Todd Wickersty

The Morning Brew

Dr. Dog - Mirror, Mirror

In the mood for Dr. Dog this AM.

Digital East, which is on October 18th in Tysons Corner, VA (the burbs of DC), has offered SMCCville members a 30% discount. Just use the code ‘SMCcvll’ without the quotes. Maybe I’ll see you there (I’m still deciding if I can swing it).

The Morning Brew
Sleigh Bells - Crown On The Ground

These two are opening for LCD Soundsystem on Oct 2 here at the Pavilion.

Know of a .Net developer in Charlottesville who is looking for work?

Looking for a .Net developer to join our team this fall. Click here for job description. Send cover letter and resume to relief at businessbullpen dot com.

(via businessbullpen)

Continuing the Dylan theme this week

The Morning Brew
Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm

Heard Dylan on NRN yesterday and with Earl on its way, I figure this was appropriate this morning.

Celebrating Heidi’s birthday

We visited the Blevins this morning to see their new daughter, Ana. She is adorable!

LivePhish.com just merged several accounts that I had opened through the years (thank you LivePhish.com). I did this so I could take advantage of streaming my purchases (aka my stash) on the iPhone app. In one of the account merges, Coventry appeared. I’ve never listened to the entire Coventry festival. I was one of the many who did not walk 10 miles in the mud, but instead went camping after 24+ hours parked on the interstate waiting to get in. I’ve seen several YouTube clips of Coventry over the years, but I’ve never listened to more than a few songs. Six years later, is it worth the time?

The Weekend Jam
Phish - Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues
Friday, 06/25/2010 Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ - Setlist

(via LivePhish.com free download compilation, Live Bait Vol. 1)

His first face painting

Downtown Mall Music

The Morning Brew
Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble - Little Wing > Third Stone from the Sun
Originals by Jimi Hendrix

Cover Friday on the anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of music. We miss you Stevie.

5 Dollars Downtown

A new exciting, awesome, wonderful addition to my blog will be 5 dollars downtown. We’ve moved our office to right smack dab on Charlottesville’s historic downtown mall. It is one of the hot spots of this little town. There are plenty of things to blow a wad of cash on, and food is one of them. I am trying to bring my lunch more, but I still fall trap to the convenience and variety on the mall.

My wallet (and overall health) are hurting from this move though. So, when I’m not out for a client or team lunch I’ll be searching for lunches that are $5 or less. At the end of the work day, I’ll post a little review here on Tumblr.

First up: Cheese Hot Dog from Five Guys
I’ve never had the hot dog at Five Guys, so no better time than the present. The cheese is American. I get my dogs with mustard and relish. My wife puts ketchup on her dogs. That’s just wrong. I didn’t get fries or a drink. It would have busted my budget. The dog was divine, but I’m sure not very good for me.
Total cost: $4.14.
Over five hours later, I’m not hungry at all. It’s a do-over.

GPOYW

Last week I kicked off a monthly panel in Charlottesville, named Blogs for Breakfast. OpenSpace hosts and sponsors the event. Here I am trying to keep the audience entertained, but failing miserably given the number of people checking their phones. :)

More importantly, the turnout was great and the panelists were even better. I asked Realtors Jim Duncan and Sasha Farmer to sit in on this initial panel. One of the best takeaways from both of them was to not push your products or services (in their case, listings). They believe, and I concur, that their blogs have helped them grow an audience, which at some point down the road might call on them for their services. But that’s not the purpose of their blogs. They both love to blog, and do a great job at it. Jim’s primary blog is at realcentralva.com and Sasha’s blog is charlottesville365.com.

fuckyeahvirginiatech:

eurekuh:

This is the greatest tumblr of my life.

Virginia Tech + Hokies + Tumblr = EPIC WIN!

Yes there is, and I’m joining forces once again with my old pal Gary to make it the best damn Tumblr ever.

The Morning Brew
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band - Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

It’s rare that I listen to the radio these days, but we have a couple good stations here in Charlottesville: 91.9 WNRN and 106.1 The Corner. I was in the car a lot yesterday bouncing back and forth and heard a lot of good music: Aimee Mann, the new Ray Lamontagne, Arcade Fire, Allman Brothers, and even Hall & Oates. But the Boss got my morning going more than any other yesterday.

Four Observations of Foursquare

I’ve used Foursquare for five months now. Overall, I’m a fan.

1. I like the gaming aspect of Foursquare more than I expected. I want to be at the top of my leader board every week.
2. I won’t friend anyone on Foursquare that I don’t know offline. An introduction at a tweet-up or happy hour doesn’t count. Thus, my friend list is small and it will continue to be that way unless Foursquare becomes mainstream, which I doubt will ever happen in Cville.
3. Why do people feel driven to check-in at McDonald’s or Harris Teeter or Target? Who cares? I only try to check-in to places that my friends might find interesting or might be nearby when I am there. That typically means checking in at lunch during the work week or the few times I go out in the evenings every month.
4. Why must people tweet when they check-in? If you do so, include a comment please? You are just spamming your twitter feed if all you do is tweet your check-in. It’s annoying.

The Morning Brew
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Go Easy

Wish these guys would come back soon.

Guess who picked out my outfit today?

Only two more weeks til the Hokies and Broncos!

A Maine Town’s Long Recovery After Losing Loring AFB (via DailyFinance)

A bit of self-promotion, but thanks to @tmwsiy I discovered that one of my photos from the Phish Lemonwheel festival in 1998 was used in this article about Limestone, Maine and their road to recovery after the closing of Loring Air Force Base in 1994, which contributed to 19% of Limestone’s economy.

Click my photo above to read the whole story of this special place.

The Weekend Jam
Phish - Stash > Manteca > Stash > Dog Faced Boy > Stash
Tuesday, 11/14/1995 University of Central Florida Arena, Orlando, FL - Setlist

Josh

Here is the other pciture taken by Jessica Priest.

Isla

This photo along with one other was taken at a carnival of our children by Jessica Priest, a photographer here in Charlottesville. We just found out about the pics today and were blown away. Check out Jessica’s work!

Despite the use of this awful photo of me, I am very proud to announce the launch of Business Bullpen’s new website.

I am very excited to announce the launch of Business Bullpen 4.0. When Amanda Hughes came on board as our Creative Director in May, the website redesign was one of our top goals. In less than three months, she redesigned our logo and website. Graham did a great job, as usual, developing the site using HTML5 and integrating the Tumblr and Last.FM APIs.

This is just phase one of our redesign. We have a lot more planned that will be rolled out over time including a refresh of this blog and the opportunity to receive an iPad or Kindle on us! If you want to keep up to date with Business Bullpen, follow us on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to our blog via email or your favorite RSS reader.

(via businessbullpen)

The Morning Brew
Casey Shea - The World Is Waking Up!
My former neighbor and friend from Ponte Vedra Beach is playing Highline Ballroom tonight in NYC. This is off his latest record. If you can’t check him out tonight, have a listen to the more of his music @ caseysheamusic.com.

GPOYW
July 1972, Maine: That’s me at the age of 1 chasing down (or running away from) a few live Maine Lobsters in Maine with my Grandpa and Mom.

Tumbleroo: A new Tumblr iPad app, which I shall purchase tonight.

The Morning Brew
Arcade Fire - City With No Children
I have not fallen in crazy puppy love with Arcade Fire like it seems everyone else has in my Tumblrverse, but the latest and greatest album is growing on me (and quickly). I had a hard time picking a favorite for this morning’s brew.

Very cool artwork for Raven’s Brew Deadman’s Reach. Just purchased a bag. Not much of this coffee on the east coast I am told by my barista.

Raven’s Nest serving Raven’s Brew, Culpeper VA

Isn’t that sweet of you Phish.net?

We are moving again this week and our logo is already on the front door. Fourth time in 2 years, but each office is larger!

