We have a new website that we are really excited to launch and share with you.

Shuswap Network is a place where people from many communities in this area can communicate for personal and business, buy and sell things through a classifieds section and advertise there business in our business directory. We are essentially creating a one stop shop for all your basic needs to find out whats going on in the Shuswap and communicate with those in your community.

First off, we have developed a private social network catered just for those people who live in these following areas: Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Chase, Enderby, Sorrento, Scotch Creek, Blind Bay, Magna Bay, Canoe, Tappen-Sunnybrae, Turtle Valley, Notch Hill, Lee Creek, St. Ives, Celista, Anglemont, Eagle Bay, White Lake, Seymour Arm and Falkland. Whheeeewwwwhh. That’s alot. We don’t want to leave anyone out and we want everyone to have access to a single easy access and user friendly environment. Your information is securely stored and will never be sold to third parties. This is all about serving you and enhancing the communication in our communities. We want you to have fun, talk and even meet some new people. Don’t wait to read the newspaper to find out whats happening in your community, log in and see whats going on in real time.

Our business directory is unlike any other out there. We have these great feature pages with all kinds of great information about you and your business to let customers know what your all about. We list all your contact info., provide space for a profile pic., and have full bio. But the greatest thing in addition, is that you get all kinds of great keyword tags that will attract searches to your page so people can find you. If you don’t know what a keyword tag is, then don’t worry, we’ve got it all figured out and know which ones best suit each business. They are essentially highly descriptive words that best describe what your business offers and where you are located. We have a large portfolio of .com domains all directed to this site which also greatly enhances searches being directed to you and other businesses, so people can find what they really want. This site is geared for your customers looking for you. When we all help each other prosper we all win and that is what our goal is. We of course offer graphic design and website development as a complimentary service to those who need those services. For those not ready to jump into a full website, this is a perfect solution. Its a very budget conscious solution that is very effective. We want everyone to benefit from the internets powerful and useful capabilities.

Shuswap Network also features a classified ads section for all the areas listed above so you only have to look in one place to buy and sell. Who wants to fish through old newspapers and several of them at that, when you have the instant current access of our seemless clean classifieds.

Shuswap Network is one place where many will meet. Many can advertise. Many can come together and communicate. Together in one place we can build a better Shuswap. Come join us today on our social network and lets get to know each other.

With the recent unveiling of Apple’s iPad, there are many questions and many opportunities.

I wonder with its success how iPad will change web design? As a web designer in the Shuswap area, the change may not come as soon here as for bigger centres, but nontheless there may be some changes. The real interesting thing, is that the iPad can be rotated to landscape or portrait viewing to suit the customer. This is where the web design will come into play and changes may be made to accomodate this feature. Although iPad is not a true widescreen it still poses some interesting possibilities for web designers to incorporate features that wouldn’t have worked before.

At this point in time, whether you see it as good or bad, it seems that Safari is the only available operating system for the iPad. It seems natural for Apple to offer Safari, but I wonder how this may effect the masses. I don’t mind Safari, but I happen to use Firefox. As a web developer it would certainly narrow your cross browser usability for creating sites, but still need to think of those on other browsers on traditional laptops and desktops.

At this point, I would have to use the iPad a little to get used to the rotating usage to see more possibilities for creative design elements that would enhance the users experience. I am curious to know how many other web developers are taking a serious look at this opportunity or simply brush it off as an after thought.

This all relates of course the new industry of app creators that is more focused for the iPhone, but is now overlapping into the iPad. There may more and more of this sub-industry popping up as more and more opportunities come up. I wonder if the creation of apps will soon merge with web design as the devices become closer and closer. Apps generally are much simpler than websites and used for a different purpose.

I guess time will tell about the potential for web design concepts for iPad. One thing is for certain. The devices will continue to morph and get more powerful. Change will continue and jumping on this early to develop content for these new users could be lucrative.

Apple users will soon let us know.

