We’re happy to announce the opening of our new San Francisco office. It’s a bit of a homecoming, as we’re moving back into familiar digs – the American Industrial Center in Dogpatch. Our official new address is (trumpets blaring in the background as you read this):
2325 3rd Street, #222, San Francisco, CA 94107
We hope to see you soon in our new location!
It’s been quite a while since my last post, but it’s all because we’ve been working like Madmen (capitalization intentional) all year. And the fruits of these efforts are now live:
This is a fun experience where you can contribute your laughter to Coke’s ‘big, bubbly collection of happiness’. Record your laughter and (as they say, ‘for a limited time’), Coke will donate $1.00 to a good cause. Invite friends and see your own bubble grow.
Odwalla is donating money to state parks to help plant trees. Visit the site and click to vote for your favorite state.
We’ve also been busy with a few other sites, launching in early June. Check back for updates about EnjoyAquarius.com and MelloYello.com. Enjoy the holiday, all!
One of my favorite articles of 2009 was by Emily Yoffe of Slate.com, called Seeking. In it, she describes a physiological truth that drives our need to pursue food, sleep, sex, and now, in her belief — information. When it comes to Google searches, checking Twitter or Facebook feeds, she posits that we regress; pursuing information with a mindless addiction to those tiny doses of emotional and intellectual stimulation.
I can’t help but think she got that one exactly right. I check for Facebook updates (as well as E, the NYTimes, CNN, the list goes on…) probably about a million times a day, and honestly, I’m starting to believe that it’s not really all quality time. And I know this is fact because I’ve caught myself clicking to check the news just seconds after having shut the phone off. Pressing that “check for updates” button is almost a muscle reflex at this point. Just — not the muscles that actively care or think particularly deeply about too many things.
But for many brands a Twitter or Facebook following is nothing short of gold. It’s as if, for them, the printing press has been reinvented. It’s a brand’s moment to break free from the bonds of long development schedules and arduous planning for a simple email drop. It provides an ability to have an unobstructed connection with customers that’s cheap and immediate. The fluctuations of time and content from a brand’s posts keeps relationships with consumers new, exciting and interesting. When done well, a Facebook presence includes a tone of flirtation. A well-executed social media strategy keeps consumers looking for more.
In the same way that every conversation isn’t right for a first date, every message isn’t right for this medium. In 2009 there were some interesting attempts at establishing a report through social media. One of our favorites was ModCloth’s scavenger hunt sweepstakes; clues about locations of prizes (images) on the company’s website were posted, and users raced to find them, prompting an all-out, page-by-page shakedown of the site. This was a guaranteed win-win: the brand had a chance to use a new medium to connect with users, and users drove up website traffic. And we love how Rachel Zoe uses Facebook to sometimes share her personal party photos, sometimes product updates, and sometimes just interesting tidbits about her work. It makes the connection to her seem more real and personal, and engenders quite a bit of good will. Another handy Twitter feed is provided by the energy company DTE. In addition to some basic business information, they post updates about outages and repairs, which is really an appropriate use of this new-fangled alert system. Particularly useful in the event of a power outage. If you’re looking for more general ideas for uses of Twitter, check out this article. It provides a simple primer for those looking to learn more about this service.
But as we all know, the best media executions have a highly honed marriage of message and medium. There’s one supreme example of this alignment that we’re waiting for with baited breath; which is for Peet’s locations to start tweeting their currently-brewed blends, and also when a fresh pot is made. I’d suffer the extra 15 minutes to get a cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain by my office, if I knew that the local spot was (yet again) brewing up the Holiday Blend. I think my partner would leap from his chair to get the first cup from a fresh pot. It’s the digital wafting of a fresh brewed pot of liquid love, inciting a coffee flash mob. TMI? Sorry. But, what can I say? We love Peets’s. We’re loyal. And we’ll adopt pretty much anything that will make our lives better, or make it easier for us to, as Ms. Yoffe says, seek out that next ounce of stimulation.
The New York Times recently reported that WhiteHouse.gov is built using the open source content management system Drupal. This is a pretty interesting choice; while Drupal does offer a really flexible approach to content, it’s a bit tricker to get things and running — and looking good — than some of the other players in the market.
When evaluating CMS options for clients, we typically take into account their long term goals, internal skill set, budget and time to launch.
Based on these evaluation criteria, it’s no surprise that the White House looked right past the dominant player in this space, WordPress. WP is great for blog-style communication, installation and support for free and attractive templates, but it lacks the robust set of site feature enhancements.
It is interesting though, that the feds skipped the #2 player (based on downloads/usage) in this space, Joomla!. Joomla is easy to setup, has a fairly intuitive admin interface, and can be expanded to include may popular site features, including our favorite : Mail Chimp. For many mid-size companies and non-profits, Joomla offers an easy entry point; you can focus your dollars on adding the bells and whistles that help bring your website to life, while minimizing engineering costs.
It’s also interesting that the webmaster-in-chief looked at the challenges that lay before him/her and didn’t opt for a custom, in-house solution. Whether the reasoning for avoiding this was political or practical, I guess we can all be grateful that they decided to save a few bucks and just get the information out in a timely manner.
For help in evaluating the many CMS solutions available, send an email to ggates@asimpletheory.com.
