Is the Internet making you stupid? Many academics say sites like Twitter — and the Internet at large — are devouring our brains like zombies. But is it really the Internet’s fault that you decided to follow Snooki? No! Smart ideas do exist online, and you can absorb them into your deteriorating grey matter if you know where to find them. Then you can tell professor Mark Bauerlein (author of The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future) where he can shove it!

Start by adding these braniacs to your Twitter feed.

Economics

@Richard_Florida is an economist and bestselling author on the topic of how creativity is revolutionizing the global economy.

@dambisamoyo is an economist and author whose last book, How The West Was Lost, examines America’s decline in economic supremacy.

@pkedrosky is a self-proclaimed ‘dangerous Twitterer’ who also happens to be a popular financial blogger, contributing editor for Bloomberg, and active investor.

Education

@QueenRania is an advocate for quality education in Jordan and around the world. Her Jordan River Foundation helps families work themselves out of poverty.

@coolcatteacher is not only a teacher, but a social media savvy ‘edublogger’ and IT Director for Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia, whose award winning projects have linked students around the globe in collaborative education.

@NMHS_Principal is much more than a cool principal — he’s also a speaker and innovator in the realm of using social media to engage students and help educators grow professionally.

Health

@kimduess tweets useful natural health tips and blogs about preventive medicine to help improve the overall health of America.

@Atul_Gawande is a surgeon, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and a staff writer for New Yorker magazine. His New York Times bestseller, The Checklist Manifesto, is about the power of checklists for success.

@marionnestle is a professor and author on the topics of food safety, health and how the food industry influences our health and nutrition.

Politics

@ezraklein is an opinionated blogger on the topics of economic and domestic policy. He’s been a guest on CNN, MSNBC, NPR and C-SPAN.

@GStephanopoulos is a two-time winner of the Annenberg School of Journalism’s Walter Cronkite Award for Political Journalism.

@JoeTrippi is a political strategist and former Silicon Valley consultant who was one of the first to recognize the political power of the Internet.

Science

@timberners_lee is regarded as the creator of the World Wide Web. Enough said.

@RichardDawkins is an ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author. He is credited with introducing the term ‘meme’, which first appeared in his book The Selfish Gene, about gene-centered evolution.

@Prof_S_Hawking is a famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist, and the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the most prestigious civilian award in the U.S.

Tech

@mashable, founded by Pete Cashmore, is a popular news blog focusing mainly on breaking social media news. It reportedly receives 30+ million monthly pageviews.

@patricknorton is the managing editor at Revision3 Internet Television, where he hosts Tekzilla, a show featuring tech gear reviews.

@leolaporte is a technology journalist and the host and producer of The Tech Guy, a nationally syndicated radio show. He holds the record for the longest live streamed crowd-surf, which he performed at SXSW Interactive on March 14, 2010.

Now go forth and nurture thy brains! Read more about how to become a better person via Twitter.

Our copywriters recently caught up to Scott Goodson, Founder and Chairman of StrawberryFrog, “the world’s first Cultural Movement agency,” with offices in New York, Amsterdam, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. Pushing innovation and brand building boundaries for over a quarter of a century with agencies based in Canada, Sweden and the US, he’s helped brands such as P&G, Heineken, Pepsico, Starbucks and Daimler Benz, to name a few. So we felt compelled to ask him about everything from when he first fell in love with the Internet to what he cherishes most about designers.

1. When did you first fall in love with the Internet?

“I was an owner of an ad agency in Sweden in the early 90s. We were working on Ericsson Information Systems. I had a meeting with the clients and they were playing on the net. Then we started using something called email. Wow…that was cool. Oh, and the piloting games, too.”

2. What buzz word should we kill?

“Social media.”

3. Which brand would you like to work with, and why?

“Any brand that wants to challenge the status quo of their industry.”

4. What book should every marketer read?

“Well I’d say Purple Cow, Nudge, Drive, and okay, okay a plug for “Uprising,” my new book that will be published later this year.”

5. What is the quality you admire the most in a designer?

“There are so many characteristics that I love about designers. Stubbornness. Surprise. The ability to create delight. My favorite designer is David Ellis, one of the founders of Why Not Associates, one of the best design firms on the planet.”

6. The secret to your success?

“Patience and a lack of patience. A global soul. Curiosity. Desire to challenge the domination and control of our industry by the big corporate agency networks.”

Take a leap! Follow Scott on his blog and Twitter @scottfrog.

No matter the industry, all creative professionals, and even the left-brained ones, need to look outside of our circles of influence for inspiration. By exploring new ideas, images, methodologies or concepts, we expand our minds and fuel our own creativity. This is how innovation happens, and how new products, business practices and ways of living help us grow as individuals and as a society.

Where do you look for creative inspiration? Here are some awesome locations around the Web where you can bask in the creativity of your fellow humans.

