Pemaquid Communications

A few weeks ago Pemaquid launched a new Web site for the Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF). MeHAF advances its mission through three strategic priorities: advancing health care reform in Maine; promoting patient and family-centered care; and strengthening Maine’s health care safety net.

The goal of our redesign project was to help give MeHAF the online tools needed to share knowledge, publicize the work of its grant recipients and strengthen its position as a thought leader on health care issues in Maine.

When MeHAF approached Pemaquid in January of this year, their Web site was not helping them advance their strategy. For several years they had been using a rigid, hard-to-use content management system that had been built using proprietary programming on an ASP.net platform. The system was balky and hard to adjust to meet changing needs. MeHAF staff had a tough time understanding how to manage the CMS, let alone how to use it to communicate quickly and effectively online.

Pemaquid responded by developing a custom version of our Pemaquid Content Manager, built atop the Django framework. We were able to quickly architect a solution that allowed MeHAF to preserve and migrate all the data from their existing site. At the same time, we were able to dramatically improve their ability to self-publish content on the site. Their page templates are much more flexible and search-engine-friendly, so over time we hope to see their search positioning (already relatively good for relevant topics) improve.

With the new Content Manager in place, MeHAF can update every page on their site – and create new ones – in a way that is easy to manage and is search-engine friendly. They can even easily control naming conventions (i.e. “mysite.com/mysection/mypage”). They can update news and events, and can update the contents of a custom library of Resources.

With a little help from graphic artist Arielle Walrath we updated the look and feel of the site to match design elements from their most recent annual report, designed by Portland agency Pennisi & Lamare.

As with all Pemaquid sites, MeHAF.org is built with bulletproof, cross-browser compatible CSS and xHTML and is structured so it’s easily accessible to folks with visual and physical impediments and who use assistive devices to browse the Web.

The solid base we’ve established also puts MeHAF in position to incorporate linkages to their nascent social networking system, and Django’s Open Source framework will allow us to build an online community for sharing health information through an onsite social network/forum, should MeHAF decide to move in that direction.

Whatever they decide to do next and however they choose to approach it online, the Pemaquid Content Manager will give them a platform that allows their site to easily grow and change along with their online communications objectives.

Yesterday I spoke with someone at an organization to whom we gave a pitch presentation last week. He explained that we weren’t getting a gig to redesign his organization’s Web site. He said his committee told him one reason they weren’t inclined to give us their business because ‘we never asked for it’.

We don’t mind a bit. We will never ask for business.

Sound crazy? It’s not when you think about it. It’s actually become part of our screening process. Let me explain.

When speaking to potential Clients, it’s my job to demonstrate that we are the experts, that we have the know-how to give them the best Web site possible. We should be able to convince them that our approach and our process will lead to a site that is clearly superior to other options.

If we can’t do that, if the prospect doesn’t end up coveting our approach and our previous work, it means one of two things: we haven’t done our job demonstrating our capabilities, and/or they will end up being a Client who is not a good fit.

In a way, it’s like dating. You’ll form a healthy relationship with someone who likes you for who you are and not because you bought them diamond rings and took them for a ride in your Carrera.

Don’t get me wrong. For the prospect in question, we wrote up a proposal, we prepared and delivered a solid pitch presentation and, at the end we said (as we always do) that we were looking forward to the opportunity to work with this prospect (and we were very forthright in saying that).

But we wanted to work with them because we wanted to build a great Web site, not simply because they waived money under our noses. We won’t say anything or do anything just to get the work (we have plenty already). We’ll propose to do what we think is right – and prospects will either agree or they won’t.

For the health of our company, the Clients we want (and the ones you should want for your business) are the ones who want to work with you, not the other way around.

Today we’re reviewing a Client’s competitors’ online presence: their sites, content management systems (CMS) and social networks. We’ll compile the results of our digital survey and provide analysis as to strengths and weaknesses regarding a competitor’s online marketing communications, their code base, the accessibility of their sites and the technologies they use.

If you’d like some perspective as to how your business stacks up against the competition, just get in touch.

