project : apocalypse

2011-11-21T11:14:00.001-08:00

Built in 2012

Built tarp at the Portland Bike Show last year

For 2012, we’re bringing Built to NYC for WebVisions. Later in the year BUILT is back at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Check the Built page for details and BikeHugger.com will announce a few more later in the year.

Built Fanboys

Faces were melting off like those of @robweychert and @jasonsantamaria
Audiences like Built, because it’s a series of short talks by people who create, during larger events like SXSW.

Call for Speakers

Do you have some cool ideas or concepts worth sharing with a crowd? Are you making something that incorporates technology and transportation? Maybe something bike-related that used zombie robots? If so, answer the Call for Speakers on the Built page.

We’ll have a Mobile Social too, that's a fun group ride through the city to a fun watering hole where you can meet and talk with a group of the most interesting & engaged people in Bikes and Tech.

socially meaningful data presentation

2010-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to attend the Slavoj Žižek and Alain Badiou lecture, "On Philosophy and Communism" at the Jack Tilton Gallery last week, the first time that I had seen either speak in person.

How does this relate to startup web projects? Complexity and constant change. The attempt to predict the future just enough to survive and flourish when metrics, prior ways or doing things and the lens of confidence seem always to be shifting.

One of the biggest concurrent themes is that in so many problems, both intellectual and abstract or concrete and practical is an overwhelming set of data. Sheer volume that could mean a the most popular website on the planet or global political and economic crisis. How does one handle that kind of complexity when clearly humans are not biologically inclined to understanding things at such a scale? Žižek is one of my favorite thinkers, largely for things like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGCfiv1xtoU

Still too general? For that let's move on to the Swedish firm Gapminder, headed by the more data intensive Hans Rosling, a TED talks favorite speaker for his Gapminder presentations narrating the visual story of emerging and developed nations. Plus, it's all available on line as an endless library of hard numbers presented beautifully in multiple user friendly formats.

http://www.gapminder.org/videos/

It's pushed me over the edge in running back to St Mark's bookshop in the East village to retrieve the best anthology book on modern data visualization I've ever seen out side of the Edward Tufte books. Here I come! Will try to scan a few of the more incredible examples.

To fully close the gap between the larger intellectual curiosity of the world and the business of surviving in it, the econsultancy Social Media and Online PR Report 2010 doesn't get more pointed. http://econsultancy.com/us/reports/social-media-and-online-pr-report

Interbike 2010 - Fashion

2010-10-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Urban Bike Fashion; Materials, Design & Sustainability

View more presentations from Nona Varnado.

Slides from participating in Bikehugger.com's Ignite Bikes talk at InterBike 2010. There was a great panel with a major emphasis on new cyclists, commuters and environmental topics. Thanks Byron!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathowie/5020786094/in/set-72157624900069629/#

2010-09-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Poor neglected blog! It's been an exciting summer & fall with plenty of travels & discovering awesome new people doing incredible things. Here's the post put together for BikeBlogNYC's fashion report over the final Las Vegas hosted Interbike 2010.

Interbike 2010 Fashion Report

Interbike is overwhelmingly “back” according to the number of exhibitors and attendees after last year’s ghost town. From components manufacturers to apparel there seems to be a big gulf between companies updating existing lines and companies pushing out innovative new stuff, largely in response to the huge growth in new cyclists and fashion conscious urban riders.

Not surprisingly the coolest stuff seems to be coming from small new companies trying to make a name with stand out products. And where fashion is the usual all male concentration becomes decidedly more female. I’m at interbike to launch a fall/winter line of women’s cycling apparel (nonavarnado.com) and it has been awesome to meet a bunch of super talented young women producing gorgeous quality products; from Po Campo’s bags to DZR’s amazing street cycling shoes (originally designed only for women, but they were so hot she added a men’s line).

Dzr….. Shoes that everybody who rides wants Now. from James Adamson on Vimeo.

Riyoko from Canada had some very cute pieces.

Spandex, pink stuff and more floral prints were strongly represented, so for ladies who joy those established looks, have no fear of a total revolution in bike chic. For that category, Dude Girl is my clear favorite. Sticking to the comfortable classics my favorite jersey’s were from Swobo; comfortable fabrics, minimal (but cute) details.

Men’s choices, being a far more developed business, are both more varied and nuanced. Campagnolo, unsurprisingly has the most minimal garments – from spandex to outerwear with both the men’s & women’s lines coordinating. Chrome has some gorgeous men’s apparel and accessories out now that will be classic enough to look great a few years from now too. Wheelmen’s bags & shirts looked whimsical & fun.

Speaking of bags, there are a few companies (Ortlieb. Timbuktu) making small rectangular backpacks that are gorgeous. They look comfortable & hip even outside of a bike context.

For high tech garments, the Mavic shoes and apparel look great, incredibly well made and super minimal. Their shoes & jackets are all one color, plus the yellow logo. Showers Pass had some really lovely rain jackets for men and women in the fashion show that were attractive enough to be worn to work or on a date.

Chrome & Swrve have some great bike specific pants for both men & women, though I can’t speak as to the fit (soon hopefully!) Swrve has a pair of riding pants that seem insulated enough to be worn on your next commute through Siberia.

With a few worthy exceptions apparel seemed to be a low point amongst all the bikes and components. The most intense fashion experience seemed to come from accessories, such as the gorgeous BASIL bags from the Netherlands. Between those and some of the new commuter bike lines (Linus, Globe) you could probably wear a plastic trash bag and still look good.

Lazer helmets seems to have heeded the call of ‘helmet covers’ and has come out with a really attractive plaid helmet that comes pre-covered.

It’s a significant leap from some of the DIY craftsmanship but with all the styling. Nutcase has also upped their offering to include the really silly (watermelon?) to the simply pretty (Gold & sparkles).

Personal Data Maps

2010-09-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

See the original 103 images on Eric Fischer's Flickr set.

I'm so in love with creative data design, something that I'm lucky to be constantly stimulated by - having the good fortune of working with marketing analytics, graphic design and simply living in New York City. Naturally when confronted with the notion of a beautiful national quilt of racial identities against a minimalist map, I imagined multi-colored bursting fireworks.

Unfortunately though the images are beautiful, they also continue to illustrate a highly geographically segregated society throughout the country.

Perhaps there are more ways to look at the map - income, age, area of employment? Some of those things continue to be associated with race. What I would really like to see is a map of active creative communities; the art districts that are forever popping up and moving somewhere else when the rents start to skyrocket.

It's great to see meaningful data about who we are and how we live. Next step, making real-life social change as easy & beautiful as the presentation. Recall Reverend Billy's 2009 campaign for NYC mayor under the motto: The Rise of NYC's 500 Neighborhoods.

