KeyLimeTie Blog
On February 5, Peter Morano, Chris Grove and I attended the launch reception for the KnappLab at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Knapp Center, headed by Nik Rokop, has built out a mobile development lab to teach students how to develop real-world mobile applications. The lab practices what it preaches; even the Lab's web site is a mobile site.
At the KnappLab, students have access to two Macs and one Windows machine fully equipped with development environments for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. They have the chance to work on student projects or projects entrepreneurs bring to them.
We're excited to see a leading university make such an investment in young mobile app developers. These students certainly have an open door at KeyLimeTie when they're looking for internships or full-time positions doing the work they love.
Here's a video we took giving a quick tour of the KnappLab:
In November of last year, KeyLimeTie sponsored the second annual SocialDevCamp conference in Chicago, co-produced by our very own Tim Courtney. The event covers both technical and business, strategic and cultural elements of developing social applications on the Internet, a significant part of KeyLimeTie's business.
The conference attracted notable speakers including David Recordon and Luke Shepard of Facebook, Harper Reed, Chris McAvoy, Blagica Bottigliero, Daliah Saper, and John R. Dallas, Jr.
KeyLimeTie CIO Peter Morano also led the developer Hackathon component of SocialDevCamp, a contest offering $2,000 in prizes to developers competing to build the best social applications over the course of the weekend.
Enjoy these video highlights from SocialDevCamp 2009. We're happy to have had the opportunity to partcipate in the event.
Legendary Chicago and suburban sandwich shop Pop's Italian Beef & Sausage came to KeyLimeTie when the company needed a new web site. They wanted a site that visually communicated the BIG taste of their adored sandwiches, and KeyLimeTie served up just what they ordered.
The new Pop's Italian Beef site proudly displays their classic features bold visuals with their featured items and provides an updated motif around their classic logo, bringing Frank Radochonski's vision up-to-date on the web. As fans of Pop's Italian Beef ourselves, we're thrilled with the opportunity to give them a fresh look online.
KeyLimeTie is sponsoring both the SocialDevCamp TechThursday Mashup Party and the Day of Mobile conference next week. We also recently learned of a second Mobile event for entrepreneurs and developers; MobileX Chicago. If you're in the area and interested in social applications and mobile development, you'll want to add these events to your calendar.
SocialDevCamp TechThursday Mashup Party
Thursday March 4, 6-9pm, OfficePort CHI
Organizers of the annual SocialDevCamp Conference (including KeyLimeTie's Tim Courtney and Peter Morano) are hosting an after-hours party for attendees to mingle, re-connect, see video highlights and hear from Hackathon teams who have continued developing the applications they built at the 2009 conference into something bigger.
KeyLimeTie is sponsoring the party. Food and drinks will be provided, and a $5.00 cover charge will be donated to the YWCA TechGYRLS program, an innovative, after-school programs are designed to broaden girls' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
RSVP for the SocialDevCamp TechThursday Mashup Party Here.
MobileX Chicago
Friday March 5, 9:00am - 6:00pm, Doubletree Hotel
MobileX Chicago is a one-day conference aimed at entrepreneurs, developers, investors, industry professionals, and mobile enthusiasts. It features four tracks of breakout sessions for the target audiences and topics of “Mobile Developers”, “Entrepreneurs/Investors/Enthusiasts”, and “Mobile Marketing," along with an introductory iPhone development track.
Learn more and register to attend on the MobileX Chicago web site.
Day of Mobile
Saturday March 6, 8:00am - 6:00pm, Illinois Institute of Technology
Day of Mobile will focus on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile development. Jay Freeman, creator of the Cydia Store will keynote, and KeyLimeTie's Chris Grove will present on "Strategies for multi-platform applications." KeyLimeTie's Peter Morano is heading the Developer Hackathon, and the company is sponsoring Day of Mobile.
Learn more and register to attend on the Day of Mobile web site.
Are budgets tight at your company? Many places they are. Whether you're a Fortune company or a bootstrapped entrepreneur, chances are you have a list of things that you need and are holding off on purchasing something you need to grow your business.
ScaleWell, a new quarterly grant given by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, aims to change the way companies look at what it takes to gain traction for one's business. By giving away $1000 per quarter (no strings attached) to one company, ScaleWell is encouraging companies to look at ways to grow by funding their experience. According to the ScaleWell web site, it's a way to enable the recipient to answer questions like "How many customers I acquire for $1000?" or "How much closer to profitability can I get by investing this small amount?"
Moreover, the buzz ScaleWell is generating in the Chicago business community, the region KeyLimeTie calls home, can serve to inspire you no matter your role--whether you are a solo entrepreneur or an executive at a large company. Take a fresh look at the how you can grow or improve by investing a small, finite amount of money to fund an action or make a purchase that will gain you traction. Once you're done, measure the results. Whether this particular experiment succeeds or fails, you're learning along the way and taking positive steps forward.