After building Web sites for more than a decade now, I can say that when you boil it down there are basically four types of people who build most Web sites. And three of them are not the people you want monkeying with your pixels and data, not because they’re incompetent, but because their professional interests and motivations are at odds with what makes for a great Web site.

I submit for your consideration:

Susie Sunshine (The Graphic Designer) . Susie got into design because she likes to work with colors, fonts, layouts and patterns. Designers like Susie get involved in Web design because all her Clients, for whom she already does brochures, logos, letterhead and other collateral, ask her about Web all the time (this is also how a lot of so-called “full-service” ad agencies fall into Web design work as well).

But Susie and her ilk aren’t usually great coders – in fact, they often have an aversion to it – and let’s face it, that’s not what floats their boats. So she ends up building “Supermodel sites”: they look pretty, but they break a nail or break a heel when asked to do anything athletic (interactive).

For a full-featured interactive Web site, equipped with even a simple content management system, Susie’s not your gal.

Sir Codesalot (The Programmer). Sir Codesalot can write a script to do just about anything. He’ll make your Web site sit up, beg and fetch your slippers in the morning. Content management system? Check. Chron job synchronizing online and offline databases via XML export/import schema? No problem.

But programmers far too often create systems that only other programmers could love. They’re often too complex for most people to use easily, and ignore common workflows. To make matters worse, programmers are not trained as communicators, so you often get cryptic error messages or help text that’s unhelpful because it’s chock full o’ jargon.

Sir Codealot will not slay it when it comes to your site.

P.T. Bar-Nunn (The Search Marketer). Search marketers are really good at convincing their Clients to spend money on all sorts of voodoo that may or may not bring people to a Web site (my 80-20 rule of search marketing is that 80% of the practice is drop-dead simple; but that’s a blog post for another day). Then, P.T.’s Clients pay for a monthly report filled with all kinds of statistical metrics on how well – or poorly – they are performing… and justifying more search marketing.

When it comes to actually architecting a Web site however, many search marketers are mediocre – because their focus is on the marketing, not the build. And the problem with that is that even if your search marketing campaign is successful, you could end up bringing people to A Really Bad Web Site, and that’s kinda like being The Boy Who Cried Wolf. People will come to your site based on the search marketing, but they’ll leave once they get there – and they’ll never return. At that point, your entire search marketing budget will be wasted.

Search marketing should be considered when redesigning your Web site, but don’t treat it the marketing as more important than the site itself.

Mr. Clean (The Interaction Designer). An interaction designer takes the psychology of how people browse the Web into account when building a site. He’ll first try to understand who will be using the site and what task patterns they’ll follow when navigating through it. Then he’ll use the appropriate graphic design and programming to support the needs of people visiting the site. Other architectural issues, like the types of content (news, events, job postings, resource libraries, member directories, meeting minutes, products for sale) will be taken into account to fashion a content management system that’s best for the people visiting the site.

If you want a site that gives people a great user experience (and a great user experience sells products, by the way) then look for an interaction designer like Mr. Clean.

Our year as an inaugural entreverge award recipient officially concluded last week with the selection of new winners at the June 16 gala at Port City Music Hall. So now is a good time to reflect.

When you win an award like entreverge, naturally people often ask how the award changes your life and makes a difference in your business. One thing’s for sure – 2009 was a very tough year, but it would have been much tougher without entreverge.

Entreverge definitely helped build an awareness of Pemaquid, what we are all about, and our coworking experiment at Wycwah. The award’s endorsement has helped to solidify the support of the creative community here in Portland behind what we’re doing.

It’s been great to get some face time with entreverge advisors like former governor Angus King, IDEXX Founder David Shaw, Swardlick marketing group principal David Swardlick, the management consultants of the local ACE chapter, and many others (I was particularly pleased to see that long-time Client Gabrielle Melchionda of Mad Gab’s was among them).

Those connections forged will always be there, and who knows what opportunities they might lead to down the road, and the advisor’s perspective on business and what Pemaquid is doing has been helpful.

On the other hand, no magical secrets were revealed. No great bolts from the blue that have transformed the business. In that sense, it reaffirmed one of life’s basic truths: there’s no substitute for hard work, and when the lights dim and the cameras get turned elsewhere things still boil down to you, your own personal energy and your belief in yourself and what your doing.

Perhaps more exciting than meeting some high-powered advisors was the opportunity to meet and get to know my fellow 2009 entreverge winners. Karen Farrell of Top Line Marketing, Emilie Sommer of emilie inc., Adrianne Zahner of Turtle Love Committee and Jeremy Litchfield of Atayne are all doing amazing things, right here in Portland, Maine, and it’s been so great to get to know them and compare notes. I’m so glad that entreverge decided to select five winners each year instead of just one.

What’s next for Pemaquid? More and more of the same. Smart, bulletproof, common-sense Web design and development, delivered with style, by people who speak English (not geek) and don’t talk down to you, is needed more than ever.

We’re so glad to be doing it here in Portland, Maine, and we’re jazzed that our fair city has entreverge, a fantastic way to recognize, build awareness and support great business ideas and the spirit of entrepreneurship.

This year Pemaquid redesigned the site of the Maine HR Convention for long-time Client Law Publishers of Northern New England. The 15th annual event, held May 11-14, 2010 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, had over 700 attendees and more than 150 HR Expo participants, making it one of the largest of its kind nationwide.

The Convention offers high quality education, creative events, and special camaraderie for Maine’s HR professionals. This year’s high-powered keynote speakers included former Maine governor Angus King and employee engagement expert Ryan Estis.

Over the years the Convention staff has relied more and more on Web-based information management to keep things organized as the event has grown. With the 2010 redesign Pemaquid developed or adjusted a number of custom content management solutions specifically designed to help keep things organized. Here are some of the site’s key features:

Custom e-commerce. The Convention uses a custom e-commerce app designed by Pemaquid. It allows an organization to register up to six people at a time and calculates their fee based on the number of days each registrant will attend, whether they are participating in the Convention Golf Tournament, and whether they are subscribers of other materials produced by Law Publishers. Registrants can elect to pay via credit card or be invoiced.

Custom event scheduling. With the new content management system we’ve rolled out, based on the Django framework, Pemaquid created a way for Convention staff to designate some of the items on the Events calendar as workshops. This in turn allowed us to offer additional services to registrants regarding their workshop selections.

Registrant profies. Each registrant was entered into the Content Manager, along with the dates they would be attending the conference. That enabled us to customize their user experience in a few important ways and gave Convention staff the ability to better manage registrants.

Workshop selection. Registrants were each given a username and password (which they could change) as part of their profile. This allowed them to log into a members-only workshop selection section of the site where they could choose the breakout sessions they wanted to attend. Registrants had the ability to change their selections at any time, and they could print out descriptions of each workshop they had selected for a “grab-and-go” itinerary.

Headcounts. Convention staff had access to a special page that tallied up the number of registrants who had selected each workshop, allowing them to plan room assignments based on the level of interest.

Resource library. Pemaquid designed a custom resource library which allowed Convention staff to upload Powerpoint presentations, PDFs and other materials to a password-protected section of the site where registrants can log in and download them. Resources are organized by category.

Powered by Django. With this year’s redesign, Pemaquid developed a powerful custom Content Manager built atop the Django framework. In addition to the special features outlined above, Convention staff can update the copy on any page of the site, and they can create new ones, assigning the URL for search engine optimization (”www.mainehr.com/convention/my-human-resources-page”). The Django framework, which is Open Source, enabled Pemaquid to very quickly adjust and create new content management tools for the Convention site tailored to their specific needs.

Last night I gave an overview of content management systems (CMS) in a presentation organized by the Maine chapter of AIGA and held at Wycwah, the coworking space we share at 28 Maple Street. Many thanks to Programs Director Sean Wilkinson for helping with all the arrangements.

The idea was to give designers with limited experience coding a look at some of the many, many different CMS options available, and to touch on a few ways that dynamic content management can affect design decisions.

