• Aug272008

    Wine Library TV, Gary Vaynerchuck

    Posted by Gene in Business, Branding

    I am no way a Wine snob, I know very very little about it. But I feel like I can sort of hang now, thanks to Wine Library TV’s host Gary Vaynerchuck. I started watching his video podcast about a month ago and have just gotten hooked. My point isn’t wine or even Gary, but more how he uses the web and social media to help his business grow.

    He started out getting into the family business of selling wine, over the years he’s used his video podcast to help sell wine. He’s passionate about wine and loves to talk about it, he shows it, every week. He doesn’t make any direct money off the video podcast he does it to push his personal brand which in turn helps sales. He uses a barrage of online media; facebook, twitter, iTunes, etc. He’s everywhere, even on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. A year or so ago he purchased the social web-app for wine tasting Corkd.com, a free resource but again helps to push his brand.

    Check him out, but aside from that, just pay attention to how he markets himself.

  • Aug212008

    Writing for the web

    Posted by Gene in Marketing, Usability

    Jakob Nielsen has studied writing for the web in depth, what hasn’t he studied about the web in depth? But he has some really good points to make that I think anyone planning their new website should take into consideration.

    Here’s my synopsis:

    Web pages have to employ:
    scannable text
    bulleted lists
    meaningful sub-headings
    one idea per paragraph
    the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion
    highlighted keywords
    half the word count than what you think

    He’s not kidding around, he tested his thesis in true scientific fashion and found: “when we combined three ideas for improved writing style into a single site, the result was truly stellar: 124% better usability.”

    Listen to the man.

  • Aug182008

    Welcome to HoffSpace

    Posted by Gene in Random Stuff, Social Web

    So… David Haselhoff has decided to launch his own social networking website HoffSpace, I guess he didn’t like the limitations put on him by the software. He has over 11K members so far, I wonder what the percentage of Germans are of that…

    HoffSpace, I’m moving to a new place!
    Current mood: accomplished
    Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

    Hi Guys! I have started my own social network and website. HoffSpace, located at www.davidhasselhoff.com. This is my new and official home. I won’t be interacting much more on MySpace, so come on over and join the fun on HoffSpace. It’s fun and safe.

    Peace,

    David
    www.davidhasselhoff.com

    Turns out it’s just Ning, and he hasn’t really done anything but slap up some graphics. If David Haselhoff can do social network marketing, so can you!

  • Aug112008

    Build it to last not to sell.

    Posted by Gene in Business

    I’m an entrepreneur, but I don’t like to admit it. I think of myself more as a product scientist, that name “entrepreneur” just seems to have too much baggage for me personally. I’ve been watching this show called Startup Junkies, you can watch some episodes on hulu.com for free, for a while now. I find it addicting, not because I want to be like them but because I can’t help but watch the train wreck happen. Pretty voyeuristic of me I know. The thing I keep getting migraines over while watching it is the amount of focus both the show and the company seem to place on raising money from investors, and all the talk of going public and cashing in by the employees. I know that makes for good TV but it just hurts my head.

    What I’ve learned over my tenure of running my own business is, that you have to build a company that you can live with. Something that you would feel comfortable with for the rest of your life. Something that you would never — NEVER — sell to anyone else (even if you wind up selling it later). We have had many clients at Period Three that are “start-ups” and I guess at a certain point we were a “start-up” ourselves. I believe in letting your business fund itself naturally and organically very early on (I know some businesses have a larger scale than P3) and I believe you can’t be afraid to work very hard to achieve and continue any money making sustainability. That means you must be willing to work ALL THE FREAKING TIME…

    A good read is this post on the Diary of a failed startup blog:

    It’s a marathon, but it’s a marathon made of sprints
    Initial conditions matter. A lot.
    Developing in a vacuum never works.
    Beware the chicken and the egg.
    If you’re doing anything other than building your project and getting users, it’s premature.
    The product will take longer than you expect. Design for the long-term.
    People have an incentive not to crush your dreams. Take everything they say with a grain of salt.
    Know your limitations.

    Good advice all around. Another useful set of points is this 17 Mistakes Start-ups Make list (some of these are fast killers):

    Failing to spend enough time researching the business idea to see if it’s viable.
    Miscalculating market size, timing, ease of entry and potential market share.
    Underestimating financial requirements and timing.
    Over-projecting sales volume and timing.
    Making cost projections that are too low.
    Hiring too many people and spending too much on offices and facilities.
    Lacking a contingency plan for a shortfall in expectations.
    Bringing in unnecessary partners.
    Hiring for convenience rather than skill requirements.
    Neglecting to manage the entire company as a whole.
    Accepting that it’s “not possible” too easily rather than finding a way.
    Focusing too much on sales volume and company size rather than profit.
    Seeking confirmation of your actions rather than seeking the truth.
    Lacking simplicity in your vision.
    Lacking clarity of your long-term aim and business purpose.
    Lacking focus and identity.
    Lacking an exit strategy.

  • Aug082008

    Client Launch: big-gnome.com

    Posted by Gene in Our Clients

    Big GnomeCheck out Big Gnome.

    Big Gnome is a nimble, dynamic and collaborative team of public relations, marketing communications, graphic design, and Web design professionals and firms, coordinated to fit the needs of each client.

    One of the best copywriters we’ve ever worked with that’s for sure, give them a ring for your next project.

  • Aug052008

    Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity

    Posted by Jason in Uncategorized

    TED is a conference held once every year. The most brilliant thinkers of our time are invited to speak of their lives and specialties (think: our lifetimes Socrates, our Einstein, our Turing), with the mission to inspire. It’s been held since 1984 and has recently been open to the public.

    Sir Ken Robinson, knighted in 2003 for his work in education, the arts, and creativity, obtained his PhD from University of London in 1981. He’s advised numerous countries, organizations, and institutions on a number of subjects, but focuses mainly on the repercussions of suppressing creativity.

    It’s only a few minutes long, watch the entire presentation.

    http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

    One of the best excerpts, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — and continues to say, our modern education system is built entirely with the idea of “being wrong” as the worst possible outcome of any test of your capacity.

  • Aug042008

    Design and the Olympic Torch

    Posted by Gene in Uncategorized

    TorchesNew York Times has a really interesting piece on the history and design of the Olympic Torch.

    Every Olympic set of games brings us a new logo treatment, special architecture and of course the torch itself. I have never really paid attention to it, but it’s fascinating to look over the past torch designs.

    Full news item at New York Times

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