The 14^th annual Webby Awards are in and we’ve got something to celebrate!  From more than 8,000 entries submitted fewer than 15% were distinguished as Official Honorees, and the Medi-CareFirst.com website designed and built by G.1440 was one of them.

The Webby Awards are the Internet’s equivalent of the Academy Awards and entries are drawn in from all 50 states and 60 countries worldwide. Winners are chosen by well-renowned judges at the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Members of this organization include: Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, Internet Inventor Vinton Cerf and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. This award represents a certain standard of excellence and demonstrates the outstanding caliber of work here at G.1440.

The Webby Award categories are broken down into Websites & Mobile, Interactive Advertising, and Film & Video, and then further divided into subcategories of criteria. Medi-CareFirst.com was recognized under the Websites & Mobile category and was assessed on the following criteria: content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall experience.

Our excellent team of web designers and developers made this award possible – G.1440 boasts the best and most creative web designers in the region. Our Consulting Solutions team offers an extensive suite of products and solutions that help enhance our clients’ business and we have an unmatched reputation built over a decade for having high quality, on time, and on budget delivery. We offer company specific customized solutions – see for yourself! Our Design Portfolio showcases some of our websites, user interfaces, and marketing solutions.

G.1440’s award winning team delivered a website for Medi-CareFirst.com that possesses unparalleled qualities. The website has proven to be user-friendly, informative, and interactive, which has helped it succeed. This Webby Award proves that G.1440 uses innovative technology combined with technical expertise to help differentiate businesses from the rest of the pack.

Check out the website here for a look at its award winning quality design:  Medi-CareFirst

This past Saturday was another well publicized milestone for Apple, Inc. – the release of the their latest gadget: the iPad. Praise, criticism, and massive discussions have the web bursting at its seams, and now businesses are asking the question: “What can the iPad do for us?”

Let’s start with the bad news for businesses (check out the article here):

1. Multitasking not an option.

2. No camera for video conference.

3. No Adobe Flash support.

4. No choice in wireless carrier for 3G network.

5. No output/input ports.

And the great business features that Apple promotes?

1. Email, Calendar, and Contacts a breeze to use and sync with other providers.

2. Secure data.

3. Powerful platform for apps.

4. iWork for iPad – create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc.

5. Anticipated accessories to adapt to the business person’s lifestyle.

Many have argued that the iPad with its lack of innovation and capabilities may just be a glorified version of the iPhone, maybe even and iPhone on steriods… Regardless, now that the facts are on the table I’m starting to wonder if the product was released simply to be released and rely on the brand’s success as opposed to the product quality. If “Apple” is so often described with “innovative”, I feel like something is missing here from their usual top notch performance. We all know that there are numerous advantages to being a first mover, but there’s also a huge risk of moving too fast.

Just as 3G wireless technology is hitting its stride, the national carriers are testing and launching wireless 4G.  Sprint struck first with WiMax (think really big WiFi hotspots), but Verizon is on its heels with lte (Long Term Evolution).  Other carriers are on board with 4G, and the bottom line is that mind-blowing wireless data speeds are here, and will be mainstream soon.

This means more people going online with all kinds of mobile devices.  Netbook sales are soaring, but research shows people might be seriously regretting their mini computer purchase.  iPhone sales are way up, but can a pocket sized computer really take full advantage of 100Mbps data speeds?  Maybe 4G will mean more powerful large screen laptop computers will be relevant again. (I’m writing this on my 17inch laptop, so you can guess what I’m rooting for…) But we’ll likely see the same trends continue – faster & more powerful mobile devices giving people ready access to the Internet all the time.

But is your business ready for everyone to have the real Internet in their pocket or backpack?

Ultimately, you need a mobile strategy – and one that takes into account both small screen browsing and anytime access.  Are you giving people the opportunity to buy or connect with you quickly?  Does your site give users the information they need right away?  (I keep hearing Jakob Nielsen whisper, “Usability” in my ear…)

Faster Internet rocks, but is your business positioned to take advantage or miss out?