ScaleWell was founded by Andy Angelos, Ziad Hussain, and Sean Corbett--each entrepreneurs looking to scale their own businesses while helping others do the same. ScaleWell is funded by Trustees; Trustees each donate $100 and volunteer to advise the grant recipient. Trustees decide on the award recipient from applications received each quarter.
KeyLimeTie came to support ScaleWell through CIO Peter Morano. Internally, Pete has been instrumental in applying similar ideas through the KeyLimeTie Labs innovation group, and saw this as an opportunity to lend support to another business in the larger community.
How could you scale your business by investing $1000? You don't have to be a ScaleWell recipient to do this. The budget constraint makes it realistic to think and act this way. With $1000, here are some of the things you could do to scale:
- Video camera to take videos and share online to attract more customers.
- Purchase costly software or hardware that would enable you to do more, or increase efficiency.
- Invest in a graphic design for your company or product that improves your presentation and allows you to sell more.
- Build enhancements to your web site, or purchase hosting for a new web site for a year.
- Hire a C-Level consultant to work with you on strategic alignment within your company or group.
- Sponsor an event that will gain you exposure and put you on the map in a market or a community.
How will you scale your business well? KeyLimeTie wants to know. Leave a comment below!
Update: The first ScaleWell grant was given to Michael Una for his business, Unatronics, that sells handmade electronic musical instruments. He will use the grant money to develop additional products he can sell.
Wednesday's much anticipated iPad tablet device appears to be, at first glance, a scaled-up version of the iPhone. By releasing the iPad, Apple is carving out a new category of device, and a new way people will interact with computers. Over the past ten years, there have been many unsuccessful attempts at building a widely-adopted tablet PC, so of course there is skepticism.
It would be easy to dismiss this device as nothing special, before considering how the App Store made the iPhone and the iPod Touch into the outstandingly popular devices they are today. At this point, we've just seen what Apple (and a select group from the developer community) have done with the iPad. The real applications are yet to come, thanks to the limitless creativity of the iPhone—and now iPad—developer community, including companies like KeyLimeTie.
Further, industry reporters like TechCrunch's MG Seigler explain why the iPad will succeed; its target audience is the 75 million iPhone and iPod Touch users. These people will know how to use the iPad right out of the gate.
Those people will also grow more and more accustomed to a web you can touch, with full web pages now practical on the iPad screen and people used to pinching and swiping their way around your site, making purchases, downloading documents, playing games, writing comments. The web as we know it will evolve, interaction design will shift, as the iPad and other tablets capture our share of screen time.
Many people will opt to leave the laptop at home and use the iPad for communications, eBook reading, entertainment, and even productivity when larger screens and computing power aren't required. But, imagine for a moment a restaurant menu displayed on an iPad, or iPads being used to process transactions in a retail store. That, of course, is just the start.
Here are some others' thoughts on the iPad's viability:
Like what we have to say? Follow @KeyLimeTie on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page for continued updates.
This past weekend I attended a lunch presentation by Andrew Mason of Groupon, which he gave to participants in the Chicago Urban League's NextONE Program. I was invited by great friend John (JR) Dallas and welcomed by the Urban League staff.
Groupon, if you are not familiar, is widely regarded as Chicago's biggest tech success story of 2009. The web site allows people to buy one steeply discounted offer each day, provided enough other people also buy the offer so the retailer has a critical mass of new customers. They achieved profitability in the spring of 09 and closed on $25mm of funding late last year, when they admittedly didn't need the money. Now they're on target for $100mm in revenues in 2010.
It would be too easy to romanticize the above. Mason and team came up with an idea, coded it in a month, and it became a runaway success. But just looking at their history as Groupon would be denying some important lessons about innovation and persistence.
ThePoint.com: Groupon's predecessor.
Before Groupon was (and still is) a web site called The Point, which Mason started in 2006. The Point was built to allow people to achieve critical mass on a political or social issue before taking action, to ensure the action they take (a donation, a protest, a mass action, etc) had an impact. The site itself didn't take off to the founders' expectations because of a lack of focus; they were providing a platform for an undefined audience to take action on any potential issue.
The software and concept that powered The Point now powers Groupon. In late 2008, the team worked for a month to get the product off the ground, with very limited features and simple e-commerce capabilities, and the new, focused idea stuck.
Among many others, I was able to pull these lessons from Andrew's talk and knowing the Groupon story:
- They weren't afraid to act, try something different, and risk failure. Groupon was a 30-day diversion from working on The Point. If it failed, they wouldn't be out a lot of time, money, or emotional investment.
- They took an existing asset, the software engine powering The Point, and applied it in a different way. They learned that this new application had considerably more monetary value than the original.
- Mason and the team continually improve Groupon by creating a product they themselves want to use, and add features and improvements based upon problems they themselves have. Their philosophy, "If I have this problem, chances are someone else does, too."
