Refresh Winchester

Learn to Write Compelling Content

Aaron Collegeman — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:35:46 +0000

Given that designers and developers hone their unique crafts on a daily basis, it’s understandable that they haven’t necessarily kept sharp on the written word.

But with so much talk on “content first” these days, how can you start to improve your own writing?

At our next Refresh meet-up, Steph Hay will discuss ways you can write compelling messaging that piques interest and encourages action from your users. You’ll leave with tips to elevate your content game — whether aiming to write dynamic resumes, describe your work in creative portfolios, guide users through enjoyable web interfaces, or convey value to land one more paying subscriber.

About Steph Hay

Steph Hay is co-founder of FastCustomer, which you should use (for free) if you never want to wait on hold again for customer service. She leads product development and UX.

Steph’s also a mentor at 500 Startups and still does freelance copywriting and UX occasionally, but only with non-boring clients.

Check out her LinkedIn profile for more.

Build a Thriving and High Performing Organization

Aaron Collegeman — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:17:32 +0000

Tribal Leadership is about leveraging the natural groups within a tribe to build a thriving organization no matter how small it may be. A Tribal Leader begins by recognizing which stage you have, and doesn’t stop until you reach Stage Five.

At the next Refresh meet-up Kevin Fadely will lead us through a discussion of leading tribes. This overview will include

Learning how leveraging culture is the next untapped well for organizational performance
Learning how to shift dysfunctional behavior, mismanagement and errant leadership within most teams and organizations
Learning how to shift from individual performance to group performance.
Learning how to identify the cultural stage of your organization.
Learning how to harness the full power of the tribe to get more done.

About Kevin Fadely

Kevin Fadely has been involved in assisting Organizations in workplace strategy and execution for over 20 years. He currently provides consultation to clients in the DC market for Allsteel Inc. which is a 2 Billion dollar company. His current clients include Microstrategy, ICF International, CGI and GSA Public Building Services.

In addition to this role Kevin is the Operational Manager for iTeam212 – a group of executive leaders who share knowledge of corporate trends and lead focus groups to assist organizations in creating best practices and many other facets of Organizational Excellence. He is also President of Shenandoah Valley Sports League which focuses on developmental issues in both academics and sports in the Shenandoah County area.

Kevin has given talks at the JLL National Sales Academy, iTeam212 meetups and IFMA gatherings. He lives in Woodstock with his wife, 2 kids and 2 dogs.

Form a Startup in Winchester, VA? WVG Says “Yes”

Aaron Collegeman — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:17:33 +0000

Dreaming of starting your own company in the northern Shenandoah Valley? At the next Refresh meet-up we’ll learn about angel investment directly from a local source. John Sheetz, representing the Winchester Venture Group (WVG) and the Winchester Innovation Management Group (WIMG), will share with us his experiences investing in and developing numerous small companies.

We’ll also learn more about WVG and WIMG, and the various ways in which WVG might provide assistance to young companies.

Please join us Thursday, February 2 at 6:30, and spread the word. If you can make it, please RSVP.

About John Sheetz

John Sheetz has over 30 years of experience at the senior management level in the private for-profit, private non-profit and public sectors. He is currently the Director of Business Development for ERDMAN, a national healthcare facilities development firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin where his responsibilities include generating new projects throughout the northeast United States.

Mr. Sheetz’ experience includes investment and leadership in the start-up of numerous small companies funded through debt and equity capitalization; business acquisitions and dispositions; the sale, development or re-development of a wide variety of real estate properties and projects; and consulting with a wide range of business and real estate clients in the areas of strategic planning and business development.

He is a founding member of the WIMG, instrumental in forming the WVG.

No More New Year’s Resolutions

Corey Brown — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:24:51 +0000

Happy New Year, Refreshers!

For our first meetup of the year, Corey Brown will lead a discussion on how January 1st is just another day and why new year’s resolutions aren’t worth much. This is a discussion about opportunity, about taking a chance and making the leap. We’ll also talk about the exciting future of coworking, Refresh and other meetups in our community.

