2013 March » i3m Blog

Dropbox Rolls Out Revamped Desktop Client

Mar 132013

Although this is the eighth time that the Dropbox desktop client has been updated this year, this latest build (version 2.0) is significant because the tray menu has not only received a much-needed facelift but also some added functionality. The new and improved Dropbox menu keeps the user informed of the most recent file changes and notifies them in real time when something is shared with them.

“We’ve made it easier than ever to accept invitations to shared folders, see links or albums that people have shared with you, and keep tabs on what’s changed in your Dropbox,” wrote Dropbox engineer Max Belanger in a blog post Tuesday.

via Dropbox Rolls Out Revamped Desktop Client | Maximum PC.

Why All Brands Need to be Real-Time Marketers

Marketing, Your Brand 280 Responses »

Mar 132013

Doan began by explaining that nine months ago, OREO made a concerted effort to figure out how to communicate with consumers “in a new social space.” The brand realized there was a huge opportunity to engage with millennials instead in addition to the brand’s core audience of moms. And social media was the perfect place to do so. While Oreo certainly did plan to engage during the Super Bowl, much to the chagrin of conspiracy theorists, the brand did not pull the plug at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Bough pointed out that brands must have the “willingness to prepare” for events that may present opportunities to engage with customers. Learning how to respond in real time will be an important new skill for brands to master and fear must be left at the doorstep.

To the point that brands must be willing to engage, Berkowitz noted that if everyone involved with a brand marketing team isn’t on top of large live events that may present opportunities to engage, “odds are you aren’t doing your job.” It was also noted the the mentality of the campaign is still far too ingrained in the minds of marketers. There is no beginning, middle and end any longer. While planning will always play a role — Berkowitz shared that his team had several “dry runs” in advance of the Super Bowl — brands have to be nimble and ready to act on a moments notice when an opportunity presents itself.

via Why All Brands Need to be Real-Time Marketers.

Download the 70 best free fonts | Typography

Design 2,223 Responses »

Mar 122013

Typography isn’t just about communication, it can also add subtle references to the message you’re trying to convey. Whole books have been written on the craft and nuanced world of typography and type design, but we’re keeping things simple.

In this article we’ve scoured the web to present you with a fine and varied selection of the best free fonts. Including scripts, serifs, and a range of ligatures, these fonts will give you greater flexibility in your designs, and add to your arsenal of design tools.

Some of these fonts can be used on your web projects, but check the terms. And if you’re looking at a quick overview of web font formats, check out Jonathan Snook’s post on font embedding.

So, without further ado, join us as we present you with 70 of the best free fonts, which you can download and use today. Let us know how you get on!

Major glitch in Bitcoin network sparks sell-off; price temporarily falls 23%

Tech News 375 Responses »

Mar 122013

A technical glitch in the core Bitcoin software forced developers to call for a temporary halt to Bitcoin transactions, sparking a sharp sell-off. The currency’s value briefly fell 23 percent to $37 before regaining much of its value later in the evening.

The core of the Bitcoin network is a shared transaction register known as the blockchain. Approximately every 10 minutes, a new block is created containing a record of all Bitcoin transactions that occurred since the previous block. Nodes in the network, known as miners, race to “discover” this next block by solving a cryptographic puzzle. The winner of this race announces the new block to the other nodes. The other nodes verify that it complies with all the rules of the Bitcoin protocol and then accepts it as the next official entry in the block chain, starting the race anew.

It’s essential for all miners to enforce exactly the same rules about what counts as a valid block. If a client announces a block that half the network accepts and the other half rejects, the result could be a fork in the network. Different nodes could disagree about which transactions have occurred, potentially producing chaos.

That’s what happened on Monday evening. A block was produced that the latest version of the Bitcoin software, version 0.8, recognized as valid but that nodes still running version 0.7 or earlier rejected.

via Major glitch in Bitcoin network sparks sell-off; price temporarily falls 23% | Ars Technica.

The 12 Trends That Will Rule Products In 2013

Design, interface, Your Brand 332 Responses »

Mar 122013

Near the end of 2012, a group of us at Ziba got together to review what we’d learned over the course of the year. Working with dozens of clients who serve customers around the world, we designers spend a lot of time observing people as they interact with technology, services, and experiences, noticing how they seek solutions to everyday problems and make decisions. In the process, certain patterns emerge so forcefully that they’re practically unavoidable.

Meeting over three sessions spread out over a week, 23 Zibites (designers, researchers, and creative directors) discussed the patterns we’d seen, and distilled them down to the 12 insights we thought were most current and useful, to us and to our clients. Each one is presented here, as a brief essay that suggests how it will affect business practices in 2013, and as an illustration created by one of Ziba’s designers.

via The 12 Trends That Will Rule Products In 2013 | Co.Design: business + innovation + design.

