We made it. Our creative team pushed out 30 different creative designs for Facebook’s Timeline in just 30 days. 30 days of scratching pencil drafts, snapping shots, scanning illustrations, and coloring inside (and outside) the lines at 4O1! HQ. And don’t think we had time to build an arsenal… our boss came in just two days before the project would launch and presented the challenge.

4O1! Co-founder and Lead Designer Curtis Johnson explained, “We had already decided to hold 4O1! Day in August instead of the usual April 1st date.  However, I felt a need to do something creative on our unofficial company holiday.  I came into the office on March 30 with the idea for 30 Days of Timeline and luckily the team was excited for the challenge.” That challenge included matching logo designs for each of the 30 pieces.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! Well, what do you expect form a bunch of pencil-weilding geeks? This project was especially loved by our lead developer, Devon Beck, who said ”I had so much fun creating 5 of the 30 timelines, although maybe I went a little too crazy with some of them (all the 4O1! employees as Simpsons characters – really?!?!?) but it was totally worth it! I am über-proud of how they all turned out and I can’t wait to do it again… as long as we wait a year… or two…”

Just about everyone at 4O1! got involved with a timeline… even if only to suggest a tiny design element. You can visit our archive to see all of the amazing designs created by our talented team. And, hey, while you’re here… Let us know what you think!

]]> http://fourohone.us/2012/05/30-creative-pieces-in-30-days/feed/ 0 http://fourohone.us/2012/04/going-mobile/ http://fourohone.us/2012/04/going-mobile/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:54:35 +0000 sambee http://fourohone.us/?p=1694

There’s a time in every website’s life when someone asks the important question: “Is it time to go mobile?”

The answer may not be as simple as yes or no… It may be to what degree.

Native apps, web apps, appetizers… There are lots of app options and lots of questions that need to be answered to make the right decision. In fact, you may already have a really simple, easy-to-navigate site that also happens to work really well on mobile devices.

When it comes to mobile access, I think the most important question is this: “In what context will a user need to access this site on a mobile device?” What are people looking for? When and where will they be when they use a mobile device to look you up?

Will people be making transactions, or logging in? If so, you may want a native app, one that users will download from an app store and use from their smartphone.

Will people be looking for your contact info, a map, simple instructions? If that’s the case, a web app, or mobile website might be sufficient.

Our philosophy is that a user’s web experience on a tablet should mirror that of a desktop, but a mobile phone user is searching in a different context – maybe they’re on the go and need a quick contact number or map.

Due to the nature of our business, 4O1!’s mobile site has simplified the navigation. Users can easily find any basic information regarding our services, they’ll see a carousel with graphic examples of our services, and a contact page with map links.

What do you think about mobile apps? What’s your top reason to visit a website from your phone?

Yeah, we know. Just when you get used to Facebook’s last change, they’re at it again. This time, they dropped a bomb on how business profile pages will look and function. While changes and updates to the most popular social media platform surprise no one, they do elicit moans, groans, and the occasional head explosion.

So, Facebook dropped another bomb on everyone, giving us 30 days to prepare for the launch of Timeline for pages. While some businesses (particularly larger corporations with in-house graphic design and community management) dove in head first and embraced the new layout and functionality, we decided to take a different approach. What if we went from 30 days to Timeline to 30 days of Timeline? Challenge accepted!

Fortunately for us, we are graphic designers and community managers. We took this as an opportunity to unleash some of our greatest weapons: members of team 4O1!! It is with great pleasure that I announce to you day 1 of 30 Days of Timeline! We’re riding this bomb all the way to April 30th, and we’re bringing you along for the ride!

Make sure you scope out the 4O1! Facebook page every day in April to see what kind of creations our team comes up with – hey, maybe Sam Bee will even try her hand at some artistic direction.

There’s a ton of information out there regarding the Timeline changes, rants and raves abound. If you have a small business and are trying to keep up to speed, perhaps the best place to get your questions answered is straight from the horses mouth. We are also happy to answer questions in our comment section.

We love feedback, so let us know what you think, which covers are your favorites, or what you think the next big change will be.

Just when I felt like I had a good grip on all that I wanted from social media, my friend sent me an invite to Pinterest. So, I sat on it. I read some articles about social curating. I dusted off my old account with the fancy to see if I missed it. (I didn’t.) I went to my tumblr, saw that I hadn’t been on in a bit, and ended up deleting it. I went to my Delicious account and noticed some changes, including my being kicked off for absenteeism. I ate some chips and salsa. I looked at my social folder on my iPhone and noticed I had one spot available from when I deleted get glue.

