Whatever Works ...

Given all the new high-tech gadgets being thrown at us today, it's hard to choose which one or ones to go with. However, sometimes simplicity is the best solution. With that being said, a press release about a new landscape product passed on to me by a colleague caught my eye. No, it was not a new ultra-modern looking mower or a gps-guided edger for those precise cuts. The featured product in the release was .....(insert drum roll here) a white board. A white board? Yep.According to the release, the 31-Day Crew Schedule from Magnatag is a fused-printed magnetic whiteboard system that's available in 4 sizes to accommodate 4 to 16 crews for up to 4 months. It includes magnetic cardholders to show job locations and specifications. Magnet circles in 10 colors for special job detail codes. Magnetic month and date sets and write-on tools are included, too.

Pretty neat little organizational tool that doesn't have to re-invent the wheel.

I love digital doo-dads as much as the next guy. But, practicality can be cool, too. Despite all the modern conveniences of high-speed digital communication and cell-phone reminders, we still use a big white board here at the office, I have two white boards up around the house, and have a plethora of sticky notes in both locations. You can never be too organized.

Now if we can only figure out how to populate that big crew schedule white board with lots of landscape jobs. I wonder if that comes included?

Social Media Madness

It's all the rage right now: People who barely know each other or who haven't seen each other for a long time are connecting, becoming friends and exchanging ideas and thoughts. It's happening all over the world at an astounding pace and is still growing. This phenomenon I speak of is the social media craze that has taken over as a primary means of communication.

Digital-based forums like Facebook and Twitter have led the way in this social media revolution. Yes, it is true that these sites are social communities, but that doesn't mean relevant information isn't there. More and more businesses have come to realize this and are taking advantage of the reach and immediacy of this technology.

An interesting study just came out confirming that those in the ag industry are quite plugged in (even more than what people probably think) to today's digital media tools.

According to a newly released Agriculture New Media Usage Study (corn and soybean segment focus), 85% of respondents indicated that they visit websites related to their farm operation and 76% check manufacturers' websites. The study also explored the presence of crop producers actively engaged on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites. The study goes on to details growers' usage of blogs, forums and/or message boards, and search engine usage and preference also were explored. For more details on the research, click here.

This research confirms what we already know. Information is power, and if there is a faster, more efficient way to get it and disseminate it, then people will follow.

Ornamental Outlook will be exploring this topic further in our upcoming September issue and featuring an article on social media opportunities and what they can do for your business. From what we've learned so far, a growing amount of Florida nursery and landscape professionals are taking part in these social networking circles. More will follow. If you haven't checked out these sites, do it now. You might be missing out.

Gator Tale

Man, I should have saved my alligator photo for this blog post. Oh well. Just recently, another instance of man vs. nature (or in this case woman vs. nature) reared its ugly head here in Florida. A landscaper pulling weeds out of decorative pond in Sanibel was bitten on the hand by a six-foot alligator. The gator did a pretty good number on her hand. Though shaken, the landscaper will be OK. The gator, on the other hand, didn't fare so well with the subsequent meeting it had with Fish and Wildlife.

This news piece is an interesting story (click here to go to OrnamentalOutlook.com to read it) and a painful lesson learned for the landscaper. Shortly after we posted this news item to our website a few days ago, the comments started rolling in from our subscribers. About a dozen so far have come in (BTW--this is much above the average we receive for other articles). Reading through the feedback, I was pleased to see such interactivity from our readers. I also am a little surprised to see how many comments were in favor of the alligator and blaming the victim for invading the reptile's territory.

To me, this is simply a case of wrong place, wrong time. The landscaper probably did know better. People who live here and work here-- especially outdoors -- are aware of the natural risk factors out there. A previous blog post of mine touched on this very subject matter. The Orlando Sentinel had a front-page article earlier this week about the hazards Floridians live with every day.

Plain and simple: Landscaping (especially in Florida) is not an easy job, but somebody's got to do it!