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BlueStar Nation is the podcast that tackles the hot topics, trends, and emerging technologies impacting the specialty IT reseller channel, software companies, MSPs, and hardware manufacturers. Hosted by John Martin & Dean Reverman. Tell us what YOU want to hear about: nation@bluestarinc.com
Episodes
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Grocery stores have always been an essential business in any community but during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were the one place we all still had to go, leading to increased demand, supply shortages, and opportunities for innovation. This week, Elo's Ruth Cooley joins us to discuss what she's seen change since the start of 2020 and look ahead at what's to come. We look at 5 pain points for customers and how a little modernization can combat them. How does display technology bring customers back in-store and generate those precious impulse buys? Hint: maybe figuring out what to pair with a nice cabernet?
#VARValue - How is Elo helping VARs position new technology to grocers, especially local or regional ones?
Check out Elo Grocery solutions at https://www.elotouch.com/grocery
TEConnecting with us
Ruth - Elo's upcoming M60 & Android AIO devices
Dean - Portl holograms
John - Squid Game
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Elo's 5053L Display
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
Thursday Oct 21, 2021
It's the second of our live episodes recorded at VARTECH 2021 in Orlando Florida! For this one, James Korte, unofficial third host, joins us to discuss how VARs and TSCs should be utilizing LinkedIn for their business. What should you emphasize for personal and company pages? How important is it to post and share content? What does the LinkedIn algorithm seem to "reward"? Is it useful to market on the platform? Finally, what about other social media platforms? It's the episode that wants you to acknowledge your age!
#VARValue - What is something our audience or anyone listening could do right now to improve their social reach?
TEConnecting with us:
James - Rivian EV trucks & SUVs
Dean - mRNA cancer therapy
John - Building his own lightsaber
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Elo EssentialEdge
Zebra Modernizing Warehouses w/Android
Evolis Primacy
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
Thursday Oct 14, 2021
After a year and a half of podcasting from our little studio, we took the show on the road for the first time to VARTECH 2021 in Orlando before a live audience! For this episode, we had a great conversation with Barcoding, Inc.’s VP of Marketing, Jody Costa, who helped us understand what our listeners actually dealt with during the early days of the pandemic and how marketing had to scramble to adjust. What did she learn? What worked or didn’t? What does it really mean to be creative with your marketing? How do you maintain a brand while still stretching creatively? It’s the podcast that now celebrates National Barcode Day!
#VARValue - Where should our audience or listeners start to self-evaluate their own marketing efforts?
TEConnecting with us:
Jody - Saildrone hurricane probe (and check out the Dorothy scene from Twister -25 year old spoilers)
Dean - The most popular cocktail and the fastest growing/declining jobs
John - Lucid Air electric vehicle
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Evolis Kiosk Card Printers
Zebra Fixed RFID Readers
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
While we work on some special episodes this week, here’s another round-up of the latest in tech, science and pop culture news and stories. 1. The latest in robotics for distribution. 2. The Jeopardy! host saga. 3. Best US states to do business & the most/least stressed cities. 4. Emma, the robot masseuse. 5. Fake public comments on the net neutrality issue. 6. The theatre vs. streaming debate (ScarJo, Patty Jenkins). 7. REvil goes offline.
TEConnecting with us:
Dean - Audi's transforming AV
John - Retro Bowl
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluesarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Elo Cannabis POS
Epson T88VII Receipt Printer
Zebra Service Contracts eBook
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Contactless solutions have been a popular topic for the past couple years, but when it comes to ID cards and badges, the technology has been in place for much longer. Many of us already use them for physical access to buildings or specific areas, but there are plenty of applications beyond opening a door. Evolis’ Sean Barrett is here to explain! He walks us through the history of ID & access control technologies, how modern contactless & proximity cards are printed and encoded, and how smart cards can be used for identity authentication, single-sign on, secure print and much more.
#VARValue – How does Evolis help VARs that are trying to introduce ID/access management to their customers?
TEConnecting with us
Sean - Tesla Bot
Dean - Most popular AirBnB
John - Apple Airpods Pro
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Evolis Primacy Card Printer
Evolis Kiosk Printers
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
Thursday Sep 23, 2021
It’s a world of color, so why do we still have to look at so many black & white labels? We’re joined by Epson’s Andy Scherz to explain why color labeling is beneficial for all businesses looking to communicate clearly, grab attention, create brand recognition, and more! We’ll explore which industries really benefit, dispel some myths and objections, and provide some tips to help you convince customers it’s time to make the switch.
#VARValue – How can VARs partner with Epson to sell color print solutions?
TEConnecting with us:
Andy - The pervasiveness of video
Dean - Tech Workers Secretly Working Multiple Jobs from Home
John - Autonomous Work Pod
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Epson T88VII Receipt Printer
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Everyone wants to see their company grow, but are they ready to do so at scale? This week, author, “Growth Geek,” and founder of Lolly.co Daniel Cooper joins us from across the pond to explain the difference between traditional growth and rapid scaling. What is “normalization deviance”? What can go wrong when companies try to scale without being ready? What are some of the simple systems we can structure to start the process? What does the new world of remote work mean for hiring the best possible team to expand your business?
#VARValue – For VARs that think they’re ready to scale, what are one or two things you think they can do right now?
Learn more about Daniel's company and his upcoming book, Upgrade, at Lolly.co
TEConnecting with us:
Daniel - SwitchBot
Dean - How we spent our time in 2020 (or did we?)
John - Why delivery drones are struggling to take off
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Elo Cannabis POS
Zebra Service Contracts eBook
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
Thursday Sep 09, 2021
This week, we kick off with a nearly 30 year old music reference before diving into the world of Edge Computing with Advantech’s Charlie Wu. He helps us understand how it differs from cloud computing, what resources are needed to compute on the edge, and some practical examples of industries or situations where mission-critical, near instant computing is necessary and vital.
#VARValue - How does Advantech help businesses get started with edge computing?
TEConnecting with us:
Charlie - AI, facial recognition & autonomous vehicles
Dean - Geneticists using Excel
John - Cultivated/cultured meat
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by:
Advantech AIM-75S Industrial-Grade Tablet
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
We have pretty high expectations for our travel, dining, and entertainment, even before the pandemic. Customers crave experiences that feel unique or catered to them. This week, we’re doing some future thinking with Epson’s Joshua Stanphill & David Vander Dussen. First, where are the priorities for the next 6 months to a year? What technologies do we expect to take off over the next decade and how? What about recreational events like sports, concerts, etc…? It’s the episode that doesn’t want to spend too much time on its feet!
#VARValue – What should VARs be investing in or working on with their hospitality customers to “future-proof” that business?
TEConnecting with us:
Josh - Digitally enabled saltwater reef tank
David - Microfulfillment
Dean - NASA Recruiting for Simulated Mars Mission
John - Disney's Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser "resort"
Sponsored by:
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Asset management feels like a relatively simplistic concept, but treating it as such results in assets that are lost, damaged, outdated or unsafe. This week, we’re joined by Shrikant Nistane from Crave InfoTech, who takes a smarter approach to the topic and how it dramatically impacts business functionality. What’s the difference between asset and inventory management? What is the asset management “maturity curve”? What do most enterprises get wrong? We’ll also explore some industries that you might not think of that can benefit from better asset management.
#VARValue – How can VARs refresh their asset management conversations for customers that think they’re doing fine?
TEConnecting with us:
Shrikant - Self-driving vehicles and blockchain
Dean - Cruise driverless shuttles
John - Are we investing too much in skills that will soon be obsolete?
Talk to us!
Twitter - @TEConnectPod
Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com
Sponsored by: