Our blog may have been quiet these past few months. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t been busy. Behind the scenes, the crew at OH! Media have been hard at work developing a new web application for the fitness industry. We officially launched our software on March 16th in San Francisco at IHRSA, North America’s largest fitness trade show.  We couldn’t be happier with the reception and interest we received from the fitness community.

Our Story

A long time client and local health club owner approached OH! Media with an idea and asked if we would be interested in collaborating.  He was looking for a better way to communicate problems with his fitness equipment and facilities to his internal staff and 3rd party maintenance supplier.  After initial discussions, we teamed up with the owner of an equipment maintenance company and Club Vitals was born.  We’ve have spent the last 7 months designing, developing, and testing this innovative cloud based web application.

How it Works

Once a health club signs up our software, we supply them with enough decals number each piece of equipment in their facility.  We are able to customize each set of decals with the clients branding colours and logo.

The numbers help members identify the equipment, making it easier to report problems with equipment staff.  Now when the member notifies the front desk, they need only report the decal number, in this case 276 instead of saying “the 3rd treadmill next to the water fountain upstairs” along with the issue they are experiencing.  ie: “Treadmill squeaking”.

To add an issue to the system, the staff member opens the app, hits “Create a Ticket”, enters the equipment number and types the problem.  From there it is added to the database.

These are no ordinary decals though.  Each one has a unique QR code that is specific to that gym. Now members can scan the code with their smart phone and instantly report a problem.

Once the issue has been reported, a ticket is created and an email is sent to the in-house maintenance staff member, notifying them of the issue.   If they are unable to fix the issue, the problem can be escalated to 3rd party maintenance supplier.  Once the problem has been rectified, they simply close the ticket.  We knew that every health club handles their maintenance differently, so we’ve built the user system to be open ended, allowing gym managers the ability to set up the system however bests suits their needs.

The software also acts an inventory system, keeping track of serial numbers as well as warranty expiration information.

In this post, I’ve only touched on the core features of the system, but believe me, there is so much more.  We’re working on a video tour of the system and will post when that’s ready.

In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more, be sure to check out our website – http://www.clubvitals.com.

You can also find us on:

• Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/clubvitals
• Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/clubvitals
• Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/60562705@N05/

Stay tuned!

We love receiving letters like this from our clients and just had to post it.

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Working with the team at OH! Media on our total website redesign has been a great experience. Trent, Adam, Haley and the gang were (and continue to be) excellent at taking our often vague and technologically clueless ideas and making them far better than we imagined they could be.  We’ve received lots of positive comments about our new website and that response is extremely important, as our website is the primary way we keep our participants engaged in our event.

The OH! Media content management system (CMS) was really easy to learn and, with a few helpful tips and tricks from Trent, Adam and Haley, I’m on the CMS pretty much every day, giving our participants the latest news and information as race day approaches. We’re now starting to integrate the website into our Twitter feed and it’s pretty cool to send out a tweet message linked to a web page and then watch the website hits spike up as the participants interact with the site.

The collaborative approach of OH! Media has helped give our event a polished and professional online “face” and allowed our participants to maximize their Credit Union Queen City Marathon online experience.  Thanks, guys, for teaching this old Doug new tricks, so to speak.

Doug Russell
Volunteer Race Director
Credit Union Queen City Marathon
Regina, SK
www.runqcm.com

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Thanks Doug, you are a pretty awesome client too!

We’re pleased to announce the redesign and development of Degelman Industries website has gone live this month! Degelman Industries provides new and innovative solutions to fit the ever-growing need of performance, quality and durability for today’s agricultural and industrial equipment.

Products are featured in an intuitive slideshow and include galleries, videos, specs and options to help customers choose the product that’s right for them.  The Blade Finder finds the right dozer blade for any tractor.  Brochures and manuals are provided for products and a convenient Google Map shows the nearest dealer.

Another handy tutorial for clients that use OH!CMS V3. This time we explain the steps to add and link PDF files.

• First step is to go to the page where you want to add the PDF.
• In the Content editing area click on the folder icon to open up the “File Manager”
• The File Manager will now be open and you will see other recently uploaded documents (images, PDF etc). Click the blue “Upload” button to the left side of the File Manager.
• Once the “Upload” Button has been clicked a pop up will open where you can now browse to your PDF. Select your PDF and click “Open” (or double click) to start upload.
• You will see an orange progress bar as your PDF is being uploaded.
• Once uploaded it will show a “Complete!” message and the PDF thumbnail will appear within the File Manager.
• You can now exit the File Manager by hitting the “OK” or “Cancel” located to the bottom right side.
• Type the text which you will want linking to the PDF. This can be the PDF name or a sentence, basically whatever you want the link to the PDF to say.  (Ex. Example PDF)
• Select (highlight) the text you want to link then click the “File Manager” folder icon in the Content edit area. (Ex. See Image Below)
  
  
• The File Manager will then open. Select then double click the PDF you want to be linked. (Ex. See Image Below)

• Once you’ve double clicked the PDF it will return you to the Content editing area where you will see your text is now underlined.. showing that it has been linked to the document. (Ex. See Image Below)
  

• You can now save changes and view/test it in the browser!

