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RavenWood Creative Published in the Library of Congress

April 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Yes, with the acquisition of the Twitter archives by The Library of Congress, where every public tweet ever “SENT” is now archived with the Library, everyone who uses Twitter publicly is now published in the Library of Congress’ vast archives. So such great tweets from @TimErnst and @RavenWoodCreate as the following:

@TimErnst Lots of little projects filling my day, today. But’s it’s these types of days that keep me busy and projects moving. Bouncing 1 to another.

Or my personal favorite, my first tweet: @TimErnst blogging and surfing the web

Or @RavenWoodCreate Just completed the 2009 State of the Market Report for a client, just under 700 pages of Adobe InDesign Layout and… http://bit.ly/djE9Jj

… are all now a part of American history.

As you can see its stunning insights into the human condition that I’m contributing on Twitter. But it is interesting and historic that the LoC has deemed this relatively new form of communication (started in 2006) worthy of archiving. Our President used it to thank supporters when he was elected, and the Miracle on the Hudson was broadcast first on Twitter by rescuers and folks standing on the wings in the chilly river. So it looks like Twitter will be around for a while and it’s archives even longer. Can you imagine a student researching our history in years to come trying to write a report citing their facts in 140 character snippets?

Until next time, Tim

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What would we do without “OK”?

March 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

This week back in 1839, the Boston Morning Post first published the initials “O.K.”

Can you imagine living in a time before “Okay” or “OK” was in the language? If someone tripped and fell in front of you before 1839, I guess you asked if they were “adequate” or “peachy keen.” It’s very odd how language has evolved. It seems OK was an abbreviation for “oll correct” and popular slang term of the time that was a misspelling of “all correct.” It seems it was a hobby at the time for young people of the time to take words, misspell them and use them as slang when conversing. I’m sure glad that hobby never caught on, d’you? Dag – that’s the bomb!

What are your favorite slang terms, and is technology and its omnipresence in today’s society influencing our language in a bad way?

Let me know, a’right. Until next time, Tim

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Marketing – Try Something Unusual

March 19, 2010 By 2 Comments

I was recently at a business card exchange. When I entered I was greeted by Wendy Klinghoffer, Executive Director of the Eastern Montgomery Chamber of Commerce (EMCCC). As we were talking Wendy asked me “Do you remember when you first joined the chamber and we asked you to bring items to our luncheon to promote your business?” I answered that I did. “I remember you brought little packets of purple M&M’s, I thought that was so clever and unique,” explained Wendy. “And they were delicious, they gave me a real pick-me-up.”

Isn’t that what you want from your marketing – clever and unique impressions of your business no matter what it is you do. Just ask Seth Godin, about his Meatball Sundae, it works. I remember fondly purchasing the purple (purple and khacki are RWC’s corporate colors) “designer colored” M&Ms, making up the little packets and printing out the complimentary tags with my contact information. Here was someone remembering me and my business several years later for my purple M&M’s. Don’t be afraid to be unique and try something different for your marketing. Need advice, contact me and we can discuss it, and maybe we can enjoy some M&Ms.

What unusual marketing have you done? What are your corporate colors, or do you have corporate colors? Let me know. Until next time, Tim

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Top 5 WordPress Features Customers Are Asking For

March 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Within the last six months, my graphic and web design business has seen a shift. WordPress-powered sites are becoming quite popular with my clients. And who can blame them? The features a blog-based site gives them outstrips old, static websites. Also I’m finding this powerful content management system has something to offer everyone.

Here are my Top 5 Features Customers are asking for with WordPress.

1. Control Over Their Content

When I visit with a new client. I can tell you the first topic they bring up. It goes something like this, “I have this website, [insert name of young relative, inexpensive web design co. found in yellow pages, or themselves] designed it. It’s okay, but I can’t update it, and when I want to it takes days to update it.” Sound familiar? It’s a refrain I hear from clients all the time. WordPress solves this by putting the control over content back in the proper place, the site’s owner. With the user-friendly dashboard interface, I can train most people on how to update their site once it’s set up and customized in a matter of hours. Want to update your site? Take your pick of pages, posts or widgets and you’re ready to go. Clients love that they can ask for a certain look and feel to their site with WordPress and then it can be turned back over to them to expand and develop their site and online brand the way they want.

2. Tie Social Networks into My Site

Many of my customers are dipping their toes in the social networks or they have dived themselves and their company whole-heartedly into social marketing. A blog-based site helps you wherever you stand or “swim.” With the thousands of plugins available for WordPress and the ease of which sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn make it to cross-reference and cross-populate your social networks, the hours spent tweeting about your latest project or the comments you’ve gotten on your work on Facebook can all be featured on your homepage. With automated features such as tweeting your latest blog post, making social media marketing a part of your marketing mix, a WordPress blog becomes very attractive.

