A year of technology hits and a few misses

2011 is almost history, and I can say I’m not too sad to see it go. In a lot of ways, 2011 was a very good year for me and for thedatabank, but there was also a lot of change which can be a struggle.

On the personal technology side there were a few significant additions for me:

• On February 24th, on my way into the office, I stopped by a Verizon store and bought a Motorola Xoom tablet. It took me a couple of months to figure out why I had a tablet, but now I find it an indispensable device. This summer I took a business trip and never pulled my laptop out of the case. Of course, less than 10 months later, the Xoom has been replaced with newer, better technology.
• In June, I bought a new car, a KIA Sportage SX. For someone who’s a bit of a motor head, I continue to be amazed at the level of technology in this car. From the 260hp twin turbo 2.0 engine that gets 30 mpg and runs on regular gas, to the voice controlled navigation/phone/entertainment system, this thing is a technical marvel.
• In August, I bought a WD TV Live Plus. I don’t really know what the “Plus” stands for, but I do know that we now spend much of our TV time watching streaming content from Netflix, Hulu and some other streaming channels that I had never heard about and can’t remember.

For thedatabank, 2011 involved a lot of transitions. We moved our offices for the first time in 7 years. While we moved much of our existing furniture, we brought a lot of new technology that has required some learning.

• We put TeamBoard interactive white boards in the conference rooms which allow us to save and edit meeting notes, and touch navigate projected content. I believe the concept is good; we’re still working on the execution.
  We bought a new digital phone system (Mitel 5000) that does a bunch of stuff that I’m still trying to figure out. I did at least manage to figure out how to do a conference call.
• We moved our corporate email to Google and have begun extensively using Google Docs. Both of these have been well received.
• After almost 2 years in development we rolled out the new Databank user interface to much acclaim. Thank you Databank clients for patiently waiting for this.
• In October, we launched our new DBnow Fundraising Essentials™ product for just $99/mo. This, BTW, is the same price we charged for the Databank when we launched it back in 1998. Just like many things in technology, what you can buy today for $99 is way more advanced than what you got in 1998.

I’m really looking forward to 2012, if for no other reason than it means only 10 more months of this insane political banter. While the politicians and want-to-be politicians are filling the airwaves with mumbo-jumbo, nonprofits will be in the trenches doing the tough stuff that change people’s lives and make our communities better. Thank you all for what you do.

Peace and Best Wishes in 2012.

The Fortunate Technologist and CEO of thedatabank, inc.Chris Hanson