CEO Joanna Pineda interviews Ben Martin, Founder of Online Community Results and TheNIRD.org. TheNIRD is a blog that tracks M&A actvity and investments in the nonprofit & association technology market since 2016. Ben talks about why he thinks there's been so much activity in the association and nonprofit space, and what associations should do if their favorite AMS or technology vendor gets acquired or merges with another company. Ben has some good recommendations for all associations!

Is your association prey or predator? Moira Edwards from Ellipsis Partners, wants to know. Here's the background: Thad Lurie, VP of Operations and CIO at EDUCAUSE, opened AMSFest 2017 in Chicago with an amazing presentation on Next Generation Data Maturity with regards to associations. Interestingly, Thad compared many associations to prey - they are risk averse, they travel in packs, they are easily spooked. Thad believes associations should be more like the cheetah, a predator that attacks prey, is agile and fast moving. Moira Edwards thinks there should be a better animal representation for associations. If not cheetah, then what? ...

Matrix Group, a digital agency in the Washington DC area specializing in web design, development, AMS, integration, mobile and e-marketing services, has won three awards from this year’s Hermes Creative Awards competition. The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies. Matrix Group received awards for projects in the following categories: Platinum Award, the highest honor, for the Food Marketing Institute’s Digital Food Shopper Microsite Gold Award for the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors® Website Redesign Gold Award for Equipment Leasing and Finance ...

Washington-Area digital agency, Matrix Group International, and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), a trade association representing the $130 billion electrical construction industry; has launched a wearable version of the already-popular mobile app, NECA News.

I read a lot of RFPs and I attend a lot of website redesign kickoff meetings. The most important questions I ask are, “Why redesign? Why now?” I usually get answers like: Our website needs to mobile-friendly The website needs a faceted search Our site search sucks The website isn’t user-friendly While these are all […] The post When Redesigning Your Website, Don’t Confuse Goals with Requirements appeared first on The MatriX Files.

During pitch and kickoff meetings, clients and prospects often ask me, “Who should be in charge of my Association Management Software (AMS)?” Should it be the IT department? Membership? Finance? Meetings? GR? In my mind, there’s no question that the Membership Department should ultimately be in charge. Why? Because at its core, any association management software … Continue reading Who Should Be in Charge of Your Association Management Software (AMS)? →

I was in the car a few weeks ago when I heard a story on NPR about Mx, a gender-neutral honorific that is being adopted by many organizations because not everyone wants to identify their gender in the traditionally binary ways (e.g., Mr. or Ms.). In 2015, the New York Times wondered if Mx has … Continue reading Is It Time to Add a Gender-Neutral Honorific to Your Forms and Directories? →

A few years ago, Matrix Group Creative Director Alex Pineda suggested that we ditch PowerPoint and move to Google Slides. The reason? Collaborating on a PPT file is really hard. We used to pass around huge files via email or rely on the network share. Alex came up with a beautiful template and the rest […] The post How Google Docs and Google Slides Changed Biz Dev at Matrix Group appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Matrix Group International Inc. recently launched a new WordPress-powered website integrated with the MatrixMaxx AMS implementation for the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).

I attend a lot of kickoff meetings. For  redesigns, mobile apps, custom databases, you name it.   The best kickoff meetings are the ones where the CEO, Executive Director, the EVP or President attend, participate actively and provide insight. Why? When the top person in the organization attends a meeting, staff know that meeting is […] The post Why Your CEO Needs to Attend Your Redesign Meeting appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Why is it important for companies to go through the SOC compliance process? CEO Joanna Pineda had a chance to catch up with Jeff Young, Principal at Young LLP, to discuss what SOC reports are, why they're important, and the different types of requirements for SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliance. Jeff shares expert insight on how important it is to know how to approach the SOC process and how to get SOC certified.

Last month, some of the largest AMS (association management software) companies (YourMembership, Abila, Aptify and NimbleAMS) joined forces to create Community Brands, which they describe as “a powerful and unified family of brands and a connected eco-system of software and services to better serve associations, nonprofits and government entities.” One can quibble over whether or not […] The post Why There is Still Room for a Small, Local Player in the AMS Space appeared first on The MatriX Files.

It's no secret that SearchBlox is one of our most trusted and preferred search platforms. Why? CEO Joanna Pineda recently spoke with Dave Hoernig, Director of Software Engineering at Matrix Group, who discussed the features and functions that make SearchBlox one of the best search solutions on the market for our clients. Dave also shared a few great on tips and tricks to get the most out of a SearchBlox implementation.

