I find myself on a regular basis telling my friends and colleagues to use DocuSign. Why? Well, it is simple. I detest the process of receiving a document, reviewing it, sending back proposed changes, getting the final version, printing it, signing it, scanning it, reattaching the document to an email, sending, and have the other party do the same process until they finally send the executed document back.

DocuSign streamlines this whole process. Their console is easy to use and is intuitive. I love services where I don’t have to muck around trying to figure how to use them. I have used DocuSign for dozens of contracts and agreements. It literally has saved me hours of time each month – which I appreciate as a Startup CEO. And best of all, they are mobile friendly. I have signed some very important documents on my iPhone (no app required) while on the move. DocuSign is well worth the monthly cost – go and check them out if you also detest the manual paper signing / scanning process.

I am finding the ratio of time I spend reading content, tweeting, and interacting on the web shifting dramatically from my laptop towards my iPhone. This shift will only become more pronounced in the future as more and more people adopt smart phones with unlimited data plans.

I find is amazing that there are still Fortune 500 companies that don’t have mobile web compatabile sites. I am surprised when popular blogs use flash a video platform.

In this digital age and economy, every percent of market share and every hit on your website count. Don’t you want my business / click through / repeat visit? Build a mobile browser friendly website already.

Dan Hall
Posted via the WordPress App on his iPhone 3GS

LinkedIn allowed me as a recruiter to directly source senior level executive candidates for Visible Technologies. This  enabled the company to recruit for very senior positions without resorting to the use of a very expensive executive search agency. That is a very valuable resource.

That being said, I recently purchased an iPhone 3GS and downloaded the LinkedIn iPhone App. There are plenty of product reviews floating around on the web, so I won’t go into the actual product specs in great detail. However, I was surprised in doing a quick Google search on “LinkedIn iPhone App”, how positive the reviews were.  See the reviews at AppSafari or  SocialTimes; both of which are in the Top 5 Google search results. I think LinkedIn fundamentally missed the mark on their iPhone app.

First, whenever you launch an add-on product or service, you need to design it in context of your core product or service strengths and value. LinkedIn is not a communication platform whose value relies on connection or status updates, yet half of their iPhone App is dedicated to this. Having even a couple Open Networkers (see my previous posts on Open Networking), removes any desire I have to follow my LinkedIn contact connection updates. Of the current network updates I have in my LinkedIn iPhone App, 49 of the 50 updates are connection updates. Connection Updates are arguably the least interesting type of update on LinkedIn (vs. status updates, question / answer updates, or profile updates). Of those 49 connection updates, Open Networkers comprise of 45 of those updates.

Yes, 90% of my LinkedIn iPhone App updates consist of Open Networker connection updates, which has the same value to me as the phone company informing me that the White Pages just got updated. Even worse, every connection update is listed out individually. Why not incorporate the same feature as in the LinkedIn weekly emails updates where connection updates are aggregated by person? That way I don’t see every new connection that an Open Networker, who 35 new connections in one day, has, I only see they have 35 new connections with the option to drill down further.   

LinkedIn is not the place I go to understand what people in my Social Network are currently up to. I don’t feel a compelling need to check LinkedIn everyday and certainly not with their iPhone App. Twitter and Facebook have a stranglehold on that space. I have a healthy number of LinkedIn connections (238, I am selective in whom I connect with), and of my connections three, yes 3, have updated their status on LinkedIn within the last 48 hours.

LinkedIn’s iPhone App is a useful tool with its connection and search capabilities, a tool to be used in specific circumstances. That is the area that LinkedIn is strong, being a great tool for specific uses, i.e. Recruiting, Finding a Job, Professional Networking, and Researching People and Organizations. Monetize what you do well, don’t create products that service the areas you don’t. 

Dan Hall

Sourcing Seattle

“This is a test & only a test”

“This is a test & only a test” (edit with Worpress iPhone App). I am also quite interested in reviewing the meta tags created using the All in One SEO Pack plug-in.

Dan Hall

Making one phone call without disconnecting with ATT Wireless? Apparently, not so easy. I have not been a fan of ATT Wireless ever since they acquired Cingular and significantly raised my bill overnight with no warning or notice. Big fan of Apple right now, ATT unfortunately has lived up to my expectations of providing poor service.

Dan Hall
Sent from my iPhone using the WordPress iPhone App

First, because I can. I received my first iPhone, the new iPhone 3G S, in the mail on the 19th and have been immersing myself in this new delightful world for the past couple of days much to the chagrin of my family. The iPhone blurs all traditional communication platforms. In doing so, my iPhone allows me to stay connected in so many ways away from my computer. 

Secondly, I am previewing the WordPress iPhone App. I am quite pleased so far. It was easy to connect to my blog using my admin account and start blogging. The WordPress iPhone App allows me to tag and categorize my posts, which are requisite SEO and organizational features for me. It even saved a draft copy of my post when there was an interrupt (which is important especially since this post is longer than originally planned).

My only concern now is the carpal tunnel that I might develop typing on my iPhone. Good work, WordPress.

Dan Hall

posted from his new iPhone 3GS using the WordPress iPhone App