Social media empowers consumers to be recognized by marketers as human again, their voices amplified through an expanding array of platforms in the transparent online marketplace.  Businesses are learning the value of this increasing amount of unsolicited market data, as well as the power of engaging their customers in conversation.  As a result, products and services are being tailored to customers more efficiently, and businesses are able to respond quicker to issues and concerns.

How are these changes affecting web design?  In order to fully leverage the benefits of this new relationship between business and consumer, websites must be designed with and for the ‘social Web’, affecting aesthetics, functionality, and the development process itself.

Continue reading →

Greetings, good Internet people! I’m Opticon’s sidekick, The Deleter. I specialize in exterminating spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors with a vengeance!

I wasn’t the most popular guy in school, but rest assured all those years spent studying proper language use instead of frivolous things like ‘sports’ and ‘dating’ have really paid off! Now, I’m an esteemed Internet superhero who helps well-meaning folks like you break bad language habits so you can confidently deliver your message to the masses without error or embarrassment.

Over my years of scouring the Internet for traces of technical violations I’ve noticed that some similar sounding words confuse many of you, and I’m here to get rid of this confusion once and for all.

Here’s my list of commonly confused words and their proper, and improper, uses.

Continue reading →

There’s a prolific villain on the loose that must be stopped.  It’s a complex shape shifter and not easy to track to the untrained eye.  The villain, my good people of the Internet, is bad web copy, and it’s infecting the Web, leaving traces on websites, blogs, social networks — everywhere! Your website may have already been infected, and the damage immeasurable.

Continue reading →

You’ve got Microsoft Word, a good handle on the English language, and know your business intimately. So when it comes to writing your web content, why would you spend money on a copywriter?

Following are six things you might consider when it comes to writing your web content, or any other sales and marketing copy.

Continue reading →

A great press release can go along way in terms of gaining virtually free publicity for your business, especially in an increasingly digital media environment. Learning to combine old tricks and new in your press release composition and distribution can help you leverage the power of both traditional media outlets, such as newspapers and magazines, and newer ones, such as blogs and social media networks, to get your message to your markets.

Continue reading →

Award-winning designer Gonzalo Alatorre, speaking at a TED conference in Mexico last month, suggested design needs to be like a quesadilla. Where was the Founder and Principal of Creative Engine, and designer of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics logo going with this? We spoke to the Alatorre to uncover his motivation for making such a seemingly bizarre claim.

Continue reading →