Fenway Park, June 3 2005

Last week I visited Nationals Park for the first time. It was the first major league game I’ve been to in 5 years (photo above is from the last major league game I went to before last week). That’s what happens when you don’t live in a major league town and have two little ones. Anyhow, it got me thinking once again of one of my lifelong goals: to go to every major league ballpark. Here is my list, now up to date through last week’s game:
1. Yankee Stadium (New York Yankees) - 1987, 1991, 2005
2. Skydome (Toronto Blue Jays) - 1989, 1999
3. Olympic Stadium (Montreal Expos) - 1989
4. Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs) - 1993, 1999
5. Fulton County Stadium (Atlanta Braves) - 1996
6. Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox) - 1997, 2002, 2005
7. Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles) - Several times between 1997-2000
8. Turner Field (Atlanta Braves) - 1998
9. Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) - 2010

Fenway and Wrigley are the best hands down. What does your list look like?

The Weekend Jam
Phish - Golgi Apparatus > Slave To The Traffic Light
Saturday, 08/17/1996 Plattsburgh Air Force Base, Plattsburgh, NY - Setlist

This is the weekend in Phish history when the band has put on some of its legendary festivals. The first was The Clifford Ball on August 16 and 17, 1996 (which also happened to be my first shows). It was this performance of Slave that converted me from a dude who liked Phish to a dude obsessed with them. I also thought it would be fitting to post this today after last night’s encore at Deer Creek.

I can handle 100 degrees at 5:00 in August. I’m from Florida. But 88 at 11:30 is totally unacceptable.

George toked weed. The whole country back then was getting high. He knew it was a good cash crop for the Southern states. So he grew fields of it, man. But you know what? Behind every good man there’s a woman and that woman was Martha Washington. Everyday George would come home she’d have a big fat bowl waiting for him when he came in the door. She was a hip, hip lady.

(via dazed and confused)

I met George tonight.

First trip to Nationals Park. I’ve seen Strasburg give up more runs than he ever has. And it’s friggin hot in case you didn’t know.

A visualization of all my Foursquare check-ins

I’ve been looking for a mapping application of my check-ins as a living historical document of where I’ve traveled. Thanks to Fred Wilson’s post this morning, I discovered weeplaces.com. It does a nice job visually presenting your Foursquare activity.

Link to my weeplaces

Ridgeview Park, Waynesboro, VA - @mlhcville event

The Weekend Jam
Phish - Runaway Jim
Monday, 07/03/2000 E Centre, Camden, NJ - Setlist

This Jim is absolutely crazy insane.

Packing water bottles for our golf tournament company outing. Looking forward to a fun night tonight with my coworkers and a full day of sweet shots on the course tomorrow!

(via amandakayhughes)

Yesterday

Steppin’ Out, Blacksburg VA

My Favorite Bar. Here. Now.

The Weekend Jam
Phish - Possum
Sunday, 05/17/1992 Achilles Rink, Union College, Schenectady, NY - Setlist

So I like Phish. You should know that by now about me. While I try to hold back from posting too much Phish (I really do try), I might as well drop some knowledge on ya’ll with a weekly Phish post. After all, my blog is named after a Phish song. How about a weekend jam from the archives? Ok, fine.

First up is a smokin’ hot Possum that was featured on Live Music Blog’s 35 Must Hear Jams for any Phish novice. I had lost this jewel in my collection somewhere along the way of transferring from tapes to CDs to downloads. Glad it’s back. Great teases, secret language, and balls to wall guitar. Enjoy.

Here I am posing with my Uncle Doug with my oh-so-cool stonewashed jean jacket. I loved that jacket and wore it every chance I could!

Looking for a .Net developer to join our team this fall. Click here for job description. Send cover letter and resume to relief at businessbullpen dot com.

Throughout the remainder of 2010, we want to give away a lot of iPads and Kindles.

If you are in need of a website redesign, search engine optimization audit, a custom Facebook page design, or print collateral for your business, then you might qualify for our free iPad or Kindle promotions. Click the image or here to check out the details!

Use coupon code SCHOOL99 before checking out and receive your .com domain registration for 1 year at 1.17. Hurry though, this coupon code expires August 31!

(via josiahstaggs)

Thanks for the tip!

a silly christmas tradition back in my college days. that’s me driving.

If you haven’t heard yet, Facebook just launched Facebook Places - a feature that enables you and your friends to announce your current location on Facebook. It’s similar to Foursquare, Gowalla, or Brightkite.

In typical Facebook fashion, you have to opt-out of Facebook Places if you don’t want to use this feature. This video walks you through how to disable Facebook Places within your account.

I am very excited to announce the launch of Business Bullpen 4.0. When Amanda Hughes came on board as our Creative Director in May, the website redesign was one of our top goals. In less than three months, she redesigned our logo and website. Graham did a great job, as usual, developing the site using HTML5 and integrating the Tumblr and Last.FM APIs.

This is just phase one of our redesign. We have a lot more planned that will be rolled out over time including a refresh of this blog and the opportunity to receive an iPad or Kindle on us! If you want to keep up to date with Business Bullpen, follow us on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to our blog via email or your favorite RSS reader.

GPOYW (Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday) - This is me with the second biggest fish I’ve ever caught– a striped bass– in Martha’s Vineyard. It ended up being a menu special at the restaurant where I worked! This one took about 40 minutes to reel in, but earned me some respect with all the hardcore fishing pros, including the guy behind me with the orange tank top. 

40 Highly Effective Facebook Business Pages

More business are recognizing the power of Facebook nowadays and jumping on the opportunity to utilize the FBML (Facebook Markup Language). FBML enables you to build Facebook applications that deeply integrate into a user’s Facebook experience. You can hook into several Facebook integration points, including the profile, profile actions, and canvas. A wonderful FREE tool you can use to boost your business’ visibility.

I came across this article that showcases 40 successful business pages on Facebook.

GPOYW (Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday): Every home football game for Virginia Tech, I run one of the Hokie Vision cameras. I get free food, unrestricted access to the field and press box, and I get paid to do it. Did you hear that? I get paid to go see the Hokies play football. I don’t need the money and I told them I’d do it for free, but they insist on paying me. There was a time I did videography for a living and while I still do some projects, I enjoy it a lot more now that I do it on my terms and more as a hobby than a profession.

GPOYW (Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday): This is me in 2004, during my first trip to New York City. I am not a city boy by any stretch, nor am I country boy. I am more of a suburbia-type. But, I do enjoy visiting NYC and have since been back two more times - 2007 and 2008 - for Search Engine Strategies conferences. Both times I spent a full week in the city and that was just the perfect amount of time for me.

There was a time - when I was much younger - that I would wake up on the weekends to watch Siskel and Ebert to see which of the upcoming movies got thumbs up and which ones got thumbs down. This was, of course, before the Internet, social media and smart phones.

Earlier this year, after nearly 30 years on the air, using a variety of title and hosts, the movie critic show credited with the “two thumbs up” quote was canceled.

The “two thumbs up” was once coveted by studios, which would prominently include the quote in movie trailers and on the cover of the VHS tapes you’d rent at Blockbuster … back when they actually had stores that carried movies you could rent. Who still does that?

So, why the downfall of the of the movie critic show? In part, the Internet and social media. At least, that’s how I see it. And to a degree, so does Roger Ebert, who in a recent blog post about the cancellation of “At the Movies,” blamed several factors for the shows demise:

“Blame the fact that five-day-a-week syndicated shows like ‘Wheel of Fortune’ went to six days. Blame the fact that cable TV and the internet have fragmented the audience so much that stations are losing market share no matter what they do. Blame the economy, because many stations would rather sell a crappy half-hour infomercial than program a show they respect. Blame the fact that everything seems to be going to hell in a hand basket.”

While I agree with many of Mr. Ebert’s points, I think the main culprit is social media.

Let’s take a recent movie, Martin Scorcese’s Inception. I saw the trailers and didn’t think much of it - just another “thriller” with special effects and deafening sound effects, which admittedly I have been known to enjoy. I like Leo DiCaprio, but he hasn’t really “wowed” me with any recent performances and Scorcese’s films of late have let me a little disappointed. Entertained, but disappointed.

