Define Yourself on the Web: Creating an Avatar

Unless you have been living under a rock for years, social media is the new norm. It’s how you meet people, communicate ideas, express your thoughts, interview for a job, and just have fun. The days of a big smile and a firm handshake are no longer by any means a form of introducing one’s self. Your avatar is your first impression as you meet and interact with individuals on blogs, social networks, and in other online communities.

Your avatar defines you on the web. It represents your personality or interests and can even represent what your business stands for.

Here is how to best define yourself on the world wide web:

1. Make sure you have or are creating an avatar. In online communities, not have an avatar can be a fatal mistake. As well as indicate laziness. When you set up a social media account, make sure you have an avatar ready to go. Lack of creating an avatar can create feeling of suspicion, doubt, and frustration from online users. If you cannot see what someone looks like, are they trying to hide something? How serious are they about contacting you and using social media as a means of communication? Maybe, this individual does not know how to create an avatar. In a world were jobs are given through online interviews, does this person lack basic skills? Avatars also create a sense of connection in a world were face to face communication is slim to none.
2. Define yourself or brand by creating an avatar. Which words and images best describe the image you are trying to portray of yourself or your organization? Do you want to be seen as professional, creative, helpful, honest, etc? An avatar is like a first impression; you are either well-groomed and confident or you are not!
3. Create multiple avatars. Consistency is one thing. However, you can use create multiple avatars that are consistent. More than one image can convey the brand and personality you are going for. Or you can hold on to multiple images and if you think it is time for a change use them.
4. Express yourself carefully. Images may have underlying meanings that when creating your avatar you may not even think of. For example, creating a green avatar can indicate involvement in social movement. Even if you are involved in politics or social movements, avoid using these concepts when creating your avatar. People and organizations may steer clear of you if they do not share your views or see that you are promoting a cause or event that their organization is firmly against. First impressions are everything. In the online world, it is important to remember that your avatar is your first impression.
5. Be careful when creating avatars using photographs. Using an online editing tool to add special effects or touch up plain photography. Just be careful not to over do it. In the event you would ever meet in person, you want to be recognizable.

Picking the Right WordPress Theme

Everyone is blogging, picking the right WordPress theme is an important aspect of your blog. When deciding on a theme, think about design, layout, and functionality.

If you want a free theme, try to find something as close as possible to what you had in mind (you maybe able to even tweak a free theme a bit yourself). If you have decided on a Premium theme, you are going to have some options when it comes to colors and admin options. Find a theme that your really like right off the bat, this will make less work in tweaking.

Keep in mind that certain things about WordPress themes are easy to change. Colors and fonts are a rather quick fix, you just need a little CSS. Sidebar placement and changing the layout and structure are little more difficult and you will need to be comfortable with PHP to do so.

Before looking for a theme on WordPress, think about what you want. Examine other sites to get a feel for what you like and don’t like. Try to identify characteristics that draw you to a website.

Also, try to visualize what you want your site to look like. Draw up a diagram of the potential layout you would like. Where do you want the navigation bar? What colors? Etc.. If it is on your website, it should be an important factor. Next you need to figure out where you will have content and where you may have blog posts. This will help you create your site more easily.

One of the most important things to image is what you want your homepage to look like. This is the visit thing visitors will see upon viewing your page. What your page looks like is going to depend on how you are using WordPress. Is this just a blog? A magazine? Portfolio? Business site? Your needs are going to depend on how you use WordPress.

The most important thing to remember when designing your WordPress, is knowing what you want. Know what you have to have and what you are willing to compromise on. Having a plan of attack is the easiest way to get a site you are happy with.

Speed Up Your Website: Web Design Tricks

Effective and quick websites are the best kind. The most important thing to consider as a web designer is that your site needs to be fast loading. Great designs mean nothing if they are going to take all day to load.

In order to make your webpage load quick consider:

Use fewer images. A website will load fast if it does not contain many images. Images will enhance the appearance of your webpage. This does not mean you have to go overboard with the images. Break your webpage down into as much simple HTML as possible. Keep in mind popular sites while designing yours. Remember, sites like Google and Ebay use very few images and load very fast.

Optimize your images for the web. After selecting images, make sure they are web friendly. They should be in gif or jpeg form. Minimizing the colors will also help minimize the size of your image. You can also find online tools, such as Gif Wizard, to help optimize your images.

Get creative with tables. Tables load fast since they are created in simple HTML, so use them wisely. Tables can easily be integrated on homepages or menu bars.

Avoid animated gifs. Only use these if they are absolutely necessary. Animated gifs take a very long time to download, which can frustrate anyone. A small animated gif will be okay, only because they are very catchy.

Use simple icons. Designing simple icons opposed to big, bulky images will help with speed. Adding a little color will draw attention to them.

Resort to background images. Use background images instead of large images when possible. This will drastically reduce the size of the webpage.

Try CSS Style. Have a little fun testing out text effects. You can create rollover text, it’s simple yet has a nice effect. There are many CSS tutorials on the web.

