We are happy to present our newly updated reel, including a nice new soundtrack compliments of the Ting Tings. For any of you who remember our last reel, you will undoubtedly notice the change in tone. We wanted our new reel to really convey not only our passion for creating beautiful and engaging interactive experiences, but also our sense of “fun”. We worked with Sawmill PR in ‘09 to learn more about what our clients thought of us, and we were all pleasantly surprised to hear that the word “fun” was used by almost every client they interviewed when they described what it was like to work with Fastspot. What a compliment! Any of you who have gone through a web redesign project know how grueling it can get, and how tempers can wear thin. Well, we are happy to report that here at Fastspot, we keep the love alive - no matter how long the project or relationship stretches on! So, enjoy the new reel and the new work showcased within it, and remember, just because its business doesn’t mean we can’t have fun doing it.
Last week I was interviewed by Greg Cangialosi, President and CEO of Blue Sky Factory on their weekly show. Happy to chat with Greg about websites, marketing, social media and answer questions from the chat room.
Our friends at Happy Cog Studios asked if I would participate in a proposed panel discussion for the upcoming SXSW festival, and I happily agreed. While its nice to talk about all the great projects, its more valuable to look at the failures. I believe it is counter productive to hide your head in the sand when things go wrong, and personally I can say the most valuable things I have learned, in life and in business, are from when things get f*cked up.
Please take a moment to sign up and vote for our panel idea. If we get the green light, I promise to post a full account of the panel and our discussion after the event, for anyone who can’t make it. Thanks in advance for your support! Vote for us here!
If you are one of the many non-believers when it comes to the importance and relevance of social media, I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch some startling stats. Then decide.
It never ceases to amaze me how rude some people can seem in various forms of communication. My mother taught me to smile when talking on the phone, that the act of smiling will come across in my voice, making me sound like the ray of sunshine I am. However, nothing rains on my party more than a “debbie downer” on the phone. If I am supposed to be helping you, it would behoove you to be pleasant, thus making me want to help you even more - right? What is even more perplexing is how some people can sound like angels on the phone, and then you get an email from them that must have been sent from their evil twin locked in the basement. Your tone (in everything from emails, to personal conversations, to things you write on Twitter or Facebook) defines who you are, its a key ingredient to your personal brand. It will also determine how people react to you, want to continue being around you or working with you, how far they might go to extend a helping hand, you get the idea.
As communication methods keep moving towards shorter vehicles like texting, tweeting, etc - it is even more critical to find a spot to work in a smiley, or a thx, or a hi. If we don’t make these efforts, we will end up sounding like a bunch of grunting cavepeople barking orders and URLs at one another. “Bring me report!” “Make text bigger!” “No blue. Red!” “Click here and fix!” Seriously - is this the way we want to all end up communicating with each other? Of course, there are times when a stern email makes sense, but if you need to be stern, it is probably for a good reason, and you should take the time to politely explain the problem or frustration. A little bit of time trying to communicate beyond a barking order or command will inevitably go further to achieving your goals.
So, I challenge you all to try to be a little bit nicer, more courteous, say “Thank you” or “You’re welcome”, and share a little niceness with your business acquaintances and colleagues. That extra effort of writing “Hi Tracey” at the beginning of your email goes a long way. Sure, we aren’t getting married to each other, but we still have to spend time with each other, so we might as well try to make it a pleasant experience!
