CDS is now a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
CDS is pleased to announce its certification into the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
Program. In order to become a Gold Certified Partner, CDS had to meet thorough standards,
proving knowledge, skills and commitment in advising organizations implementing
Microsoft technologies. Through this rigorous process, CDS exhibited dedication
and proficiency, backed by recurring excellence as an Independent Software Vendor
and Microsoft Certified Developer.
Microsoft reserves this level of certification for those who possess the highest
level of competency and expertise. CDS Group is proud to enter this prestigious
arena.
Analyze Video Meeting Viewership with Google Analytics
CDS provides VideoMinutes.NET customers with a View Statistics feature on the VideoMinutes
Admin site. This option provides a quick summary of the number of times a meeting
video has been watched in a particular month. From these statistics, customers can
evaluate traffic from month to month, track fluctuations and identify trends in
video viewership. This information is of great value in determining areas of interest
and concern in a community.
To further enhance the information customers can access through the admin site,
CDS has now incorporated code within the VideoMinutes.NET solution, enabling customers
to utilize Google Analytics (GA) to gather additional traffic statistics if they
wish to do so. GA is a free service offered by Google, which generates standardized
statistics about the visitors to a website. GA tracks visitors from all referrers,
including various search engines. Take the
Google Analytics Tour.
Adding a Google Analytics account will complement the information gathered by CDS.
It will also allow customers who have numerous groups using the VideoMinutes.NET
system to have individual accounts, detailing each group’s video traffic to their
individual videos.
Sunshine week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of
open government and freedom of information.
As an Open Government supporter, CDS Group is dedicated to providing new media technology
which enhances access to public information. To celebrate this special week, we
sent our VideoMinutes team out with a camera to get the Citizens' and the Lancaster
County Commissioners' view of open government.
CDS Welcomes New Customer: Lehigh County, PA
The Lehigh County Commissioners will make their public meetings available for viewing
on-demand anytime via the County Web site, www.lehighcounty.org.
County Commissioners approved the partnership with CDS Group to use both its meeting
capture solution, MakeAMotion.NET and its hosting and archiving services, VideoMinutes.NET.
Putting their public meetings online will enhance access to public information to
the County's 340,000+ residents. In addition, it will increase transparency, encourage
citizen participation, and build public trust. Lehigh County had looked at a number
of products over the past few years and determined that MakeAMotion and VideoMinutes
met both their operational requirements as well as their budgetary limitations.
The County Commissioners hold their weekly meetings on Wednesdays (unless otherwise
noted) at 7:30 p.m. in the Public Hearing Room of the Lehigh County Government Center,
in Allentown, PA.
The archived meetings will be searchable by agenda topic, allowing County residents
to easily find the meeting and specific agenda item of interest.
Online, On-Demand Video Training
Lancaster County, PA, which has used CDS Group's MakeAMotion and VideoMinutes to
video capture and archive their County Commissioners' meetings since 2008, has recognized
the value of using these solutions for training and education purposes.
By using the video capture solution to record training sessions, and then archiving
the sessions for later on-demand viewing, the County now has the ability to increase
training flexibility (for both the student and the instructor), expand their offerings,
and enhance time and personnel efficiency.
There are numerous benefits of offering training and educational sessions online
and on-demand, including:
- Reduces travel time and expenses
- Provides a library of recorded trainings
- Offers convenience with on-demand 24/7 accessibility
- Eliminates scheduling conflicts
- Allows employees to progress at their own pace
- Allows training staff to do more with less overhead
CDS CEO Presents to NJ Freeholders
Ren Baker, CDS Group CEO, recently presented
Using Video to Reach Constituents, at the New Jersey Association
of Counties (NJAC) 2010 Annual Conference at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City,
NJ. Baker outlined the many benefits of using this new media to enhance communication,
increase access, engage citizens and reach new target markets. CDS also demonstrated
MakeAMotion.NET and VideoMinutes.NET during the conference.
VideoMinutes.NET ITC Video Sponsor
CDS Group's video archiving solution, VideoMinutes.NET recently served as the video
sponsor at the Intergovernmental Technology Summit in Camp Hill, PA. CDS captured
the Summit keynote address, as well as a number of training sessions throughout
the day. The videos can be viewed on the Summit's site,
www.govresources.com.