Feel free to check out the new website here: www.kenblackwell.com

Let’s go ahead and get the biggest and most glaring problem out of the way. It hurts for some people but you all know it’s true: Zombies do not, cannot, and will not run. Part of the zombie ethos is that a zombie is afflicted by the post-death syndrome of “Rigor-mortis” which Wikipedia defines as such:

Rigor mortis is one of the recognizable signs of death (Latin mors, mortis) that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff (Latin rigor) and difficult to move or manipulate.

Zombies do not run.

Now, obviously if affected by this, it would be incredibly difficult for a zombie to move at anything faster than a crawl. Ergo, if it runs, it is not a zombie. Ok, let’s let that one simmer. Many people will abandon this article at that point and refuse to acknowledge that a being greater than them dreamed up the perfect monster (George Romero).

Another rule of zombies, they are extremely moronic but NOT unintelligent. In George Romero’s Day of the Dead, scientists were studying a placid zombie named Bubs. He - over time - gained the capacity to understand very simple things. Later in the progression of Romero films, the zombies began to learn that they would not drown, or they can use tools and/or weapons. That being said they never graduated to complex physics or theoretical mathematics but they can do simple things.

Zombies are driven by a hunger for brains. They can smell human flesh and that drives them to a location. Their senses work, and they can hear a human as well as we can, so any sound out of the ordinary would give a person’s position away.

Zombies do not have brute strength because they don’t need it. One of the key things about the zombies is not their ability as a singular zombie, but as a functioning horde. The zombie threat comes from the fact that there is a huge possibility for extreme widespread outbreak. The numbers alone are enough to cause a generous amount of anxiety in any believer. If you attack a tank with one person the tank would win, but if you storm a tank with 1000 people it wouldn’t be long until those people flipped that tank on it’s head.

While I’m trying to clarify what does and does not pass for a zombie, I’m in no way discrediting movies that have “zombie-like” creatures. Some of those movies rank very highly on my favorites list. 28 days later, 28 weeks later, and the Dawn of the Dead remake are some just to name a few.

My goal with this post is simply to clear the air. So next time, when one of your friends comments about a zombie on television you’ll have the knowledge and know-how to check and see if what he/she has seen really is a zombie indeed.

Happy Hunting!

1. Give them a reason to open the email with a good subject

The first thing that you do when you look at an article is read the headline. Same thing goes for an email; you read the subject. Make it attention grabbing and give it a hook to entice the reader.

2. Write original content that provides solutions to a target audience.

Write to a specific group. When you address problems people can relate to, they feel like you’re writing directly to them. (Which you are!) Solid, original content is important. No matter what your area of expertise, write about what people want to know about. Write about the solutions to their key issues. Be a resource. Give them a reason to hire you.

3. Don’t use big words!

We are often tempted impress people with large words. Write as if you were speaking directly to your ideal client and do it in a conversational tone.

4. Get them to look forward to receiving your message.

Post often, but don’t overdo it. I think the golden spot is between once a week to once a month. I set up a calendar with article subjects and dates. Have a reserve of articles written and ready to go so that if an emergency comes up, you won’t miss your deadline. Readers get used to your schedule and notice when an issue is missing.

5. Invite readers to provide feedback, questions, and topic suggestions.

The goal of all this is to get people to like and trust you. Leave it open for feedback, questions, or topics to talk about. Inviting feedback opens up a one-way communication into a two-way conversation. People appreciate the opportunity to give you their opinion or ask a question.

If you build it, they will come…or so you thought. So you have a new website, but no visitors? What do you do?

Useless.

A friend of mine, Jorge over at Reach Local, likes to use this analogy: “It’s like a gas station in a desert. You can build the best website ever, but if there are no people coming to it, it’s useless.”

Well, here are three tools you can use to increase your web traffic.

1. Offline The first place you want to start marketing your new website is offline. Yes this may seem backwards, but most of your customers are not going to know (or know that they should know) that you have a new website. Shout it from the rooftops. Put your new website address on all of your business cards, letterhead, signs, advertisements, emails, etc. Tell it to everyone you speak to. Send an email to all of you contacts letting them know of your hot new site. Notify all of the organizations you are a member of and try to get them to pass word to all the members.
2. Search Engines Almost 80% of your traffic will probably come from a search engine. There are ways to optimize your traffic. SEO (organic search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click) are two of the main ways to go about this. I won’t go into much detail here (for PPC that’s another post and we’ll have more information about organic search engine optimization coming soon as well).
3. Your website! Yes, your very own website can be a huge tool in promoting itself. Make sure you target your site to its audience. If people don’t like the site, then no matter what you do, they won’t go. Put up a blog and post about what people care about. (this also helps search engine traffic) Make sure you make it easy to use and look good.

Gatorworks President Brian Rodriguez and I (both chamber members) attended the function held at Perkins Rowe in Baton Rouge.  It was amazing (albeit, a bit cold).  The After 8 band played while all the restaurants in Perkins Rowe set up booths serving out free food.