Thankfully Reverend Billy can still be found making a scene in NYC. Check out his upcoming events: http://www.revbilly.com/events

2010-05-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Original post:
http://digitalfaust.tumblr.com/

I admit it: I spend too much time online & I'm as tempted by the next slick, user friendly social trend as a teenager in front of an accessories store. So when Tumblr was THE HOTNESS this last winter/spring, I thought it might be a nice blog repository for some of the projects & events I've put on over the last few years.

But part of any tool is being able to grow with it and not over-duplicate efforts. There's a lot of potential time wasters from facebook, twitter, blogs, feeds and everything else. For some Tumblr will be the best answer but there's something more narrative & bookish about the usual blog format that Tumblr misses. But what it does really well that I wish Blogger could - handle slideshows as easily as posting a sentence. It's efficient and fun.

This one is a small user manual with illustrations that I put together for my grandparents so that they could learn to use an ipod, something that for them is totally alien technology.

2010-02-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

NYC Fashion Week Trunk Show Event, “Supper Club”

You’re Invited!

The Nona Varnado - Performance Couture debut at Fashion Week is happening. Join me for a Dinner Party enjoying Pantry Lab Catering; Sponsors Svedka Vodka, Dirty Dolls Lingerie, Toys in Babeland THE STUMBLE BUM BRASS BAND! Nona Varnado – performance couture and Devin Cole’s accessories line will be modeled and available for purchase as Burlesque dancers and models wander through the crowds making it a night to remember. and THE

It’s your all your best fashion friends, gorgeous ladies, soul inspiring music and decadent food and drink. Plus, if you buy tickets in advance it’s only $20, or $30 at the door. Come check out the debut Nona Varnado -Performance Couture collection to oggle, purchase, custom order or try on. Oh la la!

Saturday, February, 13, 2010
7pm-Midnight

394 Broadway, 5th Floor

$20 advance $30 at the door for tickets go to: brownpapertickets.com
& search for: supper club

And check out the event on Facebook!

Predictions of a somewhat more complex & substantial 2010

2009-12-16T12:31:00.000-08:00

In 2009 companies started to not only recognize the need for integrated, cross platform campaigns with social media; but several put their line out and we got to watch to see what happened. All on some of the smallest budgets, ever.

Most of it resulted in lots of lost time experimenting with facebook, twitter and others. Because of the nature of social media, small entrepreneurial companies and family/community based companies appear to be most successful in understanding how to translate the these tools into significant ROI.

Excellent New York Times Article (free, registration required) illustrating the above.

The debate over viral media went from how to pull it off, to how to make it perform. In Safari terms, business evolved enough to identify the strange new creatures, but not yet far enough to coexist perfectly. Next year perhaps?

So what does the future look like; in color coded line bar form?

Of these social-media problems, which do you think is most likely to be solved in 2010?

Measurement/analytics. 42.41%

Twitter's business model. 22.76%

Determining ROI. 16.90%

Time management. 11.03%

Online privacy. 6.90%

Of these social-media technologies, which would you most like to see evolve the quickest next year?

Mobile Web.	25.53%
Content aggregation and curation.	24.11%
Real-time search.	18.44%
Portability of social networks.	17.73%
Geo-location.	7.80%
Ratings and reviews.	3.55%
Virtual worlds.	2.84%

Do you anticipate a change in how much your company will spend on social media next year?

Our level of spending won't change.	34.86%
Our spending will increase slightly.	33.94%
Our spending will increase significantly.	25.69%
Our spending will decrease slightly.	2.75%
Our level of spending will decrease significantly.	2.75%

Information and Graphics care of SmartBrief on Social Media's subscriber Newsletter for December 15, 2009.

If I could ask Santa for ANYTHING this Christmas, it would be a magical solution for managing the 5,000 website accounts I have and attempt to manage; perfectly integrated with something like real information security.

There are a few potential places to look for hope; the rise of the "Dashboard" as a cross between account management and information aggregation, but realistically the complexity of all those things and the need to focus a Dashboard to a given purpose (work goals?) makes that one a bit too futuristic.

There's that delightful OpenID "idea." Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be picking up as much traction as I'd hoped, but there's a good argument for it's adoption/momentum.

Then there's the web 3.0 portal aggregate concept - similar to a Dashboard, but for the consumer masses. The Yahoo/Google/MSN management of your email, social profiles, RSS feeds, etc. My biggest problem with these guys is how topical the selection of integration is. It's a solid step, to be sure and one long in coming. But based on long term online behavior and how data is managed in development, the OpenID concept is far closer to being the ease of entry/management solution that I'd like to see rather than the scenic landscape du jour that the search engine interfaces offer.

The Boiling Cauldron of Online Development

2009-11-24T15:06:00.000-08:00

All SF Style Ride updates/pics & winners can be found by visiting:
http://nonavarnado.com/2009/11/sf-style-ride/

So now that Performance Couture has launched, it's time to refocus on the website and all the online channels trying to get the word out. For a small company that's an organic mix of several things from facebook and twitter to getting a website running that can work as a way to build vendor AND customer relationships. And... generate sales?

Two years ago I would have hired a web developer to finesse the website, install a shopping cart and put up with all my fussy aesthetic ideas about how everything should look, work, update and.. well, basically everything. I have a lot more experience as a manager of web development than the thing itself. Having gone through many, many website and ecommerce site builds, redesigns, etc. I had a good idea of the technology landscape and what the pros/cons of each were. I could choose the best options for various requirements but as soon as it got down to installing things on a local or host "environment" I would get flighty and look around for help.

I'm not exactly sure why that was. But I think it's two things: I got started with Internet development when it was all hand coding and the cauldron of development was strictly language based. I tried it out, failed miserably and joined the camp of people who felt that their skills were "creative" not technical and that perhaps my gender had something to do with the way my brain was wired to think - certainly not in PHP/MySQL. Or is it?

With certain CMS (content management systems) and web 2.0 user interface designs, the baby steps of getting comfortable were all laid out. For instance most people will be familiar with a blog, which usually allows you to write, add images or dynamic content and do advanced formatting in a "MS Word" style interface. All you have to do is highlight and click a button. Ta-Da!

I don't think I'm alone in obsessing over the look and alignment of my site content and generally the auto-format idiot "MS Word" interface tends to make a mess of things, albeit in a polite well meaning kind of way. Click the tab and you're in the html nitty gritty. A few easy edits aren't so bad to learn.

Then there's CSS and all these pre-made formats. But what if you're really picky or the CSS doesn't look right with something else? Time to start digging. But HTML and CSS are like a kid's wood alphabet toys next to real programming languages. PHP? databases? Payment gateways!

I've worked with many different technologies but the one that I'm really excited about right now is wordpress. I feel like a true believer because it delivers on so many promises on what the web is supposed to be: an easy, democratic way to get online and broadcast yourself, your ideas, start a business... and yes, I'm making this declaration from a blogger account.