So, a month after I received the invite, I searched my inbox and clicked the link. I then proceeded to fall in love.

Setting up can be a tad daunting, depending on how many categories of things you want to share. You add a new board for each category – name it, categorize it, and if you like, describe it.

I started with three boards boards, now I have ten. From there, find something you like in your following feed or the internet. Pin it to one of your boards. Someone else may see and repin that something to one of their boards. Simple. For a person like me, this site is great because it allows me to visually organize things like next season’s clothes to buy, recipes for food, drinks for my next shindig, or books I’d like to read.

Some of my friends are using Pinterest to plan their weddings, share their wish lists with others, plan their summer garden, or archive design elements they may want to reference in the future. And some are just using it as a better bookmarking tool. The images are hot-linked to the site where you’ll find the item you’re interested in. And with the “Pin It” bookmarklet, it’s the easiest thing to do. The bookmarklet searches for all images and videos on your current page, then you get to choose which one to pin. The iPhone app allows you to repin, but in order to pin from your smartphone browser there are some special steps you may need to take to get the bookmarklet working. Both the site and the app have super-simple repinning buttons.

Whoops… pinned to the wrong board!

I like the social integration with Facebook and Twitter, but haven’t been inclined to share much through those outlets. In fact, I’m not sure if I want those worlds to converge yet. When I poke around on Pinterest, I know I’m in a community of people who just like to like things – I’m not seeing much of the hating that goes down on some of the other platforms. It just feels brighter here. You can follow a user’s every pin, or you can choose individual boards. These will show up in your follow feed, but you can also search all users and categories with the click of a button.

Being followed by people who share your taste is also a bit exciting. I even started a board of my own easy recipes- once a simple apple bake I posted got repinned 11 times! I’m hoping a few others will use some of my wicked-simple hunger fixes.

So, basically I’m hooked on Pinterest. Mobile, laptop, in my mind… I’m pinning things to boards. Are you using Pinterest? Do you think it’s worthwhile, or a time suck?

This past Saturday 4O1! was invited to participate in the Da Vinci Science Center’s Ice Cream Wars 4.0, where teams compete to make the best scientific ice cream frozen with liquid nitrogen. The 4O1! team battled four other teams hailing from PPL, WFMZ 69 News, LSI, and The Morning Call for the coveted Ice Cream Wars Champion trophy.

The competition was fierce. MCall had a wintry vanilla-peppermint mix, PPL brewed some chocolate-espresso, WFMZ floated blue ice cream in root beer, and LSI twisted up chocolate, caramel, and pretzel. All of the contenders had some pretty delicious flavors, and the team was a bit nervous. We went with super-vanilla pink ice cream with fresh strawberries and crushed Oreos. And it was also pretty delicious.

At high noon, millions of children (ok, a couple hundred) swarmed the Da Vinci ice cream stations, where they were given one – or two, or three – samples of each flavor. They were scarfing ‘em down faster than we could churn ‘em out! Teams prepped liquid batches of their ice cream at their individual stations, then sent a team member to a pouring station where highly trained professional scientists would add liquid nitrogen to the mixtures. The liquid nitrogen froze the milk into what looked a lot like ice cream, then evaporated out of the concoction making a safe-to-eat tasty snack.

When the frozen ice cream was brought back to our station, we were in a race against time to dish it out before it melted back down into soupy-goop. Plus, there were always a few kids waiting for a taste of the freshest batch. We had a few repeat customers, which bolstered our spirit.

There were a few awards given out before the champion was announced. Needless to say, I was on edge. LSI received best costumes, WFMZ received most creative recipe, PPL won most scientific recipe, and 4O1! was responsible for the best (loudest) cheering section.

We were definitely stoked to be there, hundreds of kids and some adventurous adults stopped by our station, high-fived Shaun, giggled with us, and tried our patent-pending Strawberry Cookie Crunch. And we all learned a little something about the science behind the foods we eat. And hey, guess who took home the championship trophy?

In September, the Facebook developers community was given an exclusive look at Timeline; a total overhaul of the profile page – a much needed update. Starting December 7th, Timeline will be launching regionally across the globe. While Facebook developers (and some sneaky users) have been testing it since September, it’s exciting to think we’ll soon be experiencing our friend’s pages in a more personal and dynamic manner.