Steve Jobs, and the crew from Apple Inc. have struck again. Wednesday they unveiled the new iPad to the world.
“There hasn’t been this much hype about a tablet since there were commandments written on one.” Wall Street Journal
This is a really exciting development from Apple to the whole tech industry. The iPad is a full touch screen device loaded with features to make your online experience much more enjoyable and user friendly. It has a 9.7 inch LED screen that is shaped like a letter which makes viewing magazines and photos ideal. The creation of iPad is ideal for these features because of it’s amazing ability to view things in portrait or landscape positions at will and can really enhance your internet viewing experience as you can view each website the way it was designed.
Netbook vs iPad. Don’t fool yourself or let anyone else fool you. There is no comparison. A netbook is simply a cheaper version of a laptop that does nothing better than a laptop or mobile phone. The iPad in contrast was specifically built in a 3rd category apart from phones and laptops with the requirement to do many things much better. One of the top functions was web browsing to be improved.
So what can this device do for you? The iPad comes with iTunes, iBook, Safari, lots of apps from the iPhone and many other features from iLife. Having iTunes on a device like this is really cool and will be a real sales drive because through your iTunes account you can buy music, tv shows, movies and podcasts. With the 9.7 inch LED screen it will be much more enjoyable to watch movies and shows compared to its kin of iPods and the iPhone.
What I really love about this device is its great potential and simplicity. I believe this will truly change the industry and our lives the way the iPhone changed the mobile market. Having just a single screen to touch and navigate how you please will be a dream to use. With thousands of lines of sensitivity points, this makes for the most accurate touch screen device available. Just think about the next time your in an airport waiting several hours for your connection flight and need to kill some time. I see this a potential powerhouse for airline use and airport use with so many activities and games to be taken advantage of. Not only can you watch movies, listen to music and surf the web, but you could read books, magazines and newspapers. If only it could make us lunch or dinner, then we could completely bypass those outrageous airport food prices and have everything literally in our lap. Remember minivans before DVD players and the small fold down screens, many parents probably do, and they won’t go back. Now you can have a device that does much more than that.
How will this impact laptops and phones? I don’t see this effecting mobile phones really at all. These tools are designed for much different tasks and have varied  sizes. I see a solid future for the iPhone with no interference. Laptops are another story. At the present time, iPad won’t have the computing power to compete with most laptops, but I see this as an open door to what laptops will eventually become. The only challenge is its virtual keyboard and learning to use it with intensive tasks. Apple already thought of that by offering you a minimilist keyboard to work with as an optional accessory.
Going back to some of the features the iPad offers is one you probably never heard of, iBook. Well neither have I, but it doesn’t diminish its value or importance. In fact, I would say right now Amazon is shaking in its boots over the future of their own version released a few years ago. Kindle. The Kindle was a remarkable reading device that became so successful and revolutionary that it was featured on Oprah with CEO Jeff Bezos to tell the world all about it and Oprah seemed just awe struck by it. The Kindle continues to be successful with the backing of its own base network of Amazon where you can purchase the books to go on your device. They were pretty much the only game in town, but not any more. Now the iPad has landed and with many other features offered and a sharp LED screen Kindle may get a real run for its money. And not only books, but you will be able to read your favourite newspaper and magazines too. It will be interesting to follow the two and see what unfolds.
There is a huge market called the tween and teen market, our youth of today that have incredible influence and buying power. This is a substantial market to some and  is the biggest in the world. With disposable income and unyielding wants that are easily marketed to their adolescent sense of desire, devices like the iPad can really take off. The massively driven gaming market appeals to my own generation Y that grew up with the some of the very first in home video games. Every kid and young adult seems completely infatuated with the iPhone now and there seems to be two groups. Those who have it and those who wish they did. And before that the iPod seemed a little weird but it is now everywhere you turn. It is simply an icon of personal devices for entertainment and expression. I see the iPad becoming a similar phenom. Although its use right now may not be as vital as your phone or the need to listen to the latest radio hit, the iPad will have a massive following that will drive mobile use for business and personal use in it’s maturity. You have the capability of playing video games, listening to music, watching movies, tv shows and podcasts, surfing the web and sending emails. Its just about the complete package for what you really could want or need. Some may say its size could be larger and some may say its too large for everyday use to lug around. I think its an ideal size and because its so thin, it won’t be a second thought to carry around.
A new gold rush? Apple has stated that the iPad at this point has access to a mere (makes me laugh) 140,000 apps built for the iPhone with more coming soon. It is apparent that as sales begin and users become more familiar with the device that apps designed specifically for it will start flooding in. For app developers this could be a real gold rush of an opportunity to cash in on user feedback and ideas that could improve the iPad’s use. The iPhone has already created some overnight success stories that will surely overflow into this new market.
Picture this! That last digital picture frame you bought that was 6″ and cost far too much, but you had to have it. Well, I see iPad changing this market as well. Yes, it’s more expensive than a digital picture frame but it also does so much more! It isn’t just something pretty to look at.  This device can really compete against products that have one sole purpose in their life and do it quite well. But what happens when the new kid in town does your job much better, looks better and can do several other devices jobs much better too. Now that’s commercial envy my friends. This beauty comes with its own stand base so you can view it as portrait or landscape. Display your latest family photos or vacation videos for guests in your home with a crisp sharp LED screen with brilliant colours. But wait, there’s more, after you view some photos and videos, you put on some dinner music and create a sumptuous mood. Well thats pretty handy. Perhaps a digital fire place?
So here’s the low down on your new friend. The iPad is 9.5″ x 7.5″ and weighs 1.5lbs. It comes with 16, 32 or 64 GB flash storage as Wi-Fi or 3G Wi-Fi. Its super thin 0.5″ depth powers up to a 7.2 Mbps data transfer rate. The 9.7″ diagonal screen size has a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution run by a 1 Ghz A4 processor. With built-in speakers, microphone and headphone jack you can really use this device for many tasks complimented with an amazing 10 hour battery life.
There is so much to the iPad with opportunities abound for its future. I can’t help it. iLike the iPad.
I plan to invest in one so that I can develop websites that look great on this fantastic wave of the future, and have a great mobile internet device.
When you are ready to build a website call me and we can make a plan for your blog or website to look and work like a splash!