Use flash infrequently. Flash has a lot of hype around it, but also a lot of loading time. Flash many look nice, but it is not so nice on the loading side. If you do want to use Flash, use it within an HTML site and ensure it loads fast.

Use HTML often. Design most of your site in HTML. It loads quick. Use tables, CSS, and simple fonts when designing your site.

1820 Productions

Adobe Flash, CSS, (X)HTML, Java Script

Holiday Shopping Tips

It’s November! November can only mean one thing; the temperature is dropping in most parts of the country, it’s time to prepare the Thanksgiving turkey, and of course it is time to begin think about the holiday shopping season. Whether you hate or love holiday shopping, everyone wants to find a great deal. From shopping early, to beating the holiday crowds, and shopping online, there are many tips, hints, and tricks that can help get the most bang for your buck. Here are some of our favorite (and most useful) tips:

Window Shop. If you are an avid shopper, window shopping may not sound like much fun at all. However, window shopping is a great way to get the best price on the items you are looking for. Shop around. Take notes if you have to. See what stores offer the best price, the best promotion, the best coupons, or even the lowest interest rate on a credit card if you will be placing your holiday purchases on your credit cards this holiday season.

Shop Online. This can even be closely tied in with window shopping. Use your notes from window shopping to do some price comparison shopping online. Should you choose to purchase online, you no longer have to worry about a product not looking the same way it is pictured. With product zoom and spin, online shoppers get a life-like look at a product without having to ever step foot inside a store. A lot of times, you can get a better deal online. Even check out Ebay. Ebay offers a lot of brand new items at competitive pricing. Just be careful to check the reputation of the seller and ensure that the product you are purchasing is indeed what you are looking for. Ask the seller questions if you need to. Especially when purchasing designer items, this will help you avoid purchasing a knock off. Look at the seller’s feedback. Word of mouth from previous buyers is often the best lead into making an informed decision to buy from a particular seller.

Discounts. Use coupons and discount codes. Coupons and discount codes can often become your best friend this holiday shopping season. A majority of retailers offer some sort of coupon or discount code during the holiday season. Discount and promotional codes can provide a shopper with free shipping, a percentage off, a dollar amount off, a free gift with purchase, a discount on your next purchase, and much more. Take advantage of any way you can obtain discount codes. Sign up for e-mail lists, mailing lists, and mobile lists with the stores you know you are likely to be frequenting this holiday season. Another way to get a discount code is to complete customer satisfaction surveys that are frequently found on receipts. A five minute phone or internet survey can provide you with a substantial discount. Generally speaking, whatever discounts a retailer offers by taking a customer satisfaction survey is well worth the five minutes of your time. As mobile shopping becomes more and more of a trend, you are now able to shop on the go and experience the features you would as if you were shopping online or in-stores. For instance, with mobile phone applications build by top interactive development companies, you are able to zoom, spin, pan, and see every angle of a product before you hit purchase.

Hold off on some items. If you are planning on shopping for clothing this holiday season, sometimes not buying early may be your best bet. A lot of retail stores geared towards teenagers, kids, and the under 30 crowd, put their holiday collections out very early. When they do this, this generally means their spring collections will be out near Christmas eve if not the week before. Retailers always work ahead. When they work ahead, they have to clear out the previous ‘ collection even we are technically still in that season. What does this mean for the shopper? You can get the holiday collection merchandise significantly discounted if you hold off. Go ahead and window shop, but buy later. This is one time when the last minute shopper gets the best deal.

What is Rich Media?

Rich media is a term that is synonymous with interactive media. Interactive media generally refers to products or services that are found on digital computer-based system, which responses to the actions of users by presenting content such as text, animation, graphics, audio, video, etc.

Rich media is a welcome change from the older, more mainstream media solutions. By using rich media, companies can create one of a kind ways to draw consumers in. Rich media can be used online or even through mobile devices.

Rich media can be a streaming video with a scene from a movie or television show, an imaged mouse cursor, a bannered ad that captures the user’s filled-in person information, ads that change when a user scrolls over them. Simply put, rich media is a means of interacting with the user. The possibilities for interaction are endless. Companies have more creative freedom and the power to make their advertisements pop out to the user.

Rich media advertisements drive and measure the engagement of their users. Rich media can send a targeted message to specific users paged on demographics and other online habits. By using rich media, companies are able to decide what works and does not work as an advertising or marketing method.

Rich Media can include:

• High quality images.
• Multiple streaming videos.
• Videos recorded from a webcam or smartphone.
• The use of Twitter.
• Using Facebook to post images and video.
• Information collection from the user.

Rich media platforms (such as offered by Preface Media) can:

• Improve the overall online of experience of customers.
• Aid in boosting sales.
• Provide a defined company image.

Rich media is a powerful advertising tool. Companies, large and small, should not be afraid to explore their rich media options. Rich media is effective, creative, engaging, and the results can easily be measured.

Need help creating a rich media campaign? Contact Preface Media. Let Preface Media create your rich media solution.

Merry Mobile Shopping!