First look at the new Timeline

Timeline’s namesake linear timeline will allow your connections to scope out your activities, photos, and shared media chronologically – all the way back to the year you were born. In fact, Timeline will allow you to add your favorite picture of you and Barney at your fifth birthday party, and it will appear on your profile in chronological order. This new configuration will allow you, and other users, to filter your content by year and month. While this new feature like most other Facebook changes is being met with some resistance, it’s an awesome feature. Think about your Timeline as the scrapbook of your life. You’re having a conversation about your road trip to Vegas, and you want to show someone your pictures. You simply hop on your Facebook and select the year and month you want to view. BAM! No more “load more posts,” you’ve kept track of all your most important memories and filed them chronologically just by using Facebook as you have in the past.

My Memories of Movember

Accompanying Timeline is Facebook’s improved Open Graph technology, which allows developers to integrate web pages representing people, places, foods, or anything into the social graph. So now, when you like a page, you can actually [verb] a [noun]. You’ve probably seen this in action with users on Spotify:

Uh, it's not what it looks like...

Once your Timeline is active you’ll be able to go back and see what you were listening to a few months ago, think of it like a soundtrack for your life.

But thats not just limited to music! As more sites start implementing Open Graph, you’ll be able to tell your friends when you cook a Turducken, drink a Coney Island Lager, or test-drive a Tesla. While some of these actions may be more of a novelty, if you remember cooking something amazing 2 months ago, but can’t remember the recipe – you can go back in your Timeline and get the link to the recipe. This opens up a world of opportunities to Facebook, web developers, and small businesses relying on inbound marketing to drive interest in their products.

I think Timeline is a great addition to Facebook. I’ve already begun tracking my music, and I’ve used the feature to remind myself of songs loved and lost and to track new discoveries as well.

Look for Timeline on your Facebook soon. You’ll have 7 days after the roll out to check out your own profile, edit and delete past posts, and pin important memories to your Timeline. Embrace it, make it your own, and enjoy the cool new features.

Chance had everything to do with it. Who would have guessed a batch of poorly cut business-cards would have inspired several team members to stay a few extra hours on a Friday.

We sure didn’t see this coming but it did.

Enjoy.

Team 4O1!

What’s this? Someone’s peeking over President Roosevelt’s shoulder during the signing of the Social Security Act of 1935?! I hope he didn’t glean any sensitive information!

As some of you may have seen, our Twitter account was hacked a few nights ago. You may be familiar with the twang of panic I felt when I realized what had happened, worrying about the people and businesses that follow our company; had they been caught up in a phishing scheme brought about by a mis-click or a weak password on my end? Fortunately, it was brought to my attention almost as soon as it happened, and I was able to log in and change the password, then spend some time issuing personal messages of warning and apology to those people that I could confirm were sent direct messages on the site.

In light of this recent hack, I decided to spend some extra time researching this recent security threat and general protective factors so I could share this information with you. My hope is that we will all be on the lookout for suspicious web activity and protect ourselves and each other  by sharing this information with as many people as possible.

This attack was disguised as a direct message from one of your Twitter contacts, promising a “hilarious” photo of you, suggesting that you click a link to see it. The link directs you to what looks like the Twitter home page, prompting the user to share login information, allowing the hacker access to your login and the ability to try this login combo on other accounts that you may hold. Known as phishing, you can read more about this particular threat in this article by Sophos.

A few suggestions/reminders for staying safe online:

1. Check your address bar when you click on a link: In our case, the link connected to a replica of the Twitter homepage, but on closer inspection the address had different characters, a dead giveaway that the page is inauthentic.
2. If you are already logged in to your social network, you shouldn’t be prompted to share your login information again.
3. Change your web logins regularly… and this goes for all sites you visit. You should be sure to have different logins for each site because once someone gets ahold of one login, they are likely to try using that info to access your other accounts.If you have trouble remembering complex passwords, you can make an encrypted document of passwords, and protect it on your computer. There are free programs that can help you do this, TrueCrypt is one that works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
4. Password protect your computers in case of theft.
5. If you suspect that you have been phished, you should access all your accounts and change the passwords, and contact any institutions such as banks or medical establishments should you have online accounts. You should also let your friends know, in case they received an email or message during the time your account was compromised.

Of course, it’s really important for anyone that shares any personal information on the internet to stay in touch with current technology events and security risk factors. My favorite places to go for security information are cnet, Sophos, and Mashable. Yes, some of these companies sell antivirus software, but they also perform  extensive industry research regularly and share their data freely alongside tips to help keep your information safe.

