Support the Poster Pooch!

May 17, 2010 – 8:57 pm

A few weeks ago, the xiik geeks had a blast when we strutted our stuff with of our pooches, (or our loved ones’ pooches) on the track of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Mutt Strut. Sure the weather was a little rainy, but that didn’t stop us, or thousands of others, from supporting the work of the Humane Society of Indianapolis.

Our support didn’t end there. On the day of the Mutt Strut xiik launched the Web site for the 2011 Indianapolis Poster Pooch Contest, a contest that will determine which Indianapolis-area dog will be the face of next year’s Mutt Strut.  Dogs are voted on by their human companions, who can log onto the site to vote for their favorites. The winning dog will be decided by having the most votes when the site closes at midnight on Friday, July 9.

Indianapolis-area residents can submit photos of their adorable pooch that can be voted on by the public. To register your pooch, you must make a minimum $5 donation and each vote is a $1 donation. Be prepared to enlist your friends and family to vote for your dog – the current leader has more than 300 votes. Have no fear, though, because voting is still open for several more weeks so there is plenty of time to get a rousing campaign for your pooch going. You can even use the site to solicit support from your friends and family by sending emails encouraging them to vote for your pooch.

And if you don’t have a pooch, surely you know someone who does, or you enjoy looking at photos of cute pooches. Log on today and find your favorite – you’ll be helping provide a second chance to the animals at the Humane Society of Indianapolis who dream of one day being a poster pooch (or kitty!).

Whether you want to show off your pooch, or see others’ favorite pets, we hope you join us in supporting this great cause.

By xiiksarah | Posted in about xiik, indianapolis, web design, web development | Leave a Comment

A Eulogy for Lala

May 12, 2010 – 7:45 pm

I went to log in to my Lala account last week and was greeted with the heartbreaking message that Lala service would be terminated on May 31 after having been purchased by Apple in December of last year. Needless to say, I took the news pretty hard. I’ve been a Lala user since September 2008. It’s been there for me when my iPod died, allowing me to access my extensive music collection from any computer with an internet connection. I’ve also discovered some fantastic new music through its extensive collection that allows users to listen to any song for free once.

Tech geeks billed Lala as a music rental service, where you could “buy” music for online-only play for 10 cents per song. However, I’ll admit that I only use Lala to access my personal music collection and check out new music – I never made a purchase or rental through Lala.

I am sure there are other services like Lala out there–I do love Pandora for its streaming music, but I’m going to miss having my own music at my finger tips. Guess it is time I resurrect my iPod from its role as an exercise assistance device.

By xiiksarah | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Oy-Pad

April 20, 2010 – 8:11 pm

If you’re planning a trip to Israel, be sure to leave your iPad at home.  This week, Israel became the first country to ban the import of iPads – even by tourists bringing in their own personal devices. Israeli technology and communications officials are concerned that the iPad uses higher Wi-Fi signals than Israel and European standards allow, potentially causing Wi-Fi systems to be overwhelmed or to interfere with other electronic devices.

This isn’t the first time Israel has given Apple the cold shoulder–Apple’s iPhone was not allowed in the country until December of last year over similar concerns.

So far 10 iPads have been confiscated and the owners have been given the choice of paying a storage fee until they leave the country or shipping the iPad home on their own dime.

Apple has delayed the international launch of the iPad by one month due to overwhelming demand here in the U.S.  Apple says the international version of the iPad will comply with the lower Wi-Fi standards and are hopeful the iPad will soon proliferate across Israel.

By xiiksarah | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

The xiik Geek Bar – Spring 2010 Edition

April 6, 2010 – 6:32 pm

We’ve been doing a lot of work since our last post about the new office space. This time around, you won’t find very many big changes to the walls, desks or space itself.

The most notable additions are the full size mannequins that just so happened to grace us with their presence overnight a couple weeks ago. Our best guess is they ran away from Hollister because, let’s be honest, nobody can stand the smell of that place for more than 15 minutes. Their names are Xira [Zira] and Xahn [Zahn], but I have a feeling those names change every week since nobody can remember. No big deal – mannequins don’t have feelings.

Graffiti seems to be popping up more and more around the office and bathroom walls. Our front door sidewalk is tagged with the xiik logo and games of hangman make bathroom time even MORE fun. Give us chalk and you’ll be sure to see the 8-year-old in each of us. That is, all of us except Donny, who has a strong aversion to chalk.

So overall, we have just been making ourselves at home here and making it as fun and comfortable as possible. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, stop by and try to solve our latest hangman puzzle.

By Josh Corken | Posted in about xiik, indianapolis | Comments (1)

Hometown Hoosier Hysteria

April 5, 2010 – 5:39 pm

xiik’s Indianapolis office is buzzing with excitement as we’re only a few hours away from the tip off of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game. The game is being played only a few miles to the south at Lucas Oil Stadium. A few miles in the opposite direction is Butler University, the home of one of two teams vying for that national championship.

Not since 1972 has a hometown team been in the Final Four and man is Indianapolis pumped: fans have crowded Monument Circle for pep rallies, a giant blue “B” has been formed in the windows of the Indianapolis Power & Light building downtown, and yard signs line Meridian Street, their stakes in the soft spring soil.

Although references to the movie Hoosiers have been tired for some time now, it’s hard to not feel a twinge of goosebumps. After all, basketball is a hallowed institution here in Indiana.  Butler has long played a role in this tradition because its basketball arena, Hinkle Fieldhouse, was the largest basketball gym in the nation for several decades in the middle of the 20th century.

Tonight, Butler will hopefully make more history. In classic David v. Goliath fashion, Butler is taking on basketball behemoth Duke for the NCAA Championship.

In honor of our Butler Bulldogs, we present their fight song:

We’ll sing the Butler war song,
We’ll give a fighting cry;
We’ll fight the Butler battle–
Bulldogs ever do or die.
And in the glow of the victory firelight,
Hist’ry cannot deny
To add a page or two
For Butler’s fighting crew
Beneath the Hoosier sky.

The xiik geeks would like to congratulate the Bulldogs for making it this far in the tournament and wish them good luck against the Blue Devils tonight!

By xiiksarah | Posted in indianapolis | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

xiik Goes Global

April 1, 2010 – 6:49 pm

We’ve been sitting on a big announcement for awhile, but are finally able to unveil the latest exciting news for our company…We’re opening our first international office across the pond in London!

Why London, you might ask? Ever heard of a little something called Her Royal Majesty? Apparently, she’s a big fan of the work we did for the Humane Society of Indianapolis’ Mutt Strut (April 25) and wanted us on her newest endeavor: her Facebook Fan Page.

This is great news for our youngest employee, Josh Corken, as he will get the opportunity to relocate overseas and manage xiik’s newest office.  Hopefully Josh will be able to put everything he learned from xiik’s “Talk Like a Brit Day” to good use. However, if I remember correctly, the only thing he knew how to say was “bugger off.

We wish Josh the best as he searches for a flat and prepares to “mind the gap.” Stay tuned for progress on the project and updates on Josh going international with no return flight home. For now, pip-pip, cheerio and all that jazz!

By xiiksarah | Posted in about xiik | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

Happy Birthday from Facebook

March 25, 2010 – 6:53 pm

This past Tuesday, I turned 21. Woohoo! But, this blog post isn’t my plea for more birthday wishes. I can assure you that my slew of loving Facebook friends took care of that. The real meat here is how Facebook is starting to change the dynamic of birthday wishes. It even feels odd typing that, but it’s true.

As much as I’d like to play it off like all of these wall posts are not that big of a deal, they really are! Who doesn’t love a little extra attention on their special day? The fact that the wall post is public serves two purposes, if you think about it, the sender and receiver both win. The birthday boy/girl is seen as a person who is cared about and gets birthday wishes. The friend who writes on their wall is seen as a caring person who sends happy birthdays. That’s a win-win in my book!

There are even discussions I found talking about the expectation of responding to your friends who wish you a happy birthday. Take this thread on Yahoo Answers as an example. Personally, I responded to every person who wrote me. That’s just my two cents, but I think that I can devote 10 seconds of my time to respond with a “Thanks dude!” since they took time out of their day to think of me.

So, let’s crunch some numbers here. These are the birthday wish figures for this fiscal year for me. Looks like Facebook is the obvious choice for my friends.

I find it interesting that people go that far to seek advice on a matter such as this, which can tell us one thing: Facebook happy birthdays are that important. My prediction is that this trend will only grow in popularity, just as quickly as Facebook has been growing. It’s convenient, quick and still personal. So, before your birthday comes around this year, be sure to prepare yourself (and your Facebook wall) for some birthday love. You know you like it!

By Josh Corken | Posted in social media | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

No Brakes! Toyota Needs to Put a Stop to Its Cars and Its Inability to Communicate

March 12, 2010 – 8:05 pm

You might want to watch out for me on the road. Seriously.

Although I consider myself a good driver (minus the slightest case of road rage), I am also one of millions of people driving Toyotas all over this country. Every time I jump on the Interstate, I wonder if this will be the day that my car decides to play Toyota Roulette and careen out of control.

In college, I had a friend who liked to drive down a big hill on campus with his windows down and yell “NO BRAKES!” just to freak people out. It was pretty hilarious. And although I still laugh at that prank, I never thought I might have to revisit those words in a real-life situation. It’s been in the back of my head as one of those things I might resort to if my Prius decides to become a death trap.

Beyond the obvious engineering lapse, my biggest complaint is that Toyota has utterly failed to communicate with car owners about these problems. A few months ago, I received a letter telling me that the floormats were to blame for “acceleration issues” and that I should remove them. However, in the several instances of out-of-control cars that have been publicly reported, most experts point to the computerized braking system as being the probable cause. Toyota also says the safety issue is only limited to later models, although the cars that are affected seem to run the gamut from 2005 to current models.

Like any company enduring a PR nightmare, Toyota needs to learn the tough lesson that the truth is always the best defense. In the name of both safety and salvaging its brand, Toyota needs to admit the full scope of its failure and not mislead its consumers with half-information. While they might lose money in the immediate future, coming clean and taking full responsibility will help build confidence and trust in the company again.

In the meantime, perhaps Toyota will consider changing their tagline to moving forward…and forward…and NO BRAKES!

By xiiksarah | Posted in customer service, public relations | Tagged | Leave a Comment

American Apparel is sexy. Really sexy!

March 5, 2010 – 10:18 pm

These past few years I have, sadly, been very out of touch with video games because adult responsibilities have occupied my time; but that hasn’t stopped me from occasionally reading about them. Recently, I viewed an article on MSNBC about games that integrate sex into their game play.

Mass Effect, BioWare’s latest role-playing game, is one example. It really pushes story and engages the player with well-defined characters with whom s/he can relate. Naturally, real world scenarios come into play, in this case, sex. Good old-fashioned digital gaming sex!

Now, let it be known that these in-game sex scenes are totally mild. Just like in film, games have a rating system to help prevent minors from playing them. So why would it be any different for a game to introduce sexuality and real emotion, especially considering the increasingly wider demographic that gaming represents? The production director for Mass Effect 2 describes,

“When I play a game, I always find it odd when I’m just running around shooting things and beating things up without understanding why I care. I need a personal reason to care. That’s something that the characters offer.”

This gaming trend got me thinking more about how sex may be spreading to other new media, namely the Internet. And no, we aren’t talking pornography here, which practically started the internet. Instead, the focus is on companies that were originally more conservative and have completely rebranded themselves around that famous phrase: Sex sells.

American Apparel is my primary example. They are HOT! From one look at their home page, it is clear that this brand isn’t afraid to show some skin, literally. Their suggestive promotions leave customers wanting more. In other words, they have brought sexy back.

Just as we play games like Mass Effect to immerse ourselves in a fantasy and connect to its characters, we visit the American Apparel website in hopes we’ll find sexier duds for the avatar that is our real identity. The engaging photography, beautiful models and seductive marketing keep us browsing and fantasizing, until (in their hopes) we arrive at an item we simply must have.

Of course, American Apparel isn’t the only retailer with an unorthodox way of marketing. There are plenty of others, including one of our well-known quality denim suppliers, Diesel, pictured below.

So what does this mean? That our heads are stuck in the gutter and more brands are giving in too? I don’t think so. Rather, these companies have capitalized on a part of life that is captivating and, frankly, always on our minds. Their marketing strategies have shifted to a more progressive way of thinking to keep pace with changing generational attitudes and globalization. The younger crowd is less squeamish about the human anatomy than its predecessor, as are several Westernized cultures across the Atlantic. Like it or not, get used to seeing even more sex than you’ve seen before. As graphics technologies have begun to create interactive experiences that more closely mimic our sensory world, never before have we been so captivated by websites and games. Buckle up, it’s gonna be a risqué ride!

By Josh Corken | Posted in advertising, interactive marketing, marketing promotions | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Marketing Via Smack Talk

February 25, 2010 – 6:53 pm

Facebook and Twitter have always been great platforms for staying connected, sharing resources and even meeting new friends, but when it comes to talkin’ smack, the stakes (and followers) seem to rise. Recently, the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) and the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) engaged in a little online sibling rivalry and in the heat of it all ended up betting some high praised works of art on this year’s Super Bowl. Via Twitter, IMA director Max Anderson wagered a three-month loan of a recently acquired painting on the outcome of the Colts v. Saints. Well, NOMA gave a big old “Who dat?!” and the bet was on. Again, all of this one-upmanship occurred in the digital tennis game that is Twitter. My serve, your serve.

Obviously Anderson was rooting for the Colts. And we all know how that story ends. (If you don’t, the Colts lost.) The significance of this whole bet, however, is rooted in the publicity that each museum garnered. In addition to Twitter, this smack talk was also discussed on the Modern Art Notes blog, meaning that anyone who follows their tweets or that art blog most likely followed the course of the bet.

In publicly announcing the bet and egging one another on, the two museums were actually generating interest through social media, whether they realized it or not. They rallied their art history communities around something entirely unexpected — home team pride — and in the process caught the attention of folks outside their average orbit.  xiik did something similar when we realized that we had more Facebook followers than our friends over at another Indy firm, Mediasauce. See the humorous post here. In this case, we inspired several comments and feedback about our little popularity contest. You know what they say: any publicity is good publicity.

Unfortunately, it looks like Max Anderson and the IMA were just a tad over confident with their art wager. The Saints’ 31-17 victory over the Colts proved quite a few people wrong, including most of us xiik geeks. In a final tweet to end the Super Bowl bet, IMA declared, “Congrats to the Saints & @NOMA1910 on winning the Super Bowl bet. #Indy-be sure to see the JMW Turner before it heads to New Orleans!” Now that’s good sportsmanship! As Twitter continues to broaden its utility to interactions such as money transfers or one-on-one interviewing, we will likely see “tweeple” using the service in more creative ways, like smack talking, to entertain and thus promote their brand.

By Josh Corken | Posted in social media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment