Become an Official Elements Fan

Attention Elements friends: we will be making the transition from Facebook group to Facebook fan page in the coming days.

We invite you to become a fan of our Elements fan page on Facebook for updates, photos and more. Hope to see you there!

It's Way Too Soon

The debate is on. It seems almost everybody has an opinion about how companies offering goods or services should use social media marketing. The problem is – given this is a relatively new phenomenon - the discussion is extremely premature.

Some say the best use is customer service, and I’m inclined to agree.

Others claim it’s about creating an open and honest dialog with customers (existing and potential), and they’re right.

There’s a camp that insists learning how people perceive a brand is the height of social media achievement. That camp is definitely onto something.

Finally – and perhaps most controversially – there are proponents of good old-fashioned promotional activities, and no surprise, I also believe they’re correct.

Although it may seem like my only point is that I’m a very agreeable guy, it’s actually this: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to social media marketing and it’s way too soon for any definitive pronouncements of what works best. Where I become a lot less agreeable is with an insistence that any one goal is flat out wrong.

There are – of course – mistakes to be made, but as computer giant Dell has so thoroughly proved, there’s plenty of room for do-overs if you don’t nail it the first time.

When clients seek our advice as to their best social media strategy, we start the discussion with absolutely everything on the table. Anything less might lead to opportunities lost.

Twitter bandwagon image by Matt Hamm.

Buy Local.

With the state of today's economy, it is tempting to head into larger discount conglomerates, chains and franchises. This mentality has taken a toll on small businesses, leaving Main Street America somewhat stranded.

However, I recently discovered The 3/50 Project, which I think is a fantastic initiative aimed at saving brick and mortar independently owned businesses. The idea is to commit $50 a month to spend at three locally owned businesses in your community.

Take a look at the statistics from The 3/50's website: If half the employed population spent $50 in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. And, as 3/50 points out, much of the spend returns to the community via payroll, taxes and more. All it takes is one person with fifty dollars.

Everyday Design

An excerpt from a chart showing the evolution of a few memorable everyday items from the 1950's to present published by UK's The Guardian. View the interactive gallery here. Proof again that design is all around us.

Portraits

Berlin-based photographer Andrea Hidebrandt created this stunning set of portraits. I love the neutral color palette and mix of pen and ink over the images and the mood it creates.

{via behance}

Field Trip!

Remember how much fun you had in school when you had a field trip day? Today my recently turned 5-year old son Cole and his class are at the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden.


First, they built a boat (okay, I think they just 'sandpapered' and decorated their boats) ...


... and then they launched them. Check out the high tech paddle boat configuration with the Popsicle sticks, wooden spool and rubber band. Ingenious!

I'm not sure what's in store next, but I love that our cousin has been sending these step-by-step images from her camera phone all morning. Isn't technology great?

Return to Sender

Here are just two of many adorable return address rubber stamps found at Paperwink. I can think of lots of cool applications using these stamps on an inexpensive self promotion mailer when you need high creativity on a shoestring budget.

{via Oh Joy!}

Blu Whale

I love this "Blu Raspberry" whale poster distributed by French Paper. Fantastic illustration!

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

To all the Dad's everywhere, have a lovely Father's Day weekend!

That's My Kid

On my morning drive today, I heard a touching story on NPR about a father and his adopted son and the father's "Aha!" moment when he realized, "That's my kid". Share your "Aha!" parenting moment with us today!

Listen to Brian & son Johnathan Miller's story below, part of the StoryCorps project. Happy Father's Day from Elements to all of the fathers in our lives - may you be showered with love, ties and sporting equipment.



StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission it is to honor and celebrate one another's lives through listening.