Plenty of Web design shops have even created their own CMS (Pemaquid has built one that we use both for “standard” as well as e-commerce projects). We’ve recently built one using the Django framework. The bottom line is to understand what’s available and choose the best tool for the job.

Below is a rundown of some of the content management systems that we discussed, as well as a few others worth highlighting.

Get Simple

Lowdown: As the name implies, it’s very simple to set up; no database required (it uses an XML file to store data). A basic template structure (you can alter the HTML/CSS to create new ones). You can only create one kind of page. Open Source.
Good for: Basic sites with limited navigational, content and layout needs.
Sites: Get Simple

WordPress

Lowdown: Easy setup (the “5-minute install” is a claim to fame), plenty of themes that are easy to customize, strong community. Clean admin user interface. Open Source. Perhaps not ideal for custom content needs or interaction design/layout, communities or e-commerce.
Good for: Blogging, subject matter experts, search engine optimization around a topic
Sites: TechCrunch, Scobelizer, Zeldman.com

Concrete 5

Lowdown: A little tougher to install than WordPress; it has a WYSIWIG interface for editing pages; chunks of content can easily be dragged from one column to another. Small developer community; many add-ons must be purchased.
Good for: Simple editing interface is great for non-technical administrators; a good option for lightweight content management needs on sites that may have high page counts.
Sites: Bigelow Laboratory, Kodiak Staff

Joomla

Lowdown: Easy setup (some hosts have a one-click install for it), lots of easy-to-customize themes, more available modules (”extensions”) for managing different types of content. Can be somewhat challenging to create custom extensions for a specific user experience. Admin interface not completely intuitive to novice or non-technical users. Open Source.
Good for: Projects with modest budgets and that don’t require a lot of customization or have specific content needs.
Sites: Maine Marketing Association, Guggenheim

Expression Engine

Lowdown:Feature-rich. Allows page-by-page customization of templates and layout. Core is free, but to obtain many extensions you must pay a $99 licensing fee, and a license for commercial projects is $249. Clean admin interface but unusual lingo (”Weblog”)
Good for: Personal sites for Web design professionals and those with heavy weight on visual design.
Sites: Stuff and Nonsense, Jason Santa Maria

Drupal

Lowdown: Strong developer community. Extensive collection of modules for most content management needs. Supports members-only communities. Plenty of themes, or make your own. WYSIWYG admin user interface for managing pages can be complex and challenging for non-technical or occasional admins to master; admin workflow can be difficult to learn. Interaction design can be time-consuming to customize for a specific user experience.
Good for: High-traffic sites, membership management, online publishing
Sites: Technology Association of Maine, Healthcare IT News,

Django

Lowdown: All right, technically Django is a framework, not a CMS. What’s that mean? A framework is something you use to build a CMS. Django’s framework provides the best performance of all (faster than Ruby on Rails) and it’s code is very modular and flexible: developers can create new modules easily in one section while designers create templates in another, and modules can be “plugged in”. It’s what we currently use at Pemaquid to quickly build custom content management solutions that don’t compromise the look and feel. Open Source.
Good for: high-traffic/high-content sites, online publishing, Web applications, social networks, rapid development of custom content management solutions.
Sites: The Washington Post, Flyfi, Lawrence Journal-World & News (they created it).

Have Clients asked you about the Usual Suspects yet? You know, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. If not, they will. When it comes to choosing a content management system, most people have heard of these options. They are backed by large, devoted developer communities.

But when it comes to managing the content on your site, there are a lot of options out there.

Tonight from 6-8pm at Wycwah, our coworking space at 28 Maple Street in Portland, I’ll be giving a presentation on a variety of “CMS’s”, geared towards visual designers with an eye towards how a CMS affects the visual design of a Web site interface?

In addition to the Usual Suspects, we’ll take ExpressionEngine, Concrete 5, GetSimple and Squarespace for a spin.

We’ll also take a look at a CMS Pemaquid has built on the Django platform.

This event is brought to you by the AIGA Maine.

