RSA Interactive - Latest Comments

Re: Video Confessions: Sean

whoopsta — Tue, 11 May 2010 23:59:56 -0000

uh...visit the youtube channel....but it this is posted on Vimeo? I'm so torn! LOL

Re: OTA Sessions: Creativity in the Midwest

Kyle McCabe — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:10:44 -0000

Hey Tracy, nice to hear from you! I'll definitely have to drop your name if I get a chance to meet Ryan. ;)

Re: OTA Sessions: Creativity in the Midwest

Kyle McCabe — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:08:05 -0000

Thanks for dropping by, Mike. Great to hear other westerners made it out. I think you're right about being better connected - that's what this OTA stuff is all about, isn't it?

Re: OTA Sessions: Creativity in the Midwest

Tracy Mailloux — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:48:11 -0000

Kyle,

Ryan Phillips at the TIE Office is a great guy. Haven't had a chance to visit or work with him in years unfortunately. If you do touch bases with him, let him know I say, "Hi!"

Tracy

Re: OTA Sessions: Creativity in the Midwest

Mike — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:48:49 -0000

Kyle,
I understand what you mean when you say you felt inadequate at describing why people should attend OTA Sessions. I had a similar difficulty. And that’s why I interviewed Jonathan and other OTA presenters. (You can check out the ReImagine Rural blog for other video interviews.)

Luckily, you were not alone from Rapid City. If you are interested in meeting other creative types in Rapid, stop by the TIE offices and say hello to Ryan Phillips (who edited the video you embedded) and Julia Monczunski. I also know Eric Abrahamson of Vantage Point Historical Services attended.

I guess the moral of the story is that maybe we all need to be a little better connected. And I hope to meet you next year.

Re: Social Media Tips From Google, KS

AlissaMenke — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:22:08 -0000

No problem! I thought you'd enjoy it. : )

Re: Social Media Tips From Google, KS

TarahJahnig — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:15:23 -0000

Hi Alissa,

There's some great comparative data in the report, along with some good observations about using multiple platforms to increase buzz for a campaign. Thanks for posting this!

Re: Social Media Tips From Google, KS

AlissaMenke — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:08:29 -0000

Tarah -

You're right! Here in Topeka, er Google, Kansas, our entire grassroots movement started online with the formation of a Facebook Group, a Twitter account, YouTube channel and a Wordpress-powered blog.

Here's a link to an interesting report noting the online buzz for various communities vying for Google's Fiber Experiment. It's an interesting read with a PDF to download: http://blog.steketeegreiner...

@AlissaSheley

Re: Is The Look Of A Website Most Important?

Kyle McCabe — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:44:27 -0000

Thanks for stopping by! Your comments are right on - planning must include real content, or it's just as wasted as first-phase design.

So many projects start with a "design" phase, and we have to backtrack, costing time and money. It's understandable for a client who isn't familiar with the process to want to jump straight to design, but we should know better by now.

Thanks again.

Re: Is The Look Of A Website Most Important?

jerihastava — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:46:07 -0000

A great looking website is certainly an asset, but design should always support the "shape" of the content, and no amount of planning before design begins can replace designing with actual content. In my experience, the very process of gathering and evaluating existing content, and generating new content invariably leads to changes that can be costly when design has been approved before a content strategy is in place.

Re: The Worst Job Gets National Awards

Kyle McCabe — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:26:09 -0000

It is definitely real. I did that job for several years, myself. Thanks for commenting! (Where's my sarcmark?)

Re: The Worst Job Gets National Awards

Middle East Jobs — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:23:22 -0000

Human Piñata? how could be there be such kind of job? is this a joke or for real?

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

Kyle McCabe — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:13:57 -0000

I agree about the trends/style. Any good web professional will stay on top of their industry. But even less ethical folks do this to the degree that it helps them make a quick buck.

Anyway, informed design does usually make for good design. In light of this, a good question to ask any potential designer/developer for your project is "How often do you practice?" Meaning, how often do you take time to stay up to speed on the latest trends, concepts, technology, etc.

My answer: not enough! ;)

Thanks for commenting!

Re: Understanding Website Design

Kyle McCabe — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:07:57 -0000

Thanks for the comment, Michael. I've used the "house" analogy quite a bit, myself, which is probably why I went with the car this time ;)

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

Michael Trythall — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:27:44 -0000

I agree with most points here. I've also found that a very good designer can tell you a lot about latest trends and styles, and probably can point to a few good user studies that have taken place in the last 6-12 months.

Informed design = good design. Same goes for designers :)

Re: Understanding Website Design

Michael Trythall — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:23:42 -0000

"The experience is the brand". This is what I tell my clients. We have very little time to get our point across with their site, and if we screw this up - if the experience is poor - we risk damaging their image with their customers.

Your car example is perfect, and I use something similar when selling design. "Would you build a house without blueprints?" Same thing goes with web sites.

Nice post.

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

Kyle McCabe — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:06:11 -0000

Thanks for commenting, Sean - you make a good point.

There are very few people who are able to plan, design, and program a feature-rich website by themselves. Many freelancers contract out the work they can't complete themselves, and an agency environment obviously provides all the necessary skills through a team of people.

I approached the article from the "designer" perspective, because that's my main area of expertise. In my experience, both freelance and agency, the designer is usually the only or first "production" person the client has any contact with. But I imagine my experience is different from yours, and many others.

Understanding the difference between designers, developers/programmers, information architects, SEO specialists, etc., is necessary to understand the process of web development. Even so, whatever web professional you come into contact with as the client, a good one will help you understand these distinctions and how they affect your project.

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

leprakhauns — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:05:24 -0000

I think you should also put down that a web developer/ web programmer is not the same thing as a designer and that you should be willing to pay more if you want a custom solution created by a programmer and designed by a designer. You should never assume that one person does it all. I am a programmer, I can create stuff from scratch, but I am no designer. I can implement a design, but I can't create one from scratch like so many people want.

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

Kyle McCabe — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:03:55 -0000

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree, as a budding web designer years ago, it would have been nice to have seen a post like this!

In any case, I'm hoping it will help business owners make more informed choices as well.

Re: How to Find a Good Web Designer

Web Design Lexington — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:56:56 -0000

This is a list worth noting especially to budding web designers. The thoughts are well said and should be followed if you want to succeed in the field of web designing.

Re: Social Media Tools Are Useless

RSAInteractive — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:29:39 -0000

Hi, thanks for the comment.

Its understandable, given that social media is so new. We try to continue encouraging clients to take a step back and form a plan before jumping right in. In a couple years it'll all be common sense ;)

Re: 5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession

RSAInteractive — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:26:39 -0000

Thanks for replying - good to hear your efforts seem to be working. We've had the same experience with many of our clients who dare to continue marketing even when times are tough.

Re: 5 Reasons Not to Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession

Brian — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:41:19 -0000

I agree with most of your points above, especially the concept of actaully marketing harder in a recession versus pulling back. My company identified "sweet spots" in our marketing efforts (PPC & online advertising) and re-directed our marketing spend to focus on those specific areas. So far, the results have been promising.

Re: Social Media Tools Are Useless

Internet Marketing Consultant — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:45:41 -0000

Great article! Many of my clients too want to dive straight into social media without having business objectives or a strategic plan to follow. Start with your goals and objectives, then the action plan, and last look which tools are useful to reach those goals!

Re: Why Good Customer Service is so Important

computer repair lexington — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:12:04 -0000

If you want to achieve the full potential of your business, you should invest in having good customer service because word-of-mouth is more powerful than the usual advertising scheme.