It's frustrating, but damn, it's rewarding! I'm not to old to learn new things, the boundaries of what are possible expand and become cheaper. Not that I don't love working with web geeks, I just think it's really awesome that I can do all that stuff too.

SF Style Ride | Sunday Nov. 14, 2009 | 3pm

2009-11-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

In the course of human evolution, it sometimes becomes more fun to ride slower bikes and wear fancy clothes.

Performance Couture and pushbike SF invite you to the haut-est bike event of the year, a leisurely tour of the most scenic roads in town.

Everyone is invited, all bikes are encouraged and it's only $1 to be eligible for awards and prizes from the most fashionable bicycle companies.

Finish is at Riptide, the "Tahoe by the Sea." enjoy sunset at the beach, drink specials, awards, charming company and the L-Taraval and easy parking, should you require your chauffeur to escort you home.

Awards For:

Best Dressed
Best Accessorized
Best Fashion/Bike Combo
Most Attractive Couple

Sponsors/Info:

http://nonavarnado.com
http://www.pushbikesf.com
http://www.riptidesf.com

Berlin & Copenhagen -Hip Cover Debut!

2009-09-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

HELLO BERLIN & COPENHAGEN,

I'll be visiting your beautiful cities, getting lost on rental bikes and trying to visit as many awesome bike shops, independent designer shops and bars as possible.

Please join me!

I'd love company, advice, directions or a good meal.

In exchange I have cool new cycling fashion, funny stories and ...?

Hope to see you soon.

Love,

Nona

CALL FOR ENTRIES

2009-08-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

Brave New World: Hungarian and Icelandic Visions of the Future

ABOUT THE SHOW
In the global crisis 2 countries were the first to fall both financially and politically: Iceland and Hungary. Larger countries may have simply printed more money but ecological, financial, political and social problems remain. That’s where YOU come in. Calling all artists, engineers and optimists; if you’ve got an idea, prototype, design or other solution to one of these problems (however small!) submit it to BRAVE NEW WORLD, the art show the world has been waiting for.

THE ORGANIZERS
Nona Varnado, Media Director, Project: Apocalypse.
Project: Apocalypse (P:A), is the international new media marketing company dedicated to connecting great ideas to a global audience. Nona has organized water gun wars in San Francisco, autorickshaw tours of South India and some other technical stuff. Super awesome Hungarian and Icelandic friends and visionaries provide local support, translation and good times.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2009

BRAVE NEW WORLD will be shown in NEW YORK CITY and SAN FRANCISCO with other European cities to be announced prior to the 2010 season. Show Dates: Spring 2010

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Any one wishing to submit to BRAVE NEW WORLD must be a legal resident of Iceland or Hungary. 2 entries per person. All entries are preferred in English but may also be submitted in Hungarian via email (project.apocalypse@gmail.com) or international post to the USA. If materials are submitted via post and should be returned, the applicant must enclose a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). Do NOT submit originals as organizers are NOT responsible for materials.

HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must submit:
□ 1. Application form.
□ 2. Documentation. Via electronic format (.jpeg, .pdf, .psd, .eps .gif) or printed materials to be sent to:
Project: Apocalypse, Inc.
25 Ferney Street
Hicksville, New York, 11801, USA
□ 3. Application Fee; 15 USD, 3,000 HUF, 2,000 ISK or 10 EUR. Payable via paypal (project.apocalypse@gmail.com), money order, check or cash.
□ 4. Signed Artists Release (included in entry form).
□ 5. SASE if return of materials are required via international post.

ENTRY FORM
Part 1

1. Full Name (First, Last): ________________________________________
2. Email: ____________________________________________________
3. Telephone/Mobile: ___________________________________________
4. Skype/IM/Facebook: _________________________________________
5. Website: __________________________________________________
6. Residence Address: __________________________________________

Part 2
(Must be completed for each work submitted, maximum of 2)

Title: _______________________________________________
Description of work:

What problem does this piece solve or address: ___________________

Dimensions/instructions required for display: _____________________

ARTISTS’ RELEASE STATEMENT:

The Artist seeks to submit images for entry to the BRAVE NEW WORLD 2010 (also referred to as “The Show”) competition and exhibition. Project: Apocalypse, Inc. (hereafter “PA”) reserves the right to select any artwork/images entered in BRAVE NEW WORLD to be displayed online, reproduced through any media, anywhere in the known universe for the purpose of promoting the show or PA, without compensation to The Artist, heirs or collaborators. PA may edit images for reproduction without permission of The Artist. In submitting images to The Show, The Artist grants PA and its’ affiliates a Non-Exclusive, Royalty-Free, Non-Expiring usage license.

All copyrights, designs, intellectual and creative properties remain the full property of The Artist.

I, hereby grant PA, its’ affiliates and licenses the following irrevocable rights: to use, re-use, publish and re-publish the submitted images in whole or in part, individually or in composite form, in any medium. I hereby waive my right to inspect or approve any text or content used in connection with the images and release and discharge PA and its’ affiliates from any and all claims.

Name: ______________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________________
Date: ________________________________________________

Szép Új Világ: JELENTKEZÉSI HATÁRIDŐ: 2009. november 15.

2009-08-04T04:06:00.000-07:00

Brave New World: Magyar és Izlandi Vízió a Jövőről

A BEMUTATÓRÓL:

A világválság két országot, Izlandot és Magyarországot súlytotta gazdaságilag és politikailag leginkább. A legnagyobb országok egyszerüen csak több pénzt nyomtattak, de a környezeti, gazdasági, politikai és szociális probémák továbbra is megmaradtak. Itt lépsz be TE a képbe. Hívunk minden művészt, mérnököt és optimistát. Ha van egy ötleted, prototípusod, terved, vagy más megoldásod ezen problémák egyikére (bármennyire apró is!) küld el a BRAVE NEW WORLD (Szép Új Világ)-nak, a művészeti bemutatónak amelyre az egész világ vár.

A SZERVEZŐK:

Nona Varnado, Media Director, Project: Apocalypse.

Project: Apocalypse (P:A), egy nemzetközi új média marketing vállalat melynek célja, hogy nagyszerű ötleteket juttasson el a nagyközönséghez. Nona már szervezett vizipisztoly háborút San Francisco-ban, autoriksa túrákat Dél-Indiában és más teknikai dolgokat. Nagyszerü magyar és izlandi barátok biztosítják a helyi támogatást, fordítást és a jó szórakozást.

JELENTKEZÉSI HATÁRIDŐ: 2009. november 15.

