Pretend Open Source to get the word out – then let em pay

Although it seems a bit unorthodox at first sight the way ActiveCollab has gained fame is probably one of the most ingenious ones I’ve ever seen on the web.

Until late 2007  and version 0.7.x, ActiveCollab was declared an Open Source project and free of charge and use. It did have a few bugs back then but was – all in all – usable.

Today, I wanted to check back and take another look at the project to see Read more >>

Customer Relationship Management systems are NOT new!

Yes, CRMs can raise the value of your company… As basically every effort to gain and maintain data does.

So HOW does a CRM raise your business’ value?

Read more >>

Facebooks attempt to speak German

There are certain no-no’s on the web. One of them is the try to speak a language that you don’t really speak.

Facebook tried to do so and although my German is far from perfect this image told me that they shouldn’t continue further but seek professional help

I would have loved to add a trackback but unfortunatly Facebook doesn’t really allow that in their service. Who knows why?

Recommendations for Lars Hilse as a Web Designer and Web Strategist

“Lars was able to offer excellent guidance on a business concept that was under consideration at the time. Lars has expert knowledge of web business strategy and understood immediately the requirements and was able to offer solutions that met these requirements.”
Pat Webber,

“Lars Hilse – social media expert – was the talent extraordinaire that provided the necessary energy for the very first presentation of the STELLARBIZ GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE. He provided his deep experience and expertise for that first RoundTable, and the result was that all the participants had a great time – learning, laughing, and connecting. I continue to rely upon Lars for his nowledgeable advice and guidance in augmenting my own social media expertise.”
Erika Hanson Brown, Founder/CEO at Stellar Connections LLC, Denver CO, USA

“Lars is exceptionally talented entrepreneur. The magical aura of Lars’s positivity is a eye-opener for the whole corporate world-as it relates corporate architecture with reputation coefficient and I am very sure that major organizations can benefit very well implementing his motivational presentations.”
Manuj Darshan, Owner at 3D Architects India International, Rohtak, India

“I have had the privilege to meet Lars and get to know him over the past couple months. My personal experience with him has been great. He has a wealth of knowledge and is willing to share this knowledge to those who need it. I would strongly recommend Lars to anyone who is thinking about doing business with him or anyone who wants a solid networking contact. Thank you Lars!”
Adam DesAutels, President & CEO at cse24/7, Minneapolis, USA

“Even when he created my new website in 2007 Lars was more than just a web designer because of his wholistic approach and seeing a website than more as an online presentation. His visions and ideas to create – not a website – but a tremendous marketing instrument are revolutionary and something I haven’t seen before. Above that he is a great presenter and has this once-in-a-lifetime talent to convey even most complex matters in an exceptionally comprehensive, yet not at all boring manner. I thus can only approve his step towards reorganizing his companies towards web strategy consulting and highly recommend him to any company which is looking for more than an online appearance. The work he has done for me resulted in breathtaking growth of the business I generated online.”
Meike Kreidler, Freelance Copywriter Stuttgart, Germany

“Lars is very well versed!  I spoke with him on the phone yesterday and browsed his profile/websites/speaking history… and he’s surely a subject-matter-expert on the topic of SEO and leadership in internet marketing.”
Steven Burda, Senior Financial Analyst at SunGard Data Systems – Financial Systems Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

“Lars is a smart person. Knows how to generate business from web 2.0 stuff. Talking with him is fun and serious. lars is practicing what Robert Scoble and Shel Israel are preaching: “Naked Conversations”. Openness, transparency, just some keywords which describe Lars. But also eager, humorous,keen and smart. I love to have conversations with him and in my healthy opinionj he’s one of, or maybe the best web strategist(s) I ever met. Lars, thanks for the conversations! I learned a lot and hope to hire you again in the nearby future!”
Jaap Steinvoorte, Enterprise 2.0 / Web 2.0 consultant, ADA ICT Nijmengen, The Netherlands

“Lars Hilse is a person whom I like most not only as a Business Partner but as a friend who is a man of good ideas and hope.I specially appreciate him for initiating a great step to educate corporate Business Development People in Asia about how to break the cultural and language barriers when they come in contact with their customers and clients in European Region.All the best Lars!!”
Nilandri Roy, Key Account Manager-Sales, Intersoft Data Labs Delhi, India

“Lars Hilse is a friend I met here. We’ve spoken many times on telephone and email. I consider him to be a great thinker and budding entrepreneur. I reccomend Lars for anything he says he can do. His technolgy applied to reality is incredible. JIM”
“This is what this forum is all about. I met Lars through mutual friends online…and we have developed anj international friendship and respect across many borders. I have had lengthy conversations and correspondences with Lars and, I can say with certainty he is a ‘SuperStar” about to explode into international fame and recognition. I am proud to be his friend,,and, in some areas his mentor…Lars is unique… am I am proud to call him a friend. JIM”
Jim Ziegler, CSP, HSG, President at Ziegler Corporations Atlanta, Georgia, USA

“Lars consulted my firm and gave some very valuable advise for revisions in Backgroundnow.com. Also, his communications are clear and personable – he’s easy to work with. I highly recommend him.
Lee Hill, CEO at Informed Networks Corporation : BackgroundNow.com Houston, Texas, USA

“Lars kick’s butt! -this is the guy you want to get it done right the first time.”
Patrick Veenhoff, Pre – Sales Support Manager (Applications) at AASTRA Zurich, Switzerland

“Lars is a very bright, technically savvy guy who has knowledge in quite a few areas related to web development, design, and IT. He’s an extremely hardworking entrepreneur, and a pleasure to work with!”

