ADVANCED ACCESS November 2003 Newsletter

November 2003 Newsletter

"The family is the building block for whatever
solidarity there is in society."
- Jill Ruckelshaus

The NEXT Generation of Website Design
Classic Package 3.0 - is NOW Ready for Release!

Advanced Access is proud to announce the release of the NEW generation of Website web design for REALTORS® - called Classic Package 3.0.

The result of our year-long effort is a SUPERIOR product that goes far above and beyond your expectations, increasing your Internet presence.

Our Product Development team listened to your ideas and suggestions, creating a program that gives you the flexibility and control you need, with more ADVANCED features than ever before.

Best of all, our NEW Classic Package 3.0 is a FREE upgrade from your previous Classic Package version. Your new program is backed by the same friendly and efficient service you've always received from our Customer Support Department.

The Classic 3.0 upgrade was a result of over a year of effort, including countless planning meetings to gather all of the ideas from employees in Customer Support, Design and Programming. The upgrade addressed most of the items on your "wish lists," plus a WHOLE lot more.

Classic Package 3.0 provides you with some of the newest features developed by the experts at ADVANCED ACCESS.

Brand new LOOK to your Virtual Office, with "smart" categories to control your website, complete with an easy-to-use online instructional manual.

Your Home Page can be completely customized, with ANY color under the rainbow, your own graphic images inserted into the design, button choices, backgrounds and more. Below is a sample of some of the changes our Beta Testers have made, including adding their own custom graphics, to the design of their home page.

MORE NEW STYLES have been added to our collection of attractive templates - each is completely customizable…from the colors and graphics to the type and style of the navigational buttons.

Our ADVANCED Page Editor makes it easier than ever to add content to your site. Move over Page Manager- now you can include columns and tables on your page, and use our easy Spell Checker!

Create your own CUSTOM Flash Slide Shows with text enhancements to impress your clients
Create your own CUSTOM BANNERS with text overlays of your choice
Completely rewritten in a new programming language that loads significantly FASTER (it's called .NET)
Our Statistics section makes it easier than ever to view the hits, sessions, pages viewed, and referring URL's on your site.

And MUCH, MUCH More!

We hope you enjoy your NEW Classic Package 3.0 program. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions, and thank you sincerely for your business and support.

Here's How to UPGRADE to Classic Package 3.0

If you already have a Classic Package 2.0 version, this is a FREE Upgrade. Simply fill out the form below to notify us that you would like to upgrade to the new version, and you will be placed in our "Upgrade Queue."

Due to volume of upgrade requests we expect to receive, we are estimating your site should be transferred over to the NEW version within 3-7 business days. You will be notified by a Customer Support Representative as soon as your new site is up and running, with more specific instructions.

After your site has been upgraded to the new version, you may need to wait 24 hours to see your new website and login to your new Virtual Office. Your password will still be the same. It will take some time as such changes require an update of DNS (Domain Name Service.)

Product Development Team for Classic 3.0

Congratulations to our amazing Product Development team who is responsible for the programming and design of the NEW Classic 3.0 package. The Product Development team is comprised of Programming, Design, and Documentation.

Programming Team

The Programming Team consists of Justin LaJoie, (also known as "J-La") Team Leader, Zac Olsen ("Zolsen"), Jeremy Spriggs ("Chuckles"), and Jonathan Mabe ("Mabe"), Programmer/Analysts.

(Pictured from left to right: Jonathan, Zac, Justin, and Jeremy)

The members of our programming team are intelligent, highly educated and hold degrees in Information Technology and Computer Science from prestigious Universities. Extremely hard workers, they have enthusiasm, a strong team spirit, and a sense of humor that keeps them going through tough programming dilemmas. Fueled by massive quantities of highly-caffeinated soda and pizza, they produce high quality programs with advanced features for our valued clients.

Each team member contributed his own unique talent to the finished product, Classic Package 3.0. During the project, only two major hurdles reported by the team were (1) the loss of computer hard drive data; and the LOWEST POINT of the project (2) when the supply of Mountain Dew ran out for a few days. The team persevered (and the Mountain Dew was replenished) and the result was a highly sophisticated, easy-to-use program that will help increase your Internet presence.

Design Team

The Design Team consists of (pictured from left to right) Troy Gregory, Graphic Design Manager, Tyler Nguyen, Lawrence Railey, Jason Spence, and Jerry Smith, Graphic Designers.

The Design team is responsible for everything visual in the new Classic Package 3.0 --- including the great new "look" to your Virtual Office, the new website designs and the easy navigation. Our Design team members are highly skilled in graphics design, experienced in Flash and animation, and have an abundance of creativity and artistic ability.

Documentation

No software product would be complete without a comprehensive online instructional manual. Jamie LeBlanc, pictured above, performed an outstanding job writing the manual, with the able assistance of the programming and customer support departments.

New Anti-Spam Laws … You and Intellicards are Affected

With recent U.S. Senate approval to impose tough new limits against sending unwanted commercial emails to consumers, ADVANCED ACCESS has been taking the necessary steps to ensure that our popular Intellicards program meets those new requirements so you can service your valued clients and prospects.

The "Can Spam" Bill, approved unanimously, would outlaw the shadiest techniques used by many of the Internet's most prolific emailers, who pump out millions of unsolicited messages daily. The vote marks the first time the Senate has taken action against an online problem that accounts for 50 percent of all email traffic, frustrating consumers and costing businesses bandwidth and productivity. Here at ADVANCED ACCESS, our active SPAM program filters out about 2 million unwanted emails per month.

