Our 2010 event brought more than 30 of Nashville’s most creative professionals and we wanted to continue the social good we started, by selecting a local nonprofit to help this year.  Our volunteers even wrote this amazing case study to help capture the story and best practices, with hopes more cities will duplicate the effort and help a nonprofit in their local community.

Safe Haven Family Shelter is our beneficiary for our 2011 Design-A-Thon, and almost 30 design, marketing, copy, web dev volunteers will be gathering to create new marketing collateral, website and strategy for them.  I’m blogging on GeekforGood.net for everything related to the Design-A-Thon & where you can meet all our volunteers.

We’ll be liveblogging the event on August 6th or you can follow the conversation on the #Designathon hashtag on Twitter.

Chevy is providing my teammates Nicole Yeary, Samantha Ogborn, Jen Knoedl & I with a beautiful White Chevy Traverse aka White Diamond.  We depart from Chicago on March 8th with a scheduled arrival in Austin on March 10th.  Why two full days of driving you ask? We will be competing against 10 other teams from various cities around the U.S. & Canada, in challenges along the route to Austin. Chevy has been very careful to not release too many details so we don’t even know what the winning team receives, but I’m confident Chevy will spoil the winning city.

We received our first challenge last week, which was to raise $200 for local Chicago Adopt-A-Classroom, a 501c3 organization that matches generous donors with teachers in need.  Our fundraising efforts and the donations of our supporters will help provide much needed resources for teachers in Chicagoland schools.

I love that Chevy is incorporating social awareness in this competition and hope the SxChiGirls can follow where the donations go, in hopes of further telling the story about the more than 600+ classrooms listed on Adopt-A-Classroom’s website, and that’s just in Chicagoland. Visit http://sxchigirls.com to see the really cute video we did to help raise awarness for this cause.

You can follow our journey to SxSW beginning March 8th by following http://sxchigirls.com, where we will be Ustreaming our adventures and encouraging Chicago to root for the home team!

If you’re on Twitter, follow #SxChiGirls hashtag!

Tim and Sam interviewed a few businesses who are leveraging social media.  Selby Software is a B2B software & POS system that integrated social media networks, like Twitter, into their POS so customers can order their favorite caffeinated beverage and have it prepared before they arrive…imagine having a VIP line at your favorte coffee shop if you ordered it ahead of time?! No lines, FTW!

One of the highlights of our afternoon was meeting Jeff Taylor from PT’s Coffee in Topeka, Kansas.  This guy was a riot and we had some great conversation on how he’s using social media to stay involved in the community when he’s off traveling the world to find the best coffee products for his hometown.  Jeff shared some very cool testimonials from customers, as well as, how integrating social media into his operations has helped his business grow.

Thanks to CoffeeFest Organizers and Jeff Kingman from SMC Portland for the invite!

Second Chance – Youthturns Documentary from Youthturns on Vimeo.

You can view the site yourself at YouthTurns.com 

CHICAGO

New York is famous for pizza, Memphis is famous of BBQ and Chicago is famous for the dog’s….hot dog’s that is.  Chicago is so famous for their hot dogs, the city has created an original foursquare badge for it!  The Chicago Office of Tourism recently launched an entire campaign on foursquare, hosting three Chicago-themed badges, which are Chicago Blues, Chicago-style hot dog joints and Chicago film locations.

Currently, Foursquare does not provide the City of Chicago a number of how many followers have been awarded one of their original badges but in order for you to earn any of these badges, you must follow Explore Chicago on foursquare and presently, they have 6,457 followers.

Sarah Best, Web Specialist for Chicago Office of Tourism tracks their social media efforts on a daily basis and says, “..we can tie check-ins at historic blues locations much more closely to our Chicago Blues badge, as these are sites that tourists are unlikely to visit for other reason.  We also added all these venues to foursquare.com just before launching the badge,” and they’ve tracked 2,090 “check-in’s” at the various locations participating.

Sarah added their future events may include, “…other ‘real life’ events and partnerships with local businesses this Summer and Fall.  I would love to do a Chicago-style hot dog crawl!”  I’m totally there!

Explore Chicago has gone one step further by using foursquare’s ‘Tip’ functionality by highlighting the hidden jewel’s in each of Chicago’s 77 communities.

“For example, when someone “checks-in” at Calder’s Flamingo sculpture in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood, they learn through our foursquare tips, about the scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that was shot there.” Sarah and her team have recently expanded website content to include more than 2,000 additional locations and attractions to enhance tourists’ Chicago experience with convenient links to public transportation.

 

On July 24th beginning at 11am, some of Nashville’s most creative minds will be gathering with the purpose giving back to our community. More than 30 of Nashville’s web developers, marketers, designers and copywriters are foregoing sleep to create a brand new logo, website, marketing collateral and more for a 25 year old Nashville non-profit known as, Reconciliation. 

Reconciliation’s mission is to end the cycle of generational incarceration aka children following their parents to prison.  A world with less victim’s is one we all want to live in so their story compelled all the volunteers to take action and provide them with a resource they can use to create more awareness and help more children.

The event is still seeking a few more web developers, copywriters and graphic designers so if you’re interested in volunteering for this event and can dedicate an entire 24 hours to this cause, please contact JessicaRMurray at gmail dot com.

We’ll be sure to blog the finished product and photos of the event, stay tuned!

In a recent report by Kony Solutions, 69% of Fortune 500 Companies will launch mobile solutions but before your companies jumps on the mobile app bandwagon, here are a few things to consider.

1. DOES IT HAVE VALUE?

If your purpose for developing a mobile app is to only increase your brand impressions and grow your potential client list, think again. With more than200,000 mobile applications in the Apple store alone, think about how you distinguish yours as different.

