Start Everywhere
My favorite commercial on TV these days is from Dunkin' Donuts. I couldn’t find a video of it online, so I'll summarize it quick here - it opens with an overstuffed garage and a man and woman standing back looking at it. The woman asks, “where do we start?” and the man answers, “everywhere.”
Below is a screenshot I took literally from my TV.
I like this ad as the garage sometimes resembles the work in front of me. In order to get to the meat of things, you just need to clear out some of the smaller things and the low-hanging fruits. As things clear, so may your view of the tasks at hand.
Good luck with your task list, and wish me luck on mine. Have a great week!
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Plan And Budget For Web Site Repairs
Every time I walk by this it cracks me up, so much that I had to take a picture of it and talk about it here, and how it related to the Web. Below is a photo of part of a sidewalk in Chicago near the northeast corner of Madison and Canal Streets. And what you think you may see is correct, a piece of metal bolted over a hole in the sidewalk.
As peculiar as it appears, unfortunately it is not an anomaly. There are many sidewalks in the Windy City which are patched with metal or plywood. This is most likely the result of the fact that many sidewalks are vaulted (or hollow underneath) which is a throwback to the days when the only way you could get goods into a building were through a lift in the sidewalk to the basement. As the logistics – and cost – to repair a vaulted sidewalk are high, many times something is just bolted over the hole to cover it.
Ideally, the owner of a building with a vaulted sidewalk should be aware of their condition and appropriately budget for its repair or replacement, just as they should be anticipating other repairs in the building. The same holds true for the owners of Web sites.
Web Sites Need Repairs Too
There are 2 cases when a Web site needs to be repaired, with one being driven by the business and the other by technology.
From a business standpoint, a Web site should be closely synchronized with the entity it represents. This includes everything from an accurate phone number to an extension of services offered by the entity to the Web site. If the content of your Web site frequently changes and the site doesn’t have a content management system (CMS) then you should consider adding one, thereby reducing the cost of manually maintaining content. If you send statements or other documents to your customers, making these available on your Web site could reduce labor and mailing costs to get these out. As social media tools become more robust, integrating them into your Web site will give you an advantage to reach out to your fans and followers, who hopefully will become customers.
Technical repairs to a Web site can greatly vary. Whenever a new version of a Web browser is released, your Web site should be tested against it. In some cases, some code on your Web site, such as JavaScript, may not work in a new version. The Web site itself didn’t change, the browser did. As Apple is not allowing Flash to be displayed on the iPhone and iPad, if you have it on your Web site, it will not display on these 2 devices. As smartphones become more and more common, your Web site may require a mobile version to best display on these smaller-screened devices.
Be Prepared
Just as with a home or car repair, Web site repairs will need your time to be addressed, will need to be scheduled and will cost money. Where you cannot always anticipate when repairs will be needed (just as you can’t predict when your refrigerator will stop working) it is best to set aside some funds for your Web site’s eventual repair. How much you will need to save will depend on the size and complexity of your Web site, and your Web consultant can help you with this decision-making. As well, they can help you with identifying potential problem areas and recommend a schedule for you as well. If they cannot, feel free to contact Dunkirk Systems, LLC, as we are more than glad to talk to you about how to best manage your Web site.
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Next likemind Chicago on Friday May 21
The next likemind will be Friday, May 21, 2010 in dozens of cities around the world.
In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Adams and Dearborn Streets in the Loop from 8:00 am to 10:00 am.
I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.
No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.
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Mike Maddaloni Is Featured In The PSFK 2010 Good Brands Report
Trends research, innovation, and activation firm PSFK has just released their 2010 Good Brands Report. This is a study on 10 top global brands, their reason for inclusion and opinion on each from a panel of experts.
The Good Brands for 2010 are: Google, Apple, Jamie Oliver, MIT, Ace Hotel, IKEA, Nike, Twitter, Foursquare and Nintendo.
The opinions on each brand come from members of the Purple List, of which I, Mike Maddaloni, am a member. The Purple List is described as “a network of experts for hire. The list is comprised of designers, journalists, marketers, and entrepreneurs.” My quote for Google on page 5 of the report is as follows.
It Reads, “Google builds-in innovation, which most all other companies do not do. By allowing their employees the opportunity to explore their ideas, they are not only seeing fruits from this in new products, but surely happier employees and better primary work from them.”
You can get a copy of the 2010 Good Brands report here, or read the SlideShare report embedded below.
I appreciate the opportunity once again to be part of such a high-profile report, as I was quoted last year on Virgin.
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New And Old Retail Meet Via QR Codes
Walking to the office today something caught my eye that I had to share, as pictured below.
Across from the former Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago on Washington Street is a bus stop. On that bus stop is an ad in Spanish for Google Android mobile phones. Prominent in the lower right corner of the ad is a QR code. What got my attention was the contrast of the old vs. new retail. The Field’s building, over a century old, with its iconic clock in comparison to the QR code on a non-English ad for a mobile device from a vendor barely over a decade old.
The real question is if these will continue to be 2 completely different retail concepts, or if they will come together as one?
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