The 99 Percent

www.the99percent.com

@the99percent

The “research arm and think tank” of Behance, a network for creative professionals, The 99 Percent is named for the famous Thomas Edison quote “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Consisting of a website, conference and book, The 99 Percent features instructional articles, videos and other resources (even playlists) that help creative types put good ideas into action.

One interesting recent feature described how mundane routines can produce creative magic. In it, the daily routines of some notable creatives (like filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and architect Le Corbusier) are described. The accounts are taken from Daily Routines, which profiles how “writers, artists and other interesting people organize their days.”

Booooooom

www.booooooom.com

@Booooooom

Booooooom is a Vancouver, BC-based “art and photo blog with a soft spot for hand-made work by unknown people,” meaning you won’t be seeing anything conventional here. Featuring works of art covering the spectrum between mesmerizing and bizarre, you’ll find photography, sculpture, music, drawings, paintings and more creative works from around the world posted daily.

One favourite discovery from Booooooom actually came from its Twitter account, where the author tweeted about an internationally acclaimed painter named Cholla (who also happens to be a horse.)

Bajillion Hits

www.bajillionhits.biz

@Bajillionhits

Alex Blagg, the man behind the brilliantly hilarious web marketing guru spoof Bajillion Hits describes himself in this role the best: “Social Media Strat Guru-Ninja-Genius. Bajillionaire. Webeneur. Techspert. Lord of All Social Media. Intergalactic Master of the Internet.” This guy is basically the inside joke of all web marketing professionals in the world who have ever rolled their eyes at the growing mushroom cloud of people claiming to be social media experts. By poking fun at the tech-speak that runs rampant in web marketing circles, Blagg encourages us to make fun of ourselves, and perhaps find new ways of approaching web marketing that aren’t so predictable.

Check out Blagg’s post I’m a Tech Media Douche for his full (and hilarious) bio.

Illusion 360

www.illusion.scene360.com

Illusion 360 is a partner project of the award-winning online film and arts magazine Scene 360, and features amazing art, design, technology and video from around the world. Features are chosen based on their uniqueness, skill, level of creativity and vision, and can include anything from living grass graffiti to human touchscreen interfaces.

One recent post includes the World’s Smallest Post Service, which sends tiny letters to your loved ones.

Hello You Creatives

www.helloyoucreatives.com

@Hellocreatives

Hello You Creatives is a London-based blog run by a collective of creative people in design, illustration and “everything else,” who work together to inspire, showcase and discuss creative works and creativity in general. Admittedly, they don’t discriminate regarding the quality of works posted, giving exposure to both good and bad ones, and talking to the people behind them.

One recent post featured Unicef’s Dirty Water campaign, which placed vending machines selling dirty water (including diseases like malaria and cholera) in major cities to raise awareness for the lack of access to clean drinking water in developing countries. The campaign, credited to the creatives at Casanova, has raised almost $1 million to support UNICEF’s clean drinking water programs.

Laughing Squid

www.laughingsquid.com

@laughingsquid

Laughing Squid describes itself as “an online resource for art, culture and technology” and is also an independent web hosting company. Blog posts feature a wide-reaching range of subject matter including anything from an avocado ukulele, to an interview with Steven Sasson, the inventor of the digital camera, to a recreation of Brooklyn made entirely out of LEGO.

Le Creative Sweatshop

www.lecreativesweatshop.com

Le Creative Sweatshop is a Paris-based creative studio/agency combining the worlds of design, fashion, contemporary art and architecture, with a focus on hand-made works. The site offers the agency’s portfolio of work, which is inspiring in itself.

One example is the agency’s paper scenography installation for airline operator Transavia, which fashioned a suitcase out of colourful paper and wood as both a work of art and communication support.

Sharing Creativity

By sharing new ideas and ways of doing things, we not only inspire one another to do better work, but we push ourselves to innovate and make the world a more enjoyable place to coexist.

What are some of your favourite creativity boosters online? What is your daily routine? Why not share them with your fellow creative professionals and promote the cultural advancement of our species.

Content and design. Written communications and visual communications. When it comes to creating winning websites, which plays a more important role? Our web copywriters reached out to six experienced agency professionals from the US, Canada and England to get their take.

Web content or design — which is more important?

James Archer
Managing Director, Forty

“At Forty, we view words and visuals as inseparably intertwined; they’re just different manifestations of the same message.

“We always assign both a writer and a designer to every project, and our brand strategy work always includes both verbal and visual direction.

“Ultimately, the viewer doesn’t distinguish between the visual design and the verbal message of a piece. They take in the overall experience, and they remember (or don’t) based on what they feel.

“Because we take the approach of focusing on the overall experience rather than a ‘words first’ or ‘design first’ approach, we find it works best when designers and writers work side by side. Not always possible, but certainly the ideal.”

Follow James @jamesarcher

William A. Beachy
President, Go Media Inc.