Do you have troubles communicating with others? How about a FREE solution that’s easy to use?

There is a great new tool to communicate with friends or business associates or whom ever.

Jing is the new great thing that helps you do just this. For businesses like ours where we are constantly discussing changes to website design or other graphic design, this tool is a great way for both customer and business to communicate their ideas very accurately. You can create screen captures or record your screen for up to 5 minutes with audio so you can go through files and discuss options and point out things that you like, dislike or otherwise want to comment about. Techsmith is the lovely company that created this software for us, that allows us to share these files on the web, through email and IM. There are versions for both MAC and PC users.

For the business community especially this can be a real time saver, when different associates may be in different offices in different locations and need to discuss and show project progress and share ideas. Dezifi Media is currently offering this service to talk and share ideas with customers. To us, this is part of a business model that can save our customers money, by spending less time discussing and re-communicating ideas and suggestions that get mixed up. That is what we are striving for, more efficiency and happier customers with value added services that save them money.

Try it out. Have some fun. Jing is the new thing that you really should try out.

It may just add some ching, ching to your businesses bank account.

Have you ever dialed your phone to call your radio?

Hard it would be. The difference between an email account and an auto repsonder is communication pathways.

An email account is like a telephone. You can pick it up, dial and talk to the other person on the other end and have a conversation. Some email accounts are free and some are not.

An auto responder account is more like a radio station. YOU broadcast your message and people receive it on their radio. They choose to tune into your “autoresponder” station (by an optn form on your website).  They can choose to change the channel (opt-out)  depending on their tuner (personal email account) they may never even receive your broadcast.

There are many types of auto responder services and so far we have found that Icontact is the best one so far! (create link to our affiliatel account).. From many guru’s I have been watching and on their news letter lists I have found that 72% of the emails I receive are from Icontact.

Choosing who you use to create an auto responder also counts. It isn’t just sending out an email it also is the crafted words you choose if they sound spamish that will get you tossed.

Creating an email sequence is a fine art. Deliver quality content that is meant to influence educate and share.

If you would like guidance and help with your auto responder account let us know and we will guide you in the right direction.

Have you ever driven down the highway and noticed a sign on the side of the road that caught your eye, and as you speed you take a glance at it?

The words or image probably jumped out at you. The same way words jump out at you in a magazine or newspaper. Their is a certain amount of psychology that is developed into that message.