Register in advance for $5 or bring $10 to the door. Free gourmet pizza provided graciously by Portland Pie.

Last week Pemaquid launched a new site for Wycwah, the coworking space we share at 28 Maple Street.

www.wycwah.com

What the heck does “Wycwah” mean? An ancient Abenaki word for “coworking”? Was it the only domain name available? Nah. But you’ll have to ask us in person sometime to get the lowdown on it.

The site is a simple construction built on the Django framework. Over time, we coworkers will be using it as a learning device as well as a source of information about our space.

The beautiful logo was designed by our friend and Wycwah member Keith Sirois; interface production and Django configuration was done by yours truly.

There’s no question that Internet Explorer 6 has replaced Netscape 4 as the most reviled browser known to Web development. Just do a quick real-time search to see how Web designers feel.

There’s a lot not to like. To name just a few short-comings:

• It doesn’t render the transparency of Portable Network Graphics (*.PNG files) properly, requiring a browser-specific filter
• It doesn’t render a lot of the latest CSS declarations

(I could go on and on, but why relive the agony?)

This means that Web designers need to invest extra time making sure IE6 renders their creations properly, and that makes us, um… cranky, and rightly so.

Some designers actually seem to be personally offended by people who use IE6, and want to force them to switch browsers by denying them access to their Web sites if they use IE6.

This approach is miguided and does not take into account the fact that many people cannot upgrade because they access the Web from corporate IT environments that only support IE6.

Other designers are bewildered that some people would continue to use IE6 when other options exist. The reason has to do with usability, and is best characterized by the phrase “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it”. In other words, people who use IE6, many of whom are non-technical, get along just fine, thank you, sending email and surfing and purchasing with adequate security. These folks have no incentive to switch.

It’s hard to get angry with people for that.

Designer Andy Clarke recently considered the options regarding the IE6 question and proposed a Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS file as a solution. Basically, Clarke, says, serve up a plain jane style sheet that allows folks with IE6 to view a Web page’s content, but conveys the message that their browser is not up to par in terms of rendering its layout.

Some top flight designers have adopted this approach, as Jina Bolton did recently when she redesigned her personal site, Sushi and Robots. UIE6 has popped up on a couple of sites here in the Portland area as well.

So, has the time come to employ the Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS more routinely? The answer depends on the audience for your site as well as its content.

A quick spot check of W3Schools browser stats suggests that roughly 10% of all Internet users view it through IE6 (about 4% of the visitors to this site use IE6).

If your site caters to the general public and traffic analytics show one in ten visitors are using IE6, I’d say the time has not yet come for you to switch. You’re still better off employing progressive enhancement techniques in your CSS to serve up a design that still looks sharp, if not a pixel-perfect clone of what’s seen in other browsers.

If 4% or less are using IE6, and you’re not conducting any e-commerce, I’d say you’re safe giving UIE6 CSS a spin.

But if you do use UIE6 CSS, make sure you check to see that things are rendering properly. Sometimes goodies like jQuery, bereft of the CSS used in other browsers, leave the interface looking a little messy and content unreadable. Yep, I’ve seen that on at least one local site-that-shall-remain-nameless.

Remember, IE6 users are people too. They deserve a great (if not pixel-perfect) user experience like everybody else.

Next week we’ll be talking about Pemaquid’s current approach to handling CSS for IE6.

Have any of you out there used UIE6 CSS? Let us know how in the comments.

Last week, Pemaquid’s first intern, Jordan Warren, officially became Pemaquid’s new Creative Services Coordinator, and we are really jazzed about it.

Jordan’s responsible for managing all the “air traffic”: working closely with our Clients to make sure we’re meeting their needs and that they always understand the status of their project. She also works with the creative staff and subcontractors to make sure that your friendly neighborhood Webslingers understand what they need to do to get the job done right.

Have a question or concern about your Web site project? Jordan’s your gal.

Jordan and I met in April, when I gave a guest lecture to her e-commerce class at the University of Southern Maine. Afterwards, she asked if Pemaquid provided internships. She said she wanted to learn as much as she could about Web design and usability and didn’t care if she got paid.

