Archive for August, 2009

Marketing Favre: Minnesota via Madison Avenue

Many football nerds who live and die with the Vikings couldn’t wait to apply a fresh coat of purple face paint when Brett Favre unretired again, and even casual fans seem to have a rooting interest in whatever happens next. Love him or leave him, Brett Favre has always been a marketable commodity. This ESPN spot by Weiden + Kennedy spoofs the network’s own reporting of the long-lingering story.

ESPN had seen to it nationally that every rumored development regarding Favre’s difficult and publicly private decision was reported (and many, later, corrected), but the media volume was louder yet here in Minnesota as we waited for our purple #4 jerseys. From here we could also hear considerable murmuring from our green-and-gold-clad neighbors in Wisconsin (where they’re printing their own shirts saying, “We’ll never forget you, Brent” – always loved that one).

According to AdWeek, the F-word was mentioned 452 times on Minnesota TV between August 18-19, and 650,000 Minnesotans watched Farvre’s rusty preseason debut – up from 240,000 the week before. People will come.

As a fan of self-mockery (prerequisite for Nerdery dwellers), I’m pleased to see Favre’s commercial for Sears (created by Young & Rubicam) because it’s solid evidence that #4 sees a healthy dose of humor in his on-again/off-again waffling route to Minnesota.

While marketers are delighted with Favre’s (in)decision, fans here in the Nerdery state and in nearby Dairyland have either strong feelings one way or the other, or, the foundation of their allegiance is so deeply shaken that they don’t quite know how to feel. I personally feel like finally winning a Super Bowl, but for now I’ll settle for an otherwise meaningless preseason victory this evening at 7 Central time on ESPN. Are you ready 4 some football?

Friday Links: Star Wars Design Fails & IKEA font kerfuffle

• IKEA switches to Verdana, much teeth gnashing and garment rending follows.
• The Social History of the MP3, yes, yes a Pitchfork link, but it’s an interesting piece.
• Top 10 UX Myths
• John Scalzi’s Guide to the Most Epic FAILs in Star Wars Design
• Confessions of a Comment Addict
• If famous graphic artists were web designers
• What Apple.com might look like in 1983 (it’s just a picture go look at it)
• Vital Tips for effective logo design

Extra! Extra! Read all about us

photo by Dick Youngblood

First, there was yesterday’s piece in the StarTribune by Dick Youngblood. In the article Youngblood wrote about our growth, our work with ad agencies, how we focus on nerdery and not design, and, of course, our awesome sense of humor. He particularly liked our whiteboard walls:

The rest is a mélange of wit and whimsy, some of it delightfully sophomoric. There’s the “food pyramid,” for example, which includes cake, nachos, beer, coffee and, for unknown reasons, ramen noodles. Then there’s the note posted alongside an electric plug-in: “Insert fork here.”

And my favorite: “7 days since the last workplace injury.” Aside from a broken fingernail from typing too hard, no one can recall any injuries.

Today, if you head over to Twin Cities Business you’ll see Senior Editer Gene Rebeck has a piece, ” . . . praising the hardy men and women behind the scenes who wield the digital hammers and tape measures, working tirelessly to make our leisurely surfing a more satisfactory experience.”

Basically, it’s about The Nerdery & Ratchet (a firm similar to ours) and how we’re helping agencies make websites that look like they belong on the web and not an electronic brochure.. Head on over there and check it out.

We know where you are, but what are you doing?

Photo: Dustin Diaz

What are you doing? It’s the question Twitter has been asking users to answer (in 140 characters or less) for the past 3.5 years. Starting in the near future, Twitter is going to be including more than what you type.

Twitter announced Thursday that tweets will be carrying location meta data automatically generated by the user’s device, assuming that user has opted-in. Uh, what? If I’m on my GPS-enabled smartphone, my Twitter client will be able to attach the current GPS location to my tweet.

