Incubagency » Summer 2010

Google Instant

julia — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:15:34 +0000

Google Instant, the mechanism that anticipates the search results as users type in what they will search on Google was announced in the beginning of the month as a monumental change in the internet’s interaction model.

Since the announcement, there has been a lot of talk about how Google Instant will impact the search engine optimization (SEO).

Do you think it can be the end of SEO? In my opinion, NO! But it can change the way it is currently planned – meaning professionals will need to make adjustments and embrace these changes. One example is doing more research to see what are the words that Google is suggesting when users type in keywords. But Google Instant’s suggestions are based on user’s location and search history, and that can be another implication on how the industry will change. An effective way to take advantage of this is to create individual pages for the suggested keywords (which should help optimize the SEO of a web page).

Through a different perspective, Google Instant will potentially affect the user’s behavior when surfing the web. Users will type in even more specific terms when performing a search, which leads to a more targeted audience finding your brand on the web.

The thing is keep working with keywords and adapt the content of your website to the suggested terms on Google instant. Don’t you think?

Here is a little list of Pros and Cons (in my opinion) of Google Instant:

Pros

Fast – Google said that with the new feature it saves 2 to 5 seconds for each search. That means that in the end of the month you saved a lot of time and money.

Refined searches – As I said before, the search terms will be more specifics because Google will be suggesting new terms and keywords based on your history and location.

Cons

Waste of time – The same way that the suggested terms can save you time, it can waste it too. You can end up getting distracted by the terms that looks like what you were looking for but in reality it isn’t.

Accessibility – Google instant cannot be accessed from mobile browsers or into the search bars located on most browsers’ toolbars.

SEO – We know that usually users don’t go to the second page of the search, but with Google Instant they are less likely to go to the second page, because of the refined search.

So, what is the impact you think Google Instant will have over SEO?

Almost Doneberry!

julia — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:13:55 +0000

Doneberry is almost here! Our task management now has a face, a design and its so cool!! The berries are always doing something fun on the background and the icons will show you how is your project going, it can be done, assigned, need feedback and more, in each step the berry has a different face. Everybody can use Doneberry as it is simple and has cool stuff. The beta page was launched today and we look forward to launch the application soon! Check it out clicking here.

My interview with Ryan

julia — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:41:29 +0000

As Chris said on the previous post, we interviewed the person who we’d like to be in the role someday. I chose Ryan and decided to do a survey, on Survey Monkey,with multiple choices about his personal preferrences. Here is the result!

My Interview with Trevor

sylvia — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:08:03 +0000

My interview with Ed

Chris Riley — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:00:15 +0000

As a part of the internship program, we’ve been asked to sit down with someone in the company who is in a role we’d like to be in some day. Given my recent inclination towards frontend development I chose Ed Fuhrken, DO’s current front-end handyman, and asked him a few questions about his job, his experiences as a web developer and how it all fits together; here are a few of his answers.

How did you first get in to programming?
I had to take a programming class in school and my teacher said i was good at it. Also making my myspace look cool when I was 16.

Would you say you enjoy your work?
Most definitely, its rewarding to see the results of hard work.

Do you still learn new things?
I’m always challenged to learn the latest concepts and overcoming obstacles in building sites.

How does working at DO compare to work you’ve done previously?
I’d only ever done freelance work before working here. Working and collaborating with a team is important and I’m happy that I ended up here specifically cause everyone is cool and knows their stuff.

What are your thought on working for a smaller company like DO vs. a big-name software developer?
I enjoy having a name, not a number. I feel like i’m part of the company more than just a programmer.

To say the least I was happy to hear the answers I got, and I definitely agree that having freedom within your job and being challenged to learn and overcome new things is important. I find myself in a similar mindset as well in that I like to see something tangible. It’s always rewarding to know that a piece of code you’ve written works correctly, but to build and polish the finished product of an application really is exciting to see.

The elusive user experience

Chris Riley — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:09:56 +0000

Working collaboratively with the other Incubagents over the past few weeks here at DO has been quite fun. It’s been nice to have some extra input and feedback on the project and I’ve really started to see the larger picture in developing sites and applications for the web. Taking a project from just an idea to a functional, usable and marketable product is by no means an easy task. Something that was emphatically brought to my attention upon review of what my narrow developer’s perspective would tell me is a “finished product”.

Among the proposed alterations included many changes to the interface of DoneBerry, with an emphasis on the users’s experience of the product (i.e. UX). While it may seem like something a designer would be responsible for (at least it did to me) UX is something that cannot be easily accomplished by any one person, and definitely stretches further than making a site look good. UX accounts for the questions that you can’t ask until a product is complete, and couldn’t ask before then, a Catch 22 at its finest. How long will it take a user to view an item? perform an action? find something they’re looking for?

All of these questions may in fact be the most important things to answer when developing a product, as they are what set you apart from your competition. UX takes trial and error, critical thought and innovation. To really streamline a product in to something that is both useful and people enjoy nothing short of a collaborative group effort from a variety of opinions will produce anything beyond mediocre. This eye-opener, that great UX is essential to a great product and indeed is present in virtually all popular software today, is really an area where I hope to improve this product over the coming weeks before its launch.

Bugsie is coming together!