Music to my ears (the part about learning all she could).

So I signed her up as our first intern, and the rest is recent history. Jordan has read the books, written the blog posts, set up the Delicious links for other aspiring Web designers (and learning in the process) and coded the HTML, CSS, PHP and SQL. She even set up Pemaquid’s Facebook fan page.

When her internship ended this past September, Jordan stayed on as a part-time designer. As she finished up her final semester, she has gotten to know many of our Clients quite well.

And the word, from at least one last week: “We like Jordan”.

That rocks. Jordan’s cheerful disposition, ingenuity and attention to detail are making a positive difference. That’s the kind of person we want to have around.

Please help us in congratulating Jordan on her new gig. We’re eagerly looking forward to great things from her in 2010!

The year 2010 will be to some extent about recasting Pemaquid, or at least my perspective. The Web has changed a lot I first went into business in 2002. Then, people used Dreamweaver to edit the Web and Netscape Navigator 4 to browse it. Now they use WordPress and… IE6 (if you know what I mean).

So this seems like a good time to rededicate this blog to two individuals who have been influential in bringing it into being.

The first is Jeffrey Zeldman. As the author of Designing with Web Standards, publisher of A List Apart and one of the most important voices on best practices in Web design, I’d been an admirer for some time. Then I had the opportunity to meet him at South By Southwest in March 2007. I mentioned how I felt my business was ’stuck in neutral’ and seemed to be adrift after some early success.

“Do you have a blog?” Zeldman asked me.

“No,” I replied, “I’m not sure I have anything original to say.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he told me. “Just say what you think needs to be said. And, after all, it’s searchable.”

So, I jumped on the blogging bandwagon, after arriving fairly late to the game, and though I’m usually skeptical of the intrinsic value of new trends like Twitter and Facebook, I’ve made a more concerted effort to be an early adopter and figure out how new Web technologies will affect how we interact.

My second rededication is for Zack Gaulkin. I worked with Zack at MaineToday.com back in the early naughties when sock puppets ruled the Earth and people still used the phrase “New Economy” to describe what was happening online. The Web was a creative free-for-all, and I would love to brainstorm with Zack, and we’d come up with all kinds of whacky ideas – and could try them out. The whole Web was our laboratory.

I’ve mentioned Zack before on this blog. He’s passed on, and I miss his creative energy and playful spirit.

In many ways, these are two people worth emulating. If I remember to ask myself “WWZD?” (”What Would Zack – or Zeldman – Do?”) I’ll probably be able to stay on the right track.

When it comes to 2009, one thing’s for sure – there was never a dull moment. In fact, it had more ups and downs than the SooperDooperLooper. I like excitement, but I’m hoping 2010 will be a year of steadier, more balanced growth.

The year started off with, shall we say, a “subdued” business climate. Then in January two long-time collaborators decided to go their own way and haven’t looked back. No calls, no emails, no coffee, no beer, no lunch. (I blame myself). For someone who went into business in part to try to build a better kind of workplace, that one still hurts bad. Real bad.

In February, with the commercial real estate market being what it was (at a low ebb, that is), it was time to head downtown and see if I could score some office space. I got very lucky and hit the jackpot with a top floor space at 28 Maple Street, formerly occupied by Lapchick Creative. I couldn’t rent the entire floor space, but worked out a deal w/our landlord, Portland Pie (Best. Landlord. Ever.) to rent part of it and then see if I could bring in like-minded creatives to fill it out as a coworking space.

I had heard about the idea of coworking, through Twitter of all places, and in April it became a trending topic in Portland, thanks in part to a great article in The Switch by Avery Yale Kamila. Then Space Gallery held a Jelly – a coworking open house of sorts – and we followed suit (we hosted Jellies on a monthly basis throughout most of 2009 and we intend to continue this year). Our space now has four full-time members, two part-time members and a funky name – Wycwah (you’ll have to ask a member how we came up with that one). You can follow Wycwah on Twitter, naturally.

In February, I decided to try a NoonHat lunch, organized by the folks at Portland Greendrinks. There, purely by chance, I ran into Sheila Reiser, a gal who was in-between jobs and to some extent was trying to find herself. Needing a Creative Services Coordinator, after the departure of an aforementioned collaborator, I decided to take a chance, and hired her.

Here’s the thing you need to understand about Sheila: she didn’t have a computer, a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Her mobile phone was an ancient model, and I don’t think she sent very many text messages outside of those we exchanged. Quite an unusual hire for a company that does Web design and development.

What Sheila did have, however, was a keen interest in typography and a can-do, supportive attitude. She was not in this game of life for the money (she had turned her back on her career as an officer in the Coast Guard – she graduated from the Academy), she actually wanted to help Pemaquid make a difference, and see if it was in any way fulfilling for her. She had a courteous, military bearing, but was not “professional”. Refreshing, just right for Pemaquid (courteous but not “professional”), and a very good fit as it turned out.

In March, I caught another break, bumping into Jordan Warren, while giving a presentation on e-commerce to her class at the University of Southern Maine. Jordan quickly became Pemaquid’s first summer intern, and the experience went so well that she has continued on as a part-time employee, and she’s doing a bang up job as my Humble Apprentice. When Sheila left in mid-December, Jordan assumed her role as Pemaquid’s new Creative Services Coordinator. You will be hearing much more about her soon enough.

In June, Pemaquid was nominated for one of the first-ever entreverge awards by a Client, Curtis Picard of the Maine Merchants Association. We were nominated for advancing the idea of coworking in Portland, and we were lucky enough to be one of five companies (out of 50+ nominees) to win. Winners have access to an Advisory Committee that includes former governor Angus King, Idexx founder David Shaw and David Swardlick of Swardlick Marketing Group. Happily, one of our Clients, Gabrielle Melchionda of Mad Gab’s is also an advisor. Over the coming weeks, I will be writing about my experience with entreverge advisors.

My entreverge has been wonderful, and has quite possibly saved my business. It’s mission – to celebrate and promote good, creative business ideas and innovation here in Maine – is something that should be supported year after year. Kudos to Johann Sabbath and the folks at Propel for bringing it to life.

I’ve met many wonderful folks through coworking, and many through social media connections. Portland has many wonderfully talented “digital creatives” and I’m hoping there will be many opportunities to collaborate in the coming year.

Like a lot of folks, I’m looking forward to a better 2010, but there’s definitely going to be a lot of very hard work to be done to be successful. The business of Web design continues to evolve, forcing those of us in the market to adapt quickly. The economy still isn’t exactly rainbows and unicorns like it was a few years ago, and competition for the best gigs will be tough.

But bring it on. I’m convinced you learn much more about what your business is made of during the tough times, because you’re forced to be more introspective about what you need to do to be successful.

You may have noticed that this blog has been particularly quiet the last several weeks. True, we’ve been busy at Pemaquid, but I’ve also been spending a lot of time, with the help of my entreverge advisors (which has been invaluable), trying to get really clear on what it is that I’m all about and how I can, in my own way, make a positive difference to employees, Clients, peers and the larger community.

I’ve been in this business for almost nine years, and so far, so good. I know that sometimes I can act like God’s gift to Web, but believe me the management consultants I’ve met with recently are having a field day.

The world doesn’t need another mediocre Web shop. If Pemaquid is going to set a good example, I’m going to have to do a lot better.

But I think we’re getting there. More soon. Stay tuned.

It’s getting easier and easier for designers to make use of a wide variety of fonts in their Web projects. This is due to advances in CSS3, including the @font-face declaration, which in turn has led to the development of Typekit, a font “broker” of sorts.

I’m giving short presentation on the subject tonight to the New Hampshire Usability Professionals Association. Here are some recent, relevant links on the topic:

• Jeffrey Zeldman on the latest advances in Web typography
• W3C – CSS Fonts Module Documentation
• CSS3.info – article on @font-face
• A List Apart – CSS at 10
• Issues with IE8 and Web font rendering
• Typekit

You may have noticed that after being very active during the course of the spring and summer, this blog has been pretty quiet for several weeks now. We’re doing some soul searching, refocusing and we’re asking a lot of questions of others and ourselves.