Ok, but wait. There’s a considerable population in the “Twitter is absolutely useless” party, so adding location data is the metaphorical screen door on the solar powered submarine, right? Well, maybe. There’s been a noticeable increase in location-aware services, from Google Latitude to Brightkite to Foursquare to Acrossair’s “Nearest Subway.” Additionally, there’s a dramatic increase in the number of GSM/WCDMA (GPS-enabled) phones coming into the market (PDF), and we all know how iPhone users like using their data plan.

So where’s any of this headed? That’s a great question, and one someone far more creative (you, maybe?) will hopefully answer. Here’s what Biz @ Twitter had to say:

It’s easy to imagine how this might be interesting at an event like a concert or even something more dramatic like an earthquake. There will likely be many use cases we haven’t even thought of yet which is part of what makes this so exciting.

Now before we get all bleeding edge and leverage the open door, let’s look at the bottom line (buzzword bingo!). Twitter is a microcosm. Best guesses put the active user base anywhere between 2-8 million, +/- 95%. It’s not Facebook with their 250 million active users, but if you’ve been keeping score at home, you know that Facebook considers Twitter a formidable opponent. Said another way, if Twitter is adding location aware services, I’d be willing to bet a pack of Ramen noodles that Facebook will be soon, too.

So now, independent of Twitter, let’s start thinking about the ways we can create a better user experience with this new piece of  context-rich information. Build a unique and dynamic experience based on where that user is at that moment. It’s not just on the web, it’s not just at your desk, it’s going mobile, but apparently it’s starting with Twitter.

What compelling ways do you think your clients and their customers could interact and drive value for both parties? Here’s a freebie, here’s 5 more from Mashable, and for good measure, some other cool ways Twitter is being integrated (sans location aware) into marketing, communications, and of course, politics.

If you’re the creative marketing type and would ever like to bang heads and see what we can both strategerize for your clients (eg, you think it, we’ll build it, we all high 5 afterward), contact me. Via Twitter.

cheers,
@malbiniak

Crunching feelings not numbers

Today’s NY Times has an interesting article about sentiment analysis, a burgeoning field where, researchers try to figure out how people on the web feel about certain topics or businesses.

The article points out how the people behind these research firms are trying to deal with linguistic grey areas caused by slang, irony, and sarcasm. But what’s even more interesting is their trying to measure the actual “heat” of the sentiment being expressed (it seems everyone on the web either loves or hates something, there is not much apathy or middle-ground).

To get at the true intent of a statement, Ms. Pang developed software that looks at several different filters, including polarity (is the statement positive or negative?), intensity (what is the degree of emotion being expressed?) and subjectivity (how partial or impartial is the source?).

For example, a preponderance of adjectives often signals a high degree of subjectivity, while noun- and verb-heavy statements tend toward a more neutral point of view.

It’s a field to keep an eye on, and it will be even more interesting when we start seeing businesses making changes based on consumers actual, expressed feelings on the web.

Express Yourself: Come to The Nerdery & learn all about Expression Engine

Who: You
What: A tech talk about Expression Engine (kind of like the iPhone one).
When: 5 -6 p.m., Thursday, August 27th
Where: The Nerdery, 9555 James Ave. S Suite 245, Bloomington, MN
Why: To hear The Nerdery’s Brian Litzinger, whose Expression Engine wizardry helped catapult Team Praxis and the site they created for District 202 into the winner’s circle for 2009’s Overnight Website Challenge, teach you all about this popular content management system.
How: Just RSVP by leaving a comment (so we know how much pizza to order).

Any questions?

FanChatter and True (B)romance

For the love of the game, there’s an up-and-coming social media/mobile tool for sports fans called FanChatter. If you want to send your picture to the stadium’s Jumbotron or keep up with fans of your favorite team, FanChatter is your ticket.

The founders of FanChatter were recently invited to spend some quality time at Silicon Valley’s YCombinator, a twice-a-year brain camp for startups who get some seed money and, more importantly, access to priceless free advice from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

I recommend two recent stories about FanChatter – a story by Graeme Thickins in Minnov8 and one from Finance & Commerce by Arundhati Parmar. Coupled together, these articles free The Nerdery to tell an entirely different side of the FanChatter story – and one told to me by Tom O’Neill, our VP of software development. Tom’s story has something for everyone, whether you’re into stories with true romance, sports, technology, brotherly love, suspense, the thrill of victory, and the agony of … whatever.

