Adam's Wallpaper Design Makes the FWA

Adam Hughes - BSL Flash specialist, Artist, and Blogger - recently designed desktop wallpaper that was published on The FWA on Sept 4. For those of you who may not know, The FWA (favorite website awards) is probably the most prestigious award site for flash/graphic design and Flash developers will tell you that it’s definitely worth a daily dose.

Here is the design Adam won for, and you can check out the many other wallpaper designs too.

Click on the “winners” button toward the top left to check out the latest in flash web design aswell. Or just go to their homepage www.thefwa.com/.

F(T) = B+P(1/10T+1/2T2)

This is, according to top PR agent Mark Borkowski, the formula to determine the decline in fame from its peak.

The formula applies to stars-as-brand. This conception has been impressed upon a generation of publicists by the American corporate PR firm, Rogers & Cowan.

Mark Borkowski's came up with his formula (which you can see a fuller explanation of here) by studying famous people, somewhat famous people, and consumer brands like Red Bull, Stella, and Adidas. According to Borkowski, fame is not measured in 15 minutes, as Warhol suggested, but 15 months.

What does this mean for brands? If your brand rises in the public consciousness, you can expect it to stay there for 15 months. If you want to keep it there, you have to remember that people like stories. In a world of PR, these stories are told through events (think of Madonna's enduring fame and the various phases she has gone through).

Read the article and see what you think.

Web 3.0 - The Human Web

Someone with even a limited knowledge of human social behaviour, could postulate that approximately 15 minutes after the term "Web 2.0" was coined, someone attempted to introduce "Web 3.0" into the common lexicon. Given that anticipation seems to be a central notion of Web 3.0, that person would have been right to do so.

Eric Schmidt of Google has claimed that Web 2.0 is a marketing term. Many aspects of Web 2.0 were quickly turned toward direct or indirect business-with-customer applications. Think of the brilliant "Dove" campaign as the former; think of Facebook (because of its ability to focus advertising to the likes and dislikes of the member) as the latter. The possibilities continue to be almost limitless.

So is marketing ready for Web 3.0? Probably more than we realize. Does Web 3.0 exist? I would argue that there are features of it that exist, and that these features help us to anticipate what it will become.

Definitions of Web 3.0 vary greatly. Some of Web 3.0's core concepts pertain to the "semantic web", in which the semantics of various services and content on the web are defined to satisfy the needs of humans and machines to better use web content. A simple way of describing this is: we currently use the web as a vast store of knowledge. If I want to find out the Icelandic term for iceberg, I can do so quickly on the Internet. Adding a notion of semantics to the vast store of knowledge on the web would likely take away the need for me to perform this search. One can envision, for example, typing the term "the Icelandic word for cat" in Blogger, and the word would miraculously appear. (It is "kottur")

Tim Berners Lee describes his vision for the semantic web this way:

I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will finally materialize.

In a sense, Wikipedia anticipates some elements of the semantic Web through the simple hypertexting that automatically occurs within an entry. One can get a basic definition of a concept through an article, one gets a fuller definition by following various hyperlinks, that exist contextually.

Other aspects of Web 3.0 include ubiquitous connectivity (a website can be browsed online, on a mobile device, etc.); distributed databases; and intelligent applications, or the ability of the Web to reason in an almost human fashion. Some people suggest that intelligent applications will emerge in a more organic fashion, such as the way that categorization of photos on Flickr are the result of collaborative filtering that extract meaning and order from the existing Web and how people interact with it.

In short, Web 3.0 is more human in its abilities, scope, responsiveness and modes of operation than the Web we are currently accustomed to. And given that marketing is an intensely human activity combining anticipation, communication and emotion, we have reason to hope that Web 3.0 will be ready for marketing too.

Green-Coloured Glasses: Vol 3

With so many brands trumpeting empty green promises, a collective consumer cynicism has developed to keep companies in check. Websites like www.greenwashindex.com host forums for users to rate various green-toting ads on their level of BS. This site is one of many available for consumers to engage in a dialogue about the latest offenders. Some activists have taken a facetious approach to identifying key players. A company called ‘Corpwatch’ whose mandate is to hold corporations accountable for their operations has created the Greenwashing Academy Awards. These acknowledgments are awarded bimonthly to corporations that put more money, time and energy into slick PR campaigns promoting their eco-friendly image, than they do to actually protecting the environment.

