BlueStar Nation

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

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?

 

Think Again by Adam Grant

 

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:

Elo M50

Evolis Kiosk Card Printers

Zebra Fixed RFID Readers

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

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

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

 

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

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

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:

Epson OmniLink TM-m30II-SL Receipt Printer

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:

Zebra Desktop Printers

Elo Edge Connect

“Customer journey”—the practice of understanding how someone reaches a buying decision—is a popular topic in sales, but what about literally mapping someone’s physical journey in spaces like conference halls, showrooms, retail stores or even within a workplace? This episode, we’re talking to the innovative co-owner and EVP of FastSensor, Kalon Welch. They use sensors to gather anonymous signals from mobile devices to understand how people move within a space and provide actionable data. How does this differ from beaconing or other monitoring systems? How did they pivot to provide real benefit during the pandemic? How do sensors help prove ROI for events? What does it mean for growing retail trends? It’s the episode that includes an “Inception pirouette!”

 

#VARValue – What should VARs be asking or looking for to suggest sensor-driven analytics as a solution?

 

TEConnecting with us:

Kalon - "True" AI

Dean - Northrup to build homes in moon orbit

John - Scary smart AI toys

 

Talk to us!

Twitter - @TEConnectPod

Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com

 

Sponsored by:

Elo Return to Work Solutions

Zebra Intelligent Cabinets