Bulletin Board

Using default passwords – Default passwords are a huge risk simply because they allow devices to be easily compromised. This is especially true for network access points, but also applies to firewall appliances, intrusion-detection appliances and just about any other type of hardware appliance. Setting up weak passwords – A weak password provides attackers with very easy access to your computer system. Strong passwords are considerably harder to crack – and that’s even with the powerful password-cracking software that is...

This post will be extremely brief and to the point. Something to consider: if you’re a software vendor and you also maintain an online forum related to your product, the professionalism of the people you select to moderate it is crucial. A recent incident on a forum I frequent has shaken my confidence in the company itself, even though the product is excellent. Perception is reality.

I recently wrote about opposites and gave an example of how you can use them in ad copy. Here’s another example from my days in radio. If you work in radio (or any advertising medium) long enough, you’ll be asked to do spots for every type of business imaginable. This commercial is one I wrote and produced a few years ago for a portable toilet supply company. It was one of those occasions when the account rep came in with...

You’re hearing the term everywhere, but what does it really mean? And how is it going to revolutionize business?  Everybody is sure that cloud computing is key to the future of IT, but people often are unsure what it is. In fact, it’s an umbrella term for a number of different trends, all involving the internet and it’s potential to simplify the way we use computers and extend their capabilities. Instead of installing a suite of software for on each...

As computer generated animation becomes ever more common in the media, the question of its effectiveness in advertising is a natural one. Given my involvement in the field my perspective is biased, but I assert that animation is a strong candidate for your advertising dollars. Here’s why: Impact As shown by various cognitive studies, animation in ads—such as banner ads on web pages—improves viewer engagement, recall, and click-through rates (the all-important metric). Creators of children’s cartoons have long understood that...

I recently attended the Indie Garage Sale featuring local artists, crafters, and foodies alike. I’ve attended this show for the past three years and have continued to see it grow and grow. Each year the quality of vendors and turnout of attendees improves. The momentum this event has carried would make for an interesting local marketing case study, but a few of my observations would include: 1. Quality – When a product, service, or event speaks for itself, the marketing...

Creatives – especially copywriters – are often faced with the pressures of meeting strict deadlines on very short notice. The problem is, as I mentioned in a previous post, that creativity takes time. When the clock is ticking and I’m struggling for ideas, I sometimes try to come up with an unexpected approach to the copy by thinking about opposites. There are lots of ways to do this, more of which I’ll share in future posts, but the example below...

Social media, it’s the buzz hitting the marketing streets. Businesses are using it as part of their marketing mix but there are some precautionary measures that should be taken Social Media accounts for 10% of all users’ time on the internet.  Social Media is growing three times faster than the Internet’s overall growth.  Just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with...

My original intention for today was to post a high-level overview of a 3D modeling topic, just chock full of 3D geeky goodness. What changed? Some recent events related to my business caught my attention and reminded me of my personal focus for the Ad Club: be relevant–not only for the design professional working with an established business or with an established clientele, but also for the struggling solo entrepreneurs who, without access to resources like the Ad Club, might...

One of the great things about being a member of an international non-profit organization is the immense network of professionals with which we have the opportunity to converse and share ideas. Throughout the year, United Way organizations around the world provide opportunities for people to donate their time to their local community through volunteer projects. I was given some of the information below from a fellow United Way organization in Colorado and combined their findings with some of our local...