100th Daily Monitor Contest: Hundreds Wrote In, But These Are The 7 Best Responses
October 12, 2016
5 minute read
We asked, you spoke, we listened.
In honor of the 100th edition of the Daily Monitor newsletter, we asked you, our awesome readers, to tell us about a time you used BetterCloud Monitor content at your organization. Whether it was productivity tips and tricks or high-level, strategic IT content, how did you use it? What impact did it have on the business?
Hundreds of you wrote in from all around the world, in all types of organizations, and we truly enjoyed reading every single email. It wasn’t easy, but we narrowed it down to seven of our favorites; these responses were the best of the best.
Now it’s your turn. It’s up to you to vote for your favorite response from this list and help one lucky reader win an HTC Vive VR headset.
You can vote for your favorite response using this Google Form. The winner will be announced in Tuesday’s (10/18) newsletter. Good luck!
Garrett T.
Editor’s note: We loved how Garrett carried out his own test and quantified the risks associated with phishing.
“Recently, the most useful piece from BetterCloud was the article advising IT departments to try and phish your own employees. As your article mentioned, and as we have seen on our end, phishing attacks are on the rise. My organization’s reliance on document sharing through Dropbox and Google Drive, both internally and externally, makes us extremely susceptible to these types of attacks.
With sign off from our ownership, we performed our own phishing test and even a few targeted spearfishing tests. The results were shocking to say the least. A large majority of our organization fell for the scam, one that I feel was a half-hearted attempt. It not only opened the management team’s eyes, but it made our staff more aware of the risks and more receptive to additional training to avoiding these types of attacks.”
Gregory C.
Editor’s note: The HR-IT relationship is such an important one, and we were thrilled to hear that our article led to constructive conversations at your school district.Â
“I work in a school district in the IT department. We depend upon HR to provide us with the data we need to create new teacher accounts at the beginning of each year. Teachers cannot take attendance or assign grades in the system until they have an account and that account cannot be created until HR assigns an Employee ID. For us in IT, as well as the schools and the teachers, that Employee ID is critical. For HR, is feels like an afterthought that they eventually get around to. When I read your recent article, Why IT & HR Should Fix Their Marriage of Inconvenience, it really grabbed my attention and struck a nerve. I shared it with some of my team and it led to some constructive conversations about how we can change how we work with HR for the better.”
Kelly E.
Editor’s note: We loved hearing how our productivity tips let you free up valuable class time and personal time. Also, as an English major myself, I got a kick out of the last line of your story!Â
“As a high school teacher who has faced the transition to an all-Google platform, I have learned so much from the tips and tricks you all send out. The tips have made life easier for both me and my students as I’ve learned more effective ways to use Google Classroom and the other elements in the Google suite. Most recently, I’ve mastered (okay, mastered may be a strong word, perhaps, instead, managed) the art of using Forms to create online quizzes for my students. This has freed up a lot of class time (and personal time for grading) so that we can focus better on the actual work of learning rather than the simple knowledge checks. Also, it’s worth noting that the tech news you all share has helped my relationship. I’m the English major foolishly dating a CS major and now, reading your news, I can sometimes manage to sound less like a n00b.”
Julie S.
Editor’s note: The check-in notes every six weeks are a great idea–sounds like a good way to maintain ongoing communication.Â
“I work at an elementary school as an instructional technology specialist. The HR/IT article reminded me that I’ve got 10 new staff members here since August and staying in touch, supporting, and making them feel welcome was an important part of my job this year. First, I shared the article with other ITSs in my district via Google+ and then I took a minute to send them all a quick email reminding them I knew they were busy, but I was here when they had a minute to breathe and remember what questions they might have for me. Got appreciative notes back, but most confirmed all was good and they’d be in touch when they needed something. Have reminders on my calendar to send check-in notes every 6 weeks.”
Leslie S.
Editor’s note: Automation is our best friend, and we’re so happy to hear that automation in Gmail has helped you be more efficient.Â
“I have been receiving your BetterCloud Monitor emails for five-ish months now and love all that they have to offer. The most useful one I received was the 3 Ways to Automate Email Tasks Using Gmail. At my work, we use Gmail/Google Drive for EVERYTHING and the use of filters, labels and canned responses is invaluable. I now label everything that comes across my desk and use filters to re-direct all the junk email that I don’t want to see come across my desk. And the use of canned responses greatly saves me time and allows me to direct my energy elsewhere maximizing my level of efficiency.”
Rebecca G.
Editor’s note: We loved hearing how someone with a non-technology background is using the power of communication to push boundaries and teach others about technology.Â
“Hi BetterCloud, I am relatively new to technology support at a smaller school district in Minnesota. I especially loved the series about communicating IT concepts to non-IT minded people. I come from a sales background so learning terminology and how to share that technology terminology is important to me. As a 51-year-old woman new to technology, I am fighting stereotypes and pushing my own boundaries. When people ask me what I do, I say I fix stuff. It is more than fixing a printer or an interwrite board. It is about fixing the interactions between people and the technology they must use to function in this brave new world. I also teach Community Education classes to elder community members. To us, it is a smart phone; to them, it is a portal into another dimension. I’m just an old mom, trying to make people feel better about the technology they use. Thank you for giving me some new tools to do just that.”
Dominic D.
Editor’s note: Dominic, thank you so much for spreading the word about the Monitor newsletter and sharing the love!Â
“As a Certified Google Apps for Education Trainer and Administrator, I have presented not only at my local schools where I serve as the K-12 Principal, but also at dozens of conferences and Google Summits in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In both my former and current position as an Administrator, I have had my entire group of teachers sign up for the [BetterCloud] daily newsletters as they all contain great GAFE information.
Whether I win or not, I can’t thank BetterCloud enough for their help mastering Google Apps for Education, not only from me, but from over 150 Ohio teachers and hundreds of participants in my Google presentations around the state.
As a trainer, I am always wanting to utilize Google Expeditions for my students and bringing a VR feel would blow their minds. On a personal note, I am a new Boy Scout Den Leader and will be utilizing the expeditions for my first grade troop to help them explore nature from around the world. I am looking forward to seeing what VR can do both in and out of the classroom!”
Whose response did you like the most? Vote here for your favorite, and we’ll announce the winner on Tuesday, 10/18, in our daily newsletter.