I feel it’s important to make sure that I have a voice that’s worth hearing, that what I say on this blog counts and makes a difference. I’m asking myself whether I’m really capable of doing that in some way.

I feel very fortunate to have won an entreverge award earlier this year. I have met with several of the advisors, including Gabrielel Melchionda of Mad Gab’s (and a Client of ours) and David Shaw, founder of Idexx. Several more are on my calendar for the upcoming weeks.

Lots of soul searching taking place…

CONTRACT WEB DEVELOPER

Pemaquid Communications seeks a Web developer to assist us with upcoming work on a project-by-project basis. Proficiency in Python and the Django framework is preferred, although expertise in Rails or PHP frameworks is also good. Experience architecting and building custom content management systems is desirable.

Please send a technical resume along with links to working Web sites we can review to:

work@pemaquid.com

Thanks for your help. Rock on….

Rob Landry
Founder/Principal/Chief Bottle Washer
Pemaquid Communications
W http://www.pemaquid.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pemaquid
T: http://twitter.com/pemaquid

We’ve been looking for ways to make use of our coworking space at 28 Maple that will advance the cause of digital creatives in our fair city, and tonight, from 6 – 8pm, we’ll host our first-ever evening mixer.

The event will feature a presentation by Kevin Silver on interaction design and agile development. Silver is a UX Designer at Tyler Technologies in Falmouth, Maine and he’s on the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) board of directors.

The gathering was organized by Benjamin Ho and Susan Doran, who have reorganized the local MaineUX interaction design group as the Portland, Maine chapter of IxDA (@maineixda).

Vittles will be provided free of charge by Portland Pie – and you’ll be able to wet your whistle with beer or wine. So slowly… slowly back away from the Facebook and the Twitter and come do some real life social networking with other like-minded creative types.

About Kevin Silver

Kevin is an empathetic champion of the end user and has been involved in designing the behavior of digital products since 1995. He has worked on a diverse range of projects for the government, software companies and many nationally recognized brands providing strategic direction and interaction design goodness. As a passionate advocate for Interaction Design, Kevin led the charge in forming an IxDA local group in New Mexico and is currently on the IxDA Global Board of Directors. In his role on the IxDA Board, Kevin oversees more than 80 IxDA local groups from around the world. Currently he is UX Designer at Tyler Technologies working to deliver the next generation of financial software for local governments and municipalities.

About IxDA

The IxDA Manifesto: We believe that the human condition is increasingly challenged by poor experiences. IxDA intends to improve the human condition by advancing the discipline of Interaction Design. To do this, we foster a community of people that choose to come together to support this intention. IxDA relies on individual initiative, contribution, sharing and self-organization as the primary means for us to achieve our goals.

Sheila Reiser is Pemaquid’s Creative Services Coordinator.

Her primary duty is to make sure all “air traffic” at Pemaquid is cruising along at a comfortable altitude and that no Client is experiencing any, um, “turbulence”.

Sheila works with Pemaquid’s Chief Bottle Washer (that’s me) in tracking receipt of content, making sure the project is on schedule and on budget and that your project fits within the overall scheme of things at Pemaquid.

Before coming to Pemaquid, Sheila was in the United States Coast Guard, where she graduated from the Academy. During her tour it was her responsibility to know every moving part and system on her ship. She’s doing the same for us.

She has managerial experience: while at sea a crew of six reported to her. If she can handle a half-dozen burly sailors and help maintain our homeland security, that’s good enough for us – and should be good enough for you on your project.

Our Jelly last week was so much fun we’ve decided to do it again.

Come down to 28 Maple Street and hang w/us from 10a-4p, next Tuesday, August 25.

Coffee, wi-fi and camaraderie will be plentiful. We should have a wireless printer and other clerical sundries by then as well.

(photo courtesy Dave Weinberg/cellphoneSketchpad: http://daveweinberg.com/daveBlog/)