Take a look inside your business as we take a look inside ours. Do you have the opportunity to "Pull a Groupon?" Perhaps you have software systems that are built for one purpose that you could refactor for a different one, or maybe you could deliver your services to a completely new audience. Chances are you are creating a product or service right now that could either make better use of by-products created or could be applied in a completely different way.
If this article strikes a chord with you, please let us know in the comments. If you see successes from "pulling a Groupon," please let us know (and Groupon too, I'm sure they'd appreciate it)! Finally, if there is an opportunity for KeyLimeTie to assist developing the software needed for you to accomplish your goals, please drop us a line.
In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake last week, amidst the rescue effort headlines, is a robust discussion in the digital marketing industry around the power of text message campaigns to quickly mobilize people while creating an audience. At one week after the earthquake, the American Red Cross's text message (SMS) campaign alone has raised over $24 million dollars for the relief effort.
The simple campaign asks people to text the word "Haiti" to short code 90999. Once the user answers the confirmation message, a $10 charge is added to their mobile bill that month. After you confirm, you're again prompted; this time, asking if you would like to receive Red Cross alerts straight to your mobile phone.
That's right. The Red Cross raised $24 million dollars in one week from 2.4 million individual $10 donations by people with mobile phones. Why did it work? The message got out when the disaster was getting the most coverage and offered donors instant gratification in donating via an unprecedentedly simple method.
The campaign itself is viral because it's short, timely, memorable, and actionable. You can easily tell someone "Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the relief effort" in a text message, tweet, status update, a phone call, or an email. Using text and social networking technology, the message has potential to spread exponentially, and this one did. As a result, expect to see more charities and relief agencies using SMS for fundraisers when time is of the essence.
The larger lesson for businesses amidst the tragedy that prompted the campaign is great. Text messaging campaigns have taken the "impulse buy" and freed it from the four walls of a retail store. Now people can respond to an ad campaign, make a quick purchase, or make a quick donation right where they are, with the same convenience of chatting with a friend.
Further, you can build opt-in lists and notify people of promotions, sales, or send news alerts that will reach them instantly in the future. Many short code providers have CRM systems so you can manage customer relationships and even integrate their text profiles with their online profiles in your main e-commerce or CRM system.
While SMS short codes have been around for years, the tragedy in Haiti is being marked by the industry as an event that has now proven the critical mass--and the effectiveness--of SMS response campaigns. If you are curious about ways your business can utilize short codes and integrate them with the rest of your digital strategy, talk to KeyLimeTie. Or, if you'd like to read up on short codes, see this informative article on GigaOM.
Last week I found this decal on a store front while in San Francisco. After searching the web to learn about the program, I learned Google is focusing more and more on local business and location-based search as a new revenue stream, and improving how companies advertise their businesses.
Google launched a pilot program where they sent out 100,000 of these window decals to the most popular local businesses listed on their web site. The stickers contain a QR code (short for "Quick Response") so passersby can snap a quick photo of the code and visit the Google Local listing for that company. There they can find business information and aggregated reviews.
This helps people learn more about the businesses they walk by every day. They might find a copy shop or a café, and be able to see what others think about the place before they buy. Or, they could save information about a location for later, or share with a friend, by sharing the local search link that comes up in their phone's browser.
Google Local result for QR code.
What does this mean for small businesses? It means people will be looking up your company more and more on their phones. Here are two excellent ways to ensure they get the best information they can about you:
- Sign up for and update your Google Local Business Center listings to add custom information to your local search listings, including local coupons. Use this also to analyze who is searching for your business and where they are located, to aid in your marketing efforts.
- Make sure your web site is mobile-optimized. The best way to do this is to have your web development firm build a mobile stylesheet for your web site. With a mobile stylesheet, people visiting your site via their phone's browser will see all of the text and images optimized for the small browser. Mobile web sites are specifically designed to present relevant, location- and time-sensitive information to people seeking you via their phones.
If you would like KeyLimeTie to optimize your web presence for mobile, or if you have questions about Google's Local Business Center, give me a call or reach out to @KeyLimeTie on Twitter. We'll be happy to help.
We’re excited to play a part in Tech in the Middle’s upcoming Day of Mobile conference, to be held at IIT on Saturday, March 6th. The conference will feature 100 and 300 level talks running concurrently covering four development platforms; Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry, along with hands-on workshops by subject matter experts.
KeyLimeTie CIO Peter Morano is coordinating Day of Mobile’s Hackathon contest, with over $3,500 in prizes that will be awarded to people who develop the best mobile apps leading up to the event. Presentations and judging will take place following the keynote speech in the afternoon.
Also, KeyLimeTie’s Chris Grove, CTO and senior mobile application developer, will give a talk entitled “Strategies for Developing Multi-Platform Apps.” He’ll explain how careful planning can overcome differences in frameworks, operating systems, and languages, while sharing proven strategies for cross-platform mobile development that will guide your design process and maximize your ROI.
If you’re looking to accelerate your mobile development knowledge, visit the Day of Mobile site and register for the conference. See you there!