Ever go to a ballgame at which some hopeful romantic type gets the nerve to go on the Jumbotron on bended knee to propose to his surprised sweetheart? It’s among the most anxious moments in all of sports (sometimes I can’t watch). Did you know that Major League Baseball has a rule that only one such public proposal can be aired per game on the Jumbotron? Ed O’Neill didn’t. When his brother Tom learned this, he had to make a series of life-changing game-time decisions.

Ed had the ring and everything when he showed up at the Twins game with his girlfriend Holly, brother Tom, and Tom’s wife Anni. Here’s the play-by-play:

Top of the 1^st inning: Tom sneaks off  to Metrodome Fan Services to plunk down $100 for his brother’s Jumbotron appearance. Returning to the seats, Tom tells Ed, “Done deal.”

Bottom 1^st inning: Dude from Fan Services frantically waves Tom down, tells him somebody else had dibs on the one-a-day Jumbotron proposal. Tom curses rules as made to be broken, but no dice.

Top of the 2^nd: Tom tells brother about FanChatter as possible Plan B for his proposal. Select fan photos submitted to FanChatter are shown on the Jumbotron in the 5^th inning. Anyone who’s been to a ballgame with Tom knows he’s a fan and early adopter of FanChatter. If Tom were Minneapolis Star Tribune sports columnist Sid Hartman, he’d name-drop FanChatter creator Marty Wetherall as a “close personal friend.” When he’s not at YCombinator, Marty works for Fallon, a frequent agency partner of The Nerdery. Meanwhile, Tom takes a picture of brother Ed with his iPhone …

Bottom of the 2^nd: … and emails Ed’s photo to his Nerdery colleague Mike Johnson, who steps away from normal Friday night activities long enough to Photoshop this short and sweet caption: “Marry me, Holly?” Matt Tolbert tags up and scores on Joe Mauer’s sacrifice fly and it’s 4-zip. Just as Tom gets the doctored photo back from Mike, Tom’s iPhone battery goes dead.

Top of the third: Tom pleads with lady at gate nearest his car to let him out, and more importantly, re-enter after he charges his phone and completes his sacred bro-deal – he tells the gatekeeper what he’s up to, deftly playing the brotherly love card and probably pitching a romance novel fit for nerds – and she buys it, even signing his ticket to green-light his re-entry.

Bottom of the third: Tom plugs his phone in at his car and reaches FanChatter’s Marty and asks that Ed’s picture please, please, pretty please be chosen for the 5^th inning montage. Marty, who’s out to dinner with his wife, says we must reach FanChatter co-founder Luke Francl who’s better positioned as game-time go-to-guy to try to make it happen. A flurry of phone tag follows as Tom’s iPhone recharges and Brendan Harris puts the Twins up 5-0 on a single to center, scoring Cuddyer.

Bottom of the fourth: More runs driven in by Mauer, Morneau and Cuddyer. Tom reaches Luke, who says he’ll do his best to get Ed’s FanChatter photo on the big screen. Having done all he can, Tom heads back to the Dome. The score is Twins 9, Brewers 0. Upon his return, Tom gives Ed an unknowing but hopeful shrug.

Top of the Fifth: Holly, a Brewers fan, cheers as her team finally scores, and it’s the first run Tom has actually seen cross the plate.

Middle of the fifth: The FanChatter photo montage begins on the Jumbotron. Tom inexplicably isn’t paying attention. Anni, not in on the plan but well aware of Tom’s high regard for FanChatter, points and asks, “Tom, did you submit a photo as usual?” Tom’s watching Holly, who follows Anni’s pointing finger to the Jumbotron, watching just in time to see Ed’s pretty decent proposal. People start cheering. Ed is beaming. Holly says, “Yes.”

The rest of the game is really just icing on the cake. Cuddyer hit for the cycle and the Twins won 11-3.