YouTube One Channel Now Open for Everyone

interface, Internet News, Your Brand 84 Responses »

Mar 122013

YouTube has opened up its new design for channels, so far available only as limited beta, to all users.

The YouTube One Channel, as it’s called, gives users the ability to slap a big header (called Channel Art) on the top of their channels and to have a video trailer which starts playing for all visitors who aren’t yet subscribed to the channel.

The new Channel Art-adorned channels, YouTube claims, will look good on any screen size and any device.

via YouTube One Channel Now Open for Everyone.

5 new developments in content marketing

Marketing, Your Brand 519 Responses »

Mar 122013

The most successful companies now understand that high-quality content draws people in, builds trust, drives traffic, mobilizes social media sharing, and results in sales. With more and more businesses jumping on the content bandwagon, there will be even more competition for audience attention. That means it’s more important than ever to make sure your content is useful, interesting, and engaging enough to draw readers in.

You must understand your audience. Go out of your way to learn their needs, desires, and frustrations. Once you know your target customer intimately, you will be able to craft content that stands out, gets attention, and has a long shelf life.

What it means for your business: Don’t just decide to ramp up your content marketing. To stay ahead of your competition, develop specific content marketing goals. By keeping a strategic focus, you’ll stay well ahead of those who are blindly jumping on the bandwagon.

If Grumpy Cat is the biggest news of all, is SXSW in trouble?

Internet News, Meme, Tech News 328 Responses »

Mar 112013

Never mind Al Gore, Neil Gaiman, or Elon Musk, all of whom spoke at SXSW over the last few days. It’s Grumpy Cat that has been on everyone’s lips. Whether for good — after all, who doesn’t love a sweet kitty, even with a taciturn expression? — or for bad (the poor kitty has had to deal with an unbelievable number of people pawing at her), it would be hard to find a bigger story here this week.

This cannot be good for SXSW.

Over the years, this interactive festival has been the launching pad for some pretty amazing technology. Twitter exploded here in 2007, and Foursquare launched here in 2009. GroupMe had its public coming-out at SXSW, and so did people discovery apps like Highlight.

This year, no one really expected any new apps to break out, or for there to be any real big news or controversy. But I’m willing to bet that no one expected that the biggest story of all would be a small cat with a grumpy face.

For several days now, tens of thousands of people have been prowling around the streets of downtown Austin, attending a billion panels, keynotes, featured sessions, parties, meetups, and so forth. Many of the smartest people in the industry have shared their wisdom, and thousands have happily listened during an impressive selection of talks available to badge-holders.

But ask any veteran SXSW attendee, and I’m willing to bet that you’ll hear a similar story: the energy level has been low. There’s no buzz about anything. There’s a few interesting new apps — Takes and MessageMe come to mind — but in general, there hasn’t been much worth talking about, at least among companies that had yet to be in the public conversation.

Reborn Opera Mobile Sings on Android

Internet News, Tech News 368 Responses »

Mar 112013

Last month Opera announced it would be abandoning the Presto rendering engine that has been the basis of the browser since its inception. Instead the company will use the WebKit rendering engine for all its future releases, starting with this Opera Mobile for Android beta.

The revamped Opera for Android isn’t just different under the hood, Opera has redesigned the entire browser from the ground up opting for a more Android-native look. The new user interface is cleaner and reminiscent of Chrome for Android with a single menu button at the top of the screen rather than the space-eating toolbar found in the old Opera Mobile. While I prefer the new UI, it’s worth noting that the new design is decidedly less thumb-friendly.

Other cosmetic changes include combining the URL bar and search bar, and a new tab switching interface also similar to what you’ll find in Safari on iOS.

However, while the first WebKit-based Opera Mobile is clearly different it manages to retain, and even improve on, much of what made (makes) Opera unique.

For example, Opera Mobile’s trademark “Speed Dial” page

30 Must Read Blogs For Entrepreneurs Running a Startup

Education, Internet News, Tech News 352 Responses »

Mar 112013

Here are 30 blogs I read consistently. They’re well written, informative and actionable. Read these blogs and you’ll have strategies you can use today. Each recommendation includes a description of the value proposition and a link to a good article to start with. I’ve sorted the blogs into general categories.

Tech & Startup News
Experienced Entrepreneurs
Comprehensive Resources
Blogging & Copywriting
Marketing & Analytics
Social Media
Community & Customer Support
Design & Conversion
SEO

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