• First and foremost come up with good ideas
• Make them look good
• Help our clients achieve their goals

I believe creative people are born creative, and inherently look at the world from a slightly different angle. Because of this, we tend to have progressive tastes which can be both a blessing and a curse. Don’t get me wrong, being creative is part of who I am and I wouldn’t give it up for the world, but it presents certain challenges that most people don’t see. One of the biggest is owning up to the realization that my taste isn’t what most people are used to and it can make them slightly uncomfortable. So how do I create something that I think looks great and communicates in a truly unique fashion without alienating the intended audience?

“Simplicity is not the goal.

It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.”

What are Web Standards?
Once upon a time, web developers coded their web pages and used the “if it looks good in the browser, it’s good!” gauge. Those days are long gone (thankfully). Today, we code the pages and test our code against a validation service, such as the tool offered by the W3C Consortium, the organization responsible for publishing these standards. This service checks the code and gives a pass/fail result. This is a must-have tool for any web developer to ensure their code is up to par. I use this tool on every project, large or small.

Why do we need them?
Creating web pages to these standards simplifies development and promotes clean code. Clean code means better accessibility for people with special needs that depend on devices to assist them for accessing and reading content in web sites. Additionally, adhering to web standards increases the longevity of the code and ensures greater web browser compatibility. It’s a win-win scenario!

Google loves clean code! Search engines are able to do their job more effectively when they can easily access the content in the web pages. Web pages with excessive code hinder this process. Here are some tips from Google to help get your pages easily indexed.

Does your website stack up to web standards?

AROUND THE RECESSION IN 100 DAYS  -  DAY 7

How do you grow high-tech companies in the Rust Belt, especially during a recession? Incubate them. That’s what Youngstown, Ohio is doing by turning a dilapidated downtown building into a home for 300 high-tech workers and a cluster of fledgling software companies.

What makes a good business incubator?

• State funded rent and utilities allows young businesses to concentrate on problem solving and growth instead of paying the bills.

• Specializing in one business type (in this case, B2B software) promotes collaboration between companies, improving their success rate.

• High concentration of tech businesses attracts talent and improves the odds that a few will grow large and attract supporting industries.

Innovative companies and entrepreneurs in the new economy can come out of anywhere, and the Youngstown Business Incubator is increasing the odds that more will come from northeastern Ohio.

Listen to an NPR report on the YBI.

How is your area fostering economic growth? Send us a comment below.

Last month, Ryan wrote about Twitter and the conundrum it presents in the sea of social media. That wonderfully written post caused quite a stir. If Twitter does anything, it sparks a conversation, and Ryan I’m sure will agree with me on this, that’s the ultimate goal.

Twitter is all at once both communication device and tool. It is something different to everyone who uses it, which is why Twitter has seemingly become a total mystery to those who don’t use it and an inescapable obsession to those who do. I’m not much of a Twitterer, but will dabble on occasion. But now I’m off topic. The issue at hand is the question of Twitter’s use. What makes Twitter as popular as it is? Twitter allows people to either create or support a personal brand.

Brands, like people, have personalities. We hold a specific place for each brand in our minds (marketers call this the brand position), and are reminded of that brand’s personality by advertising, packaging, placement, celebrity endorsement, etc, etc. So what does Twitter mean to all of this? Twitter is a way for people to brand themselves. People can support their personalities by using Twitter to create relationships with their consumers.

People, especially Americans, consume personalities the way we consume food. So, Twitter is also a way for us to consume personalities. Whether it’s our best pals, or our favorite celebs. Now, more and more people in the business of selling their personalities are getting involved. The New York Times featured a blog today about celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore using Twitter to take their followers backstage at the Oscars. Lance Armstrong had his bike stolen, and thanks to Twitter, it was recovered in short order. Shaquille O’Neal might be one of the funniest people on Twitter. Celebs are keeping people engaged and strengthening their brands, one follower at a time. Best of all, in hard economic times, when the marketing dollar is at a premium, Twitter comes free of charge.

So, are you building your personal brand? Are there any celebrities you follow on Twitter? Sound off in the comments, or better yet, follow us on Twitter.

I think I better get crackin’ on a few tweets. I don’t want to disappoint all of my fans.

All this talk about the economy has one business sector doing quite well, thank you: cell phone service providers. People are giving up a lot to keep spending down these days, but how many can live without their cell phone? Name one public place where you haven’t overheard someone having a “private” conversation…

I’m drawing a blank. And don’t get me started on ringtones.

OK, enough ranting.

Verizon Wireless, which has its regional headquarters and a large call center here in Chandler, AZ, just gave most of its employees bonuses of 9 to 10 percent of their annual salaries. And while large and small companies and state and local governments are struggling to stay afloat and meet payroll, Verizon is actually hiring. With big banners on its building near 56th Street and the Santan Freeway, the company is offering paid training, tuition assistance and medical benefits from the first day on the job.

These days, that’s something to talk about.

In case you haven’t felt the helping hand of the economic stimulus package yet, here’s a little stomach stimulus. The International House of Pancakes is offering something called the “2009 Consumer Relief Plan.” When you order one of their pancake breakfast combos, they promise to keep bringing you stacks of free hotcakes until you’ve had your fill. 

Finally, a “House” I can afford! I just might pack up my belongings, find a quiet corner booth, settle down and raise a family. Offer ends Feb 22nd, so hop on in and roll on out.

DAY 2

So I’m wandering around the Commerce Department the other day, and what do I hear?

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly rebounded in January, government data showed on Thursday, likely boosted by post-holiday discounts and providing a glimmer of hope for the recession-hit economy.

Total retail sales rose 1 percent, advancing for the first time in seven months after slumping by a revised 3 percent in December. January’s increase was the biggest since November 2007.