A BRAVE NEW WORLD NEW YORK CITY-ben, SAN FRENCISCO-ban és más europai városokban, melyeket 2010-es szezon elött jelentenek be. A bemutatók: 2010 tavasza

RÉSZVÉTELI FELTÉTELEK:

Bárki, aki részt kíván venni a BRAVE NEW WORLD-ön, magyar vagy izlandi állampolgársággal kell, hogy rendelkezzen. Maximum 2 nevezés per fő. A nevezéseket lehetőleg angolul kérjük, de elfogadjuk magyarul is a (project.apocalypse@gmail.com) email címen, vagy postázva az USA-ba. Ha a postán beadott anyagot visszavárod, kérünk, egy megcímzett válaszborítékot. Eredeti példányokat ne küldj, mert a szervezők NEM felelnek az anyagokért.

HOGY JELENTKEZZ:

A jelentkezőnek mellékelni kell:

1. Jelentkezési lapot

2. Dokumentaciót. Elektromos (.jpeg, .pdf, .psd, .eps .gif) vagy nyomtatott formában erre a címre:

Project: Apocalypse, Inc.

25 Ferney Street

Hicksville, New York, 11801, USA

3. Jelentkezési díj: 15 USD, 3,000 HUF, 2,000 ISK or 10 EUR. Fizethető PayPal-lel (project.apocalypse@gmail.com), átutalással, csekkel vagy készpénzel.

4. Signed Artists Release (mellékelve a jelentkezési lapon).

5. Válaszboríték ha visszavárod az anyagokat.

JELENTKEZÉSI LAP:

Első rész:

Kereszt és vezetéknév:
Email:
Telefon/Mobil:
Skype/IM:
Webcím:
Lakcím:

Második rész:

(Minden nevezéshez külön, maximum 2)

Cím:

Munka leírása:

Mivel foglalkozik a mű, vagy milyen problémát old meg:

Bemutatáshoz szükséges méretek/utasítások:

A MÜVÉSZ LEMONDÓ NYILATKOZATA:

A művész elfogadja a BRAVE NEW WORLD 2010 (továbbiakban “The Show”) verseny és kiállítás feltételeit. Project: Apocalypse, Inc. (továbbiakban “PA”) fentartja a jogokat, hogy válogasson a beküldött munkak közül bemutassa online terjessze bármilyen médán keresztül, bárhol a világon, abból a célból, hogy elősegítse a show-t vagy a PA-t, anélkül, hogy a müvésznek, örökösének vagy munkatársának kompenzációt fizetne. A PA szerkeztheti és reprodukálhatja a beadott képeket a müvész engedélye nélkül. A müvész engedélyezi PA-nak és tagszervezeteinek a kepek nemkizárólagos, jogdíjmentes, elnemévülő használatát.

Minden szerzői jog, terv, szellemi termék a művész teljes tulajdonában marad.

Ezennel PA-nak és tagszervezeteinek rendelkezésére bocsátom vísszavonhatatlanul a következő jogokat: A művek teljes vagy részleges fel és újrahasználasát, publikálását es újrapublikálását, egyénenként vagy kompozícióban, bármilyen médiumban. Ezennel lemondok arról a jogomról, hogy felügyeljem vagy jóváhagyjam a beküldött munkámmal kapcsolatban megjelenő bármilyen szöveget, és semmilyen igenyt nem támasztok a PA-val és tagszervezeteivel szemben.

Név:

Aláírás:

Dátum:

CRM: an overview of the universe according to you

2009-04-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Customer Relationship Management.

With all the desperate frenzy to capture new customers, motivate existing potentials and keep existing ones the CRM tool you use is likely to be one of the most business critical decisions you make. Understandably, deciding on which tool and how to implement it can be a daunting task especially if you're already focused on running the essential business functions. The important thing to keep in mind is how the CRM tool will be used to maintain existing, potential & new contacts, track contact with them & complete the full loop between marketing, sales and general oversight. Whew!

There are even CRM tools for smaller parts of those sometimes complex parts of the process, depending how large your business is and how complex the financial, organizational, marketing or sales process is. Of course it's generally the small to mid sized businesses who do not need these epic technologies (oracle, SAP, amdocs), but just need a handle on what will help propel them to the next level and stabilize or grow sales.

Before we get started look around you. What do the computers look like? Are they all PC? Great you have a wide world of options! But wait... are they macs? Do you have a both PCs & Macs? Or even multiple operating systems? If everyone involved isn't running a single, standardized version of (Microsoft's) an operating system, you'll need to decide between something open source (which might not provide the level of polish/fully featured & maintained as you'd expect) or become committed to a web based, software as a service (SaaS) model.

Let's take an stroll through some of the available tools focused on small & medium sized institutions.

Salesforce. These guys popularized CRM as a term, SaaS as a business model and may be only an economic recovery away from owning the universe. It is the most comprehensive, flexible and customizable option there is. Web based subscription model with different levels of service, support and user accounts.
Microsoft. A relatively new entry, the full office (Outlook) integration is the main reason why many companies are choosing to implement a product that already works within their existing environment. Hosted within a local network with web based access (variety of implementation solutions).
Etelos CRM. Married to Google? Use Google Apps, Google mail & would be thrilled to never have to leave the Google-verse? If so, then Etelos' CRM tool is for you. It's a little more complicated as an installation and as an open development platform is less controlled than other options. But with the growth of Google tools in business, it's hard to imagine this not taking off in a big way. As it is, it's pretty darn useful.
Intellicontact. If you are a small business that wants a brilliant tool for doing direct email marketing, this is it. No fancy sales tools, but solid email analytics reporting. Cheap, simple and dead on for the local shop owner, or the local shop owner's stellar assistant.
37 Signals (Highrise). Honorable web based, mac friendly mention goes to the 37 signals' products that can be used individually or together, depending on business need. There is a lot of "full circle" functionality missing but if you need a super easy implementation contact management with basic sales features it's a solid option.
Daylight. If you're mac based & have iphones (instead of microsoft/linux) to add to the mix, Daylight is unquestionably the best full service CRM solution.
Raiser's Edge. Non-profit's don't do sales, but managing donors, remaining accountable for funds and keeping track of relationships is just as critical. This is the best and most universally implemented non-profit solution.

Fun! But if you need help determining the solution for you, have questions on implementation or just need some help -drop us a line!

project.apocalypse@gmail.com

The Next Big Thing: the Predictive Model becomes Advertising

2009-03-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

This article was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend who happens to be the CEO of a media company that delivers reviews & advertising via a popular email newsletter. As we sat around swilling scotch and wondering how to avoid going out of business due to either the economy or changes in technology he laid down some knowledge that was shocking at first, but that in the last few months have become widely known and accepted. The kids do not use email. They use facebook. To reach them, you must follow them and to do so the delivery must adapt. The question that follows is how to do that while looking out for the Next Big Thing.