G.1440 is currently working with US Lacrosse, the national governing body for Lacrosse in the US, on a full overhaul of their websites and use of technology in general.  US Lacrosse has many key stakeholder groups that each have different needs online, and they house a tremendous amount of data on the site, which makes site usability the ultimate challenge.

How do we get the information that people need to the people that need it?

Luckily, G.1440’s team are experts at designing web usability.  Our process is thorough and starts with research – after all, we can’t deliver important information until we know what information is important!

As an online marketer, it’s exciting whenever we’re able to help improve the user experience on a site.  A great user experience is the key to long customer relationships and referrals.

But creating a great experience starts with users, and in this case you can help, too!

If you’re familiar with US Lacrosse, take a few moments to fill out our brief 9 question survey, or participate in a card sort:

http://www.uslacrosse.org/enews/websurvey.phtml

On Friday we launched a brand new redesign of g1440.com, and as cliche as it must sound… we’re pretty excited!

Here’s what John Hill, our Vice President of IT Solutions had to say:

Good People of G.1440, you gotta check out our new website! At the end of a Friday workday and workweek, take a moment and check it out. You’ll be very impressed with your company and your team of web designers, developers and marketing experts. The new site is a GEM.

Kudos to Matt Deville for leading the effort (and producing most of the design and graphics all by his little ‘ole self) and special thanks to Tim, Buddie, Nat, and Adam for all their hard word. It’s a real beauty, folks…

Stay tuned… spring is springing and so is G.1440.

Have a great weekend. We’ve got a lot to celebrate!”

A couple weeks back, I was given the chance to share my thoughts on the new Recovery.gov website in an article that was published in the Baltimore Sun.

Here is the complete text of my commentary, which was edited (thankfully…) for inclusion in the paper:

“President Barack Obama’s newly launched Recovery.gov is aesthetically similar to the new WhiteHouse.gov. The design is sparse and straightforward, with emphasis put on communicating information clearly and effectively. The site employs very clear, uncomplicated information graphics to communicate where the stimulus package money is being spent. Additionally, a draggable timeline allows users to experience the history of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The tone of Recovery.gov is more conservative than Obama’s campaign site. This is reflected both in the typography and the color palette. For example, Recovery.gov uses serif fonts extensively, whereas the campaign relied heavily on Gotham, a modern sans-serif font produced by Hoefler & Frere Jones. Additionally, the color palette has shifted to a more subtle pairing of royal blue with greys, golds, and variations on the blues that dominated his campaign site.

Recovery.org has been launched as a work in progress. It promises to change and evolve as milestones are met. Where it may lack in vibrancy, it shines in its use of interactive elements. On the homepage, users can view an address from Obama. Using YouTube to deliver the video allows the message to exist outside of the site and increases the chances that the video will go viral.

Users are encouraged to share their “recovery stories” and the site promises to publish collected stories in the future, which hints at the site’s goal of building a community.

Also of interest is that the site appears to use Drupal as its content management system. Drupal is an open source PHP-based CMS that is supported by a large user base. Choosing Drupal as the platform of choice for this site shows that Obama’s team is committed to delivering change and doing so without being beholden to any proprietary systems.

All in all, it is an exceptional start to what will be a very important website.”

Since the article was published there have been some changes to the site, including the use of a new logo. My expectation is that the site will continue to grow and change over time. The selection of a flexible and modular CMS (Drupal) will help the team behind the site continue to add to it and change it as needed. Interested in using the same CMS on your site that our new President is using to run his site? Drop us a line!

Just because something’s on sale, doesn’t mean it’s a deal.

I came across a quick post on one of my favorite consumer blogs with the image below:

Not everyone will spell it out so clearly, but many times, the “sale” isn’t really a deal.  Some Marketers will tout this as the best way to push products.  Mark up the “normal” price, then put it on “sale” for the original price.

I could easily launch into a page-long posting about giving real value to your customers and G.1440’s decade of experience doing just that, but I’ll spare the sales pitch for another post.  Just have a good chuckle at this photo, pass it along to a friend, and try competing with a user-friendly website that demonstrates the value in your products instead of a sign that says “Sale!” just for fun.