3. I want easy-breezy, lemon-squeezy ways to upload photos and video

By giving my clients some training on WordPress, I find they pick up rather quickly on how to upload and feature their photos and videos in WordPress and, more importantly, on their website. I have a real estate firm, Dan Helwig, Inc. Realtors that is using WordPress to feature the properties the want customers to know about. They upload hundreds of image every year and WordPress helps them feature all of them and a few “special” properties on their homepage. WordPress makes it easy.

4. Migrate my old content to my new blog

Another client of mine, Environmental & Engineering Solutions, Inc. recently added a WordPress blog to it’s site. By doing so, they were able to eliminate the older model of creating a subscriber-only area on their site for newsletters and information. By migrating all of this past content over to the blog, we were able to quickly add existing content to the blog (enhance SEO) and organize the content chronologically to offer EES clients a searchable, tagged database of all its past articles, related websites and commentary on environmental engineering issues. The subscriber model has changed a bit, rather than supplying an email to access the information, a customer can now subscribe to the blog’s feed and be updated automatically when EES posts something new. It greatly simplifies the site for the user, enables them to find what the want when they want it, and keeps EES in the front of their mind for future projects.

5. I need to organize my site

Another way WordPress helps is by organizing content in a fashion most people can understand. With Categories, Pages, Posts and Widgets, I haven’t found a business or organization yet that can’t benefit from organizing their content in this fashion. I find it particularly powerful for non-profit organizations that have upcoming events and updates for members to be able to post the latest information for its members and the public. Two recent examples I’ve worked on are MidAtlantic Tax Solutions, Inc., a firm that helps homeowners reduce their property taxes and Flourtown Fire Company, both are enjoying new WordPress-based sites. MidAtlantic is enjoying the fact that update no longer take hours to complete and are excited by the ability to expand the site along with the business. Flourtown Fire Company, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization also is enjoying being able to update the site soon after responding to an incident, but also the ability for multiple members to update the site and feature upcoming events. The various areas of the company from Ladies Auxiliary, to officers and its rich 100-year history all have a place on the site and can easily cross-reference with one another through tags and categories.

As you can see I’m a big fan of WordPress and have been finding it answers the needs of my customers. What are your thoughts on WordPress and what are your favorite features? Let me know below. Until next time, Tim

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What’s your Font Type? Revealing Your Personality Through Your Choices

February 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wow, in the 542 years since Johannes Gutenberg’s death (1398 – 1468), the world of fonts has certainly come a long way from the Gothic styles and primitive fonts of his era.

Now with blogs and the ever-changing web fonts have become more and more expressions of one’s personality, corporations use fonts to aid in branding themselves. Coca Cola has made its font into an extension of its brand, and corporations are starting to move away from the old-stand-bys of Helvetica and Times New Roman. Here are 30 fonts that might work for your company or project. RavenWood Creative uses Eurostile extensively in its marketing materials, invoices, and proposals to put forth the clean, modern and sleek appeal of the design firm. Does it work? I think so, the font inspires me to be clean and organized in my work, something I think my clients appreciate.

But I might want to rethink my font choice… I recently discovered through Twitter, it’s amazing all the stuff you discover by following others, the following link -

http://ow.ly/16pWX

It’s for a blog from Extensis, a software company, and where typematching meets matchmaking. It’s a fun site, check it out and see what font you are. I’m a Stencil in the typecaster, but I think I’ll stick with Eurostile!

Typecast Yourself!

Until next time, Tim

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Logos created by RavenWood Creative Adorn Fire Apparatus

January 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m so proud. As a member of Flourtown Fire Company, I was asked to develop a logo for the 100th Anniversary of the company. They wanted something that fondly incorporated its proud history of serving the community of Springfield Township, Montgomery County, PA, but also looked to the future for the company. The logo combines a Maltese cross, common in the fire service, with a traditional ribbon treatment from the past with the theme of the anniversary “A Century of Service.” I updated the Maltese cross to include a modern hydraulic rescue tool on one side with the traditional, ladder, hydrant, and hook on the other. The center field includes a flame motif, adopted by the company many years ago with a super-imposed “6″ in transparent smoke color over top.

