This year HOLDCOM held its Open House Holiday Party on Friday, December 18th, in our newly painted and re-organized offices in Glen Rock, NJ. With weather cooperating, about 70 of our family, friends and clients attended the festivities from 2 to 8 PM. All were treated to a potpourri of edible delights, and the mega-sushi platters were a big hit! Thanks go out to all our staff who contributed to this delightful and successful event, with special appreciation to Stacey (and husband Tom) Caropreso and Andy Begnoche. Guests were amazed at the transformation of our lower level production suites into an intimate club-like atmosphere.
Speaking of the holidays, have you noticed the rather sudden increase in emailed virtual greeting cards this year? I don't know if the trend has been statistically verified or documented, but my Inbox must have received at least twice as many as last year. And, we noticed a corresponding decrease in the number of mailed brick and mortar greeting cards. I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise, given the impact of technology and social media on traditional print distribution and fulfillment. It's just that this year may have reached a tipping point in the balance between virtual vs. hard copy holiday greetings. Let us know your thoughts about receiving Holiday Greeting email, and whether you prefer sending or receiving virtual vs. traditional Holiday cards. One thing is certain…Holdcom is already thinking ahead about the prospect of new holiday audio greeting possibilities for 2010!
Americans throw away an additional 5 million tons of trash - 25% more than usual - between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.
This holiday season, please don't throw your hands up at this fact or think that what you do (or don't do) won't make a difference because we all have an effect. No matter what you celebrate this season, give Mother Nature a gift and chip in. Visit http://tinyurl.com/y8j4cnv for some tips.
Please note that Holdcom will be closing at 2 p.m. on Friday, December 18th for our annual Holiday Party. We will also be closed on December 25th for the Christmas holiday and January 1st in celebration of New Year's. If you would like to order a holiday program, we highly recommend submitting your script information right away to avoid any delays in producing your program by your requested date. As always, Holdcom is ready to exceed your expectations. Thank you and have a Happy Holiday Season!
For this December's Script Tip, we wanted to clear the air on a common misconception. "Xmas” is not originally an attempt to exclude Christ from Christmas, but uses an abbreviation of the Greek spelling of the word “Christ” with the “X” representing the Greek letter chi.
However, we would recommend that it is probably better not to use this popular abbreviation in a religious context so as to not offend anyone. In general, it's always best to avoid including any such abbreviations when submitting your On-Hold and Voice Production scripts. "So when in doubt, spell it out."
In these uncertain times, every little bit of warmth helps.
Now through December 12th 2009*, you can drop off gently used coats to our offices at 955 Lincoln Avenue in Glen Rock, NJ. Help us support Jersey Cares, an organization which, over the past thirteen years, has collected, sorted and distributed thousands of winter coats to New Jersey residents in need through this program.
*In November's issue of the Holdcom Voice, we announced the Coat Drive to end on December 15th. When we went to press for this issue, that date had changed.
Here at HOLDCOM we are always on the look out for talented individuals, whether for our Professional Voice Talent roster or our core team of employees. We strive to find good candidates to join the HOLDCOM family no matter where they are located. But hiring an international intern was not something we were expecting.
Due to scheduling and the timing of certain events, we found ourselves the beneficaries of a young intern, Yael from Israel. Although her time here was brief, Yael quickly got up to speed and jumped right in. Her timing was perfect, as she assisted with our complete office make-over and pre-holiday rush. "My name is Yael, and I have been traveling in the U.S for the past few months, after finishing my army service in Israel.
GO GREEN with Holdcom this Holiday Season with professionally produced Holiday Greetings for your phone system.
Holdcom will help reduce your carbon footprint and the fiscal impact of the holidays, so you can celebrate while caring for the earth. The Holidays don’t have to be a burden on the environment or your budget. Reduce greeting card and postage expenses, and save trees, while wishing your customers and business associates a healthy, prosperous, and joyous Holiday Season.
Go to HOLDCOM's HOLIDAY Audio Production Store at www.holdcom.com/holiday for great savings on your HOLIDAY Message-On-Hold, Voice Prompt, or Cell Phone Holiday Announcements. Show everyone your true color, and GO GREEN this holiday season.
Be sure to use PROMO CODE - GREENNL* to save even more!
The Iphone is an amazing piece of technology - so you would think finding 10 things that are better on the Motorola Droid is no easy task. But the Droid, which features Google's latest version of Android OS, does make a strong argument as the better phone.
Although many Iphone users are extremely loyal and satisfied, plenty will concede the following short comings of the Iphone: integrated battery, limited memory, digital keyboard, digital rights management, and camera quality. The Droid attacks these features head on with the end-user in mind. The removable battery will set you free to use a backup/spare battery for a quick switch. The on board hearty 16GB micro SD card is more than enough to get you up and running with loads of storage to keep you happy. And knowing you can rotate and switch out SD cards is a big bonus, especially if you have a lot of music and videos you want to travel with. Although the Droid's integrated qwerty keyboard has taken some knocks from some industry experts as just an average keyboard, it's a big plus to have a slide out keyboard for quick emailing, texting, or browsing. Since the Droid is built on the Google Android operating system, you can count on the open source tradition that Google has grown it's brand on. From easily sharing music and video files to a completely open source Apps store (www.android.com/market), there are very few limitations as to what can be done on this phone. The Droid's app store currently features less apps (score one for the Iphone), but it's only a matter of time before it catches up to the Apple store. Most camera enthusiasts would not be satisfied with any cell phone camera, but the Droid's 5 megapixel camera with integrated flash and DVD quality video will keep many cameras in there cases.