Our clients often ask us about social networking and if they need to be on Facebook. The answer is “YES! You absolutely need to be on Facebook”. The hard truth is, even though you may have a fantastic website, chances are your customers will not be visiting it every day.

Enter the newly redesigned Facebook Business Page:

Imagine if your customers could see what your company was up every time they logged into their Facebook account

Do you think this would help your business?  The answer again is a resounding “YES!”

Did You Know?

Those numbers are beyond staggering.  It is hands down the most powerful network with the largest audience reach your business can harness.

“I have a Facebook Business Page, but don’t know what to do!”

Facebook business pages are used to establish another connection with your customers.  It’s not a market place to sell your services or products.  If you try this, people will not respond favorably to your sales pitch day after day.   Either will Facebook.  If they think you are spamming, you will be banned.  Harsh, but true.

Facebook is place to develop relationships with people that are interested in your business.  Believe it or not, customers enjoy learning about the human side of your organization, witnessing your day to day events, checking out you office photos, whatever.  Each time someone reads your post, your companies name is top of mind, which is key for brand recognition.

But don’t stop there, it’s equally important to participate in conversations, ask questions, engage your network.  You’ll need to allocate staff to monitor and participate in discussions.  When your customers discover that there are actually real people there, their appreciation for you will grow – as will their willingness to let others know about you!

Get Started!

Facebook business pages are free and easy to manage, but you may need help with some advanced features.  We can help!  We provide a number of options/services to brand your Facebook page.

• Facebook Landing Page design
• Add Facebook Like buttons to your existing website
• Add a Facebook Button to your existing website
• Wordpress to Facebook integration
• Facebook advertising

Contact us today and find out how OH! Media can help utilize the power of Facebook for your business!

This tutorial will give you the basics on everything you need to set up/add/edit/remove email accounts on our server! Let’s get to it…

WebMail

If you’d like to access your email account using WebMail follow the steps below:

• Go to http://yourwebsite.com/webmail
• Input email address in full (Ex. youremail@yourwebsite.com)
• Input assigned password for above email address
• Once logged in you will be prompted to choose between three options (horde, roundcude and SquirrelMail). Choose “SquirrelMail”
• Done! From here you will be able to send and receive emails.

If you’d like to setup your email account in Microsoft Outlook visit this tutorial!

If you’d like to add a new email account for your site follow the steps below:

• Go to http://yourwebsite.com/cpanel
• Input username/password combo that should have been supplied to you or your websites administrator.
• Once logged in you will see a section titled “Mail”. Click the “Email Accounts” icon.
• Once in the “Email Accounts” section you will see a form for Email, Password etc.
• Email field: This is where you put the name of the new email address (Ex. marketing – this will create an email address of marketing@yourwebsite.com).
• Password field: This is where you put in the password for the new email.
• Mailbox Quota: Select the size limit you want on the new email address, 250 MB storage or unlimited storage.
• Once you’ve input all the correct info hit “Create Account”.
• Done!

If you’d like to add an email forwarder to your existing email account follow the steps below:

• Go to http://yourwebsite.com/cpanel
• Input username/password combo that should have been supplied to you or your websites administrator.
• Once logged in you will see a section titled “Mail”. Click the “Forwarders” icon.
• Once in the “Forwarders” section click the “Add Forwarder” button.
• Once in the “Add a Forwarder” section you will see a form for Address, Destination etc.
• Address: This is where you input the address you wish to forward. (Ex. info@yourwebsite.com)
• Destination: This is where you input the address you want your emails forwarded to. (Ex. youremail@gmail.com)
• Once you’ve input the correct info hit the “Add Forwarder” button.
• Done! (Ex. All emails sent to info@yourwebsite.com will not be forwarded to youremail@gmail.com)

If you’d like to change your email password follow the steps below:

• Go to http://yourwebsite.com/cpanel
• Input username/password combo that should have been supplied to you or your websites administrator.
• Once logged in you will see a section titled “Mail”. Click the “Email Accounts” icon.
• Once in the “Email Accounts” section you will see a list of all the existing emails created on your website.
• Find the email address you want to edit and click the “Change Password” link, located to the right of the address.
• A form will pop up prompting you to enter the new password. After inputting the correct info hit the “Change Password” button.
• Done! The new password will now be active. NOTE: Remember this will mean that the password will now have to be changed on your email client and/or smart phone.

If you’d like to add an auto responder to your existing email follow the steps below:

• Go to http://yourwebsite.com/cpanel
• Input username/password combo that should have been supplied to you or your websites administrator.
• Once logged in you will see a section titled “Mail”. Click the “Auto Responders” icon.
• Once in the “Auto Responders” section click the “Add Auto Responder” button.
• A form will now be visible for you to input the specifics of your auto responder.
• Character Set: Leave as default.
• Interval: This amount must be in hours. Gone for a full work day? Input 8 hours. Gone for a week? Input 168 hours.
• Email: This is where you specify which email address will be sending out the responder.
• From: This is where you can put your name.
• Subject: Whatever you want the subject line of the email to be. (Ex. Out of Office)
• HTML: Leave this checkbox un-checked.
• Body: This is where you can input whatever information you’d like. (Ex. I am out of the office today, returning on Monday.)
• Once the correct information has been input hit the “Create/Modify” button.
• Done! Your auto responder is now set up.