The buzz about the movie in my social networks since it’s open has been incredible. Friends and people I follow have been raving about it, some calling it the best movie they’ve seen in years. The positive reviews in my circle of friends, both virtual and IRL (in real life) are so trustworthy in my point of view, that we’re going to go see it this weekend.

I honestly don’t know what the critics are saying about it and with all due respect to their chosen profession, I don’t care. I like what I like and based on my social network and our similar interests, if they vouch for it, I will take that recommendation at face value and go see the movie.

The question is, do enough people still care about professional movie critic reviews to keep said critics employed? I think that for the time being, yes, because not everyone is in on this social media gimmick. But as more and more people join social media sites like Facebook (500 million users), Twitter and my personal favorite interwebz vice, Tumblr, more people are going to rely on their peers for recommendations and reviews.

Here’s a final thought regarding critics… how many TV shows have been cancelled despite “critical acclaim?” Too many to count. And to me, that means there is a disconnect between what critics like and what the public likes. Some of the most successful TV shows and movies have been panned by critics for one reason or another. People sometimes forget that a critics review of something is simply their personal opinion.

How do you decide whether or not to go see a movie? Do you rely on reviews by critics? Your social network? Your first impression of the movie trailer? A combination of some or all? How do you see social media affecting people’s viewing habits?

Yes folks, I had Glamour Shots taken of me when I was 11 years old. My hair was big and I wore an inch of makeup that day. I used to think these pictures were very fashion-forward. Now they just give me (and my friends) something to laugh at!

Today (July 25) is a big day in the history of our little company. Five years ago, Business Bullpen was officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a LLC. Therefore, I recognize July 25th as Business Bullpen’s birthday. It’s hard to believe that it has been five years.

Even though Business Bullpen wasn’t official until this date five years ago, I started freelancing as an IT Project Manager and Requirements Analyst earlier that spring. For those first few months, Business Bullpen was just me. I didn’t start asking begging people to join my team until the fall of 2005, but it took a lot of help from others during that first year in order for Business Bullpen to make it to 2006. Business Bullpen’s first clients were Musictoday, Growing Technologies, and Explore Learning. Musictoday is my former place of work. Growing Technologies is owned and managed by a former co-worker at Musictoday. I was awarded a contracting gig at Explore Learning thanks to another former co-worker at Musictoday who was consulting there. If it wasn’t for the people behind those initial contracts, things might be different today. Thank you Del Wood, Jenny Heyns, and Paul Given for these initial opportunities. Business Bullpen would not be around if it were not for you.

After those first few months, I began to build some partnerships that helped Business Bullpen expand into web design and development. I partnered with old co-workers from Accenture and Musictoday. While these initial partners are no longer involved as they once were, their contribution meant the world to me. They also taught me a lot. Thank you Mike Ackerman and Wyndsor Hug.

In the winter of 2007, I somehow convinced an old friend to become a co-owner of the company. We had worked together on a project for about 6 months before hand and believed that we could mange our friendship and business partnership without issue. I think we have used it to our advantage because we aren’t afraid to hold any opinions or ideas back no matter how absurd. Without my business partner, Business Bullpen would be nothing of what it is today. In fact, it probably wouldn’t exist. Graham Blevins transformed Business Bullpen into a real development firm. Thank you Graham, and thank you to Graham’s wife Chrissie for being so supportive during some of our growing pains.

Then there is my Dad. He has provided me hours of advice, and is the first person I always go to for outside consultation even though he works in a completely different industry. I am so grateful to have his ear, and look forward to our next phone call about business. Thank you Dad.

Finally, Business Bullpen would not be celebrating this milestone if it wasn’t for its number one supporter, my wife. Lisa never questioned my desire to start this business, or my commitment to stick with it in good times and bad. On this date five years ago, we were married without children. We now have a son who turns four in the fall and a daughter who will be two in December. Our life has turned upside down (in a good way of course). Even so, she is still there for this business day in and day out. For that, I am eternally grateful. Thank you Lisa. I love you.

There are so many more people who have enabled Business Bullpen to become what it is today. Thank you to all of our clients, partners, employees, and contractors. I feel so fortunate for the opportunity to work with all of you. It’s the reason why I am more energized than ever to move the ball forward in the coming weeks, months, and years.

The joy of seeing a brand come to life is an exciting experience for designers. Many times a client begins their design process journey with the need for a logo. The natural progression from there is letterhead, envelope and maybe a website. The thrill of my job, as a designer, is to not only exceed expectations in those specific areas, but also to go “above-and-beyond” (pardon the cliché), and further help our partners build their brands.

Although Graphic Designers often create logos and brochures…we do much, much more than this. We have a background in creativity and a natural association with marketing. Sure, we can develop a logo which then leads to collateral material, but the thrill of a designer is to ask the question : “Have you thought of (fill in the blank)”?

Personally, I have worked in several areas and variations of design. From large brands such as Olay and TJMaxx to smaller up-and-coming start-ups. From small budget marketing campaigns to an entire in-store programs that effect the shopping experience for customers. With that experience comes knowledge– knowledge that I currently share with our wonderful roster of clients, and knowledge I’d love to share with you!

No matter your budget, we can help to promote your business  and build your brand in ways that you haven’t imagined yet.  Ask us, that’s what we’re here for.

High school graduation day, ‘94. My dog ate the Wayfarers in college.

Earlier this summer we attended the Charlottesville Heart Ball at the Boar’s Head to support the American Heart Association. It meant a lot to my wife and I since our daughter had open heart surgery at 6 weeks of age, shortly after she was diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot. Did you know that 1 in 100 babies are born with a congenital heart defect? Did you know that you have a 1 in 3 chance of being impacted by heart disease? Maybe you have already been impacted. Ed Howell, CEO of UVA Hospital, who was honored at the event told the audience that his father, father in-law, two grandfathers, and an uncle at 36 all died of heart disease.

I can get so wrapped up into the web and issues associated with growing a business that it takes events like these to remind me that what I do for a living is nowhere near as critical as the doctors, nurses, staff, and volunteers at UVA Hospital. I’m not discounting those of us who work in the web or app space. I believe that what Business Bullpen does for our clients is important. But we aren’t saving lives.

For those of you who work in the medical field, I just wanted to write this to express my thanks. Thanks to you, my daughter is doing really well now. We did our best to give back during the event by winning a couple items in the silent auction. Even though we gave a lot more than I had planned, it was easy to part with the money because I’ve seen the results. So the next time you are looking to donate to a good cause, consider the American Heart Association or the Charlottesville chapter of Mended Little Hearts. My daughter is living proof that your donation counts.

I’m going to begin this post with a little social media anecdote. After a recent huge storm in Charlottesville, I lost power in my apartment. For five days. On one particularly dark night (after futile call number 10 to Dominion Power’s blackout line), I stumbled across Dominion’s Twitter handle while browsing on my phone (@domvapower). I noticed they frequently updated with news of repairs, and were responding to the followers who thanked them for restoring power. (Wait, why was mine still out?) In a moment of angst, I wrote something to @domvapower that resembled shameless begging. A day or so later (power restored), I was reminded of my desperation when I checked my twitter account and saw: “@jessyeaibel Lights back on?”

Instantly embarrassed that someone had actually read my frustrated plea, I wrote back thanking them for the reply. Then it dawned on me how weirdly surprised and excited I was to have received a social media nod from a big name. I also decided to forgive them for making me throw away all the food in my refrigerator and shower in the dark. (Okay,  it wasn’t really their fault– but nature doesn’t have a Twitter account.)  

