hr

Google Fiber

posted March 25 by Chase Finch tags: ,

2000 strong for Google Fiber in Greenville! Our party of three was in the little ‘g’.

Google on main

(c) Mike Bergen

Bureaucracy

posted January 28 by Chase Finch tags: ,

President Obama gave his first State of the Union address tonight.  Concurrent web surfing gave me a fresh admiration for www.whitehouse.gov, a beautifully designed online presence for Obama’s administration.  Politics aside, I greatly appreciate the transparency of the whole lot, and I am thus prompted to write a little about something I would, and plan to, give my professional career.

Global communication is improving.  You have real-time information about how many Americans were killed in battle last week at your fingertips.  College classes are being taught with no preparation other than a few Google searches (Dr. Pellerin.)  Sex-trafficking in Colombia, South America is a major concern to a church in Greenville, South Carolina.  The state of our world is transparent.

The Obama administration at least claims to be doing their part to streamline bureaucracy and waste.  With freshly redesigned news sites, we can now closely observe to see whether that’s true.  News about the earthquake in Haiti traveled instantly, and a text message is all it takes to send money.

I plan to be at the forefront of the crowd that implements more possibilities to use new-age communication to do justice.  Once upon a time, ignorance was a great excuse; now, our radius is expanding, our knowledge is vast and our responsibilities are large.

Nonprofit Website Grant by Engenius

posted December 18 by Chris Manley tags:

This year has certainly been an adventure.  The Great Recession seems to be nearing an end, but recovery looks to be slow.  A lot of people are without jobs and even more are in jobs other than the field they specialize in.

Our company came into existence just in time to hop on the roller coaster and ride the loops, climbs, and falls.  We haven’t spent the past two years rolling in excessive bonus checks or hosting lavish parties, but we’re still here!

When cash flow is tight, it’s necessary for businesses to be creative in how they give back and contribute to the community.  We’re trying to do just that.  Today we’re unveiling our first Engenius Grant. This grant offers a brand new top-notch website to a nonprofit in Upstate SC.  We recognize that it is vital for all nonprofit organizations to have a high quality website for their supporters, participants, and beneficiaries.

Any nonprofit in Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens, Greenville, and Spartanburg Counties may apply for this grant, but must do so by Jan. 22.  Please spread the word to nonprofits you know!  In a time when funds for investments like this are nowhere to be found, we can’t wait to give one lucky nonprofit a phenomenal resource they will benefit from for years to come!

You can access the application, as well as instructions on how to submit it here:

Engenius Website Grant Application

Good luck!

Bleeding Orange

posted December 8 by Chris Manley tags: ,

Yesterday I took a big leap of faith.  The last time I took this leap, I passed out.  Not a great experience.  On to the story – I was at my church dropping something off on Monday afternoon.  A fellow member stopped me in the hallway and asked me if I was there for the blood drive.  I told him no, but said “if you have an opening, I can try.”

This was one of those times where I didn’t think about the words I was saying until they were said.  The last time I tried to give blood, I passed out.  It wasn’t pleasant.  My blood pressure was too low.  But the man seemed like he needed some people.  So I followed him to the other building and said I would give it a shot.

Back in the “interview room”, they took my blood pressure.  It was normal!  Then came the next step:  the finger prick.  Now this brought back some memories… when I was five, they pricked my finger in the doctor’s office.  I screamed at the top of my lungs.  Shots?  I’m fine with.  Sight of blood?  Sure.  Finger pricks?  Heck no.  That one moment in my earlier years scarred me for life.  But I looked away and told the nurse not to give me any warning, just to do it.  She did.  I lived.

I passed the initial test.  Now, could I actually go through the whole thing without passing out?  Long story short – one Sprite, an ice pack, and a reclining chair later, I gave one unit of blood.  Woohoo!

I tell you this story not to prove I can overcome my fears, but because of the things I overheard while I kept squeezing my fist alternated with opening it wide.  Our church used to get quite a few donors when we have the blood drive.  They now get a dozen.  Manufacturing facilities used to open their doors to the Blood-Mobile and allow employees time off to give blood.  Of those that still have their doors open, many are phasing this out.

Just in the area stretching from Clemson to Spartanburg, 300 units of blood are needed every day to fill the need our own neighbors have in their darkest hours.  While I enjoyed some orange juice and home made cookies afterward, the gentleman who invited me to come give sat down next to me.  We brainstormed for a while how to get more people from our church to overcome their fears and give.  This very wise man reminded me – “it only takes one.”

On the way out, they presented me with my very own Clemson orange t-shirt that proclaims, “My Blood Runs Orange!”  It really is a beautiful sight to behold.  But no matter what color your blood may run, I encourage you to overcome any fears you have and give blood.  It’s the easiest and quickest way I can think of to save a life.

And hey, if you hurry, they might even give you your very own orange t-shirt too!