Bryan Castillo, Mayor Kip Holden, and Brian Rodriguez

But the real treat was getting to see so many business friends, all in one place.  The opportunity to rub elbows with Baton Rouge’s best businesspeople is always too much to pass up.  A lot of laughing and cheer (and even some business) can be found at the annual event.  If you have never been or are new to the area, I highly recommend joining the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce.

That being said when I went to this collaboration of designers and artists I was somewhat blown away. They spoke about their processes they went through in order to win the Addy Awards (awards given by the federation for excellence in creative design, marketing and advertising) and it made an impact as to how I view what I do.

One of the speakers (whose name is Greg Milneck) was the winner of an Addy for his work on some local commercials. Now when he spoke about his process it seemed at first that “Oh he’s talking about filmmaking, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” Yet, when I took time to listen and examine what he was saying it all made sense and really fit well into the process of my job.

Pre-production, pre-production, pre-production. Those were the three most important steps in his process. And if you think about it, those should be the 3 most important steps in pretty much any design process. Regardless of whether it’s print design, commercials, or web design, having pre-production as the primary priority in your process is pretty logical. He went on to say that regardless of budget “more time spent on pre-production will allow you to spend less time on the actual production and post-production saving you money in the long run.” That’s why it’s so important. For him, it was to avoid going to a set and having 30 cast and crew not knowing exactly what to do. But for people like me and my coworkers, it’s more about having the site functionality and content laid out in front of you like a blue-print. If it isn’t, the client will make mid-design changes, or even post-approval design changes which cause more time to be spent going back and repeating work.

He had others that he put less emphasis on, but the one that stood out to me as a web designer was “Cooperation between pre- and post-production crew.” Now in terms of web design, this struck a very resonant chord with me. More often than not, I’ve run into an issue in the closing processes of deploying a site because I didn’t inform the designer of the limitations of HTML/CSS. With an increase in collaboration between developer and designer, these hiccups and tiny setbacks that frustrate us all and run minutes/hours off the clock could easily be avoided.

This is why i think even though the speaker was talking about commercial making, the logic and process applies to all walks of life.

My purpose with this post is really just to share with you my experience at the luncheon and how it affected me. If you have any other steps in your design process or workflow that you find is imperative I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment or email me directly.

On the way to our parents this past week, we decided to document the amount of food we made and compare it to the amount of packaged waste we had. The prepping and cooking were the hardest parts. But the culmination of thought and preparation when the meal hit the table made it all the more special. The results are pretty awesome. As seen here:

Feast and packaging pre-recycle.

So, after a long day of chopping, cooking, eating, and cleaning up, I felt really good about the small amount of waste, which was all recyclable, and the money we saved by buying local and organic. Next year I am going to attempt a NO WASTE Thanksgiving. Despite the traditional waste-ridden thanksgiving, you can easily accomplish an eco-friendly thanksgiving by attempting to reduce waste and save money in the process. Or not…

For a sustainable Thanksgiving reference:

http://coolfoodscampaign.org/thanksgiving/ten-cool-thanksgiving-tips/

GatorWorks Web Design, located in Baton Rouge, La., is at the forefront of change and innovation on the Web. The team at GatorWorks is committed to continuous learning, giving them the capability to provide their clients’ customers with new ways of experiencing them through the Web. After all, every successful business knows that customer satisfaction is key. The Internet has changed the way companies interact with their customers, and vice-versa. The opportunities for relationship building on the web are limitless, and GatorWorks’ skill allows them to help new and established businesses maximize that potential.

Recently, the team at GatorWorks designed a Web site for RadJet, a Houston-based company that has adapted and enhanced the use of radial jetting technology to coil tubing units utilized in oil and gas production.

“GatorWorks has done an excellent job in showcasing our services in a way that’s both eye-catching and informative,” Michel Bouchard of RadJet said. “The site is attractive and user-friendly and clearly communicates our value to potential customers. In addition, [GatorWorks founder and president] Brian Rodriguez and his team were very attentive to our needs and worked hard to get the site ready in a timely manner.”

Because it takes the time to understand the unique needs of each client, GatorWorks provides a design audit to each client to fully outline the requirements their specific project will have. It complements this by offering clients additional services after the project is complete, such as e-mail and Web hosting, online advertising and technical assistance. GatorWorks has just recently launched a newly designed Web site at www.gatorworks.net.

For more information, please visit www.gatorworks.net or contact Brian Rodriguez at (225) 709-6153.

Reprinted from the December 2008 / January 2009 issue of BIC Magazine.

One of the recent initiatives that Hecht and his staff are working on is the Greater New Orleans Digital Media Alliance. Hecht’s goal for The Greater New Orleans Digital Media Alliance will be to market the metro area to technology companies, advocate policies that support those firms, and work with universities to develop curricula that support the technology industry. The Times-Picayunne recently covered the story here.

I look forward to following GNO, Inc.’s initiatives as they help re-build the New Orleans business community.