As the Gowalla/Foursquare (and now Facebook) battle rages on in pursuit of geo-location app dominance, what is truly exciting is looking at how this type of technology can be utilized in other social-based applications.
With all the noise around the iPad, Adobe, iAd and Google, what is the meaning and impact of Apple becoming the world’s most valuable technology company? It appears that in gaining that lofty position, Apple may have lost a little of its soul.
Now there is simply no arguing that fact that Apple’s product design has [...]
I’ve sat on this thought for weeks because I wasn’t sure if the world really needed another commentary on Tony Hayward… but I need to get this off my chest. Are you kidding me??
I was as shocked and saddened as everyone when I first heard of the BP explosion. 11 men lost their lives and [...]
Hello again. If you’re new to my blog postings (all two of them!), may I suggest you take a couple minutes and check out Part 1 of this topic exploration on corporate culture. In it, I talk about what culture is and suggest ways to help define your company story. It sets this post up [...]
I’m HR and so I tend to talk a lot. Communication is a big part of what I do and knowing how to best communicate in a given situation is key. And although most of my conversations are done one-on-one (how I like it), I had an opportunity recently to share our company story with [...]
It amazes me how often I read marketing materials and come away with no clear understanding of who the company is, what they do, or more importantly, why I should care. Admittedly, SicolaMartin often works with technology companies with highly complex products, so maybe it isn’t surprising that I occasionally get lost. I’m not the [...]
At approximately 11:02 last night I said, “Rita (I call myself Rita…no I don’t. Just kidding) you’ve got to just get on the bus and do it. No more ‘I wanna ride the bus someday,’ tomorrow is your day. Look up the schedule and ride.”
So this morning at 7:30, as I was listing reasons NOT [...]
For the past 10 years, BP has positioned themselves as a “green” company — complete with the tagline, authored by Ogilvy, “Beyond Petroleum” — and a friendly-looking green logo, which could be described as a hybrid between a shining sun and a flower. And as today’s Washington Post notes, in the wake of potentially the worst oil spill in US history, they’re now faced with a daunting public relations problem.
The discussion about some type of professional accreditation/certification for designers has been ongoing since the mid-90s. The advent of the computer and intuitive design software has created an influx of untrained, low-cost “desktop publishers” that are creating unsatisfactory (this is the most professional descriptor I can come up with) work in all areas of design. But until now, we’ve relied on design schools to weed out those who probably should be doing something else.
The NY Times reports that a federal agency is undertaking an effort to school youngsters in the ways of Madison Avenue. The initiative seeks to educate children in grades four through six — tweens, in the parlance of marketing — about how advertising works so they can make better, more informed choices when they shop [...]
Queen encouraged it, and here at SicolaMartin, we challenge people to do it, too. It’s called the Austin Commuter Challenge, and working with Bicycle Sport Shop and the City of Austin, we’re making it happen.
What is the Austin Commuter Challenge? It’s a way to encourage individuals, groups or families to drive less and bike more. [...]