Personal drama aside, it’s hard to find an established website today that lacks a collection of icons (tell-tale blue letter f’s, silhouettes of birds, etc.) tucked neatly into its page layout. However, the ease of recognizing social media elements is meaningless (and irrelevant) if companies aren’t engendering the sharing mentality that these logos represent. For another example of a well-played social media strategy, check out Whole Foods on Twitter and Facebook (arguably the two biggest social media platforms). Whole Foods uses their accounts to implement branding, announce new products, and most importantly– communicate with their followers. Through even a brief inspection, it’s clear Whole Foods avoids the “corporate” label by taking the time to connect and respond to individual suggestions or inquiries. Plus, their Facebook page skillfully employs branding and customization (with Static FMBL– another post for another time) to ensure consistency across these platforms.

Now here’s my conclusion: every business (regardless of size, industry or location) can implement social media effectively, but the benefit is only possible with some good, old-fashioned dedication. It sounds trite, and far less enchanting, but to achieve any level of business success with social media, there must be at least one person willing to stay on top of platform maintenance. This means updating frequently, finding new people or businesses to support and connect, and actively responding to any messages or mentions by your followers. Whole Foods and Dominion Power—along with myriad other large corporations– follow this method, and it works. Lastly, it’s important not to be disillusioned by the possible advantages of using social media for business, but instead to realize that allotting fifteen minutes a day to account checking and maintenance might be enough to keep customers and fans hooked– even if this happens simply by seeing your company’s name pop up on feeds and subconsciously acknowledging your business’ willingness to interact. It might decrease the lighthearted, casual experience of using social media, but alleviating a distraught customer (like me sans electricity, for example) should be worth the sacrifice.

It’s Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday!

We had an a wonderful photo shoot last week with our friend Tom Daly. Check out our Facebook page (and like us too) for more great photos of our team.

Also, keep a lookout for our new website coming very soon!

When I first entered the search engine optimization arena, the burning issue for website owners at the time centered on who, or what, was their target audience and which one should they be writing content for? Should they write content that the search engines would find appealing, thus improving their search engine rankings? Or, should they write for the people who actually visit their site? For the most part, everyone - including Google - agreed that you should write for your visitors and let the search engines worry about relevancy and rankings.

That was a tough pill for some people to swallow. They had worked tirelessly on their websites to write content full of keywords that they thought the search engines would just eat up and earn them the coveted No. 1 spot in the SERPs. But, it didn’t work like that and people really should have listened to the search engine folks at Google and Yahoo.

You see, it comes down to this - always, always, always write for your users. If your users - you know, the people who buy your products and services - can’t easily make sense of your site, you will lose them and then your search engine rankings won’t mean squat. The search engines are getting smarter by the day and are doing a pretty good job of monitoring sites and their content and ranking them accordingly. That’s not to say there aren’t glitches and aspects on their algorithms that don’t need improvements, but for the most part, you can trust the results.

So, we’re back to the content issue. Now that we’re all on the same page about writing content for our users, the questions begs, but how can I add content to my site besides writing blogs? The answer, quite simply, is by allowing visitors to post comments.

Now, I can sense some of you pulling away from me at this point. How can you allow unedited comments to post to your site? Gasp! What if they write something negative? Well, what if someone came into your store and complained in front of other customers? You’d do everything you could to make them happy, assuming you’re a reputable business that wants to remain in business. So, the same applies to online comments. If someone leaves a negative comment, take the opportunity to show them and the rest of the world, that you offer great customer service and will do everything reasonable to get them to change their mind. If they remain upset, but you’ve made every effort, others will see the effort you’ve made and that’s definitely a “win.”

The other “win” in the win-win, is that every time you let someone comment on your website or blog, you’re adding more and more searchable text to the search engine indexes. More importantly, it’s user-generated content. That is, of course, assuming you are monitoring your comments for spam.

I use Tumblr for several blogs as well as Wordpress for several others. For my Tumblr blogs, I use Disqus and configured my settings to require approval for all first-time comments. Once I approve a commenter, their future comments will automatically be approved, though I still monitor them. For Wordpress, I use the built-in Askimet spam filtering program that seems to do a pretty good job, but I still require first-time posters to be approved manually.

The bottom line is that if you have a website and/or blog and you aren’t allowing comments, you’re doing your business/organization a disservice both in terms of interacting with customers and improving your search engine visibility.

It’s Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday! Here I am with Adam West in the late 70s. Thanks Mom for taking me and taking a photo!

I stumbled upon a great article from Smashing Magazine that explains The Evolution of The Logo. From historical symbolic marks to the unmistakable MTV logo to iconic people representing well-known brands, logos surround us. This article discusses logo development and the future of logo design.

Click to view article

(image ‘Times Square Parade’ by Alexander Chen)

Hi! My first GPOYW (Gratuitous Picture Of Yourself Wednesday) is of two-year-old me on the beach in Jamaica.  Clearly, I was really cool— the backwards floral hat says it all.

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse (who does that, by the way), but there are still a lot of Website owners who are under the impression that meta keywords are still a vital element to their sites. The only problem is, they’re not. I’ve been saying this for years. Google has confirmed it several times. SEO professionals from all over the world have confirmed it. Meta keywords are like the dinosaurs - mere fossils of an era long ago that still turn up from time to time. I’ve heard this repeated, emphatically, year after year at search engine optimization conferences. As part of our SEO site audits, we include the following in our reviews:

Search engines no longer place any value on this metric and it may even hurt you because you are essentially telling your competitors which keywords you believe are relevant. They can then bid on those keywords via Google Adwords and then their paid ads may display above your “organic” (non-paid) results for the keywords for which you want to be found.

Surprisingly, we still get asked, “Are meta keywords still relevant?” The answer is absolutely not. In fact, as we state in our audits, we argue that your competitors could look at your meta keywords, discover what terms you deem important, and then run an Adwords campaign using your own keywords against you. Sure, the are ways to analyze any site for keyword density, but why make it easier for your competitors by giving them your list of keywords in your meta data, which anyone can see? And if you still don’t believe me - never mind the fact I’ve been doing this for four years - here’s Google’s Matt Cutts to back me up.

Five years ago I found myself without a job. I didn’t panic. I reached out to former co-workers and began freelancing while I searched for full-time employment. I enjoyed freelancing, which was a pleasant surprise. Even though I had experience as a consultant at Accenture, it was a whole different ballgame as a one-man shop.

Over the course of the summer of 2005 as I continued to freelance, I interviewed for some very good opportunities. I also decided to set up a LLC in July of ‘05 for my freelance work, which was the start of Business Bullpen. Interviewing and freelancing were my life that summer and fall. I wasn’t sure where I would end up.

Finally, the moment of truth came during the fall. I was offered a very good position at an outstanding company in Charlottesville. The salary was great too, and it was a step up from my previous position. I had been freelancing there all summer and knew what it would be like to work there, and they knew what it would be like working with me. It was an almost-perfect fit.

But, I turned the job offer down. I did because I decided to give it a shot as a full-time entrepreneur. Six months earlier, I had no idea if working for myself was for me. In addition, I did not have the cojones or the vision to quit my job and go for it. It took a push, which was more like a shove.

I left Musictoday five years ago to go work for another company in a similar position. My last day was a Friday, and my first day with the new company was Tuesday. My wife and I went to the Homestead resort to celebrate over the weekend. On that Monday when we returned, I was informed that the position had been dissolved because the line of business that I planned to run would be sold. There was my push. It’s what I needed to become an entrepreneur.

Five years later, I look back with absolutely no regrets. It’s been a wild ride, and one I hope to be looking back on again in another five years.

Hi everyone! Here is my first GPOYW (Gratuitous Picture Of Yourself Wednesday). I’m the shortest one in front.

Hi! I’m Jessye—Business Bullpen’s most recent team addition—and I wanted to offer a little introduction. 

I’m from Boston, Massachusetts (yes, I am a Red Sox / Patriots / Bruins / Celtics fan— full disclosure is always crucial right off the bat, right?), and I am a fresh constituent of the “real world,” having just graduated from the University of Virginia last month with a BA in English Literature.  I think it’s safe to say that writing is my “thing.” While I’m most enthusiastic about creative writing, I’ve been experimenting recently with the instant publication afforded by online writing (i.e. through blogs, newsletters, press releases and more), which I’ve really enjoyed.  I actively maintain my own set of blogs, and spend a lot of time reading others in order to find ideas and inspiration. 