With consumers and environmentalists ready to pounce at the first sight of contradictory claims, many brands are becoming apprehensive to even utter the words ‘environmentally friendly’. And as an agency that prides itself on injecting brands with integrity and intelligence, we would never want to position a company in the line of fire. So how do we know if a client’s request for a green image will help or hinder? Perhaps the 6 Sins of Greenwashing checklist could shed some light on the validity of their claims:

1. What type of claim is being made? Is it specific or broad? Does the value of the single claim outweigh the other aspects of their operation?

2. Is a copy of the environmental standard or testing protocol available? If a manufacturer can’t provide the evidence of their claim, it could be a warning sign.

3. Was the testing protocol developed through a comprehensible, transparent process? If their story checks out, then testing should be able to live up to certain public standards without confusion.

4. Who developed the testing protocol? The most trusted standards are those developed in a consensus-based process by broad stakeholder groups.

5. What process is used to verify that the products meet the standard? There are various procedures to verify, including:

• Self certification;


• Self certification with random audits;


• Independent third party verification;


• Independent third party certification with on-site audits

Even if a company passes this checklist with flying colours, it can still run the risk of a negative perception from the public. Spending too many dollars on a green image ends up looking disingenuous, when the majority of the efforts should be put towards a more grassroots strategy, proving to consumers that environmental change is top priority.

Here are some more efforts worthy of a Greenwash Oscar:
PG&E - Let's Green This City
Walmart - Save and Live Green
BP - Environment and Society

Green-Coloured Glasses: Vol 2

It’s no secret that ‘green is the new black’ – which is a good thing. Our society is beginning to make strides in our purchasing behaviour, all for the sake of environmental preservation. The masses are slowly starting to recognize the value of something other than comfort and convenience. But unfortunately there is an abundance of brands looking to get a piece of the eco-pie for all the wrong reasons. Whether it’s to squeeze out an extra buck from naïve consumers, or to mask the nasty truth of their operation, some companies have gone to sordid lengths to appear green.

In July 2007, GM used its best-selling Chevrolet line to launch its multi-million dollar ‘Gas-Friendly to Gas-Free’ advertising campaign. The campaign boasts the steps they’ve taken to increase fuel efficiency; produce vehicles that can run on E85 ethanol; and develop hybrids and fuel cells. Since the launch, Chevy’s website, commercials and print ads contain green-friendly images that suggest its’ support of the environment.



What is misleading about GM’s efforts is the extent to which the company is advertising its green technologies, while they’re still the leading producer in gas-guzzling vehicles. What is worse, the company claimed to be a fuel solutions leader, while working behind the scenes to derail attempts to increase fuel economy standards.

Another example of greenwashing comes from Fiji. This brand of bottled water has recently developed a website called www.fijigreen.com, a slick-looking device positioning Fiji as an environmentally conscious brand that is taking action to become ‘carbon negative’. It’s clean design and hopeful copy outlines all the steps they’re taking to save the rainforests and reduce their carbon footprint.

In a seemingly transparent effort to involve themselves and consumers in the quest for sustainability, Fiji has invited outraged eco-activists to label the brand ‘the poster child for greenwashing’. This accusation was made because bottled water, by nature, is not an environmentally sustainable industry. Not only do the vast majority of North Americans throw water bottles in the garbage, but also every one of their bottles is shipped all the way from Fiji, making it difficult to see how they are helping reduce carbon emissions. However, with a big enough budget, Fiji has produced an alarmingly convincing website that is no doubt luring naive consumers as I write this.

The above examples were chosen for their obvious and audacious nature, but unfortunately there are thousands of companies that fall into the grey area of greenwashing. With so many different ways to be green, it’s almost impossible to claim you’re green for one effort without contradicting yourself in another. This creates a laundry list of brands that leave themselves vulnerable to the greenwash label, just by declaring themselves environmentally friendly. Check out the last installment that explores a new consumer crusade to catch brands green-handed.

Web Design Best Practices (part 5): Improving your site through iterations

More and more websites run on content management systems (CMS), enabling companies and organizations to update content and navigation internally, while they turn to their agencies to provide guidance and design for brand-sensitive or tech-heavy updates.