Chris Riley — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:20:33 +0000

I have to apologize for the recent lack of blog activity, but no worries, my internship here at DO has been going quite well! I’ve had the opportunity to do everything I had hoped in the field of web development and a whole lot more, and I can imagine that there will be much more to come. Next week Incubagency will expand as two new interns join me here at Digital Operative in the areas of marketing and design. I’m definitely excited to see what the three of us can churn out over the next month, and definitely ready to put the skills I’ve gained so far to use.

My inital project (now dev named Bugsie) has provided me with a great foundation for developing websites, giving me the opportunity to work with many common languages and libraries used in the creation of fully-featured web applications. I’ve gotten to truly see what it takes to bring a project from a set of requirements to a functional website, and the wide array of knowledge and experience required to create something that does your initial expectations justice.

Bugsie’s original concept as a to-do item board has grown and changed throughout its development, and looking back, I can hardly believe that I was the one to put all the parts together. Bugsie now has support for administrating users, project permissions, managing email updates, comments, attachments and much more! I know I’m gloating, but I can’t help but try to sell my own product! Some of you may notice why I’m so happy to have a design intern starting soon.

With the Bugsie website almost completed, I’ve gotten the chance to really get to work on something I had imagined I might only touch lightly on this summer: an Android application. BugsieMobile, as I’ve cleverly named it, is the next big step in my work for Incubagency. Even though the application is only in its infancy, I’m excited to see how the Bugsie enterprise will come together in the end.

Being introduced to so many new concepts over such a short period of time has most definitely kept me on my toes, but so far has been exactly the type of rewarding experience I had hoped for. No amount of schooling can compare to applicable knowledge, something I’m exposed to on a daily basis here at DO.

Incubagency: The Beginning

Chris Riley — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:27:01 +0000

In recent months, working as a web developer has become something of an aspiration of mine. Maybe it’s an attraction to the ‘buzz’ or maybe it’s just how the internet itself keeps becoming more ubiquitous, but I can’t shake it. And I can’t think of a better place to be interning than with the team here at Digital Operative in search of that goal.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started working here, granted the common notion of an intern as glorified office barista. Having actual work experience only in the IT support field, I guess I would have to say I expected to observe for the most part, with the occasional menial task thrown my way.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My first week here at digital operative has been just about hands-on as you can get. So far I’ve been tasked with creating a system for bug tracking and project lifetime management and after a brief rundown on some of the approaches and methods the team here at DO has adopted, I have been given free reign on designing and building the entire project. Getting down to business and producing a project right off the bat has so far been great, even granted the learning curve in adopting new programming environments (in this case the Zend framework). All-in-all, I can definitely say that I’ve learned more applicable knowledge about web development in the past week than I did during the entirety of my last 3 months taking web programming classes at school. And I don’t see that letting up any time soon.

The team here at Digital Operative has laid out a jam-packed time line for their internship program this summer. Down the road there are plans for us to design, build, implement and manage digital marketing plans for both a non-profit organization and our own idea or project; possibly even moving in to actual client work. The idea of being part of a team that is incubating our own projects, seeing them grow and eventually come to life, has me looking forward to my next few months working here.

I’m excited to be a part of the team as Incubagency moves forward and I foresee having a great experience and learning many new things along the way. I know that I’m in for a lot of work over the next 10 weeks, but hopefully it will all result in something I’ll be happy to say I was part of.

Keep an eye out for my blog post next week as I tackle 37signals’ book Rework, my next step in integrating with the DOmachine.

Open Call for Incubagency – Summer 2010

bj — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:11:06 +0000

It’s that time …

Summer 2010 is around the corner and we’re looking for 3 passionate people for the following roles:

Development Intern

So you think you have what it takes to engineer an online product? During your Incubagency program you’ll have those assumptions challenged, re-introduced and refined. From development frameworks to information architecture, you’ll gain a hands-on approach to web standards coding best practices, planning before you build, product development and more.

What types of skills are needed?

Passion
The utmost persistence for learning new concepts
Basic PHP programming
HTML and CSS
Coursework in Computer Science or relevant studies

ARE YOU READY? Submit your resume and cover letter here for this role.

Design Intern

Now that you’ve learned the basics in school from typography, branding, color theory and web; it’s time to put that all to work. Transitioning or continuing what you know about designing for web and mobile, you’ll gain a hands-on approach to user experience strategy, campaign creative, product development and more.

What types of skills are needed?

Passion
The utmost persistence for learning new concepts
Adobe Creative Suite – Photoshop, Illustrator
Basic understanding of web page layout (HTML/CSS is bonus)
Coursework in Web Design, Multimedia, Illustration, New Media or relevant studies

ARE YOU READY? Submit your resume and cover letter here for this role.

Marketing Intern

Social Media may be all the buzz, but understanding the implications of a multichannel approach is key for new marketers. Gone are the days of sitting in forums and learning from the masters. It’s up to you to take hold of your destiny and we’re here to show you the way. From digital marketing strategy to optimizing websites to business intelligence; we send you on your way a hybrid of talent ready for this new digital landscape.

What types of skills are needed?

Passion
The utmost persistence for learning new concepts
Microsoft Office Suite – Word, Excel, Powerpoint
Basic online marketing concepts – SEO, Paid Search, Social Media, Google Analytics, Email, Media Buying
Studying in the following areas: Communications, Marketing, Business
Willingness to learn and thrive in fast-paced environment

ARE YOU READY? Submit your resume and cover letter here for this role.

3 interns, 1 idea, 12 weeks and 355 cups of coffee…

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 22:28:58 +0000

… the saga begins Summer 2010.