Use Social Media & Mobile Marketing in Your Business

September 14th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

The Women’s Council of Greater Baton Rouge will be hosting “Women’s Week” September 25 – October 4, 2009. Brian Rodriguez of Gatorworks and Damien LaManna of Zymeaux will be conducting a seminar called “Use Social Media and Mobile Marketing in Your Business” on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Rodriguez will provide an overview of how social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, have changed the way entrepreneurs conduct business. Brian will be joined by New Orleans entrepreneur Damien LaManna who will discuss the impact that mobile marketing has on the way business owners connect with current and prospective customers. The seminar is free, and it will be held from 1PM to 3PM at 4950 Essen Lane (Baton Rouge).

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LIVE Blog: BarCamp NOLA 2009

July 19th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

11:20AM
I’m here at day 2 of BarCamp NOLA 2009 in the LaunchPad building. We’re in concept meetings to discuss a system that would recruit and mobilize volunteers for the Greater New Orleans public schools. We think we want a system that will showcase current volunteer efforts as well as help communicate how prospective volunteers can get involved. More updates to come!

11:30AM
The techies are in the LaunchPad conference room planning out the technical aspect of the project. Matt Tritico is jumping from the concept meetings to the technical meetings to try to keep an open dialogue between both groups. Our goal is to have a system by 4PM today. We’re thinking WordPress might be the technology to use.

11:40AM
Tritico just ordered pizza- will be here in an hour! Gatorworks will host the system.

11:55AM
Chris Schultz is heading up the concept meeting, and we’re going through our site architecture. Chris’ wife just walked in to join us! Here’s the temporary link for testing our system: http://www.gatortesting.net/schooldistrict/

12:10PM
The proposed domain name is nolaschoolvolunteers.org

12:25PM
The email address info@nolaschoolvolunteers.org has been set up. Our concept meeting will be meeting with the technical guys after lunch. Lunch should be here within the next 15-20 minutes I think. We’re going to purchase a WordPress theme to use.

12:40PM
We’re breaking for lunch right now. We’ll be back online in a bit!

1:00PM
We’re back at it- both the concept group and technical group is now coming together to discuss our ideas. We have 3 hours to code the system!

1:20PM
Chris Schultz just finished briefing the room on what our concept meeting discussed. Now Stanford Rosenthal is briefing the room on what the techies discussed in their meeting. I think the site architecture is pretty much finalized. We’re discussing specific WordPress plugins to use, etc.

Our goal is to thank the past and current volunteers of the NOLA public schools, report the latest happenings of volunteer projects in the schools, and help mobilize new volunteers for the NOLA public school system.

1:30PM
We’re getting ready to break out into teams again. We’re going to have different teams assigned to developing the various WP plugins we’ll need to achieve our goals. We’ll have copy writers working on gathering content. The energy is great in the room…people are stepping up and taking ownership of various pieces of the project.

2:10PM
The theme has been selected, and we’re getting ready to install on the server now. Thanks to Marc Juneau and Chris Schultz with the help on selecting the theme. We have several dev groups working on the WP plugins, and Andrew Larimer is going to work on modifying the design.

2:20PM
The theme is now installed and activated at http://www.nolaschoolvolunteers.org. We’re working on customizing the site according to the site map and architecture we’ve put together.

2:55PM
Things are coming together. We’re going to re-group in about 5 minutes to see what needs to happen during our final hour of development. I’m working on a press release that will communicate what we’ve done for our local community and help encourage technology professionals to join us for our next BarCamp. We are talking about planning a BarCamp in Baton Rouge in the Spring of 2010!

3:40PM
I just finished draft 1 of the press release, and I’m feeling pretty good about what was accomplished today. We have about 20 minutes or so left, and I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. Tung Ly has been documenting everything we’re doing so Troy Peloquin of the Recovery School District will be able to take this system moving forward and be able to update the content on a regular basis.

4:15PM
We have some guys working overtime over here at BarCampNOLA. However, the project is just about finished, and we just need to populate with content now. Check out http://www.nolaschoolvolunteers.org.

4:30PM
Ok, I’m going to go ahead and call it a day. We did it… we developed a website in ONE day in support of the New Orleans public school system. BarCampNOLA would not have been possible without our sponsors: Voodoo Ventures, LaunchPad, Humid Beings, Gatorworks, and Newstwit.com.

Today was truly inspiring.