“When I was in college, there were two bulletin boards in the lobby of my dorm. The first bulletin board was maintained by the resident advisers and was intended for all of the residents. It was a colorful explosion of photos, event fliers, clip-art, logos and decorative trim. Just to the left of that was the second bulletin board; maintained and intended for the engineering club. On it were plain white 8.5×11 sheets of paper with single-spaced black type neatly hung in a perfect grid. There wasn’t a single image, color or graphical element anywhere on the engineers’ bulletin board.

“So, which one was the superior bulletin board? Well, my answer, as it relates to this question of content versus design is — it depends. It depends who your audience is. It depends what your content is. In this specific case, the engineers’ bulletin board was superior — for the engineers, and probably nobody else. As with any website development project, you have to start with understanding the user. And to use this oft quoted design axiom: form follows function. You have to know what the purpose of the site is. Only then can you possibly answer the question of what’s more important.”

Follow William @william_beachy

Christina Calderon
Creative Director, JB Chicago

“I believe that there should be a perfect marriage between function and form. As a visual person, I am naturally drawn to websites that look good, but as a Creative Director I fully understand the value in content and the written language. Words bring clarity and act as the persuasive element to a message.

“Ideally, there should be a call to action and sense of urgency wrapped around a good, compelling design in order to engage and move the consumer, so any good ad contains a combination of the two. The story that is told through visual means is reinforced by the copy — the tagline seals the deal.”

Follow Christina @cryandesign

Jason Hamilton
Director, Digital Marketing, Acart Communications

“If, by design, we are referring to the visual look and feel of a site, and, by content, we are referring to the information that resides on the site, then content wins hands down.

“When someone visits your website, blog or Facebook page, they do not visit to stare in awe of your beautiful design; they visit for one reason: they have a problem that needs solving. Whether that problem is where to find the lowest gas prices, how to measure social media, or discover Charlie Sheen’s latest crazy stunt, they are looking for an answer. Knowing what your audience is looking for and creating quality content around that is the key to effective Web communications.

“Content is not, and should not be, restricted to the written word; video, audio, and infographics are increasingly popular and should be part of any effective content strategy.

“I am not saying that visual design is not important. It is, because effective design supports and enhances (not dictates) content, whereas quality content inspires and guides design.

“Look at Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Google — three of the most successful websites in the world — and ask yourself why you return to these sites?”

Follow Jason @acartcomm

Ben Harris
Managing Director, New Brand Vision Group

“When it comes to the creation of quality website design, text and images should not be thought of in isolation, as a healthy balance of both content and visual communications is essential for a successful approach.

“To begin with, part of your audience will be more visual, while others will respond more proactively to information, and it is therefore vital that you communicate to both sets of audiences.

“It is also important to recognize that content and visuals provide two slightly different functions on a website. Inviting branding will make your website more appealing and memorable, while the right content will demonstrate thought leadership and improve search engine rankings.

“Bold, attractive visuals are what initially attract a user’s attention; while quality content will draw that user into a deeper level of engagement.

“This psychological understanding of user behaviour is critical to a websites success, and must be addressed in the early stages of the planning process. Knowing where to use content and where to use visuals, and how to effectively blend the two is the key to achieving both aesthetic and ergonomic success with your website design.”

Follow Ben @NewBrandVision

Cynthia Passanante
Director, Design & UI, TRAFFIQ, and Blogger, CMYKaboom

“Can you compare a car to its driver? Likewise, to compare design and content is an irrational exercise, as they each serve unique, vital functions in the digital landscape. When used properly, they are two assets that work in tandem to create a holistic, sublime experience, not forces vying for significance.

“Within the industry the phrase, ‘content is king’ is thrown around a great deal. I would position it more as a lesser duke. The goal of a successful site is not only to deliver unique content, but to do so in a way that is intuitive and accessible to the end user. Design is imperative to accomplish this task. It is the vehicle that drives content to the user — without one, the other invariably falters.

“Don’t believe me? I propose an experiment — take your best content, and type it out in black text on a site with a black background. Granted, this is a rather heavy-handed example, but one that summarizes the subtler problem found on countless websites: no matter how sexy the material, if the interface does not offer ease of discovery then the content will rot on the vine, search engine or no search engine.

“The king is dead. Long live the diarchy!”

Follow Cynthia @CMYKaboom

What’s your take on website content versus design?

Recent redesign catastrophes have begged the question — how can Web-based businesses that want their brands to evolve avoid harsh backlashes and possible brand suicide?

Most would say the answer is simple — do it right and you won’t have a backlash, or at least you won’t have one you can’t recover from.

But humans are creatures of comfort and often have knee-jerk responses when faced with change, even when it’s for our own good. We don’t want to wake up one day to see that the Facebook features we’ve grown to love have suddenly changed, leaving us to awkwardly maneuver around new structures and functions back to the comfort zone. Just look at the brief stints of Facebook redesign rage that often promise mass exodus, but never deliver.