I’m really looking forward to working with the brilliant Business Bullpen team for a variety of reasons: (1) it’s an amazing opportunity to learn more about the things that intrigue me, like design, site development, marketing and business. (2) I’ll be able to implement and exercise my growing knowledge of social media, working towards revamping BB’s online presence namely on Twitter and Facebook. Expect some exciting changes in design, thanks to Amanda’s outrageously good skills.  (3) I’ll have a chance to write and maintain the BB blog, incorporating some interesting content and diverse thoughts.  (4) The people I’m working with are awesome.

Work aside, I’ll be spending this summer moving into my new downtown apartment and putting my creativity to good work refinishing and painting furniture, and generating some wall art.  Also, I hope to dust off my keyboard soon (now that school’s out… forever) and get back to writing/singing/recording in my free time.  And maybe some karaoke will be in the works, too. You never know.

Keep Business Bullpen on your radar this summer and expect great things.  Thanks for reading!

I am excited to announce that Jessye Aibel has joined our team to serve as a Marketing Associate.

Jessye is from Boston (Go Red Sox!) and just graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in English Literature. Jessye is most enthusiastic about writing, design, and the intricate world of social media / online PR. Jessye has news writing experience from interning with C-VILLE Weekly, marketing experience via working for a blossoming, Boston-based family handbag company, design and social media experience through an internship and current position with Gibson Design Management where she specializes in all online marketing and PR efforts. She is (primarily) self-taught in web design and site set-up, but is learning more every day through her opportunities at work.

Jessye will be managing and executing many of Business Bullpen’s online marketing efforts, including our blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account.

Here it is folks. My first GPOYW (a day late). This picture was taken last week of me and the newest addition to our family. I’m sure glad she has her mothers looks.

In the early 1990s, Website owners figured out the more traffic their sites got, the more advertising dollars became available. And from that “me make fire” leap in Internet evolution, the search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) profession was born.

In the beginning, the prime directive of optimizing your Website was to get it to appear as high in the search engine results pages (SERPs) as possible. Like many things in life, everyone wanted to be No. 1. Not much has changed in the last 10-15 years. The benchmark for successful SEO has been appearing on the first page of search results. The methods of successful SEO, however, are constantly evolving - but that’s a post for another day.

Last month, I discovered a new option in my Google Webmaster Tools dashboard called “Search queries.” I clicked on it and found a bevy of information that could alter the course of how SEO professionals benchmark their success.

Not only do we get to see which search terms are leading people to our pages, but we get to see where our sites ranked in the SERPs, how many times we appeared in a SERP (i.e., impressions), how many times people actually clicked on our results, and subsequently, the clickthrough rate for each particular search term. Not only can you see all this information, but you can sort it by category.

This new set of information changes the way we look at SEO. In the past, we optimized sites to help them appear high in the SERPs. It was understood that sites ranking high in the SERPs got more traffic because people usually trust what the search engines consider the top results. But now Website owners can actually look at the clickthrough rates of the search terms and see whether or not being at or near the top actually translates into meaningful traffic.

What good is it to appear No. 1 in Google for “splendid widgets” if no one is clicking through to your site? If this is the case, there is a problem, and it’s probably with how your site is optimized. Either your meta description isn’t worded properly, or your page title doesn’t convey the proper keyword-rich information. But, then again, if that’s the case, then why is the search engine ranking you No. 1? Only they can answer that question, and my bet is that they won’t. Regardless, if you’re not getting the clickthroughs, it’s time to re-evaluate your site’s SEO.

Conversely, you can also discover keywords and phrases that send traffic to your site that you may not have been aware of. If this is the case, jump on it and consider optimizing your site, or a page on your site, to specifically target those search terms. For example, four of the top five search terms for which my personal site appears in SERPS have something to do with Texas Longhorns Cheerleaders, or some variation of the term. All because I posted a photo of some rather frightening looking Texas Longhorns cheerleaders prior to the BCS national championship game. That was nearly six months ago and I still get considerable searches and traffic from that post. I have more than 1,500 blog posts and that one is the most popular.

The bottom line is that it’s not enough to be No. 1 on Google. We have to dig deeper with tools like “search queries” and see if being No. 1 is resulting in traffic. If it’s not, then we need to rethink how we’re optimizing our sites.

*Note: Yahoo Site Explorer recently launched a similar tool called “Top Queries - Beta,” but the results have not been nearly as robust as Google. We’ll keep an eye on it and hopefully we’ll start seeing more data in the months ahead.

We are pleased to announce the new look for Business Bullpen! Soon we will be announcing our new and improved website.

Do you ever hear good stories about the financial services or banking industry anymore? Of course not, but I have one to tell. 

Business Bullpen does not have any investors (although we do have very supportive families that would be willing to help if asked). Like everyone else on the planet, last year was rough. We came close to letting go of our only employee. Instead we asked him to take a pay cut and unfortunately lost him to another job later in the year. It was around this time that we begin applying for a line of credit at our bank, Virginia National Bank. Not knowing what to expect, I was unsure about whether we would get the loan. It wasn’t for much, but we all know that it has been a very poor climate for small business loans. 

VNB is a local bank with 8 branches in Charlottesville, Fork Union, Orange, and Winchester. They beat out Bank of America and Wachovia when I was shopping for a business account due to their lower fees and minimums. I had never banked with a local bank before, so I was a bit apprehensive. It did not take long for that apprehension to disappear. The reason: customer service. I visit a VNB branch about twice a week and it’s always a pleasant experience. They seek feedback, and take the time to get to know you. Heck, they even give you dog biscuits or lollipops if you visit the drive-thru tellers with your dog or kids in the backseat. You see the same faces year after year, which speaks volumes about their organization and management. 

Applying for a loan was no different. VNB approved our loan despite the poor economic conditions. Our main point of contact has been a pleasure to work with. She was completely on top of our renewal as our loan matured on May 1 for another year. I wish some of our other vendors were as organized. 

Over the last 20 years, in almost every sector, big businesses have been swallowing up mom and pop shops because they could provide more for less. We can get everything we need at the super center from tires to diapers to lattes to haircuts. Meanwhile, as these “big dogs” have become fat and happy, their customer service has eroded. They can afford to lose a customer here and customer there because they’ve conquered the local markets. 

Banks are no different. I have never thought about changing my personal banking from Wachovia to a local bank due to my perception that the bigger banks are more convenient. They have more branches, more ATMs, more staff, and more services. But I know better. More doesn’t equal better. Because of this perception I haven’t compared Wachovia’s services, fees, or minimums with another bank in over a decade. That’s just dumb.

I came to realize my stupidity thanks to the customer service and level of attention that I’ve received at VNB over the last several years. It’s enabling them to win more and more of my business. It started with the business checking account, then a safe deposit box, and finally the line of credit. Now I plan to approach them about my personal checking. This is the exact model that Business Bullpen strives for with our own clients. Win one project, exceed expectations, win another project that requires a different, but related, skill set, exceed expectations, repeat and continue. How do you exceed expectations? It’s more than the old adage, delivering on time, on scope, and on budget. You need to do so by giving your customers the attention they deserve even if it takes more time than you expected or budgeted. I would be a satisfied customer just on VNB’s services alone, but now I’m an avid and vocal supporter because of how they have treated us. No one asked me to write this blog post about VNB. I did so because they exemplify superior customer service and have helped my business to succeed because of it.

Yes, believe it or not, at one point in his life, I was actually clean-shaven. I didn’t grow a goatee until I left television in 2002. As sports anchor, the station at which I worked, did not allow facial hair.

This photo was taken in the summer of 2001. I was a hulking 26-year-old on vacation in Panama City Beach, four years removed from my college graduation.