Web writing is a whole different ball game, and it's evolving every day. Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda recently spoke with Carrie Hane, Principal of Tanzen Consulting, who shared how writing for digital is different, and how it needs to be all about the users. Carrie shares great insight on how to identify your user's needs and how to more effectively create and manage content to meet those needs.

Every day, we hear about another big data breach. Last year, Yahoo! revealed that 500 million user accounts had been breached. eBay had 145 million accounts compromised. The numbers are getting so big, we’re numb to them. In some cases, sensitive data was leaked. In others, millions of emails are getting a new flood of … Continue reading The One Thing You Should Do to Make Your Database More Secure →

What's new in content management system? Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda spoke with Tony Byrne, founder of Real Story group, about CMS technology innovations and how organizations can make sure they are selecting the best system for their needs. Your technology strategy is key to success, and Tony shares some great tips on how to make good early-stage technology decisions.

A few months ago, the office space committee met to discuss conference rooms at Matrix Group. We have a standing committee that is thinking about the future of work and we decided that we needed more collaborative space, complete with a screen and projector since we’re always looking at wireframes, designs, applications or code. It […] The post How a $35 Device Disrupted an Industry appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Even in the age of digital learning, face-to-face events and trainings are invaluable. At the Web Content Maven's recent WebTech Conference, Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda spoke with Jasmine Sante, CEO of Sante Productions and Web Content Mavens meetup organizer, about why in-person learning and attending events is so important. Jasmine also shares some great insight on how she organizes the events and sources the speakers. Considering joining a meetup group or attending an event? Don't think about it for another second - just do it!

Matrix Group, a leading digital agency in the Washington DC metro area, announces the release of MatrixMaxx 17.1, the latest version of its association management system (AMS).

Did you know that something as simple as mindset can transform your businesses and your lives? Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda recently met up with Eve Grodnitzky, PH.D., executive educator, speaker, and author of Click - The Art + Science of Getting From Impasse to Insight, who shared some great advice on fixed and growth mindset, and how they affect our everyday lives. Interested in learning more? Check out one of Eve's speeches on "How Mindset Changes Everything": https://youtu.be/0a1mupmndb8

What will be hot in design in 2017? CEO Joanna Pineda met up with Matrix Group Creative Director, Alex Pineda, and Senior Designer, Andi Witmer to discuss 6 new Design Trends of 2017. These trends are: 90's retro design, the implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), rich immersive story telling, the growth and popularity of cinemagraphs, rethinking your branding area, and BIG BOLD COLORS. Watch the video to learn how you can incorporate these design trends in 2017!

I’m a very lucky person. I haven’t experienced anything that would qualify as a major traumatic event, and my life isn’t generally a series of inconveniences. Plenty of other people don’t have that kind of good fortune. And since I’m … Continue reading → The post User Experience in the Face of Trauma appeared first on snack o'clock.

Matrix Group has received three awards for recent client projects from the AVA Digital Awards, sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP).

I was trying to get my 6-year old out of bed the other morning. He wouldn’t budge. Finally, he challenged me by asking, “What’s special about today?” That stopped me my in tracks. “What IS special about today?,” I thought. I named a few things: “I’m picking you up early. You have TaeKwonDo. I’m making […] The post “What’s Special About Today? Life Lesson from a Six-Year-Old” appeared first on The MatriX Files.

Mindfulness isn't just good for the brain, it's good for business! Recently, Matrix Group CEO Joanna Pineda caught up with Amy Sandler, Founder of Thunderheart Leadership - an organization that helps leaders become their best selves through mindfulness training and compassion training - to learn more about mindfulness, meditation, and the positive impact it can have on business. Wondering how you can get started being more mindful? Amy shares some great guidance.

For me, 2017 is all about productivity hacks and working more efficiently. Recently, I’ve been diving deep into the world of Google Chrome extensions to help me streamline as much of my work (and personal life) as possible. One of … Continue reading → The post Favorite Tool: Google Page Analytics Chrome Extension appeared first on snack o'clock.

One of the best parts of my job is conducting user interviews. Nearly every Matrix Group project starts with a User Persona exercise where we interview staff to glean their most important target audiences. Then a team of Matrix Group staff interview people in each group. Whenever I can, I help conduct these interviews because […] The post Members Want Curation and Insight from Their Associations – Part One appeared first on The MatriX Files.