Although this new legislation is aimed at those fraudulent or deceptive practices, the new law has also encouraged numerous Internet service providers to begin to develop tougher new guidelines or "Whitelists," which are pre-approved organizations or services that meet these tougher new rules and guidelines. One of the first to begin this practice is America Online, Inc., (AOL).

As a result, ALL Intellicards have been blocked from AOL users (without prior notice to anyone), and to remedy this situation they need to be compliant with AOL rules and regulations. Intellicards cannot be used for SPAM purposes.

Here are the changes that were required for Intellicards to be in compliance with the new SPAM Laws:

Each contact in your address book must have a "Source" field completed, and all email to AOL's member base must be solicited.
There must be an existing relationship, and this will be reflected in the "Source" field. This means you will NOT be able to upload email addresses if there is not a valid "Source" field.
You will not be able to send email if the "Source" field is not filled out.
The return address of your Intellicards must be your actual direct email address. This way, if someone replies to one of your Intellicards, or one of your Intellicards is returned as undeliverable, these responses will all be received by you for you to manually manage. This will result in your returns coming directly to you, instead of being sent to your Intellicards account.

We apologize for the inconvenience you may experience due to these sudden changes; however, this is unavoidable due to AOL's new SPAM laws. We plan to resubmit our newly redesigned Intellicards program to AOL for their approval this week. In the meantime, until it is approved, any email directed to AOL users will still be returned.

Determined to remain at the forefront of helping REALTORS® establish and increase their Internet presence, we are making those necessary adjustments to continue to serve our valued clients and customer base.

We at ADVANCED ACCESS will continue to work, develop and take the necessary steps to ensure both our product longevity and ultimately - YOUR business success!

AA Announces Opening of RADICAL WEST RACING
Distributors of Extreme Sports Cars

On a non-real estate related item, some of our clients have asked us what the Founder, John Morris, has been doing with his time these days.

Always looking for a new challenge, John decided it was time to pursue one of his long-time passions: driving fast cars. Last year John discovered the RADICAL SR3 - a super fast race car manufactured in England - on a racetrack in Buttonwillow, California. After John watched the RADICAL pass all the other cars on the track, he was hooked. John bought a RADICAL SR3 to drive in track events and SCCA races. Now John and ADVANCED ACCESS are Distributors for Radical Motorsport, Ltd. in the USA. The name of our new distributorship is Radical West Racing.

Radical West's services include Extreme Sports Car sales, service and maintenance. In addition, Radical West Racing arranges track events, provides rental services for track days, races and private events, and has a Comprehensive 'Arrive and Drive' Program. For more information about Radical West Racing, please visit our website: www.radicalwest.com.

Public Approval Ratings for REALTORS Increase

Great news for the industry... In an article found in RISMedia.com, Public support for Realtors® improved dramatically over the past year, more than during any other period in the National Association of Realtors®' Public Awareness Campaign, according to the results of an annual survey of consumers conducted to measure the advertising campaign's effectiveness.

More consumers than ever believe that using a Realtor® makes selling a home easier (up 9 percent over last year); that buyers and sellers can be confident in using a Realtor® (up 9 percent); that Realtors earn their commissions (up 14 percent); and that Realtors® can more effectively promote the sale of homes than sellers can on their own (up 8 percent).

This year NAR is spending nearly $20 million on more than 3,400 network television and radio spots. The campaign is funded by a special assessment of $20 per member.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Featured AA Employee - Jennifer Davis

This month we're featuring one of our bright stars in the Design Specialist department, Jennifer Davis. Smart, energetic and friendly, Jennifer's contribution is greatly valued by both clients and peers. She enjoys working closely with our clients and has excellent leadership, communication and problem solving skills.

Jennifer has been with ADVANCED ACCESS for a year and a half, and her duties include working with all of our new clients to set up their websites on the Internet.

Here's what some of our clients have to say about Jennifer:

"Jennifer has been very quick to respond and great to work with. Keep her around!" - Laurie Dufloth

"Please keep up the great work, Jennifer! Thank you for all of your help and quick responses to my questions." - Mike Kessler

"Jennifer was really great! She knew the answers to every question I asked and knew right where to go to demonstrate. I'm very pleased so far. If your tech support is as good as everything else, I'll be a totally happy camper!" - Deborah Davis

Jennifer grew up in Placentia, California, with her older sister, Vikki, older brother, Stephen, and younger brother, Michael. She graduated from El Dorado High School then went to work for Whole Foods Market. In addition to helping customers with their needs, she decorated and designed the display cases for the Deli and coordinated catering orders. She has found that she especially enjoys working in customer service because she takes pleasure in helping and getting to know our clients personally.

The love of Jennifer's life is her adorable daughter, Alexis. When Jennifer is away from work, she enjoys spending her time with Alexis watching "Dora the Explorer" and singing songs! Her goal is to complete school and being successful in everything she does.

ADVANCED ACCESS is an industry-leading, high achievement organization that strives to distinguish itself in the quality of our products and service. Friendliness, trust and mutual helpfulness are essential, and someone like Jennifer makes each day a little brighter.

ADVANCED ACCESS Holiday Office Closure

ADVANCED ACCESS will close its offices on Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th, in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The entire Management Team and staff wish to take this opportunity to extend to our loyal customers, friends and families a most sincere Happy Holiday Greeting!
Normal office hours will resume on Monday, December 1st, 2003.

And, in the words of Miss Piggy, "Never eat more than you can lift."

October 2003 | Back to Main Page | December 2003