To Flash or Not to Flash?

I’ll admit it – I am a sucker for a nicely designed all-Flash website. The movement of a graphic when my cursor hits certain areas on the page is quite entertaining. The lights and color that fluidly move around, I love. The little nuances that flash designers/developers incorporate to keep my attention, I totally appreciate.

But, is the flashy-Flash necessary for you?

Now, I’m not here to offend any of those talented designers/developers out there or to say that I am against an all-Flash site. As stated earlier, I am a huge fan of them. In fact, I keep a growing list of sites I use for inspiration. The question is – is it a good option for YOU?

Flash sites can be simple to complex. Simple - A mere fading in and out of images  with text floating from top to bottom, side to side. Complex - Let me direct your attention to this link: http://waterlife.nfb.ca/.

The more bells and whistles you have for you site, the better…right? Not necessarily.

Who’s looking at it?

When you are deciding on how intricate your flash website should be, consider your audience. Will they be impressed with shiny objects and flashy things? Will THAT build more revenue for your company? Or will they be more interested in simply a beautiful image with well-written text? Will THAT increase  loyalty with your viewers?

Let’s talk dollars.

Is it within your budget? In some instances I deal with clients who want the world-of-design, but can only afford a teeny-tiny island. With that comes compromise. If you insist on having a nicely designed flash site you should expect to pay a decent dollar amount, as design and development can be quite time-consuming. Alternatively, there are plenty of options that designers can employ that will not break the bank.

Will people find it?

How searchable do you want your website to be? While search engines have better support for Flash than they used to, it is still very difficult to have an all-Flash website to rank high in search engines. Therefore, your site can be super-sweet looking but if your concern is high SEO ranking then the flashy-Flash may not be the right option for you.

These are just a few considerations to think about when dreaming up your perfect website. I welcome and applaud those clients who decide upon the bells-and-whistles avenue when it comes to an all-Flash site…as long as it makes sense from a business perspective.

There are plenty of options out there. Find what’s best for YOU.

I will leave you with this amusing and entertaining Flash site:
www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

Enjoy.

Jack Lupton (via Wall Street Journal)

I have nothing against Atlanta. I actually like it a lot. That’s not why I am posting this quote. It’s about Jack Lupton, grandson of the first Coca-Cola bottler, who passed away last month at the age of 83.

Mr. Lupton was a key figure in turning the city of Chattanooga around. Born and raised there, he helped to revitalize the city on projects such as the Chattanooga Aquarium, Riverfront, and the Honors (Golf) Course.

It’s the last example that had an impact on my professional career. My first taste of responsibility came in 1995-96 when the good people at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offered me a position to coordinate the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at the Honors Course. It was a 14 month position, which included trips to Ohio State and Stanford. I got to meet a lot of influential people in the city (including Mr. Lupton) along with Tiger Woods, Earl Woods, Arnold Palmer, Ray Floyd, Johnny Majors, Gary Carter, and Vince Gill (the list could go on). 

Mr. Lupton’s vision for the Honors Course has enabled it to be one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world. While some will complain about the exclusivity, Mr. Lupton had a different attitude. From a 1986 interview in the Chattanooga Times, “You cannot open everything to everybody. It will not fly. As long as there is an Earth, there are going to be poor people, there are going to be medium, and there are going to be rich people. there ain’t anything any of us can do about that.”

That quote and the one above it are classic Jack Lupton quotes. Mr. Lupton’s brash and direct style of communication became legend. He didn’t mess around.

My condolences go out to the Lupton family. Chattanooga lost its #1 supporter last month, but he left so many good things behind that Mr. Lupton will never be forgotten. Thank you for the opportunity you provided me, Mr. Lupton. I will never forget how much I learned in those 14 months. 

A great article about driving through setbacks by the Owner/CEO of one of our oldest clients, OKA (Otto Kroeger Associates).

Click the link to read my latest guest blog post for Happi.com.

We’re big fans of Tumblr, the platform that this blog runs on. One of the traditions in the Tumblr community is to post a photo of yourself on Wednesdays, otherwise known as Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday (GPOYW). Thus, each Wednesday one member of the Business Bullpen team will post a photo of themselves.

I’m up first, and I’ve chosen one of my favorite baby pics. Here I am in July of 1972 with my Dad’s empty (I hope so) can of Old Milwaukee.

As YouTube celebrates its fifth anniversary, I felt it the perfect opportunity to talk about how the web video giant (which still hasn’t turned a profit) has revolutionized how we view, share and host our videos. Whether you are posting videos of family vacations or your company’s latest product demonstration, YouTube has completely changed how individuals and businesses publish content.

Prior to YouTube’s launch in 2005, company’s often hosted their own videos. They would produce a video and then convert it to either a Quicktime, Flash or Window Media file and build the videos into their website. At the time, it was the only viable option and it allowed companies to control their message and keep content on their pages. This practice predates social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, so most companies weren’t thinking about allowing others to embed their videos or share their content easily.

As a web content developer with a Northern Virginia-based government contractor in 2003, I was tasked with producing videos and posting them on the company’s various sites, internal and external. The biggest obstacle was video compression and bandwidth. Seven years ago, a 20-30 megabyte compressed video was a fairly large file and when added to a website, it can eat up a ton of bandwidth on our web servers if viewed enough times. This became an issue, even as compression technology was rapidly improving.

Along came YouTube. And suddenly, those movies that were eating up bandwidth on companies’ servers, could be uploaded to this new service, in virtually any format, and be converted to a Flash movie, that could be shared via a link or embed code with anyone in the world. For most, this was an incredible new offering and it was free. Most companies, however, were skeptical. Why would they allow their video to be available to anyone in the world? Once it’s out there, you give up some control over who sees the message and how it is presented, right? Well, yes and no.

Fast forward five years. It’s hard to find a well-known company that does not have a YouTube Channel that it uses to share its official videos. Businesses finally came to the realization that once your message is out there on the web, regardless of where it’s hosted, anyone can get it and manipulate it. It’s just a risk of doing business in today’s wired world. And with the advancement of privacy controls on YouTube, we can control whether or not people can leave comments, rank the video, or even embed it on other sites. So the old arguments of losing control of your message are invalid and unfounded.

First, let’s get the bandwidth issue out of the way. It’s a non-factor today thanks to plummeting media storage costs. Next.

The biggest advantage to using a site like YouTube to host your videos is the search engine results. Believe it or not, there are still people out there who believe that by posting your videos on YouTube, you will cannibalize your own website’s traffic. My response to that belief is, “so what?” Look, YouTube allows you to create a channel, with a link to your official website. Your videos can provide viewers with easy ways to reach you. And you can monitor traffic and views of your videos, so don’t look at YouTube as competing with, or cannibalizing your site’s traffic; instead, consider your YouTube Channel an extension or your website. The point is to get your message out on the web and YouTube will do that for you.

And let’s not forget that YouTube is a Google property. Hello. Google. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The world’s most dominant search engine. More and more Google searches are yielding YouTube videos at the top of the SERP (search engine results page). If a YouTube video shows up at the top of the page, don’t you want it to be yours? I would.

Lastly, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that YouTube is not the only video sharing site on the Web, so even if you’re not wild about it — maybe that Leave Britney Alone dude kinda creeps you out — check out other popular sites like Vimeo (my personal favorite) or Viddler. Regardless of which video sharing site you choose, if you have videos you want to share, get them online today and get your message out there. You never know who could end up watching it… it could be your next client.

And now, a perfect example of a major corporation that has truly embraced the power of YouTube and social media:

A Guest Post by Alexandra Gibson

Alexandra is the CEO of Gibson Design Management and Managing Partner of interior design firm, Gibson Design Group. When she’s not busy trying to build an empire, you can find Alexandra riding a horse, giving back to the community, playing with her Scottie, McCord, or drinking a martini (preferably not all four at once). Follow Alexandra on Twitter

Those who are not active on Twitter (or have never signed up) frequently ask: “What’s the point?” or “Is this really going to help my business?”