Evolution usually happens at a painfully slow rate. Slow enough that humans get to debate if we started off as apes & amoebas or not. Online, things happen at a far more aggressive clip.

Predictive models based on the "wisdom of crowds" have been around for a very long time. Think about all the money spent betting on gladiator matches, horses or the modern Hollywood Stock Exchange or death prediction sites http://deadpool.rotten.com/

While not the typical stock futures market betting on how good the corn yields will be, varying in legality and play vs. real monied bets, they all take assume the role of interested observers. (Unless the bookie is fixing the event.)

In a similar way, the evolution of predictive markets online mostly started out with more classical models mostly used in the usual professional realms keeping online traders occupied.

JARGON-BUSTER: Also known as (the lingo can get a little confusing and certain industries often prefer one term over another): Crowd Sourcing, Futures Trading, Predictive Model, Information Markets, Idea Futures, Decision Markets, Event Derivatives, Virtual Markets and plenty of others that may come into fashion!

Technically the controversial term in there is "Crowd Sourcing." It is the term that bridges the gap between the futures betting and the Next Big Thing. There's an official 9 step process that crowdsourcing originally referred to, but like many words the usage can change to fit new situations, creating new meaning. This time we travel back to the late 1990's to pick up the trail of where this is all going. Harken back to monitors the size of kitchen ovens with lower resolutions to get into the mood...

Amazon.com gives anyone (& EVERYONE!) the ability to post their unprofessional opinions on products, directly on the product page. Potential buyers are dramatically influenced by unpaid content; rather than brand name, advertising, promotions or other paid initiatives. Unsurprisingly, sellers catch on to the effectiveness of user reviews and begin to fabricate false reviews. The next surprise? General audiences catch on rather quickly and a ratio of realistic favorability becomes the new tactic.

Example: one of the first great social directory (review) sites is citysearch.com, which allows reviews of restaurants it lists, discovers that businesses can not only skew their negative reviews by posting positive reviews under anonymous user profiles, but that if a review begins with a slight negative "service was a bit slow," then not only are readers more likely to believe the authenticity of the review, but accord the praise that follows more weight.

Clearly normal people's opinions have as much and sometimes more power to influence potential buyers. Almost every site that sells something, is an affiliate of a site that sells something or is simply an 'authority' there are reviews or user created content somewhere. But that's problematic. How many sites do I want to check to find out what other people thought about a hotel I am considering booking at?

And what if certain sites have users posting reviews that do not share the same perspective that I have? How do I find the ones that do? Even with Google the wisdom of the group can be a long, drawn out pain in the ass.

Famously the young creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, declared that the social networking site would entirely change the face of both the internet and advertising. Less the incredible power of yet another social networking site (friendster, anyone?) than the forward push to create advertising capabilities based on individuals and their personal connections. 1:1 hyper targeted marketing; the next evolutionary step after mass marketing based on simple brand based messages. It's a good idea, but in the internet space there are a million ways to develop an idea and just as many start ups with the hope that theirs will emerge as the dominant model.

The other problem that coincides with the evolution of massive scale to individualized advertising is the problem of information overload. People begin to tune out the noise of advertising, need ever more sophisticated technology tools to find what it is they were interested in in the first place. Online these are aggregation tools like RSS feeds and bookmarking tools or navigation based such as relying on a browser search to return desired results out of the vast sea of options.

The Next Big Thing is going to be the winner of these two great battles, to tame the information overload and to find a way to immediately put advertising into screens people are already invested in while leveraging the desires, habits and opinions of your friends & family. In other words, The Next Big Thing will also be the successful transition from a standard predictive model, to a large pool of these 'bets' or 'ideas' being delivered to the consumer in a such a way that the end result is largely determined by the ideas or bets themselves. The direction of the cat being determined by it's tail.

There's an interesting possibility in this progression. Probability models that look like pachinko games might all stack up in the middle, forming a central core of the majority but there are those famous downward curves, the alternative opinions. Meaning that like social networking, even The Next Big Thing will have several flavors to choose from based on any number of things from age to language and almost invariably, income.

Portfolio of Events

2008-11-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

Insane Urban Adventures:

StreetWars

http://streetwars.net/

Media Kit, Viral Marketing & Traditional Press Outreach, Event Planning and Event Management.

SuperHeroes Alleycat

http://girlsport.blogspot.com/2006/08/super-definitive-heroes-results.html

Event Planning & Management, Art Direction for t-shirts, Posters & Online Promotionals, Viral Promotion Strategy.

Motor Rally Events with crap cars, soviet tin cans

& Indian 3 wheelers:

Caucasian Challenge

http://caucasianchallenge.com/

Web Content, Art Direction, Event Planning.

Rickshaw Challenge

http://rickshawchallenge.com/

Web Content, Art Direction, Event Planning, Social Media Outreach, Event Management, Charity Program Direction and Relationship Management.

(Start at Minute 4)

Social Media Coup; Porn dethroned as Internet Search King

2008-10-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Pornography, once the fuel powering the internet's explosive growth across the planet looks to have been eclipsed by something more addictive, social media.

http://dailybuzz.mobuzz.tv/shows/recycling_social_networking_an

This video clip from May 2007, noting that traffic in the UK had already tipped the scales to the social media realm. Then on September 16, 2008 the USA fell to the temptation.

As reported on Reuter's The researcher behind this shocking turn of interest theorizes:

"As social networking traffic has increased, visits to porn sites have decreased," said Tancer, indicated that the 18-24 year old age group particularly was searching less for porn. Americans can at least be marginally proud that we held out a bit longer.

"My theory is that young users spend so much time on social networks that they don't have time to look at adult sites."

Hm, perhaps OMMA Expo emcee and host Joe Marchese was a bit more *cough* informed when he said, "There’s a little bit of a question on where the two might overlap, but we won’t get into details." He then showed a particularly relevant clip from SouthPark readily available across various social media sites.

Humor aside, people are spending their lives online and it is becoming likely becoming less fantasy oriented as we use it for work, communicating with relatives and planing dinners & weekends. Internet usage is integrated so deeply into everyday life that there are a few more possibilities: practical utility and screen fatigue. Plus there's all those saucy internet dating sites that fit into the grey area between the two.

Global Financial Crisis 2008: The language becomes visual

2008-10-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

The financial crisis seems to be a storm of content providers turning the leaf blowers on the public before having formulated exactly what the problem is, who's involved and what can be done. Other than an avalanche of articles, interviews and other sundry content that doesn't say a whole lot, there's a distinct trend in using cartoons to communicate.

First there's that monolith of political illustration, The New Yorker.

Even as a New York resident, I can't always immediately identify with these but this would be the exception:

One of my biggest pet-peeves about American media, foreign policy and opinions forgets to consider the perspective of other countries. Here's one from Britain's Telegraph, reprinted from www.themoderatevoice.com

And from Al-Watan, Qatar, printed September 27, 2008. The Cartoonist is Eley Saleba.