Adam Piken, Owner AE3 Interactive, New York City, USA

“My experience with Lars Hilse is on a strictly professional basis and founded in his enthousiastic way of describing solutions and present inventive ideas. I have really received what I have asked for and more to it. I can highly recommend Lars as a competent, inventive and creative resource. Good luck and thank you for your excellent work.”
Kjell Enevolsen, Safety manager at Autoliv Borås, Sweden

“I have had several opportunities to work together with Lars. It was always a pleasure and the results are best summarized by the words: diligent, reliable and revolutionary. The concept of Deutsche Webdesign probably explains it’s tremendous growth over the past year. . I look forward to more projects with Lars and wish him the best of luck.”

George Feist, President & CEO at Novus Management Services Corporation New York, USA

“Lars is an expert as a web designer and also has an excellent knowledge in the financial service industry, particularly in the insurance segment where he worked for AXA in Germany. Lars is a brilliant, creative, hard working and successful entrepreneur who has created a brilliant Web design company of an excellent standard of quality. Lars is a proactive and excellent manager who always tries to understand his customers and offer them a win-win opportunity. I stroghly recommend him to every company.”

Lucas Wyrsch, CRO at TGC – Consultants Zurich, Switzerland

“Lars’ attention to detail and inexhaustible motivation and passion for his work make him an indispensible resource.”

Alex Dziena, Owner AE3 Interactive, New York City, USA

“Lars is not only a brilliant, enthusiast and trustworthy man but he also is a man who has created a brilliant structure and Web services of the highest quality !!”
Francisco Xavier Garcia, VP Business Development at Bridgeworks Group London, United Kingdom

“I have had the opportunity to work with Lars and I must say that he is very proactive and always on top of things. I have also found him to be very diligent and always tries to understand his customers well before embarking or undertaking any project. I would definitely recommend him to any organization.”

Bernard Cruz, Senior Vice President, Human Resources at Prosafe Production Services Pte Ltd, Singapore

“Lars is certainly the guy you have to get to know, if you want to start/extend your activities in the web! His extensive know-how and experience is overwhelming. I enjoy working with him and appreciate him as a very good friend since many years.”
“Lars Hilse did a great job on my company’s new Homepage www.css-tellingstedt.de. It is technically as well as grafically an excellent result. I will recommend Lars Hilse’s an his “Deutsche Webdesign” to all of my customers, who wish to extend their activities in the web.”

Alexander Jordan, CEO CSS Tellingstedt, Germany

“Lars is a detail-oriented manager who watches the balance sheet like a hawk without ever losing sight of the strategic objective.”

Koshy Samuel, Sales, Business & Operations, Logistics Support for Well Completion Products, Saudi Arabia at Schlumberger Middle East SA, Saudi Arabia

“When I decided to give The Web Lender a facelift I took in 8 quotes but in the end money was not the deciding factor. Within minutes of requesting a quote from Lars he telephoned me from Germany. That’s professionalism – he got the job.”
David Fisher, Founder/CEO The Web Lender

“Lars is a visionary, trustworthy professional who is quick to respond to any request, whether of personal gain to him or not. I am sure that anyone hiring Lars for any job or project will get more than their money’s worth.”
Amos Beer, CEO at Pazgas Tel Aviv, Israel

the old web 2.0…

As it always is on the internet: Nothing lasts long. And basically, the question has been already answered. Web 3.0 is supposed to be the “personal web”, where all the business portals like XING, LinkedIn, Ecademy and so forth would fit in fine and the terms are already set as well. As a reaction of all the people joining the internet hour by hour and attracted by Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, my company has just launched web 4.0, which is supposed to bring more quality to the services offered on the internet. Hope I was able to help.

Can anyone recommend an online Project Tracking and CRM application?

Asked by Mike Ogilvie | February 27, 2007 in Project Management, Business Development | Closed

What software would you recommend that combines simple graphic, multi-project linear schedules with a full, robust calendar?

Asked by Bridget Agabra  | February 27, 2007 in Project Management | Open

Alternatives to SalesForce?

What has to be done in any case is the customization of the CRM and that’s where it hits you back because that’s a rather complicated thing to take care of. So even the setup of an opensource solution has to be done by a pro. Another one with rudementally works with outlook is VTiger, a project funded upon SugarCRM. It has tons of bugs but if you get it up and working it’s THE most inexpensive solution. We have and I am very satisfied.

If you’re using Linux, what would you say was the single most difficult thing you had to go through when you started ?

Getting used to the fact that it was SO MUCH better than Windows based PCs But seriously. The thing you have to think about is that when you set up a linux based system is – other than windows – that you have to “open” and “activate” everything. Windows has everything open from the start and thus has the security issues all the time.”