Abstract Edge: Brand Interactivism

Can You Benefit From Using Open Source Software? Discover Magazine Sure Did

2010-08-17T10:32:05-04:00

Because this is of interest to the Plone community, I'm linking to it here (even though I recently wrote that I've moved my blogging over to the new Abstract Edge blog). Can You Benefit From Using Open Source Software? Discover...

So Long. Farewell. I'm Moving to Some New Digs.

2010-08-13T20:48:40-04:00

As they say, "all good things must end." For me, this blog has definitely been a good thing. It's been an outlet for my thoughts over the last several years, and I've learned a lot from the experience. This blog...

Is Seth Godin Wrong?

2010-06-02T13:34:22-04:00

Seth Godin's tiny book, The Dip, basically makes the same four points over and over. Something is only worth doing professionally if you can be the best in the world. Becoming the best in the world at something requires serious...

Design Constraints and "What If?"

2010-05-19T15:49:45-04:00

I agree with what Shelly Boggs from Stellar tweeted today: "Design is the management of constraints and the practice of continually asking 'what if?'" Exactly.

Creating Online Grassroots Movements - Lessons From the Million Mom March 10 Years Later

2010-05-14T11:47:42-04:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Million Mom March, an organization advocating sensible gun control laws and one of Abstract Edge's first clients. Founded in September 1999, the MMM became perhaps the first mass grassroots movement of the Internet era, mobilizing more than 850,000 people to march on Washington on Mother Day 2000 and in smaller, local marches throughout the US. Here's how we did it.

Google, Site Speed, Web Design and Balance

2010-04-16T15:06:49-04:00

Tell me, what are your key website goals? The design should be clean and on-brand There should be some "sizzle", but not too much We want beautiful photography and a bit of animation We should show up #1 for our...

The Importance of Great Design (and Why Tumblr is Outperforming Posterous)

2010-01-19T12:06:10-05:00

via businessinsider.com Micro-blogging service Tumblr has been seriously beating up on its smaller competitor Posterous. Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry postulates on the Business Insider (part of Silicon Alley Insider) that the biggest reason has little to do with features or fundamental support,...

7 Vital Questions to Ask Your Web Designer

2009-12-07T18:21:16-05:00

Michael Estrin quoted me extensively in an article for iMedia Connection entitled, "7 Vital Questions to Ask Your Web Designer". Estrin gets into significantly more depth, but the questions he examines include: How would you solve our problems? Who's doing...

TEDxMidAtlantic - My 7 Favorites from TED

2009-11-06T12:37:27-05:00

Yesterday I attended the TEDx conference held in Baltimore. First of all, a HUGE round of applause for the army of volunteers that put the conference together. The organization of the conference was largely crowdsourced, and they did a fantastic...

Long Form Journalism Doesn't Work Online

2009-08-26T17:04:56-04:00

So says Josh Tyrangiel, Managing Editor of Time.com. Josh's message is that long-form journalism does great in a magazine where the reader has made a commitment to tune out the world for at least several minutes to read through an...

Gartner's WCMS Magic Quadrant is Unfair to Open Source

2009-08-07T11:33:22-04:00

This week, Gartner released their "Magic Quadrant" study of the web content management system market. "This Magic Quadrant will help CIOs, and business and IT leaders that are analyzing their Web strategies to assess whether they have the right WCM...

Reuters vs. AP (or Free vs. Closed and the Future of Journalism)

2009-08-06T13:43:20-04:00

Chris Ahearn, President of Media at Thomson Reuters, blogged about his view on the Associated Press' move to start charging $2.50 per word if you want to quote five or more words from one of their articles. This is partially...

Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule

2009-07-30T10:29:52-04:00

Paul Graham is right on the money about the disconnect between the most productive schedules for producers vs. managers. Great managers understand the disconnect and protect their producers. Posted via web from Thinking on the Edge

Yahoo! Getting Out of the Search Business

2009-07-29T14:45:25-04:00

It appears that Yahoo!, one of the earliest pioneers of search, is getting out of the search business. No, they are not exactly conceding the race to Google. Rather, they decided that they needed to combine with Microsoft in order...

Fix your terrible, insecure passwords in five minutes. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

2009-07-27T13:21:34-04:00

via slate.com Slate publishes a clever way to have a more secure, but still memorable set of passwords for the web. This is important, especially in light of the Twitter - TechCrunch fiasco. Posted via web from Thinking on the...

Marketing Small Businesses With Twitter

2009-07-23T16:32:04-04:00

via nytimes.com This is currently the 3rd most emailed article on NYTimes.com. Not a ton of depth, but worth a quick read for a few anecdotes about how using Twitter is helping some small businesses. Posted via web from Thinking...

Zappos/Amazon Merger - Will This Affect the Agency Review?

2009-07-22T17:51:02-04:00

I wonder if this will affect their agency review. http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-buys-online-shoe-retailer-zappos-for-800-million-2009-7# Posted via web from Thinking on the Edge

Agencies Have to Take Their Own Medicine - Small Agency Diary - Advertising Age

2009-07-20T16:52:41-04:00

via adage.com Peter Madden is correct when he posits that agencies (especially small ones) don't do enough to promote themselves - and certainly not at the level of work they do for their clients. We frequently find ourselves in this...

Curating the Web - Best Practices

2009-07-16T18:11:20-04:00

Publishing 2.0 has listed some best practices for media organizations that want to "create significant value for readers by curating the web." Click on the post, "Best Practices for Journalists Curating the Web" for the details, but their list includes:...

Magazines Struggling on the iPhone

2009-07-16T18:00:04-04:00

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/14/iphone-magazines-mobile-technology-wireless-iphone.html According to Forbes, magazines are having a really hard time figuring out how to make any money on the iPhone. Any ideas? Posted via email from Thinking on the Edge