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An Event Apart: Boston – Retrospective

June 29th, 2009 by Chase Swindler

And so it begins!This past weekend my coworker @davidlink and I drove 1,500 miles north of the Mason-Dixon line to a little town called Boston, MA. Why would we undertake such a ridiculous feat you ask? My response is: To attend An Event Apart, only one of the greatest web design and development conferences on the face of this glorious planet.

Arriving in our hotel on Sunday night was such a relief. We had just driven 26+ hours from Baton Rouge to Boston. The conference was worth it.

Monday we got to hear some excellent presenters like Jared Spool, Kristina Halvorson, Jeremy Keith, Dan Cederholm, and Jason Santa Maria among others. Tuesday we were privy to the presentations of Jeffrey Zeldman, Dan Mall, Simplescott, Heather Champ, and Andy Clarke. The knowledge flowed like a river. I would love to be able to share everything I learned but I’m afraid there’s just not enough space on the internet for that. (Heh, there actually may be.)
Read the rest of this entry »

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50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

May 22nd, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

A while back I came across Chris Brogan’s article on using Twitter for business, and I felt like it was a great guide for business owners who are still new to the Twitter craze. I decided it was about time that I include his ideas right here on the Gatorworks blog. For the complete article on Brogan’s blog, feel free to click here. I’ve included his ideas below, but I have also added a little of my own commentary in there:

First Steps

  1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
  2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.
  3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
  4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
  5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
  6. Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
  7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
  8. Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
  9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
  10. Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.

Ideas About WHAT to Tweet

  1. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
  2. Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
  3. When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
  4. Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
  5. Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
  6. Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
  7. When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
  8. Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
  9. Don’t toot your own horn too much.
  10. Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.

Read the rest of this entry »

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20 Great (and 20 not so great) Logo Redesigns

May 4th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Check out this great blog post from The Design Reviver on the 20 Great (and 20 not so great) Logo Redesigns.

Logos express complex ideas and concepts with simplified illustrations and typefaces that communicate distinctively and effectively. They are one of the most difficult aspects of graphic design for this reason. Some logos are incredibly clever and effective while others are poorly made and fail to communicate. Read More

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Check out our newest site: NewsFifty.com

April 7th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez
Visit NewsFifty.com!

Visit NewsFifty.com!

Our team recently launched NewsFifty.com which aims to provide the best daily political, state, and breaking headline stories from all 50 states around the nation. You’ll notice the site uses a very lean design very similar to The Drudge Report or the local Dead Pelican; however, the competitive advantage with NewsFifty.com is the ability for the user to quickly and efficiently click from state to state to see the news that matters to them. Each state also has an extensive directory of links to blogs and media outlets.

Check it out, and let us know what you think!

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Making the Transition from Print to Web

March 30th, 2009 by David Link

A big “Thank you” to all those who attended our little talk at Saturday’s AAF Conference. We’ve uploaded all our slides and resources, and they are available to you here. Even if you didn’t attend the presentation, feel free to check out “Making the Transition from Print to Web.”

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them for us below. Thanks!

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SXSW… wow.

March 20th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Wow…what a weekend! I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2009 Interactive Conference this past Friday through Tuesday (March 13-17) along with David Link and Alise Johnson (and many others which I will explain in a little while). The conference was a great opportunity for me to get out of the office for a few days to learn, meet, greet, and be inspired. The SXSW experience was truly amazing because of three main reasons:

1. The Y@T PACK from New Orleans

Part of the Y@T PACK Bus Wrap

Part of the Y@T PACK Bus Wrap

Net2NO, led by Damien LaManna, Tiffany Starnes, and Jessica Rohloff, is a group of young professionals dedicated to social change in New Orleans. The group puts a special emphasis on technology and economic development and they meet once a month to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and learn from special presentations by industry professionals. I joined Net2NO a few months ago and have greatly benefited from the gatherings. This group’s enthusiasm, creativity, and general concern for their community is truly contagious.

The Net2NO crew decided that we would charter a bus and go to the SXSW Interactive Conference as a group to let everyone know that not only is New Orleans open for business but also that the state is a thriving place for digital creatives and technology entrepreneurs to start or expand a business. With the help of awesome sponsors, we purchased booth space at the tradeshow armed with materials on Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media Tax Credits for technology businesses, Angel Investment Tax Credits for start-ups, and personal success stories. We had a daily drawing at 5:04pm to give away weekend stays at the W Hotel New Orleans and a free registration to WordCamp NOLA in New Orleans, LA. (coming up April 10-11… David Link is a panelist… more info to come! )

Personally, I loved working the tradeshow booth because I saw so many people get instantly engaged in the idea of moving their businesses to New Orleans. I would mention the tax credits, the cost of living, the amazing culture, and the overall quality of life in New Orleans…and I would see people’s faces light up with excitement. I firmly believe that Net2NO will get at least one business to actually move their firm to New Orleans as a result of attending the SXSW conference.

David Link, Alise Johnson, Damien LaManna of Morgan+Co, Brian Rodriguez

David Link, Alise Johnson, Damien LaManna, Brian Rodriguez

Of course,  it wasn’t all work all the time. We had to throw a New Orleans party and show Austin a good time! On the night of Monday, March 16, the Y@T PACK rounded up a few hundred people at Lucky Lounge to listen to DJ Othertempo, a.k.a. Elliott Adams, who is also the Director of the Digital Interactive Office in the Louisiana Economic Development Department, and Austin Nights Brass Band. The amazing party was organized by young arts enthusiast, Andrew Larimer.

2. The SXSW Presentation / Panels

Of course, this was the meat of the conference. I had the opportunity to attend many beneficial keynote presentations and panels that discussed a variety of topics that will help further my career and ultimately provide a better product to my clients. On Saturday, I attended a presentation by Robert Hoekman, Jr. entitled “The 7 Rules of Great Web App Design.” It was a well-done presentation, and I’ll expand on his 7 rules in a future blog entry. Later that day I also attended panels that included design greats such as Jeffrey Zeldman and Jason Santa Maria.

By far my favorite presentation was by Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary has built a $60M business with his light-hearted and fun video blog “The Wine Library.” Gary had a tremendous impact on me, so I’ll have a comprehensive blog entry coming up that recaps his talk. Stay tuned!

3. The Support for New Orleans Entrepreneur Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures moderating his panel at SXSW

Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Net2NO member, Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures, moderated a panel at SXSW called “Outsourcing 2.0: Is the World Flat or Not?” The interactive format included Q&A with other panelists, including New Orleans developer Matt Tritico, Sandeep Sood of Monsoon Multimedia in Silicon Valley and Andrea Azdril of Startech Global in Los Angeles. The room was packed with entrepreneurs, developers, and designers full of questions on the topic. Schultz did an exceptional job, and it really made me proud to see a New Orleans entrepreneur leading a discussion on a very important topic at a major tech conference. I had a tremendous sense of pride during the presentation, and I feel privileged to share both a business relationship and friendship with Chris. If you don’t know Chris yet, you need to get on it.

So, there you have it folks. I had the time of my life. I cannot wait until next year!

**Did you go to SXSW? Briefly share your exciting moments from SXSW with us below in the comments area!**

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Gatorworks Designs Logos!

March 2nd, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Our bread and butter is designing websites; however, we have a great creative team that can handle the entire identity package for small to medium sized businesses. Our design services include logo design, printed materials such as business cards, letterhead, and even large format design (like billboards).

Below are a few of our happy logo design clients. Let us know what you think of our logos!

This is a logo designed for FanTheFire.com

This is a logo designed for FanTheFire.com

This logo was designed for New Orleans tech company Make Buzz

This logo was designed for New Orleans tech company Make Buzz

The above logo is for Wage Hunter, a Baton Rouge start up.

The above logo is for Wage Hunter, a Baton Rouge start up.

This is the logo for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference to be held in New Orleans in 2010.

This is the logo for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference to be held in New Orleans in 2010.

This logo was designed for The Gulf Coast Food & Fuel Expo held earlier this year.

This logo was designed for The Gulf Coast Food & Fuel Expo held earlier this year.

Green Escapes is a local plant nursery and landscaping company.

Green Escapes is a local plant nursery and landscaping company.

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Engage Your Customers with Zymeaux

February 15th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

We recently designed a website for a mobile marketing start-up company in New Orleans called Zymeaux. The new and innovative firm is owned by Eric Morgan and Damien LaManna of Morgan+Co. Zymeaux provides a quick and easy way for businesses to reach their customers via SMS text messages. Here is a quick way to explain their service (from their website):

Zymeaux gives advertisers a chance to create an immediate impact in a way no other medium can provide. Text messages hit the consumer wherever they are, which is mostly on the go. It becomes a small part of your customer’s daily life, not in an annoying bombastic way, but as if to say, “hey we know you’ve had a long day, why not stop by [insert your establishment’s name here] for half price appetizers just for our very special text message subscribers like you! Oh, and bring your friends.”

The end result is a dynamic cost effective communication system that is delivered instantly via a highly personable channel to a very specific audience at the most opportune moment.

We’re very excited to be working with Zymeaux, and we look forward to helping their company grow!

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