As Smartphones essentially become smarter and smarter, the market for mobile shopping is really taking off. Mobile commerce applications and mobile websites are changing the way retailers do business and the way consumers shop.

With a rise of retailers users social media, mobile applications, and mobile web, mobile activity is destine to play a role in the 2010 holiday shopping season. In a study conducted by Deloitte, retailers are seeking to deliver tightly integrated and consistent merchandise, inventory, and promotional messages to their customers via mobile web, applications, and social media. There is also expected to be a between web based and physical storefront promotions and sales. Phone applications are tying online and store shopping together in more ways than ever before.

Consumers use their mobile phones to run price comparison searches and search for the products they want most. In the Deloitte study, conducted earlier this year, 21 percent of smartphone users state they have used their phones to locate stores, find product information, shop, and comparison shop. Shoppers are even insistent that their mobile phones will assist them with their holiday shopping.

Why mobile shopping? The question is more likely to be: why not mobile shopping. Mobile shopping is convenient. You can shop on your phone regardless of who you are, where you are, and what kind of time you have. Shoppers can beat the holiday crowds anywhere at any time. Shoppers have the opportunity to shop on the bus, while waiting in a doctor’s office, between classes, etc. Mobile shopping has the potential to make last minute holiday shopping a thing of the past.

With rich media, mobile shopping is equivalent to shopping online. Preface Media offers 360 degrees shopping experiences for mobile devices. Any user with an iPhone or smartphone is able to view all items at a full 360 degree view. Users can zoom, pan, and rotate products all with the click of a button on their phone. Technology has made mobile phone shopping easy. Shoppers can purchase products without having to worry about not liking what the actual product looks like.

Should retailers expect to see a huge sales surge courtesy of the mobile web and applications? The answer is a likely no. New technology is likely to only provide a small increase in sales. Given the current economy, consumers are still watching their funds closely and are remaining focused on increasing their savings and paying off any debt they may have. Consumers are not ready to max out their credit cards again.

Testing Rich Media

Testing your rich media site is a great way to gain invaluable feedback and insights into what potential consumers want. What better way to test the functionality of your rich media than allowing actual consumers to access the beta version of your site?

By allowing actual consumers to test the beta version of your rich media site, feedback and insights are 100% accurate. Additionally, using actual or potential customers to test of the functionality of a rich media pages costs a company nothing.

A great way to get customers involved in testing a beta site is to use social media. Twitter followers and Facebook fans make for great test markets. Social media is free and will provide you with a large number of individuals from diverse backgrounds to partake in your test. Keep in mind that just because someone is your friend or follower on a social media site, it does not mean that they have actually used your products before. This is also a great way to get potential customers interested in purchasing from you. Place a link on your social media page to your beta site. This will direct fans and followers to take a look at the beta site. Encourage users to post comments about your rich media beta site. Ask them what they like, what they don’t like, and what they feel could be approved upon.

Here’s one example. Javis Davis offered Facebook users the opportunity to test their beta site. By providing users with a secret and important duty of testing their beta site, Javis Davis got quit the response. This small Alabama bedding store had fans engaged and excited to be participating. Javis Davis treated fans to a preview of it’s new collection and allowed them to use a design configurator to experiment with different fabrics and styles.

Testing rich media sites using social media is an effective and affordable means of getting the job done. Don’t have a rich media page? Visit Preface Media’s Rich Media Solutions.

Smart Shopping: Mobile Shopping and Black Friday

Black Friday is often considered the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season (even though retailers have been decorated for and advertising for the holidays since Halloween). As retailers gear up for the holiday season, having a Smartphone may save you time, money, or both. Mobile applications can help consumers price compare, save money, and scout out all the best holiday deals without ever having to leave their couch.

According to Jill Dvorak, Senior Consultant-Mobile Commerce for FitForCommerce in an interview with WalletPop, mobile shopping is expected to be up about 100% from last holiday shopping season. In 2008, mobile sales were about $396 million. Last year, they are $1.2 billion. This year mobile sales are expected to be at around $2.2-2.4 billion.

Many of the countries top retailers, such as Ebay, Amazon, and Best Buy, have developed mobile applications that allow consumers to shop with the touch of a button as well as with texting. Additionally, these applications are free to download. Mobile applications and web sites are easy-to-use and load quickly on mobile devices.

Smartphone users can sign up for tweets, text, and e-mail alerts on deals, promotions, special pricing, and to learn about new products and services. Additionally, users are able to text for free samples, especially in the perfume and cosmetic industry. Additionally, checking into stores with applications like FourSquare and Shopkick will provide consumers with additionally and on the stop discounts.

Mobile shopping will allow shopper to get all the Black Friday deals without the holiday shopping crowds in brick and mortar establishments.

As an added bonus, parents will not have to worry about kids checking their computer browser history to check out what retailer sites mom and dad have visited. Mobile shopping is a secure way to shop even with a house full of curious children. They won’t know what Santa is bringing until Christmas morning.

Take a look at what Preface Media has down for retailer Brown Jordan. Let us do the same for you this season! Let mobile shopping spread a little cheer and added income for your retail business.