Protecting yourself on the internet is as important as locking your front door when you leave your house. While the information in this post may not be new, I hope it serves as a reminder of the value of your personal information. I know I’ll be much more vigilant with my passwords in the future!

Stay safe my friends!

Recently I was graced with an invite to Google +. I was a little aggravated that it took so long, I remember beta testing gmail a thousand years ago, but I swallowed my pride and set up my profile. At first I had about 10 mutual connections, people I knew and loved but were still heavy Facebook users that couldn’t be bothered with an alternative. It was fairly boring.

When I came across Huff Post’s list of celebrity plussers to add to my “following” circle, my stream instantly increased in activity. I got a bit overzealous +1ing and commenting on my newfound info-wealth. Following this circle-spree I ended up with seemingly endless notifications, so-and-so commented on such-and-such, what’s his name +1′d whose-it’s-whats-is, you +1′d something everyone else +1′d… It didn’t take long before I stopped logging on; I have more one-sided connections than mutual’s and my friends are lost in my main stream. I went back to Facebook.

Yes, Google + is growing faster than any other social network. Yes, Google + is new and crisp and organized. Yes Google + is socializing the search process. But who is using Google +? Right now, this is a place where Seth Godin has more followers than Lady Gaga. How can you keep Google + interesting and relevant in a place where early adopters are primarily social media gurus, industry experts and cewebrities?

I needed to stop using Google + like a Facebook account. It might take some getting used to, but utilizing the circle feature and consciously changing up the stream helps me stay connected to real-life connections on the same platform that I set up news feeds (sparks) so I can search for content to share within the site. In fact, once I got used to it, it really made connecting with the right people easier…or it might have, if I had more real-life contacts there. I did make courageous attempts at converting my friends, who either ignored my pleas or posted comments (to Facebook) such as “Why bother?” or “I am [on Google +] but I don’t actually know what its purpose is.” In Google +’s defense, there are some cool features, and some people are  using them in really cool ways. The hangouts function is being utilized by singer/songwriter Daria Musk as a free concert venue…pretty smart stuff.

To be fair, you can make groups, lists and change privacy per-post in Facebook, but it seems like an easier task to add your connections to the right circle from the get-go. I mean, who wants to cruise through a list of 100 to 600 people and sort through them? (BTW, Facebook currently reports the average user as having 130 friends.)

As for accessibility, I still have a note on my Google + homepage telling me that I’m a part of a field test, but I have 150 invites and can share them with fellow gmail users. It is uncertain when Google will allow non-gmailers to join, but if you’re still itching to try it you can sign up for a free gmail account anytime.

No one can deny that Google + is a valiant effort, but is Google grabbing a swim suit and towel while we’re snuggling down with Zuckerberg for a long winter? No one can say for sure yet, but I’m keeping my eye on this platform and I think you should too. And hey, while you’re there… http://goplus.us/SamBee.

If you’re looking for more detailed information regarding Google + and it’s features, you can find it in Mashable’s Google + Guide. If you’re looking to add more people to your circles, try out this super-cool list. ]]> http://fourohone.us/2011/08/4o1-people-1d-this/feed/ 0 http://fourohone.us/2011/04/discover-best-in-show/ http://fourohone.us/2011/04/discover-best-in-show/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:05:13 +0000 Brian http://fourohone.us/?p=945

In typical Wcislo fashion, I arrive well after the party has started. As I pass through the front doors of the 2011 Addy Awards, I’m absorbed into a swarm of local creatives, each of which looks far more polished and presentable than usual, myself included. The cozy ski lodge-esque room buzzes with laughter, warm welcomes, and a lots of uneasy nerves being calmed by flowing booze.

The crowd appears to be much younger this year than the previous, or I’ve aged considerably in the past 12 months, both of which are strong possibilities. After shaking a few hands and kissing a few babies, I make my way to the bar to order a drink for myself and my date which, as usual, is arriving even more fashionably late than I. This year is quite different for me than any of our past three Addy showings, as the rest of the team had decided to take the night off and send me in as the lone ranger. I wasn’t the only lone part of 4O1!’s presence, as this year we had all our eggs in one Addy submission basket: www.DiscoverLehighValley.com. Although we had produced plenty of quality work throughout the year, we knew this was our stand-out piece and hoped the judges would also recognize and reward it’s visual simplicity and technological sophistication.

