Augmented reality isn’t just a gimmick, it is a powerful tool waiting for worthwhile applications and creative development. Here is one great example from the USPS which proves this. The USPS Priority Mail Simulator is a helpful tool to estimate which size flat-rate box you should use (or order) to mail your stuff.
Just print the USPS Eagle tag at full size, launch the simulator, place the tag on your desk and stack your outbound belongings on top of the piece of paper, adjusting the size box and its transparency on the simulator to see which box is the perfect fit. I could see this application moving mobile at some point, but for now it works great the way it is. Being one click away from ordering the box you just simulated gives USPS an edge as well.
An Overview of Font Embedding, Font Linking, & the Current State of Fonts on the Web
Web designers have been limited to the fonts available on client operating systems—the standard web safe fonts that we are all familiar with. In the past few years, thanks largely to the efforts of Håkon Wium Lie and his web font campaign, several major browsers have started to support web fonts. Now, there is an effort to standardize web fonts which, if supported by font vendors, could open up whole libraries of fonts to be used on the web—expanding the options of web designers. This series is about the transition happening now—from the dark ages of web safe fonts to standardized web fonts. During the series we will cover the future as well as current state of fonts on the web.
OK. I can no longer ignore social media or hide from it. I’ve cringed at the idea of exposing myself online. I like being anonymous and it’s not like I’m a technophobe. I’ve been in marketing for over 15 years and embraced the web fairly early. (I had to look back at a quick history of the web to see how accurate my claim was…how time flies!)
If you’re like me you may have some of the same objections:
Who Cares? I sometimes wonder why some people blog. I mean, who cares what you think…right? But on deeper examination I realized I was constantly finding information on issues I did care about, in other peoples blogs. When researching about rebranding efforts I came across The Responsible Marketing Blog posting about Walmart’s rebrand. Not only was it funny, it was informative. I found that my research was directing me to all sorts of useful information in my day-to -day efforts, and much of it came from blog postings.
Everyone Else is Doing It.
OK, so this may not seem like a good reason not to participate, but if you are somewhat rebellious and pride yourself on being an individual, this may seem reasonable. This was a much harder hurdle to get over. The scale tipped for me when my old high school friends (the ones who are technophobes) harassed me because I’m not on Facebook and they don’t use email. Oh, and then there are the companies who have abandoned using a standard web page and have thrown caution to the wind, like Skittles. Do I really want to be that person who is stuck in the last decade and cannot think of vibrant new ideas? Definitely not.
I Like Being Anonymous. Sorry sister. Those days are over. No one is really anonymous these days. I did a Google search and found seven accurate postings about me. That isn’t a lot, but I am out there. You probably are too.
I Don’t Have Time. Full time career, family, dog, lack of exercise, my desire to make most of my food from scratch. There are a thousand things that take up my time each and every day, but, it really is a matter of figuring out what is going to reap the most value for time invested. Although I’ve tried hard to ignore the “social media thing”, I’m starting to feel like it would be career suicide to ignore it. With most of my colleagues on LinkedIn, I’m starting to feel left out of the loop and there is a big difference between being left alone and being left behind. And from an integrity standpoint, if I’m directing creative that has social media as part of the mix, I’d like to be able to offer input based on a user perspective not just from a viewer’s vantage point.
So I’m hoping my confessions and public exorcism of my internal social media demons will help someone else out there take the plunge. Let’s see if we sink or swim!
OK. I can no longer ignore social media or hide from it. I’ve cringed at the idea of exposing myself online. I like being anonymous and it’s not like I’m a technophobe. I’ve been in marketing for over 15 years and embraced the web fairly early. (I had to look back at a quick