The short answer is: yes.  I know that it works because it has worked for our business in 6 very distinct ways.  The holy grail of social media still leaves the question of how to effectively analyze social media efforts.  It seems that John Lovett and Jeremiah Owyang, from Web Analytics Demystified and the Altimeter Group, are on the right track for creating a framework.  Until then, the list of 6 will have to be statistics free.

1. Creating leads.  Twitter helps foster relationships if used properly.  It’s a way to engage in conversation and offer answers when asked—without expecting anything in return.  Twitter provides an opportunity to show your personality and your business’s brand—and people like to do business with people that they like.  Be likable and you will earn people’s respect and trust.  Earn people’s respect and trust and you will earn their business.  While we did not create a sales plan for using Twitter to directly increase business, we’ve received referrals and direct business by people who have followed us and (presumably) like us.  In 2009, these Twitter leads increased our business by about 20%.  A Twitter lead is a warm lead.
2. Press.  For 5 years, I beat my head against a brick wall to break into the good graces of the press in our design industry.  Within 6 months of being on Twitter, I had been interviewed for USA Today, for 2 books, for countless magazine articles, and had written a foreword for a design business book.  We were also able to create more friendly relationships with editors and writers for large and small publications.  These relationships would not have been cultivated without Twitter.
3. Hiring.  While I did meet Martha Kirkpatrick, our Director, Member Services, in person in Denver, most of our early interactions were through Twitter.  By seeing what a great communicator she was, and her interactive personality on Twitter, it was a no-brainer for us to hire her for this position once we created it.  We have hired several contractors when we’ve needed an extra hand just because we knew them from Twitter.
4. Networking.  I would not be writing this blog post now if it were not for Twitter.  While Business Bullpen and Gibson Design Management are based in the same town, Todd from BB and I first really started to interact as part of the (then) small community of Charlottesvilleans on Twitter.  We now work together on Social Media Club Charlottesville, we each send business each other’s way, and I (and Facebook) consider Todd a friend.  Again, people like to do business with people that they like.
5. Expert status.  If used correctly, Twitter can help develop and promote you as an expert in your industry.  If you are already an expert, you should be on Twitter—interacting with people and providing valuable content.  Because of Twitter (paired with other social media sites), we have forged a much faster path toward establishing our company as an expert in its industry.  This has led to speaking engagements, more press, and more leads and clients.
6. Research and development.  Sometimes you think that you have a great idea, but sometimes your market doesn’t think it’s that great.  Before spending a boatload on launching a new product, service, or business, use Twitter to gather feedback.  We will often toss out questions on Twitter to see whether we will get a positive or negative response.  Our Twitter community might also give us ideas that we had not previously pondered.  By seeing which ideas gained traction on Twitter (and which didn’t), we were able to save ourselves money and to focus our efforts on what our target market really wanted and needed.

While our company achieved great results because of Twitter rather quickly, this might not be the norm for everyone.  If you do not plan on engaging, conversing, and offering valuable content on Twitter, you will more than likely not see advantageous results.  As social media becomes more important in how clients/consumers interact with businesses, being an active participant on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the like will be even more important.  If you are unable to put a significant effort into your online marketing, hire a consulting firm.  However, always know that you will need to play an active role in determining direction and communicating your brand.  Remember: people like to do business with people that they like.  Show that you and your company are likable through Twitter and you will see the business results.

This past Saturday I attended my first Richmond Code Camp, and I’m as certain as the Page Life Cycle to be at the next (I know, for my fellow nerds that was a cheesy ASP.NET reference, but I’ve been heads down in a WebForms project for the last 5 months and needed to get it off my chest). This one day conference “by developers for developers” was packed with value. Serious session topics, experienced speakers, great networking opportunities, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and it was all free thanks to generous sponsors like Microsoft, Telerik, and CapTech; just to name a few.

For me, it was all about the quality of the sessions and presenters, and the knowledge I walked away with at the end of the day. The fact it was free was just icing on the cake. I’ve paid for conferences that have offered much less.

A few highlights about the presenters and sessions:

- Most if not all of the presenters held day jobs implementing what they where discussing resulting in real world topics and examples.

- The sessions scheduled offered something for everyone. Whether front end, back end, junior web developer, or experienced architect, there were plenty of options to map out a session path. For me, the time slots often offered more than one session I wanted to attend and found myself nitpicking through the abstracts to make a decision.

- Each session lasted an hour and 15 minutes, giving the presenters plenty of time to make a quality presentation.

The session path i chose included:

-Top 10 Ways MVC 2 Will Boost Your Productivity - Steve Michelotti

-Real World Inversion of Control and Dependency Injection with WebForms - Milan Negovan

-Your ASP.NET WebForms Can Have a 3 Letter Design Pattern Too - Jamie Wright

-Getting Started with Entity Framework 4 - Dane Morgridge

If you are a Central Virginia developer and are using Microsoft technologies or just want to get your feet wet, this is conference you should not miss.

For more information about Richmond Code Camp and it’s sponsors, checkout their website. You can also find the organizers on Twitter, @CodeCamp.

Hello everyone, I’m Amanda. I am from Ohio and moved to Charlottesville a little over a year ago. So far, so good. However, I experienced my first Virginia winter this past year. I was excited to hear “Amanda, leave your mountain of snow and ice in Ohio because you’ll never experience that again in Virginia”. Boy, were they wrong. Let’s just say that I am thankful spring is here and spring has certainly sprung!

With a new season comes a new job in my case. I am thrilled to be working with such cool guys: Todd, Graham and Gary. They got talent. They got passion. They got drive. They like good tunes. What else could I ask for?

I was asked to write a little about the plans I have for Business Bullpen. I have a bunch and I’m so excited. In the next few months I plan to add a little flare to this biz. We’ll be working on re-vamping our brand and website soon so watch out! Aside from our own brand I am excited to be designing for some great clients in the near future.

A little sneak peak to share: I am thrilled to hear we will be working with tumblr - one of my most favorite blogging platforms!! I practice what I preach so check me out (and follow me if you are interested) amandakayhughes.tumblr.com. Please, check back with Business Bullpen and see what cool things we’ll be doing with tumblr soon!


To everyone that has been a follower of Business Bullpen, thank you. I hope to meet in person soon and plan to design kick-ass work from here on out.

Cheers!

Amanda

(For those interested in my capabilities, check out my personal site: amandakaydesign.com)

I am excited to announce that Amanda Hughes has joined our team to serve as Business Bullpen’s Creative Director.

Amanda has 6 years of experience in design including packaging, environmental, print and web design. At Business Bullpen, Amanda is responsible for creating top notch design for our wide range of clients.

Prior to Business Bullpen, Amanda provided web and print design for a small Charlottesville design company. She also worked at an world-wide agency in Ohio concepting and developing in-store graphics to enhance consumers’ retail experience. Amanda also has experience with advertising, package and print design for Procter & Gamble’s skin care brand, Olay.

Amanda attended the University of Indianapolis for one year on a golf scholarship in 1999. She moved on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati.

You can view Amanda’s portfolio at http://amandakaydesign.com.

I’ve been holding off on this blog post for a couple weeks to make sure that my first use of the iPad for a client was indeed productive. I have been wireframing in Microsoft Visio for years and years and years. I actually enjoy Visio, but it can be tedious and time consuming. When we switched over to a MacBooks in late 2008, I bought Parallels so I could install the MS Office suite along with Project and Visio. I browsed some for Mac wireframing apps, but I was stuck in my ways thus stuck to Visio.