The logo also features a ribbon of gold, reminiscent of the gold leafing found on the trucks. The years of the anniversary 1910 and 2010 surround the traditional logo of the company a script “FFCo”, which took many hours in Illustrator to mimic as it’s only painted on the sides of the apparatus and any printed versions didn’t have the detail I was looking for. The logo was printed by Pierce Apparatus Manufacturers on reflective decal backing and sliced preciously to fit on the roll up doors on the rear of Ladder 6, Engine 6 and Squad 6 all of which are housed at Flourtown Fire Company, 1526 Bethlehem Pike.

Let me know what you think.

Tim

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Happy Birthday Edgar! Here’s to an Original…

January 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Edgar Allan Poe would be 201 today. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Every man is born an original, but sadly, most men die copies.” Lincoln who would come to national prominence after Poe’s death, surely was familiar with Poe’s works. Poe was an original. Although many critics of his time, i.e. Rev. Rufus Griswold, thought him to be an odd and overly analytical literature critic. Griswold who met Poe in 1841, thought they shared a love of literature, but that’s about all they shared. Griswold thought befriending Poe would help his own writing career. Until later in 1841, when Poe wrote his first criticism of Griswold’s work in “Autobiography” – the friendship was over.

In this day of citizen journalism, with blogs, you tube, and all the other social media available, I find it hard to find an original. It’s just so easy to just retweet, cut and paste and just create a copy of others works. I wonder what Edgar would think of all this instantaneous media and news? Would the Griswold vs. Poe feud take place on Twitter? Would their “personal brands” be damaged by being thrown under the bus by one another on TMZ?

The two men would continue to criticize each others work. Phrases such as “hack”, “outrageous humbug” and “lacks independence, or judgment or both” were traded between them and in letters to friends. Griswold would hold the grunge beyond Poe’s death. Griswold’s obituary of Poe would become infamous, as the fans of the first detective novel and the master of the macabre, would forever color Griswold as the villain.

Do you have someone in your life that you’re cordial to in public, but behind their back you slight and criticize? How has society and the implementation of so much technology changed the way people criticize one another?

Until next time, Tim

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Marco … Polo and Lessons He Left for Us Today

January 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Marco Polo

On this day back in 1324, Marco Polo died. I remember as a child, The Travels of Marco Polo, was one of the first books I signed out of the library. I remember sitting on the steps of my house reading the book cover to cover. The stories of the explorer venturing out of Venice and traveling to China fascinated me. But did you know, Marco Polo didn’t write his own story. As the story goes, after traveling throughout Asia for 24 years (after his Father and Uncle traveled there), and naming all the kingdom he found in the time of Kublai Khan – Polo returned home and the Genoese captured him as a prisoner of war as they fought with Venice. It was while he was imprisoned that he related his story to a fellow prisoner, who wrote it down. The ghost writer, rumored to be, Rustichello of Pisa, was for the most part lost to history but the tales of Polo’s adventures lived on. The book became a top seller in medieval Europe.

But you’re probably wondering why I’m writing about Marco Polo, who has been for the most part relegated to a summertime swimming game and the history books, on a blog that for the most part deals with design, marketing and communication. The lessons of Marco Polo for the modern world:

1) If you have a story to tell … but feel you can’t do it justice, find someone who can, and let them tell it. But do share your story, as it may inspire others, like a young boy in the suburbs of Philadelphia to one day venture out on his own and tell his story.

2) Go outside your comfort zone, as Marco Polo did leaving his native Italy to visit with cultures and people that surely shocked him.

3) Be a student of life and the people within it. Just as Polo studied Khan’s empire and became a trusted advisor to him, being able to speak four languages and teller of tales he engaged this foreign audience in China who was as curious to learn from him as he was to learn from them.

4) Take risks, venturing down the Silk Road was a bold move at the time, putting his life on the line with bandits and warlords was to be admired.

5) Stick you your guns, when The Travels of Marco Polo was released, most in Europe thought it to be a book of lies. Polo died being considered a creator of fairy tales more than an explorer, but Polo remained firm his stories of his travels were true. Many think that Polo and others embellished their stories to sell more copies, which is probably true.

6) Network, Marco Polo supposedly was given a golden tablet from Khan himself that let him travel freely throughout Asia and warded off bandits. So it goes to show you even in the 1200s it was who you knew that had a powerful impact on your life.

So let me know your thoughts on the Marco Polo lessons for the modern world. What book do you remember reading as a child? Does a story that entertains us and takes us to another world need to be entirely factual, or is it the fact that Polo promoted it as such, that turned his audience against him, (i.e. Oprah and James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces)?