One really strong part is those big words or letters that you see. what is it that catches your eye. And more importantly, when you speed by at 100 mph did you get to read those words? Using typography in the correct way and understanding how people see can really help your business. I have seen so many times, small businesses using tiny hard to read signs on the side of a highway that you just can’t read. It really works in a simple equation of your audiences speed and other distractions as the pass by your sign to the relativity of its size. You will notice large companies have huge signs along the highway with very easy and short messages and a simple image to draw your attention. This is a matter of necessity to have a huge basic message sign, because no one has the time or attention span to remember two paragraphs or information written in 20 pt letter size.

If you can’t afford that huge billboard along the highway, then don’t even waste your time putting up a sign. If you want to test your sign, get someone who has never seen your sign or is unfamiliar with your business and drive them by your sign and get them to read the sign back to you. Get as much info back that you can that they were able to get from the sign as you drive by. You may quickly realize how ineffective that sign is. My best advice is, look at what the large corporations and bigger companies in your city or town are doing and do your best to use their techniques. There is a lot to learn from simply looking and analyzing. Large signs at the side of the highway are also alot higher than you may realize as well. If you have ever walked up to a roadside billboard you will see how high they are off the ground. This is a matter of simple geometry. The farther away something is for you to read, the higher and larger it has to be.

This is also a classic mistake people make when creating Garage Sale signs. Even when you are driving a mere 30-40km/h the majority of signs I have seen are written far too small, with far too much information and are far too low to the ground. I would literally have to stop my car, get out and walk directly up to these signs to read the address and the list of items being sold. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Your simple solution is to make your stake two to three times taller and post your sign as high up on it as possible with one word “SALE” with an arrow to the next street intersection that then points to the next intersection. Keep repeating until its your street. You can have your address on their as well, but remember, less is more and large and ledgible will get you results.

Heres some quick tips for all signage: Use large readable text, use a basic message with not too much writing, use clean appropriate graphics, make the sign large enough for the appropriate space and user to read easily and quickly and have a good contrast in your colours or greyscale ad. You also need to have a call to action for your audience so they know what to do and how to do it. After all, this is why you are showing your message.

One last thought. Be creative and have fun with your signs, your audience will appreciate it.

Sometimes writing is like walking against the crowd. Difficult and challenging and you better know where you are going because it can be easier to follow the crowd than go in your own direction.

The best place to start is with the things that you know. As a designer I have a deep interest in what is “in” for fashion when it comes to the look of a site. Fashion and design are wonderful  and can wow people BUT just like fashion some people feel that leg warmers are excellent and others may find them ridiculous but a great pair of jeans everyone can appreciate.

A blog or website should reflect the personality of your business BUT and this is a biggy: a writer downer, you must also think of who will be reading your blog and going to your website. The people on the other side of your connection are just as important. If you have colors that are jabbing you in the eye like a ice pick or a layout that is complicated and is hard to navigate this will repel people off your site as fast as jumping off a cliff with one click decision. BYE BYE. Did you know that the average time spent on a good website is: .. 56 seconds… if your lucky.

What bring people back is helpful content, easy on the eye design, and fast loading pages. Need ideas about what to write about? I can help you by asking you the same questions your customers would ask. Answer these questions and you now have the foundation to start your blog.

Call me now 250-253-2491

Colin the Design Rock Czar

Alright!

So you’re gonna jump in and get a name (commonly known as url or domain name)  for yourself.

Ok. How to explain value. Imagine the big guys what do you think they would purchase?  Coke? McDonalds? Facebook? Twitter? Youtube? DING DING! That’s right! They would buy all the ones with their names in them. Well how can you afford that? Plus all the misspellings? Plus keywords? What if they are gone?

So many to choose from. .ca .com .net .org .mobi .me .us .whichone? Try everything in your power to get a .com at the end of your name first and foremost. I know I know, you may ask why…

I want you to type in at the top of the tool bar : Coke (no extention), Twitter (no extention) Youtube (no extention). Press enter. What did you discover?

The toolbar automatically adds .com to the name. Automatically? Automatically! Wow Hey? This is the biggest reason why you want .com FIRST before any other extension.

If you are looking to build a website and need a shuswapbusinessname.com let us know. We have many for sale or for rent for your business.

Call me now 250-253-2491

Colin the Design Rock Czar

Good Morning Shuswap People!

Why in the world would you hire a graphic designer? Ah, you have the Microsoft publisher and hey they have some funky things that you could use for a logo. Send it off to the printer and viola your in business.

Did you get your business cards back?… and your disappointed?  It was the printers fault, they didn’t get your file right.

