Stay Synced On Your Mac

If you have a Mac and want to keep your calendar organized and synced up with co-workers and friends it’s simple with iCal, Spanning Sync and Google.

First use iCal as your main scheduling program. Create different calendars for your needs - Work, Business etc. and select the colors of our choice to represent each calendar.

Next log in to your Google account, click on “Calendars“. On the left side of the page you will see a monthly calendar and beneath that you will see what current calendars you have. Click on “Add” > “Create New Calendar“. Name your calendar the same name as one of your iCal names (for example - Personal). You will see other settings such as time-zone and sharing options. Click “Create Calendar“. The new calendar you just created will show up on the left side of the page, to make things easy to manage click the down arrow and change the color to the same as your iCal.

Now you will need a piece of software called Spanning Sync to “sync” between iCal and Google. Spanning Sync costs $25 for 1 year or $65 for a life time copy. Once the program is installed the icon will appear in the Menu Bar. Simply click on it and select “Open Spanning Sync Preferences” (you can also access this via system preferences).

1 - Enter your Google username and password.

4 - Press “Sync Now” and your schedule is now on your iCal and on Google!

If you wish to share your calender you can do it one of two ways through Google or through iCal.

Google - If the people you want to share it with use Google Calendar click on “Settings” > “Calendars” and then select “Share this calendar“. You will then enter the persons Google mail, select which settings you want them to see and then click “Add Person” then “Save”

iCal - If the people you want to share your calendar with use iCal all they have to do is subscribe to your calendar. In Google Calendar click on “Settings” > “Calendar” and then click the name of the calendar you want to share.

Scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “Private Address“. Click on “ICAL” and a pop up will display a link, copy this link and give it to those who wish to subscribe to your calendar. To subscribe in iCal click on “Calendar” > “Subscribe” and paste in the link. Edit the name and color and any other settings.

Now you can add an entry to you iCal, and Spanning Sync will automatically sync it with Google Calendar so you can access it anytime or share it with friends and co-workers. Also download the Google Notifier for your Menu Bar to stay up with current emails and events.

That’s My Ad

We did a complete re-design for That’s My Ad a web marketing company that specializes in Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimization and Web Analytics. The site features a rich Web 2.0 look to it, with a super clean and simple interface.

Updates & More

We have been working hard on our web site doing lots of minor updates here and there and revamping the look and content over the past few months. We will no longer be posting project updates on the homepage but rather use this blog for that. We also hope to be updating the blog on a more regular basis.

With that said we are wrapping up a website for a law firm, starting a web site for a home protection / hurricane company, and continuing work for JK Harris in the form of newspaper ads. We are also putting the finishing touches on new web sites for Media Placement Group and That’s My Ad.

Web Design for the iPhone and Wii

The days of just getting online only through a computer are gone. There are more and more ways people can access the internet through other devices such as phones, pda’s, and gaming systems.

I recently purchased a Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone (I love both) and have browsed the net with both devices. I wanted to check out some design and usability differences to see if there were any major problems while accessing the internet on them.

Good clean design, css and proper usability comes into play even more on devices such as these as they may not have all the plug ins such as flash or the screen resolution may be limited.

I started with my site for example - www.digitalskratch.com

I recently added the ability to increase and decrease font size right from my website. This will provide better usability and allow users greater control over their viewing experience. On the iPhone for instance it maybe harder to read some of the smaller type, but with these controls it’s not a problem at all. It is easy to increase the font size to make it easier to read.

The next hurdle I had to overcome was the one of flash not working on both platforms. On my website I have 3 flash boxes. So I added a backup graphic that displays incase flash does not play. Again this will provide the user with almost the same experience as on a computer.

With proper programming and design your website should look nearly the same on multiple platforms, operating systems and browsers. More people will start to access the internet through devices such as these and designers / programmers need to be aware of them to provide users with a seamless experience.

The 50 Best Websites

Time Magazine just came out with their 50 Best Websites of 2007, broken down into 5 sections - Arts & Leisure, Audio & Video, News & Information, Social Networks, and Web Services. It seemed that the “theme” of most sites had a social media aspect. There are some really cool sites in there and worth checking out all of them. My personal favorite is Mozy, an online hard drive that is easy to sync on Mac and PC.

File Organization

As a designer it is important to have lots of tools at your disposal – stock photos, fonts, brushes, backgrounds, vector sets etc. Over time it’s easy to start to accumulate extra files you don’t really need and use. So I think it’s important once in awhile to go through your design tools and clean out files that you never use. You will save time in the long run as Photoshop and other programs will load faster and you will spend less time having to search through a million brushes, fonts and photos.

If you want to delete old brushes out of Photoshop I learned a cool trick. First open up the brushes window where you select the different brushes. You can right click, delete brush and then have to select ok, or on the Mac you can hit the alt / option key and then the cursor turns into a pair of scissors, and then simply click on the brush you want to delete and it’s gone. It saves a few seconds, but if you had to clean out 100’s of old or duplicate brushes it will save time. Once you have them cleaned out remember to save and back up your clean brush set. Click on the sideways arrow on the brushes screen and then select “Save Brushes…”

Fox Marks is a great plug-in for Fire Fox to help manage your favorites. Once you sync your favorites you can then access them online, or if the plug-in is installed you can sync it again and load them on a second computer.

Just remember to back up your files on a regular basis, and go through once in awhile and clean up and delete old files you never use.

How Times Have Changed

I came across this website the other day and found it amusing. It uses something called the “Way Back Machine” to take a look at some major corporate websites back in 1996. It’s amazing to see how far design and usability has come in 11 years. Design conventions were not widely used in the early days of the web and usability was a topic given little thought.

