Newsletter
Greetings from teamr and Synchronous Technologies
Volume 5 :: Edition 7 :: 06 Jul 2009


   
 
     

Advancement - The Key to Motivation

We have a lot of new developments to share with you this month.  Our MyScoutLink users have already heard about advancement tracking, but keep reading anyway...there is much more to see!

Keeping track of your group members has always been our focus here at Teamr.  What began as a project to help our Scouting users keep track of their ranks has grown into a full-blown advancement tracking system that you can now take advantage of.  No matter what type of group you manage this new tracking feature can help you.

Check out the Technology update for more details and be sure to use us next time you have an event to organize.

In This Issue

Technology Update
* Advancement Tracking
* Advanced Search
* Link tracking on emails
* Public groups
* Event Titles
* Add to Calendar on event reminders
* More project management tools

On The Burner
* See what we are working on for next month.
* Improvements are all based on your feedback...keep it coming.

Follow us Online

If you join us on any of these networks, please take a moment to post a hello message to us!

* Blog: We've set up our blog - check it out at http://blog.teamr.com

* Facebook:  Search for Teamr's Facebook page and become a fan!  You'll get more advanced updates when we make upgrades to our system.  And once you become a fan, you'll get access to the new Facebook widget application!  Use our new Facebook address to find us:  www.facebook.com/teamr

* LinkedIn:  Search Groups for Teamr and you'll find us, or you can just click here to see our group

* Twitter:  Follow us on Twitter at http://www.teamr.com/team_r

* iGoogle:  Do you use iGoogle for your homepage or search? Click here to set up the new iGoogle gadget.

Technology Update

Advancement.  Keep track of your team/group members with our new advancement area. Any time you have a group and need to add levels of rank (scouting, military, gaming, sports, etc.) this is the tool for you! 

Click on the new advancement icon under the Members tab and see what is possible for your group needs.


Look for the New Advancement Icon

Once you begin, you will be able to add levels of rank and assign these to all active members of your group.  Track requirements, date earned, and more all in one place.


Advancement Tracking for Scouts

Advanced Search.  In the All Contacts area, there's a new Advanced Search tool to help you find exactly the contacts you're looking for.  Some of you have more friends and contacts than we ever imagined and finding them in the system was taking too long.  Not any more!!  Check out the new Advanced search function under the Members tab and give it a shot.


Advanced Contacts Search

Link Tracking.  Email marketing is one of the greatest communication tools we have, and the more information you can gather about your email delivery and receipt the better off you are.  Not only can you see how many of your emails were delivered and how many were read, but now you can even view exactly how many times each link was clicked. 


Track your emails - inlcuding clicks

This is a great tool that allows our Premium users to determine just how popular or effective their email links were.  Knowledge is power!

Public Teams/Groups.  If you're managing a group that is open - meaning you want anyone to be able to join it - we have a new setting for you on the Team/Group Setup page.  So if you have a social club or discussion group that you want more people to join, you can do it now without the hassle of approving new members. 

Public groups can be joined by anyone that you load into your Contacts area.  If they are part of your network of connections, they are welcome to join your Public Group


Public Group Settings

This is handy if you manage a lot of groups and want to give your contacts the freedom to easily pick and choose which groups they want to join.  Just go to the Group Setup or Team Setup tab and make the change.

Event Titles.  Events now can have optional titles, which on the calendar will display instead of the event type if a title is defined.  Add any new event, or edit any existing event to see it.

Add to Calendar Link on Event Reminders.  Automated event reminders certainly help with attendance, but we all know that guy who forgets what you tell him within an hour (not pointing any fingers, you know who they are). Well now our event reminder emails contain an "Add to Calendar" link that will add the event to their Outlook, Google Calendar, iPhone.  Whatever calendar they use, you event is now part of it with one simple click.

You don't have to do anything to take advantage of this great new feature.  Just create events, set up reminders, and the rest is done for you!

More Project Management Tools.  Want more visibility into your project?  We've created new views for you so you can stay abreast of what is happening, including seeing all your open and completed tasks, who has been making project updates, and how many hours team members have been working. 


Project Manager Filters

Why Go Premium

As you already know, Teamr and all of our other sites are free to use and offer some great organizational tools.  But going Premium unlocks some serious power - and for only $4.95 a month, you really can't go wrong.  Here are a few key functions you'll find once you upgrade:

  • Multiple administrator functions for sharing responsibilities with other group members
  • Integrated Storefront for selling your goods or services
  • Online payment collection for store purchases or receipt of online donations
  • Powerful email marketing tools including delivery tracking and HTML templates for newsletters
  • Additional online storage for photos and other files

At only $49.95/year for our ridiculously cheap annual Premium upgrade, you get a whole year of powerful team organization tools.  Learn more about Premium accounts on the Teamr website.


On the Burner

  • Adding titles to events
  • Our iPhone app is done and has been submitted to iTunes, so stay tuned for that to become available

 

MyScoutLink

The new advancement tracking area was designed by scouts for scouts!  Give it a try today for your troop.  If you have additional tracks you would like to see added just let us know
support@myscoutlink.com


teamr Sites:

Be sure to tell your friends about teamr's sites. Everyone knows someone that could benefit from our free tools!

 

  Use our built-in event registration
We have a complete event registration system available.  Click on the event detail from your Calendar page to see it.  There's a convenient tab called "Registration" where you can set your registration options.

Event payments are handled automatically, and you can also view all your registrants and download their data. What could be easier?

Remember - you can upgrade to Premium Pro to remove all ads from your account!

 




 

Join the Teamr Inner Circle

Doug, our VP of Operations, has officially launched a blog site using our website builder.  It is a great place to see how your public site can look, and if you have any article suggestions or best practice ideas you want to share with others, let us know and we can post them there.  Visit the site at http://management.teamr.com and be sure to request to join the team when you get there.

Upgrade to Premium Pro

Aside from all the benefits of a Premium account (accepting payments for events, the online store, email templates and tracking, custom event types, etc), you can upgrade to an ad-free account.  The cost is nominal and only depends on how many contacts you have in your account.  Click on the My Account screen to learn more!

Know someone who could use teamr?

Forward this email to a friend or colleague who might be interested in using a state-of-the-art team management software platform.

As always, we appreciate any feedback you have and hope that you are enjoying teamr and our family of sites! Stay tuned for more upgrades coming soon!

A history of previous upgrade announcements is available on our Technology History page.

Until next time,

Lars, Doug, Marlyn and Rocky
Founders, Synchronous Technologies Group Inc.
The teamr Family of Group Management Sites