It's a terrifying situation with the Global economy quickly responding with nationalized banks, plunging markets and announcements like Prime Minister Geir Haarde 's October 6, 2008 address. "The Icelandic economy, in the worst case, could be sucked with the banks into the whirlpool and the result could be national bankruptcy."

It's interesting that when in uncharted territory the collective language becomes visual.

Financial Education

2008-10-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

You may have seen it already doing the viral rounds online, but it manages to gain widespread attention for some very succinct reasons:

It's easy to understand and specific
It's laugh out loud funny
There's cool free providers like SlideShare that do for powerpoint (and other presentation software) what flickr and other photo sharing tools did for photos

Plus I have a thing for angry stick figures.

Check it out:

Subprime Primer

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: subprime economics)

The PR Blog: New Ideas

2008-09-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Has it really been that long since the last post? The first lesson in using a blog as a promotional or educational tool for business is to be regular in your posting.
(An atrocious example of "Do as I say and not as I do.")

The really cool thing in the last few years is that a blog has gone from the static format of a web journal to a multimedia platform capable of achieving a wide range of goals from news and gossip sites to ecommerce. Widgets, easy to modify design templates, multimedia (YouTube clips anyone?) and tag clouds have all turned the digital scroll into a multifaceted attraction.

Getting Started:
What is the blog supposed to do? With the Caucasian Challenge, a motorsports tour of the Caucasus region, the blog communicates practical updates on the changing political situations, hotel availabilities enroute and selling the event itself through pictures and descriptions of the journey. The blog author is the tour organizer and readers get to know the event leadership before committing to traveling across the planet.

Bike Blog, is a NYC based bicycling advocacy blog that brings together several different segments of the bicycling community in New York and across the country. Though humorous postings, party and event updates, announcements on upcoming local legislation and activism many local organizations and small businesses get a significant boost in awareness. By being a fun read and open to a wide range of all things bike related passing fads and controversies don't affect the overall readership and success of the blog.

Blogger Vs. TypePad
Both excellent blogging tools with free options that allow for a certain level of customization. Since blogger integrates with gmail, picasa and the rest of the Google suite of online apps, it can definitely have some advantages, particularly for those who want to get blogging asap with almost zero technical background. The basic templates also let you customize fonts, colors, layout (to a certain extent) and widgets. There's an option to post entries remotely, but it's not as advanced as Type Pad's iPhone interface. You can also modify the HTML directly, which you can't with TypePad. The Bike Blog (and this blog) use Blogger.

TypePad also comes with paid products and at that level has a far greater degree of possible customization, important for premium branding. Doing so will not only cost a little bit but will require a web developer, especially if you want to include the blog within an existing website and include multimedia or advertising functionality. The iphone interface makes typepad an excellent choice for mobile bloggers and the reporting statistics are also great. I prefer the social bookmarking widgets on type pad. The Caucasian Challenge uses TypePad.

There's also WordPress, but I'm less familiar, though for the sake of fairness here's a youtube promotional video demonstrating how to get started with it:

(WARNING: It's Boring.)

One of my favorite business blogs (cheesy but true) is BNET. They also have a great article addressing FAQs about starting a business
blog. http://blogs.bnet.com/pr/?p=256&tag=content;col1

Widgets

Widgets are fun and can be a real added value, particularly with things like social bookmarking buttons and audience tracking capabilities. Plus there's the fun stuff like photo slideshows, video and real time headlines from major and alternative news sources. And of course the always popular weather widgets, popular if you need to leave the house or office.

Widgets, like any new technology got super hyped and then seemed to die down as people learned that they actually needed to be useful, rather than simply impress everyone out of sheer novelty. Besides, if you weren't aware of what AJAX is and why it's no neat (but frequently problematic!) you probably didn't get what the hype was all about anyway.

The thing to remember when deciding to include or exclude them from your blog is: will this be an added value for my readers? Will it improve their experience and make them more likely to return or click through?

The downside is that too many (or poorly created/overly ambitious) of them will slow down the borowsers ability to load and refresh your blog. And that's not good. Experiment!

PR is good for small business

2007-09-04T01:53:00.000-07:00

We like working with cool companies who do things that are worthwhile. By that we mean sports and lifestyle companies who make better products that are more environmentally sustainable, more affordable or just plain cooler. Or travel destinations where you can see things you've never imagined -even on the discovery channel! Unfortunately the companies that stand to benefit the most from on-going basic PR are often convinced that they don't need it or can't afford it.

The analogy I use most often is the difference between a high-school musical and the bright lights of Broadway. It's not guaranteed that the big Broadway Avenue production is any better than your cousin's local version but they're established and... they conscientiously advertise constantly.

Now the philanthropists are getting the lecture, but not from me. In 'Private Foundations Should Consider PR,' Business Week's Rich Polt makes an excellent argument for how PR helps companies and foundations do their good work even better. He cites the arguments that foundations have made against PR and demonstrates the problems with this perception. I would add that it is not only the changing media landscape that feeds into competition for attention but a general inertia on the potential audience's part to seek out these worthy organizations.

And why not? With interactive and multi-media advertising attempting to put a value and an ad on every remaining surface on the planet, being constantly updated, why should anyone seek out anything not readily found by via a search engine or another form of subscription media?

PR can help cut through all that and reach people who actively care about what you do. Companies that are people-focused have an even greater responsibility to take advantage of that kind of outreach because they are at risk for being perceived as not serving their constituents or being a technological dinosaur unable to cut through the bureaucracy of process to do the greatest good. In a company or foundation that must depend on outside contributions to achieve their goals, that's a pretty serious role to leave unfulfilled.

NYC Street Racing Series Draws a New Generation of Cyclists ...And the Media.

2007-08-31T05:22:00.000-07:00

Extreme cycling finds a new audience through feature articles focusing on the unusual 5BoroGenerals race series and urban bike culture.

For Immediate Release:

New York, NY. August 30, 2007. Bicycle racing is taking on a new life in the street, far from the troubled and disappointing world of professional cycling. The 5BoroGenerals series of 'alleycat' style street races is leading a grassroots wave of cycling events growing out of a 20 year tradition started by bicycle messengers and culminating in a growing army of young urban cyclists eager to race through city streets and explore the world's most exciting city in a way only possible by bicycle. The influence of these alleycat races is sweeping through the bicycle industry, popular media and streetwear. The top sponsors Chrome Industries, Champion System, Crumpler Bags, Kryptonite Locks, and R.E.Load Baggage have recognized the potential of this unique series by providing custom and limited edition prizes for top competitors. The local media hasn't been far behind: the series' unique qualities have already attracted the attention of SNY (the cable sports network owned by the NY Mets), The Village Voice and the New York Times. Reporters are now discovering that the 5BoroGenerals is the place to talk directly to experienced organizers, meet the top racers on the East Coast, and collect rich content from this burgeoning urban phenomenon.