Recently, Tiffany & Co. has unveiled their newest iPhone application to educate users on styles and cuts available at their stores, check it out.

While the app is designed to drive customers to browse Tiffany’s engagement ring catalog and get them into stores — users can book a one-on-one diamond consultation via phone or e-mail straight from the app — it’s also a handy educational tool. Purchasing an engagement ring can be an intimidating process, and the app gives potential buyers a handle on the options — and their accompany prices — before entering stores.

via Mashable

 

2. WHICH PLATFORM IS BEST?

Developing an app is a costly process so naturally, consider all the platforms because the iPhone market may not be the most suitable for your company.  Consider the other mobile operation systems such as, Microsoft Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian, Android and Palm.  You must consider the limitations of a carriers bandwidth when developing an app with rich media displays, every platform has their own constraints so be aware.

 viaNielsen

3. HOW TO FIND AN EXPERIENCED APP DEVELOPER?

The best way to find a legit developer is to ask for their portfolio. Some developers are more comfortable with certain jobs within app development so consider working with a team to see your company through from ideation to execution.

Another great way to find developers is to peruse the iPhone app store.  Consider the apps you like best because of functionality or perhaps, they’re similar to what you want to create.  Each application available within the Apple store has the creators name under the icons so do your research and seek out the the developer that best meets the job requirements.

4. HOW WILL PEOPLE USE YOUR APP?

Make sure the app is intuitive, or else you will quickly lose the attention of users.  If there’s not a natural flow, users will grow frustrated and give up, as I know from experience.  You’re obviously limited in the amount of pixels, so what you develop for an iPhone will not work on a Android (Yes, obvious to some but you would be surprised how often I’ve fielded the question).

Is the application user friendly?  Have you come in contact with an app that designed the text to be so small that you cannot select any of the links?  I’ve wasted a lot of precious minutes to mistakenly selecting the wrong links, only to do it over and over because of poor design…don’t let that be your potential customer.

I also suggest shifting your thinking to “in the moment” as nearly every task carried out in day-to-day is done locally. Mobile applications are supposed to make our lives effortless and more efficient. Consider how your application will meet your mobile strategy goals and also be consumer oriented.

5. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR UPDATES?

Every application will need to undergo necessary updates but please set up clear priorities to update functionality or content every few months, NOT on a weekly basis. Requesting that users update your app on a constant basis is an indication that there are a lot of errors in your app or you don’t know what you’re doing. You will lose users’ interest and worse, risk having them use an outdated app that may not help your companies bottom line.

DO YOU HAVE OTHER CONSIDERATIONS COMPANIES SHOULD MAKE BEFORE JUMPING ON THE MOBILE APP BANDWAGON?

Boyfriends and bachelors beware: Tiffany & Co.’s iPhone app [iTunes link] for engagement rings arrived in the App Store today, and it’s been carefully engineered for getting clueless and/or commitment-phobic grooms onto the engagement ring floors of Tiffany stores.

For those looking to buy or receive a Tiffany’s engagement ring, the app brings the smooth, uncluttered shopping experience of the jeweler’s Flash-based website to the Flash-averse iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Users can browse rings by shape, setting, metal, design and six different carat sizes (up to 2.5 carats in the app, although larger stones are available at Tiffany & Co. stores). Rings are displayed true-to-size and from multiple angles with zoom functionality.

The app’s most clever feature is its Ring Sizer, which lets users determine their ring size — or the ring size of their future fiancee — by placing an actual ring on the screen and adjusting circle sizes to determine its circumference.

Users can also store their favorite combinations and share them via e-mail, text message, Facebook () and Twitter () — a great option for getting feedback from friends and family members if done discreetly..

The app is available in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia () and Japan, with prices adjusted to match the local currency. A Chinese version is also available, as is an international English version for all other countries, but prices will not appear. Versions for other mobile platforms are not in production at this time.

Well damn, the only time I wish I had an iPhone.  I do think this app is a great idea especially for guys uncomfortable walking into Tiffany’s by themselves and for women, who just like to dream up their wedding rings….yes ladies, we know you ALL do it.

Social Media Releases Chemical Feel Goods

Sometimes referred to as the “cuddle” chemical, oxytocin — a hormone produced in the brain — stimulates feelings of trust and security, reduces anxiety levels and may even produce positive sexual side effects. It sounds like a miracle drug, so how does one get their hands on it? Perhaps, simply by tweeting.

Fast Company contributing writer Adam Penenberg volunteered to be a test subject in Dr. Paul J. Zak’s “neuroeconomics” research efforts to “gauge the relationship between empathy and generosity.”

Penenberg’s detailed recounting of the experience is a fascinating description of three experiments designed to determine the relationship between social media and oxytocin. In experiment number three, Penenberg’s blood levels were monitored while he was tweeting via TweetDeck () on his laptop.

The results from this single study were quite astounding. Penenberg writes, “In those 10 minutes between blood batches one and two, my oxytocin levels spiked 13.2%. That’s equivalent to the hormonal spike experienced by the groom at the wedding Zak attended.”

The results showed that not only did Penenberg’s oxytocin levels spike while tweeting, but his stress hormones significantly declined during the observation period. Zak concluded that Penenberg’s brain, “interpreted tweeting as if you were directly interacting with people you cared about or had empathy for.”

This oxytocin research effort is by no means conclusive given the single test subject, but it does seem to back up what most already know about social media: It makes us feel good. At least now there appears to be a scientific explanation for why this happens.

via Mashable

Despite the fact that this is by no means a scientific study, the first thing that came to mind is how someone is going to use this like the Twinkie Defense.  I figure some twisted defense attorney is going to make a convincing argument on why their client committed a crime, because they were addicted to their Facebook messages…..Bwhahahaha.