Even though redesign backlash is common, recovery can be more difficult in some cases than others. The deciding factor seems to be whether or not the user’s interests were adequately considered during the planning stages, and respected during launch.

Here are some recent and notable redesign catastrophes, the aftermath, and what we can learn from others’ mistakes.

Gawker Media

In early February, 2011, Gawker Media — owner of popular sites Gawker, Gizmodo and LifeHacker, among others — launched a redesign of its entire network. Founder Nick Denton justified the changes as a response to the evolving online media landscape. The new design was intended to move away from the traditional blog format, to one that incorporated the convergence of blog, magazine and television.

What Went Wrong

While attempting to cater to the changing online media environment, Gawker seemed to lose sight of maintaining an enjoyable user experience. That is, they put their desires in front of the users’, which is a big no-no no matter what business you’re in. People reported major difficulties adjusting to the new format, claiming they could no longer find what they were looking for.

The Aftermath

Even loyal users were so fed up with the confusing new navigation, they started leaving in droves, and are still lamenting over their bad experience. In a humourous post, Ian Lurie of Conversation Marketing claimed that Gawker had basically “designed themselves out of existence.” By Feb. 21, the adverse effects of the redesign were painfully obvious. Gizmodo, for example, saw a 60 to 70% drop in visitors since the launch.

(February Gizmodo stats from Sitemeter – traffic is still hovering around the 1M mark as of March 14)

Digg

In late August, 2010, Digg launched its new design, which was immediately met with overwhelming criticism by its users. Some said the navigation was ruined, others called the new Digg a Facebook clone. Most were pissed off that mainstream publishers were suddenly able to automatically post content on the site through RSS.

What Went Wrong

Frederic Lardinois of ReadWriteWeb said it best: “The launch of Digg’s redesign will likely go down in the history of social media as a textbook example for how to alienate your users.” Ouch. The new design and structure changed some of the unspoken rules of Digg, namely the understanding that one should not post their own content. Digg’s new version allowed for just that, drastically altering one of the fundamental appeals of using the site to find alternative, unbiased content.

The Aftermath

The redesign sparked a rebellion where angered users turned the new design against itself. By hijacking the new rule that allowed for other sites to post their own content, users banded together to upvote every Reddit story automatically posted thanks to new features. Eventually the entire front page of Digg was flooded with stories from the competitor’s site. By the end of September, traffic was down 26% among US users, while Reddit’s traffic increased 24%. Digg founder Kevin Rose responded to popular criticisms of the redesign on his blog, and promised to fix some of the bugs, while justifying other aspects of the redesign.

How to Soften the Backlash Blow

Knowing that redesigning a popular service, site or brand is most certainly going to meet some type of backlash, there are things you can do to prepare that will help soften the blow. Aside from being reincarnated as Zuckerberg or Jobs (who can pretty much do as they please without consequence), you can do your best to research, plan and even time your redesign for better reception.

Think of Users First

Ask yourself, are you redesigning the site based on the direction you believe your brand is heading? If so, you may encounter issues, as seen in the Gawker example. If your website’s main purpose is to deliver content to readers, then your redesign should focus on delivering it in the most intuitive way possible. Otherwise, your quality content, and its writers, will suffer.

As copywriters, we at Webcopyplus live by this mantra: write for your intended audience, not for your own interests, and they will reward you. After all, people aren’t coming to the site to see how good you are at writing; they’re coming to get the information that applies to them, fast.

The same principle applies to a website’s design. Don’t use a redesign as an opportunity to show off the fact that you have your finger on the pulse of online media (as Gawker tried to do), but do it for the purpose of improving the user experience and making it easier for them to consume your content.

In 2005, on A List Apart, Cameron Moll touched on the benefits of ‘realigning’ rather than redesigning, a concept that’s as true today as it was then. Redesigners, he argued, are often creative types with an inherent desire to refresh and renew a design simply because the old design seems stale. Realigners “cite strategic objectives and user needs as a reason to consider a site overhaul.” The latter approach, Moll believes, is more likely to be met with acceptance than shock.

Remember Where You Came From

In the case of Digg, we can see that fundamentally changing the core of your service can make your users awfully angry. One of Digg’s major appeals was that it rewarded stories people were genuinely interested in by posting them on the front page. The new design compromised the holy front page in favour of self-serving interests, which was great for those interests, but not for the lifeblood of Digg: its dedicated users. In their eyes, the redesign was the equivalent of an artist selling out to get played on the radio, while departing from what made them appealing to their fans in the first place. This, to them, equated to an ultimate betrayal, causing them to react with malice. And, unfortunately, the social nature of the site magnified their ability to retaliate.

How can you avoid this? When planning your redesign, it’s okay to make changes to fix what’s not working, but don’t abandon what does. Discovering what you should keep is as easy as looking at your metrics, or even asking your users what they like and don’t like.

