centre{source}
INTERACTIVE AGENCY
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centre{source} Named in 10 Most Dependable Web Designers List
We’re proud to say that centre{source} was named as one of the ten most dependable web design firms in the southern US in the April 2008 issue of Entrepreneur magazine! This is our second year to be selected in this list, which is compiled by Goldline Research.
We always strive for excellence in delivering results to our client, and we’re thrilled to be recognized for our work.
Homework for an Interactive Strategist…
Since we’ve been doing more strategy, it has become more and more necessary to formalize our ‘ramp up’ process for new strategists. Our strategist typically herald from the marketing side of the world & combine their knowledge with practical elements of technology. This dual-combo makes for a powerful strategist.However, there is a BIG difference in doing one interactive project during a marketing career & actually being a qualified Interactive Strategist. As such, we put together “homework” for our planners and strategists to answer that at least give them some basic familiarity into combining traditional business with the world of interactivity. Here are the questions we ask…
If you bill time & materials, you deserve to hear this…
History has proven to me that it is very difficult for clients to understand time & knowledge as an actual currency. If you’re in the time & materials industry, you’ll appreciate what I’m talking about. My wife, who’s a lawyer, was kind enough to send me a song that really helps me bridge the gap with my clients :) [Remember, this is meant to be funny - don't get your feelings hurt!]
centre{source}.com Announces Name Change
NASHVILLE, TN, United States, 04/01/2008centre{source}.com is now ZENtre{source}.com. Nashville’s interactive strategies firm has renamed its company name to reflect its core competencies.
Since the beginning, ZENtre{source}.com, formerly centre{source}.com, has become a fountain of knowledge for progressive clients looking deep within their online persona for a user relationship that goes beyond casual clicking.
Read the full press release of centre{source}’s name change here
[ Update: For those that didn't already figure this out, April Fools! ]
Bad PayPal! - When security becomes ridiculous
Want to know the perfect formula on how to create a frustrating system, provide terrible customer service, and manage to drive a loyal customer to hate? Just take lessons from PayPal - they are doing a great Job at really screwing up.
Here’s the magic combo:
First, PayPal created some security restrictions that ‘automatically’ triggered on my account. While they won’t say, I’m guessing its because I accepted 20-30 payments before I attempted to make a full-withdrawal. Regardless, this sparked their security system and it asked that I certify my account (this is different than verify). To do this, I have to ADD MY PERSONAL CREDIT CARD to the account ?@?#$@#$# I also have to verify my SS#. The first step takes 1 week for the transaction to show on my personal CC#… The second step fails because they say that I’ve used my SS# at some point in the past.
Great USB Backup App / Utility
I just found a great backup app (utility) for my USB drive. The app that comes with PortableApps isn’t very flexible and it drove me to finding something better. Luckily, I found Freebyte Backup through PortableFreeware.com. They even told me how to ‘make it more portable’ by avoiding the installation and simply running the .EXE & creating my own profiles. Hope this helps others looking for a stable, feature-rich USB backup utility.
Dangers of a Bad Website
In the early years, some could argue that having a website, albeit bad, was still superior to not having one at all. Websites were not the ‘norm’ and having one proved that your firm was unique and cutting edge. Fast forward 10 years and this is no longer the case – every business and organization is expected to have a website. But times are changing again! It is no longer acceptable to simply have a website. Now organizations are at risk to the dangers of a bad website.
Blacklists: What they are and how to avoid them
If you thought that anti-spam protection for your incoming mail would alleviate your e-mail problems forever, think again – another issue that can cause more than a few headaches are DNS BlackLists (DNSBLs), sometimes also called RBLs (Realtime Black List). DNSBLs are not a new idea, but their usage is increasing rapidly. In short, a DNSBL is an innovative use of DNS to provide access to lists of IP addresses (or other info). These lists are created on varying criteria — for example, the IP address was caught sending spam, or it’s owned by a company known for supporting/sending spam. Or perhaps the IP address hosts a mailserver not following the rules, or a web/proxy server that has been compromised in such a way that it could be used to send spam. In this way, common sources of spam can be compiled into these lists and checked by a mailserver before accepting mail. If you show up in the blacklist, your mail is rejected.
As the spam-war has escalated, DNSBLs have become a double-edged sword. They have probably saved SMTP from being utterly inundated with spam to the point that it’s useless. However, blacklists have also been forced to get increasingly aggressive. It’s not uncommon for an organization to find itself blacklisted, even if it didn’t overtly send spam (that it knows of). If your organization becomes the unlucky member of a DNSBL, you’ll find that most (if not all) of your email is rejected by the outside world because you’re now considered a spammer. The worst part is that you may have no idea why you were blacklisted and no idea how to get de-listed!
Open Source Office can handle Blackberry
CentreSource has jumped on the Blackberry bandwagon! After complaining for months that I spend too much time with email, I gave up trying to avoid the problem and simply decided to further my addiction :) We purchased three new Blackberry 8703e’s and have now started the painful process of getting them to work in our Open Source environment. That’s right, Blackberries in a world without Outlook and Exchange. The verdict? It works, but not great.
FrugalReader.com: My Custom Development Experience
Gene McCabe, owner of FrugalReader.com, was kind enough to be a guest blogger this week. He shares his experience in working with a development firm (CentreSource) to develop the latest version of FrugalReader.com. For anyone looking to read an honest, realistic experience about Custom Web Development, I encourage you to read Gene’s commentary.