Get Sum Entertainment, the "messenger militia" responsible for the 5BoroGenerals, consists of a core of 6 organizers who have been active for over 8 years, organizing dozens of alleycats collectively. They are also responsible for other unique cycling-related events including indoor stationary bike races called "GoldSprintsNYC." And they're hitting the road taking the show to this year's Interbike; the largest gathering of bike manufacturers, shops and professionals on the planet in Las Vegas.

The success of the series has prompted 5BoroGenerals commandante and Get Sum business manager Chris Kim to begin planning next year's 5Boro series. Mr. Kim knows that this is just the start of the public's growing awareness of, and fascination with, sustainable urban adventures, transport and culture. "We are the vanguard of revolution that understands that something is wrong with our car obsessed culture. Cycling is good for cities and good for people." It's his hope that events like the 5BoroGenerals will help bring the fun and excitement back into the sport of cycling. As this enthusiasm spreads, sponsors are seeing that more and more trend-setting individuals are discovering this simple activity can be both useful and fashionable.

Enthusiastic participants have completed missions in 3 of NYC's 5 boroughs: Rumble thru the Bronx started the series June 16, followed by Broadway Bombing down Manhattan's most famous avenue on July 4 and most recently the Staten Island Invasion on August 18. Interested in learning more about the 5 Boro Generals Series? You can check out the current website http://www.5borogenerals.com or contact Chris Kim at: daleader@5borogenerals.com or 1(917) 854-6101.

Next up in the series is the Queens Riot on September 15, 2007

TEASER: http://5borogenerals.com/events/?page=details&event=63

# # #

For more information:
Visit our website: www.projectapocalypse.net
Contact the Organizers: www.5borogenerals.com
or contact Chris Kim directly:
daleader@5borogenerals.com
1(917) 854-6101.

pr and websites? How Does a small Business do it?

2007-05-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's a daily practice for millions of people in many languages; you hear about something interesting and you go to the internet to find out more. As intention spans and ad slots get smaller the final repository for consumer and business communication is ultimately in two place: the internet and (if you're lucky) the actual customer experience.

Now just about everybody has a website. It might not be pretty (anymore) it might not be current (who has the time?) but it does the job, right? Wrong.

There are fewer mistakes more damaging to building customer interest than putting them off with a website that doesn't do anything but look out dated. With a whole industry of designers and web 2.0 content management systems (CMS), there's no excuse why updating a site should be difficult, time consuming or anything less than visually appealing.

But My business isn't about frills.

This we understand. Because business goals online tend to fall into either the design or functionality category for major emphasis it's important to understand your options from the other side of the equation: your customer.

Are they alrady familiar with your web address? Are they searching for your goods/services through a browser? When they find you will they want to ask questions? Are they the type who own the latest hardware and software or who are still using their ancient pc on outdated browsers for minimal surfing?

Understanding your customer base can be especially difficult for new or changing companies who don't necessarily want to paint themselves in a corner. With a solid, no frills approach you can set up a minimal site and find out more from potential customers themselves. One of the best ways to do this is to set up an insecure poll on a services/contact page that allows visitors to "vote" on how helpful (or not!) the site/features have been. Instant market research with almost no upfront investment. While this could be tampered with by a single person submitting more than one result, the average results will be a highly accurate picture of what your real audience is looking for. A professional web developer can give you more details on how to do this or how to set up a secure poll.

It helps to look at all these things as little tools ("widgets") that can be added, subtracted or modified just like a lego castle. When a solid foundation is built the add-ons and next steps in marketing, promoting and organizing your internet based technology will become second nature and as time goes on, more integrated and less complicated.

Until that day arrives, read up and look around: the cool tricks and developments that a Geek creates today can easily turn into the standard commmunication and business tool of tomorrow.

MonsterTrack 2007

2007-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

Check out the video promo from PlayinTraffic Productions:

(includes highlights from Monstertrack 2006)

Once only a handful of crazy bike messengers and New York hardcore cyclists, monstertrack has exploded in size and in 2008 was officially cancelled due the regular organizers being terrified of new riders killing themselves. If you missed out, don't despair. Check out the adrenalin pumping MONSTERTRACK 8 & TRACK KAIJU dvd from PlayInTrafficProductions.com

Corporate and Small Business PR Standards

2006-12-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

When a company is creating or updating a website the various rules and creative possibilites for how to run a Press Page or other promotional information are a specialized PR job. Here are a few differences as well as an explaination for how a small business can get unique, cost effective and still professional.

Where a corporate site should comprise the following:

Corporate Press Room:
1. Press releases posted the same day they are released to newswires
2. Search Engine Coverage
3. High Quality photos of products and senior management
4. High Quality Images of Logo
5. Exec Bios/recent activity/including speeches/Quotes/presentations
6. Investor Information
7. Company History and background information
8. White papers about philosophy/market approach, etc.
9. Information about civic or charitable activities
10. Mailing address and general telephone number
11. contact information for a public relations representative

With a little work and diligence anyone can have a fantastic corporate press room. The mystery then is why so few corporations are able to adhere to these basic standards. Usually the biggest obstacle is the current workflow between internal and external work flows, particularly pertaining to the method of communication from document it's not hard to maintain an effective and professional approval to site update (extranet, ftp, email, fax, etc.).

The same basic rules and strategy apply for smaller and more cutting-edge businesses. While management bios and pictures are still necessary, companies have effectively gotten around expensive studio portraits and created a strong appeal using off beat images and more personalized biographies that emphasize the personal contribution and commitment that larger companies can' t. It's important that a small company understands the rules before bending them or even outright rejection. The danger that these innovative tactics have is being pigeon holed into the impression that the company is not established or serious enough to command respect.

It's risky. But so is everything in small business. project:apocalypse successfully navigates these and other obstacles by paying attention to your audience and catering to their imagination. the initiative to define what the next trend is can leap a small company light years ahead. Where do you want to go?

Small Business/start-up Press Page(s):

Press releases posted the same day they are released to newswires

This is important as you should begin to build an opt-in email list so that interested parties like investors, B2B and media will rely on your site for the most up-to-date information and the ultimate authority instead of whatever Newswire you've posted to.

Search Engine Coverage

For a small business that is likely NOT a household name, it's even more critical to use SEO to your advantage. Since you won't be gettting hits from searches like, "NABISCO" you'll want to be the top page results for, "Crackers."