I bought the iPad to be more than an entertainment device. I want it to increase my productivity outside of email and web browsing. The iMockups app is the first app that has succeeded in meeting that objective. The first business day after purchasing the iPad, I begin to work on new wireframes using iMockups for a client. You can’t compare the number of options in iMockups vs. Visio. It’s much simpler with fewer shapes, but that’s why it works so well. The wireframes I had to produce for our client were basic. They had to communicate simple screen layout and elements. Further design details would be flushed out in either PhotoShop or UI development. Thus, I didn’t need all the bells and whistles that Visio has to offer. Thus, I didn’t need to turn on my MacBook, boot up Parallels and launch Visio (a 5 minute process in itself). A series of wireframes detailing a section in the administrative tool would take me a couple hours on Visio. It took about half as much time on the iPad.

The one clunky, but minor, issue is distribution of the wireframes. Your only option to export a wireframe from iMockups is to send it to your photo gallery. Once you do that, then you have to email it. I had another step in there too. These wireframes were inserted into a use case document, so after emailing the wireframes to myself, I would launch Google Docs on my MacBook and insert the wire frame in the correct location within the requirements doc. I don’t have Keynote or Pages (yet), so I’m not sure if there is any integration with those tools, but it would be nice to have a smoother way to share entire projects (multiple wireframes can be grouped into projects) or individual wire frames than exporting as a photo and emailing from the Photos app.

All in all, iMockups is a fantastic and simple tool to crank out basic wireframes. I plan to use it again and use it often. The makers of iMockups just released a new version of the app that makes it even easier to build screens. Take a look at the short video below, which gives you a great visual overview of what it’s like to build wireframes on iMockups.

Last week I had the opportunity to share a couple examples of how social media has directly impacted our business with the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity at the University of Virginia. I focused on LinkedIn and Tumblr (blogging).

I’ll be on a panel at this event tonight on the campus of UVA. If you are in Charlottesville, stop on by and join us.

Running a small company gives us the flexibility to mix our personal and professional lives a bit more than the average person. This has been an advantage in the social media space. It allows us to connect with customers and partners on other levels, which might help to build relationships. More importantly, it gives us an opportunity to learn more about our clients who are also active in social media that we might not necessarily see all the time.

One area of my personal life that has bled into my professional life is my love for live music. I used to work in the music industry, and have hosted various personal websites about music over the past 10-12 years. None of the sites took off until my latest project, The Butter Room. The Butter Room was launched in 2007 with an old college buddy on the Tumblr platform, which in hindsight is the reason for its success. What Tumblr offered that previous platforms did not was the concept of following. Over the course of 2008, the site accumulated a small following and then one of our followers whom I did not know contacted me about contributing to the blog. He also convinced a couple of his friends to contribute and the site began to pick up steam thanks to the increase in content and the expansion of our network.

How does this relate to business though? As our personal relationship with our new contributors developed, we found out that two of the contributors owned a web design firm in Chicago (Maven Web Solutions). Over time, we discussed the possibility of working together on a project. Then in 2009, they presented us with an opportunity where Maven would handle the design and Business Bullpen would handle the development. The project came through, and after it was all said and done, that project accounted for 22% of our entire revenue for 2009. None of this would have happened if it were not for social media, and specifically Tumblr.

Many companies don’t have the flexibility to mix their professional and personal lives, so this example might not apply to everyone. However, the concept does. If you are managing a blog or a facebook page or a twitter account - incorporate others to contribute. Reach out to individuals who you have been following, but might not know in person, and be willing to reciprocate. At a minimum, it is a simple way to expand your network while increasing content.

Graham and I have been big fans of the blogging platform, Tumblr, since we first discovered it in 2007. When I am explaining Tumblr to people who haven’t used it, I always make a point to talk about the people I have met who work for Tumblr. I have always been amazed at their customer service and how quick they are to respond. I first experienced this when I sent Tumblr’s lead developer an email back in 2007 requesting an interview for another blog. I didn’t know Marco Arment at the time, so I didn’t expect a response. He responded same day, and provided the interview. Since then, Graham and I had a chance to meet Marco during our last trip to New York. Again, I was very thankful for the time he took out of his busy day to spend time with us discussing Tumblr, New York, and one of our favorite bands, Phish.

So I really shouldn’t be surprised that last week Marco quickly responded to our interview request. But, I was. Tumblr’s popularity has skyrocketed since 2007, and I’m sure Marco’s inbox is overflowing with more mail than he can read on a daily basis. So, Graham and I are very thankful for the opportunity to get to know Marco over the past couple of years. He is one of many interesting and driven people that we have met through Tumblr, who we hope to highlight over the coming months on our blog. Enjoy the interview.

1. What sites do you author or contribute to that are powered by Tumblr?

My personal Marco.org blog, plus the Instapaper Blog. Give Me Something To Read is technically mine, although I no longer edit it — that’s done by Richard Dunlop-Walters.

2. What is/are the goal(s) of your site(s)?

Marco.org is a personal outlet for everyday writing and sharing, and occasional articles on technology and related subjects.

The Instapaper Blog is for Instapaper announcements and links to related press coverage.

3. How would you describe the Tumblr community in one word?

Huge.

To elaborate: People sometimes mistake what they see in their Dashboards for the entire Tumblr community. In reality, Tumblr’s userbase is so large and spanning so many different demographics and social circles that there is no single, cohesive “Tumblr community”.

If you ever catch someone generalizing, mentally replace “Tumblr” or “the Tumblr community” with “the people I’ve chosen to follow on Tumblr”.

4. What organizations, artists, professionals, and/or freelancers do a good job leveraging Tumblr to interact with the Tumblr community about their business, profession, or craft?

Oh, I’m the wrong person to ask for that. It’d be a great question for Meaghan O’Connell, our outreach director.

I tend to surround myself in a bubble with only geeks like me and a few individuals from Tumblr’s early days whose lives I’m now so invested in that I don’t want to unfollow them, despite having almost nothing in common. I feel loyalty to them the same way I do toward real-life friends. I don’t care if some random person had eggs for breakfast this morning, but if my best friends do, or if Dawnowar does, I care.

5. How has the Tumblr community impacted Instapaper from a product development and business development standpoint?

The product is pretty different from what Tumblr does, but I’m always influenced by the incredibly smart and talented people I work with. Instapaper Pro on the iPhone has a share-with-Tumblr feature that’s incredibly useful to me.

Business development can intersect if I meet an important contact from one business and knowing them is relevant to the other, which happens occasionally in both directions. Otherwise, I keep Instapaper and Tumblr completely separate to prevent potential conflicts.

6. What has been the most challenging initiative for you at Tumblr and why?

Scaling is the biggest challenge, which has become my primary role. Tumblr’s growth has been phenomenal, and it’s mostly my job to ensure that the site remains fast and stable, which is easier said than done when you’re at our size.

At any given time, I’m probably working on relieving a major bottleneck somewhere. We’re fortunate to be able to order great servers when we need them, but problems often can’t be solved simply by giving them more hardware. And when each bottleneck is fixed, another one soon becomes apparent.

Fortunately, it’s incredibly interesting work, as I’m always challenged.

7. Could you describe the feature evaluation process at Tumblr, specifically how enhancements are selected and prioritized for development?

Sorry, but that’s more David’s (David Karp, the founder of Tumblr) department.

8. Do you enjoy your internet celebrity status or has it been difficult to deal with as Tumblr has grown?

I’ve run into a few disadvantages as my audience and my company has grown. Specifically, I’ve become a lot more careful about what I say, especially when it’s about other people or companies, because there’s a good chance that it may get to them or be misconstrued into a sensational blog headline somewhere.

It was disconcerting when I recently joked that Firefox was overly complex and I got an email from a Mozilla project manager asking very nicely why I thought that and what they could do to improve. That sort of thing happens a lot now. It’s difficult to make lighthearted jokes when your audience is beyond a small circle of friends.

Otherwise, it’s still amazing to me that strangers know who I am, and I’m immensely thankful for it. The downsides are only problematic until I learn how to operate in this environment that’s very new to me.

9. Why has Tumblr been successful?

We make a product that’s useful to people. Really, that’s the heart of it. Everything else is elaboration.

Poster from 3-24 Richmond Spoon Show. Purchased for the office.

hypem:

(via kristen-kay)