Six Popular Trends to be or not to be Thankful for…
Thanksgiving posts may be cliched but that doesn’t make them trite, so I’d like to reflect some business and non-business popular trends for which I’m thankful and something for which I’m not.
Responsive Design is a Game Changer
Responsive Design is still the best (relatively) new web design trend of the last five years. Not only does it allow mobile users a better user experience, it has ushered in a trend toward brevity of website content, and a greater use of visuals, which benefits the desktop experience just as much as mobile devices.
Strategic Websites Have Finally Arrived (Not that everybody has one…)
The arrival and growing acceptance of Inbound Marketing has engendered something of a rennaissance for the website as a marketing tool. Prior to Inbound, a majority of companies looked at their websites as commodities rather than real marketing and lead generation vehicles. The success and IPO of HubSpot is an indicator that using your website as more than a brochure —measuring results and applying content marketing — has reached the “Tipping Point and that marketers all over are seeing the benefit.
My Team Never Lets Me or Our Clients Down
As some of you know, RainCastle turned twenty this year. Some of my colleagues have been with me for well over half that time and others nearly half. We’ve evolved together, learned together and changed together in order to meet the needs of our clients. We all wear many hats and the versatility and efficiencies we’ve been able to realize have been a distinct benefit to our clients. On a personal level, having a team of rock stars is a real gift for which I am thankful on both a business and personal level.
What I’ve learned about blogging
I’ve been blogging for over four years. My conclusion is that blogging makes one smarter. Because of the range of things we do from brand to web to marketing, I have to stay on top of strategies, tools, techniques, trends and news. Blogging has made me read, write and research more and clarify areas I might otherwise be less informed about. As a result, it has made me a better partner to our clients, leader to my team and generally more interesting and interested as a person. (But it’s still pretty damn hard to get it done every week!)
How Great a Season Homeland is Having
I don’t care that they maybe made Carrie more ethically challenged this season. Homeland is the best drama on TV, impeccably acted, full of tension, conceptually current and simply great entertainment. I castigate myself every weekend for not having the discipline to save episodes and binge watch at the end of the season.
Meditation Bars
I’ve been reading about the latest trend for the newly mindful, aka “Meditation Bars,” where urban professionals can go to meditate during the day, like one might go for a manicure. At first, I thought this might be a nice idea as meditation and mindfulness are good practices that have eeked their way into the cultural if not corporate vernacular. But upon reading an article in the NY Times this Sunday, I could see that “retail meditation,” is off to an inauspicious start. The article profiled a set of young professionals and how they are using meditation as a networking and job hunting tool, which seems antithetical to “being in the moment,” focusing on clearing the mind, or achieving a disciplined stillness of one’s being. Why must we commercialize everything? Well, there had to be something for which I am not thankful. Happily, It could be a lot worse!
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! Namaste.
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