Your website needs advertising, and your advertising needs your website.  The most interactive and beautiful website is worthless if no one sees it, and all the site traffic in the world is no good unless your website is able to capture attention and translate traffic into customers.

But, as we face an economic slowdown that’s surely effecting everyone, businesses everywhere face the difficult dilemma of tight spending limiting advertising budgets at a time when new business and customers are needed more than ever.  The result? A shift in spending from traditional media to online spending.

To be clear, the increase in online advertising is not offsetting the decline in traditional ad spend, and overall US advertising spend will be down about 4% in 2009 according to Media Futurist Jack Myers.  But amidst this decline, emarketer is still projecting double digit growth for online advertising.

Perhaps the hardest hit sector of the media landscape is TV.  According to the November 3, 2008 Advertising Age, TV advertising slipped 1.3% 2008 – even when you include the boost from the election and the Olympics.  Without political spending and Olympic advertising, TV ad dollars would have fallen 2.4%.  This while online advertising is projected to grow some 14-16%.

It seems that in a time when ad dollars are becoming more and more precious, advertisers are counting on the two big promises of Internet advertising – Targeting and Tracking.

These concepts aren’t new!  Every TV show targets a specific demographic which advertisers try to latch onto, and the TV ratings of any given program will give you an idea of who saw what.  But between DVR and the growth of online media, who knows who’s actually watching those commercials.  Online advertisers can reach out to people based on their web history, demographics, and even the interests they express in their social networks.  So instead of paying a lot to reach everyone, they can pay less to reach just the audience that they’re looking to sell to.  Search ads go a step further, reaching out to people actively seeking to buy!

Also, with Google Analytics leading the charge, free tools exist that allow websites to track an absurd amount of user actions with their website.  Ultimately, advertisers can see what ads are working, and make changes on the fly to constantly improve.

Analytical tools are also crucial to understanding how users interact with your website, and how users move through the buying process.  Remember, driving traffic to a website is only half the battle! Once a user’s found you, they’ll need to be able to find what they need quickly.  Online, we all have the attention span of a 5-year old.

I’m sure none of this is groundbreaking stuff, but as the economy scares everyone and shrinks budgets worldwide, the message is important:

A user-friendly website that converts traffic into buyers and informed online advertising is the most effective mix for winning in a down economy.

When considering a website redesign, think about what the purpose of the redesign is beyond the aesthetics. Ask yourself what primary action do I want the user to take upon reaching our homepage.

When HR wants to add Careers in the main navigation, gently tell them that adding it would distract clients from the primary goal of the website but that it can certainly be within the utility navigation at the bottom. If someone is looking for a job, they will spend longer than the average 8 seconds trying to find the link.

Another common interloper on homepages is the news. Having a prospective client read your news is rarely the main action you want them to take. If the news must be on the homepage, then consider putting it below the fold where it won’t be a distraction.

Give your users what they want on your website. After all, your website isn’t there to announce the corporate picnic this weekend – it’s there to position your brand and drive sales!

Ubiquity is a new project currently in Mozilla Labs. The goal is to enable the user to control their browser through natural language instructions. Here is a succinct video about the project from Aza Raskin:

Apple users may find the keystrokes used to invoke Ubiquity familiar. After all, we have been able to invoke Spotlight with command-spacebar since the introduction of OS X Tiger in 2005.

Users of BlackTree’s QuickSilver will also be familiar with the technology:

The name “Ubiquity”, however, hints at Ubiquitous Computing, defined by Wikipedia as:

Ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) is a post-desktop model of human-computer interaction in which information processing has been thoroughly integrated into everyday objects and activities. As opposed to the desktop paradigm, in which a single user consciously engages a single device for a specialized purpose, someone “using” ubiquitous computing engages many computational devices and systems simultaneously, in the course of ordinary activities, and may not necessarily even be aware that they are doing so.

Ostensibly, none of these technologies is fully qualified as Ubiquitous computing, but they do give us a hint of what’s to come.

Enjoy.