Experience Archives
Blue Flavor Flav!
September 27, 2005 | 
33 Comments
As some of you may know by now I’ve been working on getting a small business off the ground. This business, which goes by the quirky name “Blue Flavor”, hit a pretty major milestone last night: Our Web site launched!
So, I imagine you’ve got some burning questions? What’s Blue Flavor? Who’s involved? Why would I care?
Well, here’s the cliff notes:
Blue Flavor is an experience and Web design company formed by Brian Fling (Strategy, Mobile, Design), Matt May (Technology, Accessibility, Programming), Nick Finck (IA, User Experience, Analytics) and myself (Creative, Content, Development).
We’ve all got a similar philosophy towards work and technology. We’d talked off and on for a while about doing something and about a month or so ago, when the timing was just right, we decided to take a shot.
So far, so good. There is lots of work out there and we’ve already lined up a few small clients. Not too bad for not even having business cards yet, eh? That’s the next thing on the list.
We’re still working on sorting everything out and so far it’s been pretty fun, as well as educational and quite a bit of hard work. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out and I’ll be sure and share along the way. Also be sure and check out the blog. I promise it’s not going to be a bunch of rehash from our other sites.
Want to know more? Check out blueflavor.com
Filed under: News | 
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Greed vs. The Customer Experience
September 20, 2005 | 20 Comments
Almost a year ago I put a whole lot of thought into a concept I called “The Sweet Spot”.
The Sweet Spot is that special place where customer needs and business needs are in perfect balance. It’s an extremely tricky place to be. So much so that you should be commended, as a Web professional, if you even make the attempt.
(Usually the front line Web professionals are taken out of the equation altogether, so don’t fret if you have no say in these matters. I feel your pain.)
As the Web stands right now you can make boatloads of money by ignoring the customer experience. Sad but true. However, I think that’s a losing proposition in the long term. People are starting to wise up and the adverse effects it can have on your brand could hurt you for years.
In my experience it seems to make good business sense to side with your customers anyway. But it does seem like that’s pretty rare. The lure of more and more “easy” money seems to take over and the experience falls by the wayside.
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Branding, Experience and Story
July 20, 2005 | 8 Comments
In Imperfection and The Human Brand a great post by James Archer, he leads off with a very true statement:
Compelling stock photos, catchy slogans, and memorable marketing copy have just a fraction of the branding power of a single human being.
Branding shouldn’t be solely about your visual identity, although it’s important. It should be about your voice, your face, your humanity and your story. It’s should be real. In an experience economy it’s the experience that matters. To illustrate that, I’ve got a story about one of my favorite brands and the supplier of some of my favorite experiences: The Majestic Bay Theatre.
Filed under: Experience | Permanent Link