Polymer Studios::Web Consulting

Call off the lawyers

15. December 2008

We’ve all seen (or at least heard of) Web sites that were created by disgruntled consumers to complain about crappy service or unserviceable products. Perhaps even more common nowadays are blog or Twitter posts that disparage the name of some corporation. So, what’s a vigilant corporate lawyer to do? Nothing, according to Bruce Johnson, partner [...]

How to get your head around social media

8. December 2008

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What follows is a slightly edited transcript of a recent email to a friend who is a marketing manager for a large healthcare organization in Chicago. Like many of us, she is wondering how to begin talking about the potential of social media for her organization. +++ First of all, it’s important to be clear with your [...]

Touching the third rail of business

5. October 2008

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When I was a grade schooler, my dad was in sales. I don’t know if he was any good, but he had some immutable rules about business that he would share with me, the most important of which was “Don’t ever mix religion or politics with business.” This election season, however, I’m amazed how many professionals, [...]

UnSummit wiki goes live

18. September 2008

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The UnSummit08 wiki is up. From this point forward, the wiki will have the most current information about the event, including: Attendees Location Topics

Social media: What’s keeping you from wading in?

15. September 2008

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There’s a fair amount of hand-wringing on the part of marketing execs over what to do with social media (aka Web 2.0, Social Web). It’s on the news and in the papers, so the CEO hears about it and asks the CMO, “should we be doing that?” And so the lukewarm potato gets handed downward [...]

A category 2 hurricane of links

2. September 2008

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Look, you don’t have time to read a full post and I don’t have time to write one. So, let’s just click on some links and pretend we never had this discussion. (It’ll be our little secret.) WSJ Blog: Selling online software (a.k.a., SaaS – Software as a Service) isn’t as easy as previously thought. Requires [...]

The human junglew

12. August 2008

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I never would have step foot in the Amazon rainforest were it not for a failed trip to the mountains two years ago with my daughter. We went to Cusco, with the hope of making it to Machu Picchu, but instead met up with a case of soroche, or altitude sickness. Except for the World [...]

Getting to know you

10. August 2008

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While visiting Corazón de Ñaupas, a Quechua-speaking village at about 12,000 feet (3,700 m), we were greeted with a number of dances, including this one, which involves friendly one-on-one wrestling matches. In this clip, you’ll see the kindergarten and elementary school teachers wrestling, followed by two high-school boys. Good, clean fun!

Why the experience is the afterthought

15. July 2008

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Fanboys, bow before your creator. As Chris Anderson tells the story, this early graphical user interface, or GUI, by Xerox Parc, came about because computing became cheap and programmers could turn their attention to “trivial” matters. Like the Sarlacc, I take a long time to digest things, such as months-old magazine articles. But, hey, Mom always [...]

Moo cubed

30. June 2008

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Feast your eyes on the new gallon milk jugs, which are being adopted by Costco and Sam’s Club and will soon be everywhere. It’s inevitable, given the promised savings, which come from more efficient storage and shipping and the elimination of cartons, which require costly washing and handling. What will college graduates use for bookshelves? Read Solution [...]