After a few more friendly encounters I realized both drinks I was carrying were completely empty… I suppose my nerves were a bit on edge as well. As I pressed my way through the crowd, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kim Lilly, VP of DLV and point person on our lone submission, had shown up to the event on crutches from having had surgery just a few days prior. The sheer sign of confidence from our client was just the confidence boost I was looking for as the clock ticked away towards judging.  I finally made it to the door and welcomed the brisk March air, which quickly cooled my clammy, suit-wearing self. Upon approach of a sporty little black convertible, I laid eyes on quite a vision of a beautiful woman. Her big brown eyes batted at me as she lovingly smiled and complimented my attire. I grabbed her hand and as she exited the car her intricately curled hair bounced. Once she stood up, it was hard not to notice the tightly wrapped golden dress that clung to her thin, feminine frame. From the looks of things, I was already the night’s big winner. She grabbed my arm and we entered the facility as the swarm of local creatives migrated from the the mingling area to their dinner tables.

Our table was smack in the middle of the ball room and conveniently the closest to the bar ;) Among our table-mates were two of the Valley’s most fashionable women, Pam Deller and Denise Conllin of Lehigh Valley Style, Kim from DLV and her proud mother, and the lovely Paula Di Marco Young from Young Medical Spa. After hugs, kisses, and pleasantries were exchanged, we sat and enjoyed the entertainment. This year, the Addy event coordinators made a great decision in employing the services of a talented and yes, very funny, professional comic, Ryan Hill. We enjoyed our food and drink as the board went through their usual spiel, a necessary evil such events.

Now that we were well fed and feeling slightly buzzed, it was time to see what awards our hard work had earned us. The Bronze awards are the first to be dished out. Being that we only had one submission, a bronze would have been a crushing blow. Fortunately, of the 49 bronze awards, not one had a 4O1! on it. We had passed the 1st test and the tension grew thicker as we moved onto the Silver category. Now, Addy silver is nothing to scoff at, but again, when you have all your chips on one bet, silver just won’t cut it. Twenty-one Silver Addy’s were dished out and again, 4O1! was not mentioned. Now this is a peculiar situation… Either your entry was so good that it earned more than a bronze or silver and you are about to wrap your hands around some gold, or you didn’t make the cut and you leave empty handed. It’s not advisable to be too full of yourself, so there is always that “what if” in the back of your head and you start second guessing yourself. Now that my nerves were tensing, adrenaline was racing, and a half dozen more vodkas had gone down the hatch, this whole category got real fuzzy. Somewhere in the dozen Gold Addy’s awarded, I believe towards the end, I heard the number & word combination I had been waiting for: “4O1! Creative“. In a complete haze, I jumped up received a few high fives, maybe a hug or two, and made my way up to the podium and wrapped my fingers around that sexy Gold Addy award we worked so hard for. Fortunately for me, they read through our list of credits and didn’t hand me the mic. A few pictures were snapped and I floated back to my seat with our shinny glass memento in hand.

Ok. So we won the gold and I should have been completely satisfied, but that wasn’t quite enough, at least not on this project which we had spent the better part of a year strategizing, designing, developing, tweaking, and testing. There was still one round of judging that hadn’t yet passed, Best in Show, the pinnacle of the awards ceremony. The Addy’s limits these awards to most outstanding projects submitted in each of three categories: print, broadcast, and multimedia. I wouldn’t have been completely satisfied unless I exited the building with one of these in my possession. Now I really felt the pressure. Was I expecting too much? Shouldn’t I just be happy with gold? Did the judges think our project was as good as I did? Did someone else out-do us with their digital expertise? AHHHHH!!! This is all a bit much. Just tell me who won the award and put an end to this dreaded anticipation. Then for a second time that night I heard that host speak that magic combination of numbers and letters… We did it! With one submission we managed to earn the two most coveted awards the night had to offer, a Gold Addy & Best in Show!

images by: www.ChristopherElstonBlog.com

This was clearly a magical night that will go down in the 4O1! history books. It was only a shame that my team members weren’t there to share the excitement with me.

Thanks to everyone who dedicated countless hours to this project and especially Discover Lehigh Valley for putting their faith in a small local company to handle this enormous undertaking. Another special thanks goes to spark for helping us land the job, dividing and conquering project management, creating the visual identity, and writing fantastic copy to sprinkle throughout the site.

Also, we can’t forget about our boys Marty from element media and Michael from ternstyle for their invaluable help on the mapping system and speed optimization.

Thanks for reading.

Your Boy =b