At OH! Media, we use Wordpress as our blogging platform for clients. It’s easy to install for us, easy to use for our clients. It’s a really great app.

No Wordpress install is complete without Akismet, the spam busting plugin. It’s awesome at stopping spam comments – we’ve gone from 4-5 spam comments a day per blog to zero using Akismet.

Recently, while working on a blog for one of our non-profit clients (check out OH! Cares, where we give back to the local community), we discovered that Akismet had apparently gone to a paid model, as we had to select a payment option on the API key signup page.

As the image below shows, we were confused for a while until we realized that the right column actually contained a slider – it wasn’t a static indicator of the plan you had chosen.

If it was just one of us in the office we would have written it off as someone having a case of the Mondays, but multiple people in the office were fooled.

We love you, Akismet!  You provide an awesome service to the web community.  But next time, please just ask for a donation.

We’ve begin to notice what a challenge it can be to configure an email address through Microsoft Outlook. We decided the most efficient way to tackle this reoccurring issue is to create an online tutorial. Without further ado lets get started!

Microsoft Outlook 2007/2010

• Go to Tools –> Account Settings. (In Outlook 2010 this can be found by going to File –> Account Settings.)
• Dialog box pops up and opens to “Email” tab by default. At the top left of the dialog box hit “New…”.
• Check off “Manually configure server settings or additional server types” and hit “Next”.
• Select the “Internet Email” option.
• Input requested info (Name, Email). If you will be configuring your email account on a smart phone as well as Outlook choose the “IMAP” option under Server Information –> Account Type. If you will only be using your email through Outlook choose “POP3″ under the Server Information –> Account Type setting. Incoming mail server/Outgoing Mail Server should be set to “mail.ohmedia.ca”.
• Logon Information.. Username should be your email, Password should be your email password.
• After entering the details, press “More Settings …” In the “Outgoing Server” tab, check the checkbox labelled “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication”. There should also already be a mark beside “Use same settings as my incoming mail server”.
• In the “Advanced” tab, immediately beneath the “Incoming server (IMAP):” or “Incoming server (POP3):” line, find the box labelled “Use the following type of encrypted connection:” and select “SSL” from the dropdown.
• Click OK.
• When all info is input and correct hit “Test Account Settings”.
• You will be prompted to login using the Username/Password you just set up. (Remember: Username is your email, Password is your email password.)
• Outlook will run a test login and email, if configuration is set up correctly you will see two green check marks beside each task. Hit close on the test account settings.
• Click “Finish” in the main dialog box and you’re done!

OH! Media is pleased to announce the launch of Pile O’ Bones Derby Club (pileobonesderbyclub.com). The new derby site is powered with our in-house CMS, OH! CMS, which allows site administrators to update info on upcoming bouts, photos, videos and more. Get familiar with the teams, coaches and refs through the “spotlight” module. This unique module allows site administrators to add photos, likes/dislikes, injuries, quotes and more for each of their members. The new site also includes a fully functional WordPress blog where they will be posting articles on everything from sports psychology to daily life.

About Pile O’ Bones Derby Club

Pile O’ Bones Derby Club, also referred to as Regina Roller Derby, is Regina’s only official derby league. The league consists of two teams, the Bone City Beaver Dames and Lockdown Lolitas. The teams face off against each other as well as opposing teams from nearby cities including the Murder City Maidens from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The league is currently in between seasons but will be starting back up in early spring. Stay tuned and check the new site for events and info on the upcoming season!

The new website for Krauss Surface Saver, also known as “Garage Mat”, is now live (garagemat.com)! Because Garage Mat was a smaller scale project we chose the best option to fit their budget, in this case a customized WordPress site. Designed from the ground up, the WordPress install acts as a full CMS, allowing for easy page updating,  photo management and an endless list of downloadable plugins. The new site includes pages for prospective buyers, like the features, benefits and photo pages, as well as pages to interest current owners like the maintenance and warranty pages.

About Garage Mat

Garage Mat is a Rouleau, Saskatchewan based company that founded the solution to a clean garage. Krauss Mats are mats whose sole purpose is to make life easier by keeping your garage floor clean and free of debris. Fluid leaks, dirt, snow and ice are all common waste that can be left from your vehicle. This waste typically causes stains, slippery sections and the potential of a frozen garage door. All this can be completely avoided by using a Krauss Mat. So how exactly does this mat work?  The perimeter of this garage mat has a 3/4″ raised section that keeps debris contained, eliminating any spillage onto your garage floor. The mats can easily be maintained using wet vacuum, pump, broom or garden hose. These mats have both Canadian and U.S patents in place so you can be sure you’re getting the best in the market! Get further details on the Krauss Surface Saver by visiting the website!