After speaking with Iphone users and searching the blogosphere, the next 5 features are a little less of a deal breaker than the big five already mentioned, but some users would argue they are even more important. In no particular order, the final five features push the Droid over the top as King of the Cell Phones (a title that will only last until the next big phone launch). Using the integrated keyboard, cutting & pasting text on the Droid is easily achieved by pressing and holding the shift key and then pressing the left or right buttons on the 4-way D-Pad. Copying, pasting, and cutting simply is Menu+C, or V, or X. One of my favorite things about the Droid is the ability to easily and quickly switch between applications. From downloading a new app to reading a blog to checking email to receiving a call, you can quickly and easily jump back and forth without having to close down and reopen programs. The Droid is also built for the social media minded user. A quick click on Contacts and you can see all your options for communicating with a contact - whether you want to call, text, email, Facebook, or tweet them. However you're connecting with them, you'll be one click away from communicating. In addition, sharing photos is much the same. Right from the camera application or any photo, you can simply click the Share button and choose to email, text, or tweet your photo - or upload it to Facebook, photo-sharing websites like Picasa, or Flicker. Another benefit of having Google behind the operating system is the turn-by-turn navigation with satellite picture view. Not only do you get accurate street names and highways to follow, but an actual picture of where you are traveling. You can even use the satellite street view to see what your upcoming turn looks like. And last, but certainly not least is the Verizon Wireless network. The superior, far-reaching coverage makes for high quality calls no matter where you are.
Now a review wouldn't be fair if we didn't comment on some of the things where the Droid falls short. The flat keys on the keyboard may prove to be challenging for individuals with larger digits. The touch screens takes getting used to as well as the surface buttons which were purposefully designed to require a harder press to eliminate false entries. The Android Market Store will dazzle the new user, but for the savvy Apps person, you will find it limited and missing some of your favorites from the Iphone. Even at 5 megapixels, some of the photos are still grainy when using the digital zoom. Like many smart phones, the battery life is never enough. You will find yourself needing to charge it more frequently. The micro USB connector is great for charging and connecting the Droid to your computer, but it's a custom jack and doesn't play nicely with my other micro USB chargers. It would have been nice to be able to use some of the other USB cables for connecting it to my office computer, power outlet in the car, or not having to crawl around the floor to connect to the PC. Also the USB cable that comes with the Droid is too short.
All and all, the Droid stands up to the hype and delivers a great experience. Share your thoughts about what you like and don't like about the Droid and Iphone.
App-Man here... every month, I'll be introducing you to a new and/or notable App for your SmartPhone or Mobile Device. Since the Holiday Season has descended upon us like a ton of fruitcake, I'd like to tell you a little more about "Better Holiday List" for the iPhone and iTouch.
This handy helper acts like your own Personal Shopper Elf. It allows you to track your spending and set budgets for you and everyone in your family. In addition, you can break down your shopping schedule by category and see which gifts have been purchased or which ones you've yet to buy. As if that weren't enough, two cheery reminders tell you what gifts you need to wrap and how many days are left until the holiday. The developer has made two versions, one for Christmas and one for Hanukkah. Check it out at www.betterholidaylist.com.
We have all referred to our work place as our "second home". Our coworkers are our extended family and we interact with them for 8 hours a day. As Thanksgiving approached, our "Hospitality Committee" thought of a way to say "thanks" and kickoff the busy holiday season. They thought of no better way to do so, than with FOOD!
On Thursday, November 19th, we all gathered to give thanks and chow down, with a feast of turkey sandwiches, veggies, mashed potatoes with gravy, and even cranberry sauce. Around our table of plenty, we talked about days of Thanksgivings past, and we looked toward the coming new year, with hopes of a strong economy.
Look who's behind The Holdcom Voice's mic this month... it's Bill!
Bill just recently joined the Holdcom Voice Talent Roster, but has much experience to offer clients. "I worked as a radio personality for a number of years, then a college professor, followed by a stint as VP of Business Strategies for an instructional design company," explains Bill. "My first love has always been working behind a microphone, so I decided to return to what I loved best."
Bill has worked as a voice talent full time for 3 years, but in the 25 years he worked in radio, he recorded thousands of commercials.
Bill can't deny that the convenience of his career choice is ideal. "The commute is definitely the best," Bill admits, "because I have my own home studio! But seriously, one of the most rewarding aspects of my job is that I love to bring what I can to a script and make it as compelling as possible to the listener."
When the microphone is off, Bill is still on the go. "I live near Chicago and have run the Chicago Marathon twice. I’m currently training to run my 3rd marathon (the Disney World Marathon in January). I’m also a musician (guitar player/singer) and have done some jingle singing. I just finished recording my latest national TV ad for Shaun White Snowboarders: Worldstage for Wii. It’s always exciting to get national work!"
App-Man here... every month, I'll be introducing you to a new and/or notable App for your SmartPhone or Mobile Device. Since the Holiday Season has descended upon us like a ton of fruitcake, I'd like to tell you a little more about "Better Holiday List" for the iPhone and iTouch.
On Thursday, November 19th, we all gathered to give thanks and chow down, with a feast of turkey sandwiches, veggies, mashed potatoes with gravy, and even cranberry sauce. Around our table of plenty, we talked about days of Thanksgivings past, and we looked toward the coming new year, with hopes of a strong economy.