All that was back in May, and we’ve sat on this story during FanChatter’s quietly productive exile in Silicon Valley. Today is Demo Day for FanChatter – a public unveiling of sorts after which the fledgling company looks to attract additional contracts with sports franchises, and perhaps, additional VC funding. The Nerdery wishes them well, and the growing O’Neill family thanks FanChatter for being there for them during the 5^th inning stretch.

Tech Tuesday on a Wednesday: HTML5. Why should I care?

Because HTML5 will be all kinds of rad and revolutionize the basic building blocks of the web – while at the same time creating a better web experience for everyone. “OK, great,” you say, “but how will it be all kinds of rad?” There is no need for future tense. The future is now! Most browsers currently support a subset of HTML5. Download that latest version of Google Chrome and check out these experiments. Then, download the latest Firefox browser and check out this radular display of awesome.

None of the glorious animation and audio goodness from the links above use any type of plugins. It’s all in the browser using HTML5. Animation, audio and data retrieval – all done using scripting. The drawing is done natively using the new canvas tag, which is exactly what it sounds like – a canvas that you can draw on. Only instead of a paintbrush you have JavaScript. Starting to get it now?

There is even a new video tag that could alleviate the need for Flash and Sliverlight based video players. There may be a slight conflict of interest there, explaining why Microsoft has yet to support the video tag in its latest version of IE8. Nevertheless, full adoption of HTML5 is bound to happen, and when it does get ready for an intensely magical web experience.

This is the stuff that Tim Berners-Lee couldn’t even have dreamed of back in 1989 while trying to help physicists at CERN reference research papers. How cool is that that we’ve come this far? HTML 4 has been out for 10 years. In those 10 years, we’ve seen a drastic move from web pages to web applications through the Web 2.0 movement. The web application is at the heart of HTML5. With the announcement of Google’s Chrome OS and the increase of cloud computing and storage, there is no doubt that the web will continue to have a greater influence on the way we live and work.

Tech Tips: Compress Transparent PNGs with Flash

Do you use transparent PNGs in Flash, Flex or AIR? Want to cut your application file size in half?

Problem:
Embedding transparent PNGs dramatically increases the size of your Flash, Flex and AIR applications. Photoshop and Fireworks dot not have any compression available for transparent PNGs (that I am aware of).

Solution:
Import your PNGs into Flash, give them a linkage id, and export the file as a SWF. Make sure to set your compression level in the publish settings (default is 80%). Using this method, I was able to cut the file size in half for a number of applications.
Read more

Satchmo, Django and all that jazz

One reason The Nerdery is home to a growing number of user groups is that hosting lets our ever-curious programmers stay after school to learn from other top minds in the tech community. For example, if we felt we needed a better grip on the Internet, we’d invite its inventor in for a PowerPoint chat – but we kind of get it.

So, at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of Minnesota Python developers, The Nerdery welcomed Satchmo founder and lead developer Chris Moffitt to discuss his creation. The seeds of Satchmo were planted three years ago when Moffitt emailed his Django user group to find others interested in helping him create what would become his Django shopping cart. Now billed as “the webshop for perfectionists with deadlines,” Satchmo is an alternative to numerous PHP-based open source ecommerce solutions. Satchmo’s Django-based framework lets Python and Django developers create highly customized online shops.

Here are several ecommerce sites using Satchmo and the slides from Chris Moffitt’s presentation:

The Nerdery’s Robert Speer came away from Moffitt’s presentation with this list of things he likes about Satchmo:

• It’s just a shopping cart, and does not try to be everything to everybody
• Plays nice with and uses other Django plugins (blogs, CMS’s, image manipulation, authentication…)
• Multi-tenancy; one shopping cart can service many sites
• Internationalization
• Tax/vat support
• Multiple shipping options
• Multiple payment gateways shipped with app
• Default templates, written to be easily extended
• Uses jQuery
• Built for easy customization

Also likable: Minnesota’s Python user group, PyMNtos, meets on the second Thursday of each month at The Nerdery. As the original Satchmo himself once said: “What a wonderful world.”