Feel that centrifugal force? That’s the corner we’re turning, baby.

OK, anyone else tired of bad economic news yet?  If one more newscaster spouts off about another round of layoffs, or I hear someone under 80 years old claim that something is “the worst since the Great Depression,” I’m going sell all worldly possessions, walk into the hills and start fur trapping.

So, to help shore up attitudes against the negative news blitz, I’m going to write 100 positive economic blogs in 100 days. (Which means, of course, that I fully expect us to be over this thing by mid-June, so let’s get the lead out, people.) These will be simple, short reminders that the sky isn’t falling, the vast majority of us are still engaged doing productive stuff, and that those who struggled through the Great Depression would’ve killed to live half as well as we do.

DAY 1

Intel Corp. is going to spend $3 billion in the next two years revamping its Ocotillo manufacturing complex in south Chandler, AZ to make the next generation of computer chips that are smaller, faster and consume less energy.

The project will enable the company to maintain its 5,000 employees at the site and will require about 1,500 additional people to do the retrofitting work. These include technicians who install new tools, construction workers to reconfigure the factories and manufacturers to make the equipment.

Similar revamping worth $4 billion will be taking place in Oregon and New Mexico. The combined $7 billion is one of Intel’s largest investments in a single technology ever.

There has been a lot in the news lately on the NBA’s green efforts, especially as it relates to this weekend’s All Star festivities in Phoenix. As first reported in The Arizona Republic, the NBA is making this All Star game its greenest yet by taking the following measures:

• Doubling the number of recycle bins at All Star festivities
• Creating a PSA featuring the Suns’ Steve Nash and Dan Majerle at all All Star functions
• Using post-consumer products to build a playground as part of a community service project
• Purchasing 1500 megawatt hours of renewable-energy credits from Arizona utility, APS

Show Me the Bling

This is all great and I’m happy to see the NBA continue its effort to green its teams and brand. But I’m wondering if the NBA is simply going through the green motions. I started looking for cool NBA green bling (icons, logos, photos, etc.) that at least visually demonstrate their new greenness. I looked on their web site. Air ball. The NBA YouTube channel. Blacked out. Even the ‘09 All Star and NBA Jam Sesssion sites. Benched!

The Jam Session kicked off the week of festivities. This 500,000 square feet of  family fun is a cavalcade of NBA history, games, and exhibits. But not one square foot dedicated to educating consumers on the benefits of green living and sustainable habits. What an opportunity missed!

If I ran the NBA circus, here are 10  things  I’d do (They have to pay for my other 32 ideas):

1. Green H-O-R-S-E (Winner gets a solar-powered lighted sports court)
2. Half-court shoot competition for a Tesla motor car
3. Let kids produce their own NBA green PSA’s and run those (Winner goes to Sundance Film Festival)
4. Give away re-usable KOR water bottles with commemorative green logo
5. Hand out green basketballs, green air pumps (You know, for sustainability), and green sweat bands that say, “Green Your Game”
6. Karaoke competition for who can sing, “Turn Out the Lights, the Party’s Over” the best.
7. Commemorative green Air Jordan Nike sneakers with the caption on the side: “Earth Bound”
8. Water conservation message on green Gatorade bottles
   
9. Work with the local Harlem Globe Trotters to bring the green message to Phoenix schools
10. Have the refs wear green and white stripes for the game.

What would you do to launch the NBA’s green initiative at the NBA All Star Game?  So far they’ve come out kind of flat.

You just can’t get away from it right now. Every day I read the newspaper, I listen to the radio, I watch TV and the news just depresses me. Unemployment is up, disposal cash is down, it takes a small business loan to gas up my truck, and client budgets are dwindling. With so much that is unsettling right now, like everyone else, I am being ultra conservative with my lifestyle. Now, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot I can do personally to change the entire economic woes of the nation, but I can try to make my little place in the world a bit better. So I decided not to focus on any of the bad, but focus on the good that was happening right at home. And in doing so I have discovered some unexpected benefits.

1. I have re-kindled my love of pasta - Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (10 boxes for $5.00) and ramen noodles (10 packages for $1.00).
2. That old Nike warm up suit I had in the closet for years is now very attractive again and putting it on is cheaper than turning the heater on in my home.
3. Goodwill rocks. Good music, movies and books – great entertainment at a fraction of the cost and you help people get jobs when you buy. Very cool.
4. I’m glad I got into hiking years ago. Instead of driving to the grocery store, I put on my internal frame backpack, jump on my bike and get the week’s groceries. Plenty of room in the back pack for milk, bread, cereal, dog food and 10 boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Great exercise, too.
5. 99¢ Value Menus rock. ‘Nuff said.
6. Instead going out to a restaurant, I am sharpening my culinary skills (and saving money) by cooking at home. It’s amazing what you can do with a can of tuna, some salt and pepper and a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.
7. Candles don’t have to be used only for special evening occasions. They can be used any time. They give off light and heat. Hey, Abe Lincoln didn’t do too shabby using candles, so why not me.
8. Online banking rocks. No stamps and saves some trees. Go Green!
9. I never was much of coupon collector, but I have discovered the gold that waits in those little slips of paper. Example; $1.00 off on Frosted Mini Wheats. I save $1.00 and now I can get 10 more packages of ramen noodles. Sweet!
10. Looking for free entertainment has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. People watching at the mall gives me more hands on insight into people and demographic differences, which is good for my job. Free concerts showcase some very good local talent. And the Farmers Market takes me back to my joyous boyhood farming roots.

Even though times are tough, focusing on the good things (as small as they might be) makes it a little easier for me to face each day with a bit of a smile.

Please excuse me. Got to take my mac & cheese off the stove. Mmmmm. Lunch fit for a king.