How can an organization best decide what content should be added, changed or removed? And how can an organization ensure that the changes they make are done with end users in mind so as not to fall in the trap of turning a website's content into org-speak? Learn from the big players like Dell, Ebay, and Amazon. They constantly make iterative changes to their sites to improve usability and to drive better returns.

Let's call the principle "change by iteration based on solid metrics". Combining small changes with measurable results can be a powerful tool to improve your website's performance and to help ensure that updates are done in the most user friendly manner possible.

To begin, your site should incorporate snippets of code to enable measurability using a tool such as Google Analytics. This will assist you in seeing what content, pages and text work in your site.

Second, you should consider what constitutes success. For instance, you may hope that one half of all site visitors should go directly to your products section, and once there, they should spend at least two minutes reading and interacting with content.

Third, break down your goals into discrete elements: the pathway from the landing page to the products section is one element; the amout of time spent in the products section is another.

If you find that your visitation levels are falling short, look closely at the path users are following, and then look critically at content on their path. Then make changes by iteration. For instance, you might try changing the language on a call to action, and then seeing if your statistics improve. If so, good, if not, try including a compelling image or offer with your product call to action.

If you find users aren't spending enough time in your products section, put yourself in the shoes of an end user. We know that site visitors don't read much on the page, so you're unlikely to hook them with more text. What do you like to see when you're visiting another site? Do you spend time viewing videos? Do you like to interact with graphics? Are you interested in reading what other users think of the product? As a principle, it is safer to try iterations, that is, change one thing at a time. Add a video and check the stats. Present testimonials from customers, and test. Incorporate a call for end-user input into the product, and test. And so on.

You needn't stop at page level content. The principle of change by iteration can be applied more broadly than the examples I have shared so far. Main navigation items, the addition of micro-sites to delve deeply into certain site information, and the incorporation of widgets to increase the frequency of visits are some elements that bear iterations well.

Green-Coloured Glasses: Vol I

Today we live in a world of choice. We choose what brands we want to buy, what sites we wish to visit, and which causes to support. And as we enter into an age insistent on environmental responsibility, consumers are faced with choices that hold far more weight than which toothpaste gets your teeth whiter. More and more, people are feeling compelled to look twice at everything from household cleaners and cars to shampoos and packaging. With so many brands under scrutiny, brand trust is becoming the ever-elusive holy grail of marketing. Consumers are becoming more skeptical than ever and communicating a company’s good intentions can be a challenge, especially when surrounded by wolves in sheep’s clothing.

There is no shortage of companies trying to cast a positive light on their otherwise questionable operations, and with the looming future of our planet becoming an increasingly pressing matter, ‘greenwashing’ is now common practice for many brands.

Greenwash – the act of misleading purchasers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

Greenwashing was first identified in the late 1980’s after members of the hotel industry placed cards in each room, encouraging guests to ‘save the environment’ and reuse their towels. It was later revealed that most of these hotels were putting little to no effort towards recycling, or any other environmental practices, and the suggestive cards were purely profit driven. Since this discovery, activists have established the Six Sins of Greenwashing to help illuminate the various ways companies deceive their consumers.

Sin of Fibbing – most despicably, some manufacturers claim to meet environmental standards when in fact they do not.

Sin of No Proof – any claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a third-party certification.

Sin of Irrelevance – some manufacturers make claims that may be truthful but are unimportant and unhelpful for consumers.

Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off – certain companies boldly focus on one single environmental attribute, sweeping other negative attributes under the rug.

Sin of Vagueness – many consumers are fooled by companies making broad, poorly defined claims like ‘100% natural’, when some natural substances are actually harmful for the environment.

Sin of Relativism – a product may be able to claim it’s environmentally preferable for its class, but shouldn’t necessarily be considered in the first place as an eco-friendly solution.

Check out our next installment when we look at some examples of greenwashing at its worst.

Web Design Best Practices (part 4): Web 2.0

In some quarters, there is a backlash against the incorporation of widgets, Web 2.0 elements, and related content (or cross-promotions) in websites. Some recent studies have shown that users are not all that interested in exploring related content. Users, it has been shown, get to the site, they find what they're looking for, and they leave. Additionally, they are frustrated by the load times that come with complex web pages.

"People want sites to get to the point, they have very little patience," stated Jakob Nielsen in a recent interview with the BBC. He claims users are "hot potato" driven, and want to get specific tasks completed.