Though design styles may change usability will always be the most important feature of the website. Usability should be the biggest factor when planning and designing your website. You may have the best products or services, you may rank #1 on lots of search terms but if people can’t easily use your site and find the information they are looking for in a short time it does you no good.

Take a look at those websites and learn from the past - to not make some of the same mistakes they did with bad design and usability.

Help the Enviornment at Work

In the latest issue of Time Magazine - 51 Ways to Save the Environment - several of the ways listed are work and computer related. I figure it was worth mentioning along with some of my own ideas. Most of the ideas are not drastic and easy to implement. Even if you start small and only do a few things it can add up. So please read through the article and spread the word. Thank You.

> Time Magazine Ideas (Click the link for full article)

3. Change Your Lightbulbs
They cost 3-5 times more, but they use 25% electricity and last several years longer so you end up saving money and electricity. I have some in my office and at home.

13. Let Employees Work Close to Home
If you work with computers chances are you can work remotely some of the time. Ask the boss if you can work from home once a week or a few times a month. You would save on time, money and help cut carbon emissions. If you can’t do that try carpooling or taking public transportation.

16. Pay Your Bills Online
Not only is it move convenient and faster but it also helps save on paper and the cost associated with transporting it. Contact your accounts to set up online bill pay and make sure they stop sending paper copies as well.

29. Remove the tie
Most offices are freezing due to having the air conditioning cranked up so high. Ask the boss if you can have casual fridays and turn up the thermostat a few degrees and dress more comfortably.

30. Shut off your computer
If you shut your computer off when it’s not in use it could save up to $70 per year. Also your machine runs faster after its re-started versus being on for days on end.

32. Kill the Lights At Quitting Time
Assign someone in the office the task of making sure all the computers, faxes, machines and lights are turned off each day. Your boss will be impressed with the savings!

> I came up with some of my own ideas relating to this issue.

Sleep Is Good - Adjust the time on your computer to have your monitor shut off and go to sleep. There is no sense of having that big monitor on and drives running if you are out to lunch. Don’t forget to shut it completely off at the end of the day.

Use The Computer - Instead of cluttering up your desk with sticky notes and memos why not type everything into your computer. It’s easier to back up, mange and sort that way and makes your desk look cleaner. Instead of jotting notes or numbers down on paper simply type them into your computer and save the paper.

Recycle, Re-Use, Recycle Again - Buy and use recycled paper. When you are just printing test prints or something not important save that paper in a scrap pile. You can then use it to print again on the back side. This way you are getting the most out of each sheet of paper. When it is finally done recycle it again so the process continues.

Recycling Pays Off - Return empty print cartridges to your local office supply store. Many of them offer incentives such as a free ream of paper or X amount off your next purchase. So it saves you money and helps to keep more plastic out of the land fills.

Read all 51 ways to help save the environment.

How to create content for a web site

Here is a great article from one of our affiliates - Get It In Writing.

Frankly no one knows exactly how many total web sites exist, because they’re springing up at warp speed. And rightfully so. Many of them are quite good and – needless to say – we’ve all become dependent on the Internet. But how many of us really know how to create content for a web site?

So here’s a crash course on how to create content for your web site. Lots of people who launch their own web sites start by engaging a web developer and a graphic artist to professionally design a web site that promotes their business.

• Content is crucial.
  Powerful – and targeted – copy is what sells your product or service, not pictures or flashy introductions.

• Most people simply scan web sites.
  Your web site content should include clever headlines with stimulating text to grab readers’ interest…focused, concise copy web site content will keep them there.
• Make your text easy to scan.
  Highlight keywords within your web site content, using typeface and color variations. Use meaningful, easy-to-scan subheads and bulleted lists. And stick to one idea per paragraph.

• Talk up benefits – not product.
  Your web site content should describe benefits your potential customer can see, hear or feel if they use your product. Your content must show that you understand their issues and how your product addresses those issues.

• Use testimonials and informational links.
  Winning web site content should use accounts from happy customers to convince readers that you will deliver a top-notch product. Also supply content readers with links to articles and product reviews, so they have even more compelling reasons to buy from you.

• Search engine optimization is a must.
  Powerful web content includes keywords people use to search for your site. To get a high ranking, create your web content so it’s loaded with keyword phrases and still remains engaging to read.

• Don’t let your content get stale.
  As with most marketing materials, it’s easy for your web site content to run its course. Web site content is a work in progress… it must be refined and added to on a regular basis to keep it fresh.

Let our copywriting tell your audience who you are in the best possible way. See why our words mean business. Visit us online at: www.GetItInWriting.biz or call toll-free at 877-989-8555.

Google is getting fast

We have started to see some really interesting results with Google lately. For example we started to optimize for the words Concert Flyer Design and Club Flyer Design. Around 3 weeks ago we were not in the top 10 pages on Google for either. Out of no where I noticed for Concert Flyer Design we shot up to the first page and #5. After some more edits and tweaks we moved to #4 a few days later. A few days after that we had a 2nd page listed, and then about a week after that we moved to #3 overall.

For Club Flyer Design we were not in the top 10, then when we got ranked it was on page 9. A few days after that we moved up to page 5. In addition to that we have several other first page rankings and some #1 positions as well.This now means that SEO should be an even bigger part of your online marketing strategy because it is so fast paced. If you do not stay up on it your competition will be able to take advantage of this and gain position. This is done with a good strategy of on-site and off-site SEO. Please contact us for more information regarding our Design and SEO services.