Management bios/pics

Creative opportunities, such as off beat anthropomorphic imagery and quirky bios are just the start of branding your company. The smaller business placing a greater importance on every employee can make their people stand out including company members outside of upper management, such as creative, sales and "inside talent." It is important that a cohesive plan is created and followed through as companies elect to go with more unusual designs to ensure that the result is innovative and not confusing.

Examples:

A good professional photo alternative is clean business specific icons.

A dangerous alternative is photos created in-house to give a feel for what the work atmosphere is like. Careful that the photos are high quality and professional and convey what you intend. Avoid complex backgrounds. Otherwise your photos might end up looking like the USA/South East Asian version of santa's workshop!

Please, please. Whatever you do

Don't:

use stock photos of business type people.
Use photoshop in unholy (old school) ways. I'm talking drop shadows, fake boarders, GRADIENTS and other campy internet graphics.
When in doubt go minimal. Better to say nothing...

High quality images of Products and Logos

All the same rules and suggestions as above apply. It is also recommended to have logos in various downloadable sizes and file formats. It only increases the likelihood that you'll have free distribution of your logo.

Testimonials

Testimonials have evolved on the internet from awkward sentences in pixelated quotation marks haphazardly sprinkled on most "about us" pages to slick GUI designed "reviews." While a large company doesn't need to demonstrate customer satisfaction on a grassroots level the way that a sole proprietor would, associating real people and anticipating potential buyers concerns is a proven method of increasing sales. New CMS technology and review sites provide a plethora of options that can make a user testimonial a relevant addition to your press page.

White Papers

Business that make it online are better or faster at something specific that users are looking for. For a consulting firm, this can be a research or analysis report, philosophy page or unique market information. A sports equipment manufacturer client regularly create drawings, prototypes and other ground breaking technologies in house but partner companies and enthusiasts are completely unaware. Adding research and intelligence to your press pages not only helps to establish you as an authority but makes you more attractive to media outlets and increases the likelihood that press releases will be picked up and your company featured in the next big story.

Company History

Just because you don't have SEC regulated corporate board meetings and a campus library with your company's name on it doesn't mean that you can skip out on a company history. If anything it's more important to demonstrate why you're doing business and poised to grow into a more dominant position. project: apocalypse can help you craft a summary that conveys what you already know: you're the best.

Civic or Charitable Activity

From a corporate perspective a civic/charitable activity report is like damage control. With the poor reputation and general image that consumers report having of major corporations a positive presence in local communities is an effective mea culpa. Corporations may be getting significant tax breaks or other incentives for these programs so how does something so institutional affect a hungry young start up? Take the gourmet food market's commitment to environmentally responsible production and, as in coffee production, fair wage policies. Faced with two similar products a customer is offered the chance to make a positive social contribution by purchasing one versus the other. If it's easy (and if it's in the same price category!) a civic commitment or charitable activity can be the thing distinguishes you the competition.

Personal/Professional Associations and Commitments

In the same vein as the civic/charitable activity summary, personal and professional associations can play a crucial role in establishing trust in the management and future of your company. Beyond establishing a valuable professional network such alliances understate an on-going and proactive role in your industry as a leader. Less impressive but still worthwhile is demonstrating personal commitment. A sole proprietor who has turned a passion into a business can command respect through sheer personality and perserverance.

Mailing and general address.

This is important for several reason. Mostly so that you can receive professional offers and christmas cards. Oh, and media contacts will need it if you want free press coverage!

Contact information for a real person: who & how

Since you went through all the work of getting something online to show to the world, you might as well give the world a way to respond. Just because spam is an inevitable part of life, don't ruin your chances of getting attention and sales.

Partner/B2B info.

Most small businesses are specialists. They do one thing really well and work with other companies when their product or service needs to include additional skill sets. partner information hypes their skills and services while understating the differences between you and them. It can also be used as an internal reference for vendor relationships, etc.

For example:

project: apocalypse works with a a few web developers with slightly different specialties so that no matter when a client needs web work, we will always have the resources available although no programming is done in-house. We rely on their strengths without extending our resources and the result is a successful symbiotic partnership.

And because we create a wide variety of printed collateral, we have an internal page with contact information for printers who have a range of key talents from super rapid turnaround times, large and die-cut formats as well as lowest price.

For us we use Partner/B2B pages internally but based on your business creating a transparent list of companies can be used to optomize search results, gain online reliability and authority.

Defining Online PR

2006-12-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

In the complex mix of marketing, advertising and public relations it’s a good thing to have a guide to separate out the barriers and responsibilities as technology introduces new skills and requirements. Found on the Council of Public Relations Firms interactive resources webpage, it should come as no surprise that the main emphasis is on medium and large corporate clients.

What should be surprising is that the leader for good business practices has an outdated document taken from Mainsail PR's 2001, “Interactive PR: The Party Starts Now.” It's now 5 years out of date! Written after the bubble busted all the hopes and dreams of an intangible Internet economy we've seen a lot of changes and evolution since then. In the ‘internet time’ that the paper hails as being the new pace of business, it's astounding that similar documents are not available to keep pace with new technologies and practices.

Let's take things one at a time. Here's the Mainsail definition:

Defining Online PR:

Developing and enhancing the pressroom section of the corporate website.
Disseminating corporate news directly to key audiences
Providing online information to investors in compliance with Reg FD
Developing viral marketing campaigns
Monitoring news and newsgroup forums in real time
Deploying extranets to manage a company's PR and related marketing activities.

Don't forget, they're talking about major corporate clients circa 2001. As these behemoths can rely on a larger operating margins and reputation small companies have to play to the latest, most innovative and cost effective trends to remain competitive.

This is where project:apocalypse comes in.

Let's create an updated list. It includes all of the above and some new tasks.

Online PR 2006/2007:

SEO and Partner Site Relationship Strategy: both paid and unpaid channels
Corporate Blog Strategy: from maintaining internal and external communication to monitoring Blogger's online perceptions
Ongoing Analysis of New Technology: recommendations for implementation and how the competition is doing it.
Developing and enhancing the pressroom section of the corporate website.
Disseminating corporate news directly to key audiences
Providing online information to investors in compliance with Reg FD
Developing viral marketing campaigns
Monitoring news and newsgroup forums in real time
Deploying extranets to manage a company's PR and related marketing activities.

project:apocalypse specializes in online PR and is available to help small and medium sized companies excel in the online space using both established and guerilla tactics that allow a small PR budget to have a big impact.

For more information contact: project.apocalypse @ gmail.com

temporary blog home

2006-11-27T02:54:00.000-08:00

traveling in europe mean using fast & cheap web 2.0 schemes rather than taking the time to have a blog template and hosting set up in the corporate identity. So forgive the ugly formatting and URL and get straight to the heart of it.

Measurement/analytics.	42.41%
Twitter's business model.	22.76%
Determining ROI.	16.90%
Time management.	11.03%
Online privacy.	6.90%