What does this mean for site design? Do we throw out everything we've been learning and preaching over the past couple of years? My sense is, no. There is a time and a place for widgets, but they must be incorporated intelligently. Web developers should be careful about how much cross promotion is placed on each page. As is the case with French cuisine, less is sometimes much more.

Sadly, this is not always the case.

I would place some of the blame for overburdened web pages on marketing studies that claim boosts to sales through "widgetry". I see a lot of "studies" like these: "Video in websites boosts online sales by 50%"; the next day another study claiming: "Bigger "buy now" buttons deliver better returns"; and the next day: "Flash movies of cute furry pets deliver a volume increase of 25%".

You can imagine a small business owner who has built their business around online sales trying all three tactics at once. Heck, you don't need to imagine it, sites like that are everywhere.

There are excellent implementations of Web 2.0 tools that add enormously to a user's experience on a website and ultimately deliver better returns, for sales, for the brand or the community. Implementations can be done that are also very respectful of the user's time and bandwidth issues.

I am thinking here of a site BSL is developing for an organization that supports health care and capacity building in a number of less-developed partner countries. The site includes videos that really help people here to see the challenges and successes in countries that are very far away and different. The videos are hosted in the site in such a way that low-bandwidth users can see a synopsis and video stills. The videos are only launched on demand. The site achieves what it set out to, through judicious and respectful use of Web 2.0 content.

I remind readers of intentions, which I talked about in my first post in this series. When designing sites, you need to think very carefully about what you really want users to achieve at your site, and to test what you put on the site against real-world experience (e.g. common sense). If, for example, you really believe users will click a link to buy a product after reading product information, do you need to put "buy now" on non-product pages? After reading the Neilsen interview, and after struggling through sites that promise everything everywhere, I would conclude: no.

A Giving Business Model

Asking for money ain't easy....

And anyone who has ever tried raising funds for charity will say the same. Whether it's $5 or $500 - it takes great time and energy to raise money for the most worthwhile of causes.

Giveness, a company that was first established in October 2006, overcomes this barrier by enabling users to make purchases online at Giveness.com for everyday items, while concurrently donating to the charity of their choice - without any added cost to them. Buyers can shop, buy, and give creating a win-win (and win!) situation for the merchant, the nonprofit and the supporter.

Waldvogel and Werling, the Founders of Giveness, formed a sub-affiliate network partnership with both eBay and Amazon.com to enable this model to work. They have also developed relationships with over 30 major retailers (including Gap, Apple Store and Macy's), and when online shoppers make their purchase from any one of them through the Giveness site, a percentage - anywhere from 4 to 30 % - goes to one of the nonprofits registered with the site - as pre-selected by the purchaser before they made the purchase.

There's no membership fee or registration required for purchasers, and Giveness also provides an online community where users can engage with message boards, and post photos and other information about themselves. Nonprofits and individuals can register for this community, which currently hosts over 500 members.

Nonprofits interested in registering are carefully screened, and so far 164 charities and nonprofits have signed up.

Spreading the Word with Widgets
Nonprofits and individual members of the online Giveness community can take advantage of Flash-based "widgets" on the site. The Fundraising Widget Application allows nonprofits to create their own widget to post on their own web page (or Facebook profile, blog, etc). The widget makes it easy for site visitors to shop and benefit their organization directly. The widget can even feature content (ie/ product recommendations) that suit the nonprofit organization's mission and interests.

Giveness.com won 2nd place in the Philanthropy category of the seomoz.org 2008 Web 2.0 awards, and I can see why. The website makes great use of web 2.0 concepts, and are the depiction of a well-designed, friendly, usable site. When I made a selection to shop at a store through the site, the first thing I was asked for was the charity I'd like to donate to. I selected one randomly and immediately received a 'Thank You' message on the screen, before it moved me through to the store.



The quasi-personalization the site is enabled to perform continues to build a relationship with the user. After my first 'purchase', every time I visit pages on Giveness.com it recognizes me and it the top right, there it is again "Thank you for supporting...".



I'm always keen on learning of sites like this that are out there - of nonprofits who are using the power and efficiencies of the web to do things better. Because as we all know, fundraising ain't easy.

Ambiguous animation painted on public walls

Amazing stop-motion animation done in Buenos Aires and in Baden by Blu.