Do It Nice and Slow

One way to muffle backlash is by making design tweaks in stages, rather than springing a full makeover on your users overnight. Facebook is known for redesigning certain features one by one, which appears to work well. Users might react negatively at first, but they’ll be less likely to throw their hands up in frustration and leave altogether. And if you’ve steered the design in the wrong direction, you can respond to feedback in stages, rather than having a monstrous list of complaints to address.

When All Else Fails

Mashable featured an interesting post on dealing with negative brand sentiment. Its author Maria Ogneva, Head of Community at Yammer, described negative online backlashers as ‘badvocates’, and also offered tips on how to best address their complaints, including:

1.)    Figure out the issue – what was their motivation?
2.)    Reach out – acknowledge their complaint.
3.)    Don’t let it stew – address conflict quickly.
4.)    Never make it personal – even if they make it personal.
5.)    Take action, close the loop – communicate to them the resolution.
6.)    Never lose your cool – choose your words wisely.

The Bottom Line

Change is inevitable, but maintaining a desirable user experience should be your number one priority.

Twitter gives us all a killer platform to network, research, promote and brand. We strive for and eventually build powerful, meaningful, like-minded communities. But sometimes it’s helpful to shake things up and tap into different industries and views to broaden our minds. Following is a list of 27 intriguing people who can tweet new perspectives into your world.

Editorial Director at Marvel.com and pop culture lover.
@Agent_M

Pianist and self-professed freak.
@amandapalmer

Witty New York Times writer discusses food, politics and more.
@bittman

Author of Social Media Is Bullshit.
@BJMendelson

Former drug addict, now a Cape Town Christian drug counselor.
@Brent007

Currently unemployed, but “winning.”
@charliesheen

New Yorker shares facts applicable to your daily life.
@DamnItsTrue

Women’s lifestyle coach, based in France.
@elegantfemme

Gay rights advocate, Broadway babe.
@frenchiedavis

Looney punk rocker and graphic designer.
@galwithdimples

Japanese thinker.
@hokutokonishi

Part-time porn star and social media consultant for the adult industry.
@KellyShibari

“Strange writer” for Wired. Expect strange tweets.
@loresjoberg

Blackbelt. Sicilian-Irish. State government reporter.
@MSpicuzzaWSJ

Comic and semi-TV star circulates funny and geeky thoughts.
@nerdist

Atheist asexual comedian.
@Paulapoundstone

Australian clinical psychologist.
@PeterBrownPsy

Forbes writer/dweeb offers tales from China.
@raykwong

Homeless in London.
@rbrtpttnsn

Actress, vegetarian and Jesus follower.
@ricaperalejo

Animated Rackspace employee has fetish for technology.
@Scobleizer

Sydney shopping shrink.
@shoppologist

British actor who “gets” social media.
@stephenfry

Conservative, Vietnam vet and poet.
@TaoMannaDon

The man behind TED. Spreader of ideas.
@TEDchris

Charismatic Member of Parliament, India.
@TheVijayMallya

They drink and tweet, so you don’t have to.
@TweetingTipsy

Who’s Missing?

Know of any unique people who can shake things up in Tweetersville? Plug them in the list below!

Interested in slightly less interesting people? Follow @Webcopyplus and @Opticon_.

Why would copywriters at Webcopyplus pay $4,000 for a digital photo that retails for about $10? Well, frankly, we screwed up. It’s an expensive lesson on copyright laws that we wish to share with other marketers, so you don’t make the same mistake.

Our web copywriters were under the impression that images on the Web without any copyright notices were “public domain” and therefore free to use. Naive? Yes. A notion limited to our copywriting firm? Definitely not. It likely has to do with the fact that works no longer need a copyright notice to have copyright protection (you can read about the Berne Convention Implementation Act, which the US adopted in 1988).

Designers, writers, developers, marketers, business owners, and ironically even photographers, use photos from the Web without permission. Sites like Google make it so convenient. Enter your keywords, do an image search, and you’ve got an endless photo library ripe for the picking. Woman laughing delivers 5.2 million photos. Business man offers 423 million photos. And the keyword kids brings up a whopping 778 million images. You can find pretty well anything, too, from ABBA to zombies.

The Copyright Crime

While we maintained an active stock photo account for our blog with access to an array of suitable photos, one of our copywriters grabbed a photo from the Web. The image: a colour 400 x 300 pixel beach shot with some greenery in the foreground. A nice shot, but nothing spectacular.

We posted it on a client’s tourism blog to add zest to a promotional article — done. Sip some caffeine, get a little Twitter action, and then dive into the next copywriting project. Photo forgotten. That was in May, 2010.

The Lawyer’s Letter

Fast forward a few months, we got a call from the client a couple of days before Christmas, and he wasn’t feeling overly festive. He received a formal letter from a lawyer with the following introduction: “Cease and desist demand and offer to settle copyright infringement claim, and digital millennium copyright act claim, subject to Rule 408, Federal Rules of Evidence.”

