In an effort to keep up with all the blogs I read, I use Google Reader to aggregate and display my faves. The other weekend, I stumbled across the index page of all of the New York Times blogs. I spent the morning looking over them all, selecting the ones I want to keep reading and duly adding them to my Google Reader.
Then a funny thing happened on my way to read more blogs. I realized I don’t ever read a blog once I add it to Google Reader.
Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic has a marvelous new post at A List Apart about “The Discipline of Content Strategy.”
Her premise is that, although we know all about designing, building, optimising, and using web media, we have often been woefully lax in our attention to the actual content that appears on our carefully developed pages. I have often lamented that a perfect timeline can go awry due to missing or incomplete content to put on the pages themselves. Often we have the perception that “…content is really somebody else’s problem —’the client can do it,’ ‘the users will generate it’…” and the project begins to unravel.
However, all is not lost — a strong content strategy can help to define this pieceof the puzzle and get it executed in an efficient, timely manner. Content strategy plans for the creation, publication and governance of useful, usable content. Ms. Halvorson outlines a number of points to consider when defining a content strategy:
Take a look at the full article, and let us know what you think.
A recent Adweek article discusses how difficult it is to create social media applications — especially the corporate branded apps in Facebook. It underscores the essentially flighty and viral nature of social media; like pop music and reality TV stars, there is a limited appeal to many of these efforts.
Brands, in general, have found Facebook unforgiving terrain for marketing. It’s well known, for instance, that banner ads perform poorly on the site … But the Facebook Platform, launched 18 months ago — which lets developers create social applications for users — was thought to offer the perfect opportunity to move beyond banners to provide “branded utility.” So far, however, Facebook apps from brands like Coca-Cola, Champion, Ford and Microsoft are as popular as desolate Second Life islands.
Spam was once a simple annoyance, but its exponential growth has led email users to mount intensive efforts to block unwanted messages and incited companies to circulate blacklists of alleged spammers. As he tries to comply with all the details of spam laws, newsletter publisher James Morris wonders if free speech might be an unlikely victim of the Internet age.
Here at Go East, we’ve been seeing very interesting results from our newsletters and email marketing efforts. Spam laws and compliance can change quickly, and an email that sailed through spam filters one month may be unexpectedly flagged the next. As Morris points out, the culprits can be an innocuous word or an innocent turn of phrase. Keeping a vigilant eye out for these items and vigorous testing can help mitigate these problems.
(If you’re interested, have look at our newsletter series.)
In 1988, Ric Pace and Tim Deis opened Century Graphics — now Go East — in a small bungalow on Century Avenue. In this interview, they contemplate 20 years in the business, looking back at the tremendous changes they’ve seen at Go East and in design and marketing in general.
What does the 20th anniversary mean to you?
Ric Pace: It’s a milestone: so many years of doing business, so many memories of staff, clients and projects. It has flown.
Tim Deis: Any organization that makes it 20 years should be proud of their accomplishments. I feel good knowing that we have helped companies prosper and grow and have given our staff 20 years of career opportunities. It is also a little humbling to realize that 20 years has gone by so fast.
Looking back over the years, are there any projects that stand out for you from a design, process, client or anecdotal perspective?
Ric: I remember Spring Lake Plastics, one of our first design and photography challenges, where we were trying to be more creative in the way we used the raw product. We wanted to use the client’s clear plastic pellets to create a textured background for the piece, so we backlit them on a glass table. In the shoot, they looked so vibrant, but when we got the proof back, they looked so flat and colorless — back to the drawing board!
How does a person catch a break on cash these days? I would imagine we are all thinking about ways that we can make an extra buck, given our economic situation and the fast-approaching holiday.
Maybe you should set up a lemonade stand. Imagine the looks from coworkers passing by your desk as they notice your newly decorated office space with a wooden stand, a pitcher of lemonade and some plastic cups neatly stacked beside it. That would be kind of silly, wouldn’t it?
But seriously, there is a website called Lemonade.com, where you can set up your own “lemonade stand” and promote products that you like and make money when people buy those products. Crazy!
In prosperous times, a company’s anniversary is celebrated with lavish events, tchochkies and the addition of a numeric icon to the logo. But in a troubled economy, a company’s anniversary can, and I argue should, take on a new meaning. It no longer is just a reason to celebrate but a way to create a sense of confidence in the company. This confidence is comforting to both employees and customers, instilling a sense of loyalty that is even more important in down times.
The other day, I heard a radio ad celebrating the 60th anniversary of Schneiderman’s Furniture. They aren’t having a blowout sale. Instead, they used their ad dollars to explain their humble beginnings and the evolution that has taken place over the last 60 years. They credited their dedicated employees for superior customer service and thanked their customers for decades of patronage.
Even in today’s economy, this heartfelt message hit me harder than a 50% off sale would have. I mentally compared them to my perceptions of the national furniture chains and felt a sudden connection with the local company. In an era when big box stores are filing chapter 11 and gift cards are being rendered useless, knowing that they have been around for the last 60 years makes me feel confident that they are dedicated to being here for the next 60.
So while budgets are cut, don’t automatically write-off the importance of celebrating your anniversary. If positioned appropriately for today’s economic climate, it can go a long way towards instilling confidence with your employees and customers. With any luck they will return the warm feelings with a sense of loyalty that will see you through the hard times.
My 19 years at Go East (formerly Century Graphics) allow me to look back and marvel at the design evolution that has taken place with the onset of the digital age. Keylines with wax and color breaks, the typesetter and stat camera have all been replaced by the personal computer, laser printer and PDF proof.
The Internet has created a world-wide audience, a global appreciation for digital design. With powerful software, graphic designers can quickly make changes, allowing for seemingly endless creative possibilities. All these “bells and whistles” have to be used with restraint of course, with regard given to the basic elements and amount of time it takes to do good design.
I’m grateful for the many opportunities and ever-evolving career I’ve had at Go East, and to Ric and Tim, who have always looked ahead and provided the training and technology necessary to be successful in the graphic design industry.
