Drew McManus on the Orchestra business | est. 2003

Get To Know Zapier: Your Ultimate Connectivity Swiss Army Knife

Wed, Jan 1, 2015

If you or your organization have ever attempted to connect or sync data between mutually exclusive apps and software, you likely know the heartache that is dealing with APIs, or application program interfaces, the language that allows one piece of software to communicate with another. Fortunately, there is a growing movement within the tech industry that has given birth to the app automation service provider. I published an article today at ArtsHacker.com about one of those solutions you should definitely be aware of: Zapier.

Adaptistration Guy

 

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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