The funny thing is.. It is no-one fault and everyone’s fault. Education is the key in this.

Did you know that .jpg are files that are comprised of pixels, which makes it a rasterized image. Rasterized images are defined by a grid of pixels containing many different colors to give you your image. These squares of colour are fixed, and when an image is resized the squares stretch to the new size.  A common problem is enlarging images to fit a need and having a seemingly good look on screen. Don’t be fooled, what you see on screen and what is a reality to be printed are two very different things. This has a direct relation to the resolution of your image, much like a tv. If you watch an old tv with regular cable you notice a massive difference compared to an HD movie on your HD tv. That’s because your HD tv has a much finer grid with more lines of colour, therefore giving very clean and smooth images on screen. This is the same with a high resolution image compared to your low res image.

If you have ever noticed an ad in a magazine or newspaper that has these jagged edges and just looks bad, it doesn’t look very professional and represents that identity in a negative way. Nobody really wants that and it is easily avoidable.

So now what? What fixes this?

Having your graphics created in the correct file format at the right size and resolution. Keeping the end goal in mind allows for proper translation between the printer and the graphic to be printed. The same goes for the translation between French and English.  Read a package that has instructions on it. I will guarantee that there are many words that are the same in each sentence BUT they are not in the same place and some are substituted for different words.

Most people think that what I see on my computer should print the same. This is the same as if you spoke to someone who only understands French and you tell them how bake a cake in English. They may get some of the directions but not exactly and both of you would be disappointed with the result. They key is having someone who understands both languages and can communicate between the French and English person to relay the actual message correctly.

This same process applies to printing business cards or even what your monitor projects. The difference is having someone who understands hexadecimal codes and RGB , size of graphic to be printed, registration and crop marks etc. A graphic artist can understand what the customer wants as a representation of themselves and produce it on paper. This is where the art lies. The understanding of the customer who speaks one language and to communicate to the printer by having a clear expression of the medium.

Hire a graphic designer to interpret your language so that other people can understand the message of your business.

Call me now 250-253-2491

Colin the Design Rock Czar

I was reading a book last night about marketing. The author David Garfinkle indicated there are two known types of marketing ideals. Direct Marketing and Branding. He feels that if you can tap into the unknown third this is where you will fly with your business.

Direct Response Branding.

This is another showdown in the wild wild web. This one is about marketing philosophies. Many people put them selves into one type or marketing machine and stay with it. Sometime spreading the love is the way to go. Yes it is imparitive to remain focused but focusing on marketing and finding what works for you IS the focus.

Direct marketing sends its messages directly to consumers.

Think fliers, email or telemarketers. This form is  looked down upon because some people feel that it leans toward pushiness. The funny thing is this type of marketing works. The flyers you get in the mail sent directly to the you does work otherwise Wal-mart wouldn’t be spending money on it.

Branding is a symbolic representation of a business.

Coke – Immediately comes to mind. Branding is advertising a symbol that is consistently recognizable that creates a feeling with the consumer so that they identify with the product. People don’t spend lots of money on unknown pair of stretchy blue jeans unless somehow their is emotion attached to them. Example: Oprah promoted a pair of unknown Diva Jeans.Guess what?!!  That they sold out over the entire country because Oprah has created a brand of herself and people believe in her because she strives to tell the truth and anything she puts her name on sells.

Direct Response Branding is a new concept

According to Ben Mack: Branding is the relationship a company has with its customers that determines how likely it is that the customers will buy from the company again. Creating the foundation of a brand then develops a relationship that translates well into direct marketing fusing together the ideals of both. Cake and eat it too!

How to make these two marketing systems work together. Keep these goals in mind:

1. Encourage your customer to make a purchase through you regularly
2. Express your uniqueness of your business by directly communicating to your customers

According to David Garfinkle these are the three top questions you should ask yourself when you review your marketing practices

• Does it communicate a core-identity that fairly represents you and that your customers find magnetically appealing?
• Are the benefits of your business unique and compelling and evident to your customers?
• Does each marketing message make a simple, obvious invitation to your current and future customers to take action that will lead to doing business with you?

If you answered no to anyone of these questions…

Call me now 250-253-2491

Colin the Design Rock Czar

…out to rock the Shuswap in British Columbia