Until next time, Tim

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In Tribute to Edgar Allan Poe

October 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Poe_TombstoneThis past weekend, my wife and I attended the funeral of Edgar Allan Poe, the poet, writer and man about town in Baltimore, MD. The burial event was part of the bicentennial celebration of Poe’s birth in 1809. We made a weekend of it and on Saturday visited the Poe House and Museum in one of Baltimore’s “finer” neighborhoods. The tiny house has just enough articles and mementos to keep a Poe fan, like me, satisfied. We had the added bonus of being able to “visit” Mr. Poe’s body. It was actually the special effects creation produced for the next day’s funeral, but it was very “death-like” corpse and eerie being in the home Poe lived in for a short time, looking at his coffin, his stillness, on the second floor parlor of the home.

The next day, we gathered with several hundred other people to witness the procession and funeral service that Poe never had as only a handful of people reportedly attended his funeral in 1849. The crowd spanned the generations and was complete with folks in true Victorian garb to people in what they think is Victorian attire, to people like my wife and I who thought a Poe T-shirt from the Annabel Lee Tavern was appropriate to honor the poet. We all started snapping photos as the horse-drawn casket escorted by the police and the Loch Raven Pipe and Drum Band along with actors portraying Poe’s contemporaries and other famous authors influenced by Poe lead his casket into Westminster Hall where Poe is buried on the corner of Fayette and Greene Streets.Poe_Memorial

Just prior to the arrival of Poe’s body and procession, I was interviewed by Bob Little of the Baltimore Sun for the article he wrote about the reburial. We were interrupted by security Westminster Hall who asked to leave the cemetery as the 12:30 ticket holders proceeded inside. His article captured the atmosphere well, the odd gathering of fans and “sad occasion,” as described by Jeff Jerome.

Poe_hearseWhat I found was the reburial was more of a celebration of Poe’s short life and his work and his genius. The crowd laughed, it pondered Poe’s influence and was entertained by the actors who portrayed the following figures and eulogized Poe:

Sarah Helen Whitman – Poe wrote several poems about her

The Rev. Rufus Griswold – A contemporary of Poe’s who defamed him after his death, he was hissed by the crowd as he railed against Poe’s literary criticism skills.

Nathaniel P. Willis

George Lippard

Dr. John Moran – who attended to Poe in his final days.

Marie Louise Shew

H.B. Latrobe – The editor of the magazine who awarded Poe $50.00 for his story MS. found in a Bottle.

Walt Whitman

Charles Baudelaire

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

H.P. Lovecraft

Sir Alfred Hitchcock

The living:

Ellen Datlow, award winning author and editor

Gris Grimly, artist and graphic novelist

Mark Redfield

Poe_john_askinJohn Astin – emceed the proceedings, the actor who for years has portrayed Poe in a one-man show. Well-known to the world as Gomez Addams from the Addams family.

Jeff Jerome

The literary genius of Poe was captured nicely by Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum, who put together the burial weekend in an odd, macabre setting of Poe’s home and the ceremonies at Westminster Hall. I think Poe, who I believe was always seeking Eldorado, his city of gold, would have appreciated all the attention and be humbled by it. Poe is like most of us, not confident in his own talents, but talented none the less and as John Astin pointed out, he never gave up writing throughout his tormented life. As he urges us in Eldorado to continue to ride boldly into the night.Poe_body

Until next time, Tim

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Flo of the Progressive Ads and Other Unique Marketing Hooks

September 24, 2009 By 1 Comment

Flo_photoA friend of mine mentioned to me he was reading my recent blog post regarding Geneva Carr, the woman who plays the AT&T Mom who guards her rollover minutes and how he was laughing that he too was attracted to the ads just because of her. The topic turned to other unique spokespeople and his infatuation with Flo from the Progressive ads. He did a Google Search and he’s not alone. The Internet is full of blogs professing their love of comedian Stephanie Courtney. Her popularity as the slightly flighty, smoldering sexy, quirky, Flo has been a boon for Progressive Auto Insurance. She’s described as cute, familiar and “having a great smile.” According to Courtney herself in an interview with AdFreak from AdWeek, she’s not trying to be sexy.

I think the genius of Flo the spokesperson lies in the hair, the makeup, the red lips all of which add to a retro look, and the most important the attitude that appeals to people. We’ve all run into a Flo in our lives, someone who’s a bit outside the norm, loves what she does, and has fun doing it. She’s a people person and maybe that’s what attracts us to her and in the end Progressive’s Insurance products that seem as simple to obtain as asking Flo to pull it off the shelf for us.

Are there any other spokespeople on TV that have this affect on you? I’d love to hear them from you. Please share below.

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