  Seeing an opportunity to sit down and explore a topic for a few hours, I jumped at the opportunity to join her.

The topics of my study?  Registering a LLC, small biz accounting, optimizing a Joomla! website, Google Adwords, Google Analytics, & the rise of MTV.

What random topics.  As a result, I think this is going to be one heck of a random blog.  I’ll do my best at keeping my thoughts easy to follow.

Setting up a LLC
First, let me preface this by saying that I’m not a lawyer & I don’t play one on TV. 

I don’t exactly know if it’s wise to blab this out onto the Internet, but ReadyWire is a small company.  We’re a family-owned business.  If you’re an American company like us, it is in your best interest to consider forming your business into a LLC (Limited Liability Company).  As one could guess, LLC is a legal form of a business, offering limited liability to its owners.  It characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership, but it’s much more flexible to form than a corporation.  Within a LLC, owners have a limited liability for the actions and debts of the company, and it is suitable for smaller companies with a single owner.   There also can be substantial tax benefits for forming a LLC.

Best of all is the cost of getting started.  From the limited research I’ve done, it looks quite possible to register for around $500.  In many instances, it will cost you well under that.

To learn more about LLC’s, click here.  LegalZoom is one of the many companies that will do all the work for you at a nominal fee.  Click here for details.

Google Adwords
Over the past few months, I’ve toyed around with Google Adwords.  ReadyWire’s ads with Google certainly provided us with an increase in website visits.  I spent around $50 a month over three months and saw our website usage nearly triple.  However, I’m afraid those hits didn’t translate into signups.  Seeing that I clearly didn’t know what I was doing, I stopped our campaigns.  I have not ruled Adwords out entirely, but have chosen hold back on utilizing their advertising services until a such a time where I could sit down and learn how to use it successfully.

At Borders this weekend, I had an opportunity to sift through Howie Jacobson’s new book Adwords for Dummies.  I’m no “dummy,” but Howie’s book was designed for a guy just like me.  If you’re considering AdWords, I highly recommend picking up this book.  He’ll provide you with tips & tricks to help make your campaign a success.  Some things I jotted down on my square napkin included:

• Utilizing a fake domain name- If you are in the flower business, consider registering a fake www domain name such as www-flowers.com.  Can you imagine seeing an ad that includes your search query, a giant Google Checkout logo, and a highly-specific display url?  Who wouldn’t want to click on it?
• Do not utilize “optimize ads,” instead use “rotate ads.”
• Google Adwords provides you with the ability to display your ads on Google as well as the Content Network.  Now, there is nothing wrong with displaying your ads on the Content Network.  However, it is recommend for reporting purposes to separate campaigns.  Create a campaign strictly for display on Google.  Then, create a campaign for use on the Content Network.  Doing so will provide you with the ability to quickly determine which network is providing you with a greater return (ROI).

I would LOVE to hear your comments & thoughts on Google Adwords.  What tips have you picked up along the way?  Let’s learn from each other.