We’ll meet at Bright Cowork on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 6:30 for food and start the discussion around 7pm.

Hope to see you there. Please RSVP, and please bring a friend.

Refresh Super Mega Awesome Cool Holiday Meetup

Corey Brown — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:49:24 +0000

We want to get together one last time in 2011 with the Refresh crowd, for a little holiday cheer (no topic, just hanging out).

We’ll provide the pizza, you bring some beer (or any beverage of choice). And a friend who hasn’t been to Refresh before, but should be attending.

When: Wednesday (December 21st) at 6:30pm
Where: Bright Cowork

Hope to see you there! Please RSVP so we know how much food to get.

Wufoo: A Look at the Powerful (and Super Easy) Form Builder Solution

Corey Brown — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:50:23 +0000

For our last Refresh meetup of 2011, Aaron Collegeman will lead a discussion on Wufoo, the hosted form solution designed for non-techies and techies alike, from simple form building to a powerful API.

Wufoo’s HTML form builder helps you create contact forms, online surveys, and invitations so you can collect the data, registrations and online payments you need without writing a single line of code.

And, they’re great looking out of the box.

Here’s a quick video from the Wufoo folks:

We hope to see you here on Thursday, December 1st, 2011, at Bright Cowork. We’ll kick it off with food at 6:30 and the Wufoo discussion around 7pm. Please RSVP if you can make it, and spread the word.

Responsive Web Design Meetup

Corey Brown — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:12:40 +0000

As people use more and more devices – computers, tablets, netbooks, mobile – designing different layouts for all of these screen sizes is way too much hassle.

Fear not. There’s something called Responsive Web Design, and we’re going to get together to share what we know about it, work through examples and frameworks designed for this, and even dive into some coding.

We’re meeting at Bright Cowork, and we hope you can join us. Please RSVP if you can.

Come hungry (and thirsty). We’ll all pitch in for some pizza, and if you want to bring some beer, feel free (we have beer left over from our last Refresh meetup too). We’ll have sodas on hand as well.

Hope to see you there!

“What are you working on?”

Corey Brown — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:19:31 +0000

Have you been busy shipping-it this year? What’s your current project? Do you need help?

Join us for our next meeting as we open up the talk, round table style, and give each member a chance to talk about a project near-and-dear to them.

We’ll use the discussion to give shape to the next slate of scheduled talks: should we be pursuing speakers for specific tools and technologies?

Meet us on November 3, 2011 at 6:30pm at Bright Cowork. Be sure to RSVP and spread the word.

The little screen: Front end development for mobile web (and apps!)

Corey Brown — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:38:57 +0000

Joey Blake will take us through the experience of learning to develop web for mobile using HTML5 and frameworks like jQuery mobile and Sencha Touch. Then we’ll explore using those same skills to make apps for the iPhone App Store with wrappers like Appcelerator and PhoneGap.

About Joey:
Joey started his web career as a designer, and found his way into loads of development. He is currently a Senior Developer, specializing in custom web and mobile applications at Jaspin Interactive in Ashburn, VA. When he’s not working, he stays busy raising his family with his wife Katherine, hacking on side projects, and growing beards.

Be sure to RSVP (and spread the word):

Google Analytics 101

Corey Brown — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:20:22 +0000

Does your website work? If you’re not using some sort of web analytics tool, you’re probably not able to answer that question.

Even if you are, there’s a lot of hidden information (and hidden opportunities), especially if you’re using Google Analytics. While Google Analytics is super easy to add to any site, knowing what to do with it is far from easy for most people getting started.

This month, we’ll dive into the popular (and free) analytics tool, from reading basic reports to slightly more advance topics such as custom variables and tracking events and campaigns.

Corey Brown, who has been using Google Analytics since it was in private beta, will lead this discussion.

Please RSVP if you can make it: