Goodbye 2007. Hello 2008.

At Method Engine, we’ve made the commitment to help others by donating strategy and design to nonprofit organizations throughout the year. This past year, we put our skills to work for Family Rescue, an organization that works to reduce domestic violence in Chicago through shelter, education, counseling, and legal assistance.

We developed a web site to help them:
> Meet fundraising goals
> Increase media placements
> Increase name recognition
> Reinforce position as leader in the field of domestic violence

So now, Family Rescue can kick off 2008 with a dynamic, engaging web site to help change the lives of women across Chicago.

View the new Family Rescue web site.

New Approaches To Navigation

Interface designs that break the old school approach. We all know the drill. Navigation on the top or the left side of the page with drop downs, rollovers, etc. But on some web sites, they're nowhere to be found. There's a new way of thinking about navigation on the web and we're looking at it closely.

With bandwidth issues a thing of the past, and high speed adoption at an all-time high, web designer and developers are thinking outside of the box and looking for engaging ways to make online navigation intuitive, fun, non-linear and dynamic. With the ability to marry rich media with intelligent back-end data design, some companies are pushing the envelope to create online experiences that are truly unique.

The Las Vegas Travel Bureau launched a site that uses full motion video with an interactive guide to help visitors decide what to do and see in Las Vegas. "The Vegas Visionary". Users are prompted for their name and then offered an information gathering experience that is filled with humor by an entertaining character, Vic Wonder. A personalized and dynamic approach, as demonstrated on this site can make online experiences truly engaging and memorable.

Value Of Content Management Systems

Many clients want to update content on their sites to keep the information fresh without the hassle of using an HTML application or calling upon an outside resource. So what is the best way to determine if you need a CMS? The first rule of thumb is to look at the frequency you expect to update certain types of content within your site. It's not uncommon for a CMS to be implemented for sections involving press releases, articles and white papers, investor relations, classes and seminars or directories of employees.

Whether a CMS is required is dependent in large part upon your type of business. Many manufacturers, such as Thermos, had a need to update all of their product lines through a CMS on a regular basis. In addition, they needed the ability to showcase products seasonally from their home page, add and remove entire product lines and dynamically generate brand focused content. The system we created for them allowed for all of these changes and resulted in a site that remains fresh and relevant.

The costs to implement a CMS can vary greatly depending upon the type of content involved. While text changes are relatively simple, some sites require the ability to swap out imagery, animation or video. In more extreme cases, a CMS may be necessary that can dynamically generate links, pages and sub-pages on the fly.

Whatever your content management needs are, it's best to look at three key factors when determining your need for a CMS:

-How often do you really need to update a certain section? If the answer is daily or weekly, then a CMS may be the right solution. If it is less frequent, consider having a staffer make the updates using a HTML editing application or using an outside resource.

-What are the costs associated with the implementation of a CMS versus paying for maintenance and updates by an outside provider?

-What are your internal staffing requirements and what level of commitment can your organization make to the use of the CMS? Be sure that the CMS will be utilized and that information really can be updated in a timely manner by your own staff.

By taking these points into consideration, you can best determine the value of a CMS.

Method Engine Launches New Site, Adds Blog with RSS

Welcome to the new Method Engine web site! We've done away with our newsletter and replaced it with this RSS-feed blog.

The new "Transmission" will feature Method Engine news as well as commentary on the latest trends in online marketing strategy, design and technologies.

We want to hear from you. Have a question about something you see happening in the industry? Let us know and we'll research it and respond.

What is a widget?

The definition according to Wikipedia: "A web widget is a portable chunk of code that can be installed and executed within any separate HTML-based Web page by an end user without requiring additional compilation. They are akin to plugins or extensions in desktop applications."

The idea of personal, portable, virally-distributed content in the form of widgets will redefine how we think about Web pages and how advertisers think about using the Web to communicate and interact with consumers.

Content and functionality delivered via Widgets run from entertaining to practical. To view examples of widgets, or download some for yourself take a look at the Yahoo Gallery of widgets at

http://widgets.yahoo.com

Online Content Must Be Useful, Relevant and Targeted

Regardless of the delivery mechanism, one thing remains true, content really is king.

Consumers are sophisticated and they expect information presented online, through e-mail and other marketing touch points to be relevant and useful to them personally. In a recent survey conducted by Method Engine, the majority of participants reported that the relevance of content is more important than the mode of delivery.

How often have you received a message directed to you personally through mail or email that had nothing to do with you or your interests? In an instant, the credibility of the sender diminishes to zero. As a recipient, you believe that the sender knows (and cares) nothing about you or your needs because of that message. At that point, the opportunity to build a relationship with that individual is lost.

Targeted online communications rate extremely high both in terms of educational value and engagement among users. Interactive applications are expected to be the format most likely to provide the most targeted, personalized content by consumers.

"Children of the Web"

No, it's not a documentary about Method Engine, it's a new article by Business Week. "We're now at the busy crossroads where globalization meets Web 2.0. This presents both a challenge to the old ways of doing business and an opportunity to gain tremendous leverage via the right goods and services. To thrive in this era, companies will have to figure out how to engage young people from all over the world when they conceive of products and services. Businesses need their help in turning concepts into finished products and, especially, in marketing them. Another angle: Companies can follow the trail of blogs and social networking sites to find and recruit young employees all over the world."