Apparently copyright infringement involving images that are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office allows for statutory damages of up to $30,000, or $150,000 if it can be demonstrated it was a willful act.

The Lawyer’s Demands:

1.    Immediately cease and desist all unlicensed uses of the image, and delete all copies from computers and digital storage devices.
2.    Remit almost $4,000 to his trust account.

The image was removed within minutes. Lengthy discussions ensued. Two days later, a letter of apology was emailed to the lawyer to advise the photo had been immediately removed, and to express regret for the “unintentional errant use” of the image.

The lawyer responded that while they appreciated our commitment to remove the image from the blog, “removal of the image from the website will not relieve you from liability for damages arising from your past infringing use of the image on your commercial website.” The letter also stated that any further attorneys’ fees and costs incurred to resolve the matter would be added to the settlement demand.

The Defendant’s Response

With some pro bono legal advice, a copy of the Certificate of Registration and the date that the image was first published was requested. While the letter contained all sorts of legal jargon, it failed to verify the image was copyright registered and that the lawyer’s client, a photographer, owned the rights to the image.

A few notes were exchanged, and by entering a registration number at the U.S. Copyright Office’s website (www.copyright.gov), we were able to confirm the image was copyright registered and the lawyer’s client was the rightful owner. Shortly after, we provided a counter offer of $1,925, which we figured would provide the photographer about $100 per month, and the lawyer three-hours’ pay at a lofty $400 per hour. We felt that was generous and more than fair to make this problem go away.

They declined, and due to the exchange of letters (while respectful in nature and completely reasonable, considering we were merely asking for registration and ownership proof), the lawyer slapped on an extra $2,500 in attorney fees, which he subsequently agreed to remove.

The Dilemma

Had the lawyer engaged Webcopyplus, in which case our client wouldn’t be caught in the middle, we would have had options: ignore the letter; say, “Go ahead, sue us”; or respond, “$1,925 is our final offer,” which there’s a chance they’d accept. We felt — and photographers we spoke to agreed — the proposed settlement amount was excessive.

In fact, you can find articles and discussions online on how lawyers around the globe are capitalizing in technologies and laws to bring in piles of claims for copyright infringement damages. For example, check out Copyright Lawsuits as a Business Model.

The Decision

While we considered the lawyer’s demands abusive, the fact remained that our client was trapped in the ordeal, and it was costing him time and causing him grief. Plus, he’d be the one to get subpoenaed. So we opted to settle for $4,000.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but we were the ones who messed up, and salvaging the client relationship was priority. Moreover, settling the matter would allow us to focus on writing copy to market and sell products and services, and build productive relationships, rather than deal with an aggressive lawyer.

Lesson Learned

As web copywriters, we work with dozens of web designers around the globe. Based on recent discussions, even after we shared our story, some continue to suggest copyright laws are blurry, and insist if you ever run into conflict and get a threatening letter, you can simply delete the image and toss the document in the trash (one designer even labeled it “delete and toss”).

While this might work with some individuals and organizations, particularly if they’re in a different province, state or country, which might make legal costs prohibitive, be aware: you could end up in a lengthy and costly court battle. For those who insist, “It won’t happen to me,” mind the fact that this beach photo was the only one we’ve ever grabbed from the Web for a client’s website. And it cost us almost $4,000. Consequently, we urge others to recognize and yield to a simple fact: If it’s on the Internet and others wrote or created it, do not use it without their permission.

As copywriters, we work with and rely on a range of creative types and specialists, including photographers. We didn’t mean any disregard for this profession and now have a greater awareness and appreciation for the fact that freely using photos from the Web diminishes a photographer’s income and livelihood. We apologize, and it won’t happen again.

Copyright Resources

We’re copywriters — not copyrighters — so this is meant to share our experience, not to provide formal legal advice. However, there’s a lot of useful copyright information on the Internet, which you can check out.

Fair Use — If you’re using copyrighted work for teaching or research, criticism or comment, or news reporting, it may be considered fair use.

Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 — The US adopted the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, an international agreement governing copyright that was initially established in Berne, Switzerland in 1886.

10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained — Techie and photographer Brad Templeton touches on common copyright myths.

Free and Commercial Stock Photography Sources

As part of our updated policies, our copywriters are required to only use stock photo websites in a bid to play by the rules, be fair to photographers, and keep lawyers out of the equation. Here’s a list of stock photo sources you might want to consider, where you can get photos starting at $1 per image:

• GettyImages
• iStock
• Pixmac*
• Stock.XCHNG

*For the record, the Pixmac link is an affiliate link (so we can recoup some of the settlement costs and support our caffeine addictions). It’s a relatively new company with 11 million images to choose from, at affordable prices.

Creative Commons

Some photographers let people share and use photographs under Creative Commons licenses, which is an alternative to full copyright (special thanks to Vancouver photographer Kris Krug, who brought this to our attention). You can find millions of Creative Commons photos at Flickr.

Update: Another good information source is the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

While Webcopyplus made a holiday donation to Kiva last Christmas, I opted to make a personal donation to the World’s Worst Website Foundation (a subsidiary of the Human Fund). With help from passionate supporters like you, we can raise awareness about common website wreckers and how best to avoid them.

Considering the awesome design options out there today, it’s alarming to know that people still make these mistakes.  Maybe they’re just too caught up in running their businesses to recognize their websites are in dire need of resuscitation, which is understandable, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help them!

I’ve decided to compile a list of bad web design victims I’ve encountered over the years, in hopes some of you design professionals out there will lend them a helping hand, and also to educate business owners on the benefits of consulting a professional.

1.) Ling’s Cars

In an effort to express her enthusiasm for selling luxury cars, Ling has gone a little too far with the flashing icons, talking heads, Nerf guns and Google spider food, resulting in a disconnect between her business and her clients, who probably enjoy the finer things more than neon paint splatters on their BMWs.

2.) Benson Packaging

While the intro to this packaging company’s website is entertaining in the way an epic war scene is entertaining, it’s unnecessary and does nothing to highlight why I should go to Benson for all my packaging needs. If I wanted to waste time, I’d rather watch the most boring cat video ever.

3.) Rent is Too Damn High

I’ll give Jimmy McMillan one thing – his viral videos are awesome, but unfortunately their genius is masked by a neon array of comedic fonts. Maybe you could help the guy out? He might even give you one of his awesome action figures!

4.) Breath Taker

This website presents a unique challenge: how do you improve the website of a web design company whose skills are in dire need of an update? Maybe what these guys need is a mentor to tell them that websites reminiscent of 80s hair band t-shirts will only appeal to a very small niche market.

5.) Cambie Plumbing and Heating

My heart truly goes out to this family business that’s been providing quality plumbing and heating services for Vancouver residents for a long damn time. Something tells me their expertise lies more in sump pumps and drain clogs than effective web marketing. Their site happens to be the work of the breathtaking web designers mentioned above, so if you’re feeling particularly generous, perhaps you could help two victims in need.

6.) Arctica Web

Here’s yet another example of the work of time traveling web designers. Is this merely an artifact of web designs of the past? Or are they still holding on for dear life in the fast-paced world of evolving design principles? One thing’s for sure – they need help.

7.) The World’s Worst Website

While on my quest to rescue hapless victims of bad design and content across the Web, I came across the bad website of all bad websites. This one acts as a lesson, however, illustrating a wide range of commonly made design mistakes, which would seem obvious to most, but apparently some people need to be reminded.

Making the Web a Better Place

If the above examples of web design tragedies have inspired you to fight the good fight — have a click and contact them. You’ll feel good about doing your part to make the Web a better place.

Until next time…

-Opticon

You’ve seen too many of the same “get more Twitter followers” schemes: pump and dump; get on popular lists; offer gifts; or even buy followers. Too much work, and never enough reward. Here are some creative ideas from our copywriters guaranteed to help you tap into some big accounts instantly!

1. Adopt Justin Bieber

Seems like a nice kid, with no signs of train-wrecking yet!

2. Hook Your Mom Up With Ashton Kutcher

Demi’s 15 years his elder.  Your mom does yoga, right?

3. Become Larry King’s 8th Wife

Just be careful if you have a sexy, blonde younger sister.

4. Craft a Meat Handbag for Lady Gaga

Accessorize her controversial meat outfit, and she might welcome you into her Haus.

5. Dress Jay Leno in a Skirt and Drop Him Off at an LA Prison

Conan would surely return the favour by giving you full access to his followers.

6. Move Fox News to the Cartoon Network

Obama would hand over the White House account, and maybe the VP position, too.

Did We Miss Any Get-Tweets-Quick Opportunities?

Share your ideas in the comments below!

On Saturday, Jan. 29, Sidetrek Productions presented a one-day conference in Vancouver on real world social media strategies and implementation. The speaker line-up included representatives from some of the biggest players in social media in Vancouver, the country and the world.

Following is our recap of the highlights.

Marty Yaskowitch, Managing Director for TribalDDB Canada

@martyyaskowich

‘The Most Powerful Strategy in Business Today’

Highlights:

• Your strategy need not be a social media strategy but an overall strategy that combines whatever channels can help you attain your business goals
• Compel people to share your story and give them the tools to do it, don’t just publish and broadcast your message — move them emotionally and then you can influence them to act: Engagement. Influence. Activation.
• Your number of fans or Twitter followers does not equal success if you are not activating those followers to do something
• The DDB Salty campaign for Knorr Sidekicks used video spots to get people emotionally connected to the out-of-work salt shaker (because Sidekicks now have less salt)
• Salty then appeared on Twitter, Facebook, and even Chat Roulette
• The videos got 375,000 views with $0 media spend and Sidekicks surpassed Uncle Ben’s as #1
• The tools don’t matter if you don’t have engagement
• Emotionally appealing ideas plus a media agnostic approach = engagement
• Increase your ‘Share Value’

Amielle Lake, CEO of Tagga Media Inc. (joined by Marketing Director Tiffany Chester)

@tagga

‘Integrating Social Media & Mobile Marketing’

Highlights:

• 72.5% of the world population is mobile
• Use mobile to make marketing campaigns more effective
• You can use mobile and social media to get people looking to spend money right now into your store
• For example, run a poll on your Facebook page, then get people to submit their phone number to receive a coupon by phone
• Text deals through SMS and include a link to your mobile site
• Go with a mobile site over an app because apps are more expensive to develop and usually don’t get used often unless you have very compelling content and ongoing engagement
• Sponsor popular apps instead
• People use their mobile phones to do two things: save time and kill time
• View their presentation on Slideshare

Rochelle Grayson, CEO of BookRiff Media Inc.

@RochelleGrayson

‘Show Me the Money! Rockin’ Social Media Business Models’

Highlights:

• How do you monetize your social media efforts? People will pay for things if they are compelled to do so
• Activation comes from: Convenience, comfort, self esteem, belonging, scarcity, health and wellbeing, success and status, entertainment, creative learning
• If you can tap into these feelings, people will pay for your service
• For example — the Starbucks mobile app makes it very convenient for you to come into their stores and spend money — find a location, choose your beverage and even pay with your phone!
• Or, people will pay for the comfort of removing ads from the service they’re using, which is where the concept of ‘freemium’ came from on sites like Spotify, and WordPress

Annalea Krebs, Founder and CEO of ethicalDeal.com

@AnnaleaKrebs

‘Best Practices for Social Commerce’

Highlights:

• Find a way to connect people with your cause in a meaningful way
• EthicalDeal used to be a directory of green businesses, but that wasn’t working, so they looked at the Groupon model and found that it would help them achieve their goal better — driving people to green businesses
• Integrate everything with the coupon emails — do a corresponding blog post to promote it
• Facebook pages that run contests often have more followers

Iman Biock Aghay, Founder of Vancouver Business Network and CEO of Success Road Enterprises

@ebizgrowth

‘How to Increase Your Sales Today with Facebook Advertising’

Highlights:

• Increase your sales with Facebook ads, which are very targeted and produce qualified leads
• A wedding photographer spent $600 on a Facebook ad campaign directed at engaged women aged 24-30, which resulted in $40,000 in sales!
• Ensure you use keywords like ‘wedding’ instead of ‘big day’, for example
• Connect either to your Facebook page with a coupon featured on it, or a landing page

Crystal Henrickson, Marketing Director of Yelp Canada

@yelpcanada

‘How to Engage Your Business Online’

Highlights:

• You can optimize your business profile on Yelp with a ton of free features
• Add a business description, photos, promotional offers, connect your manager’s Yelp profile
• Add a Yelp icon to your website to let people know you are on Yelp, rather than asking for reviews, which is not advised
• Recommend like-minded businesses
• Respond to comments and reviews privately or publicly

Elijah Van Der Giessen, Creative Services Lead for the David Suzuki Foundation

@elijah

‘Social Media Marketing for Change: How to grow a community and put them to work’

Highlights:

• Advocacy is a great way to build your email subscriber list
• DSF does it by creating petitions and asking petition participants who are already passionate about the cause to sign up to receive further communications
• Also, be shameless and relentless — ask people to share!
• Maximize the ways people can share your content — Facebook has been huge in that regard for DSF (‘like’ buttons and share buttons)
• Pay attention to data and monitor performance of multiple channels, see what works best
• Use social media in a support role — DSF is largely email-based but Facebook has brought a lot of traffic

Dave Olson, Marketing Director of HootSuite Media

@daveohoots

‘Creating a Sustainable Plan and Choosing the Right Social Media Tools’

Highlights:

• Social media concept is not new — CB radios could be compared to Chat Roulette, scrapbooks to Tumblr, telegrams to Twitter, etc.
• Listen — set up your dashboard to monitor all conversations about your company, learn what people are saying and how they are talking about your company and use their language to communicate with them
• Participate — reach out to critics, respond, monitor all mentions
• Ensure your story is compelling and interesting and give people the tools to share your story
• Go to where the people are and invite them to you, don’t just broadcast randomly
• Close the loop — when people create content about you, share it!
• MEASURE EVERYTHING!
• View his presentation on Slideshare

Attendees at the Social Media Unplugged conference also received a useful document for those looking to learn more about social media and its associated terms: Social Media From A to Z: A Glossary.

Photos from the event.

Did you get a chance to attend? What did you take away from the presentations?

By the way, if you’re interested in social media and design, check out How Is Social Media Affecting Web Design?.