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Archive for the ‘Cool Stuff’ Category

The Future of the Web: Where Will We Be in Five Years?

posted by Scott on November 5th, 2009

I’ve been slacking on my blog duties, so I wanted to try to get back into the swing of things. Instead of doing my own writeup though, I’m going to post an interesting article that I read this morning. Thanks to Cameron at noupe for the great piece.

“We’re approaching the end of 2009, and many people are wondering what the future will bring. While no one can predict for sure what the Internet holds in its future, there are indicators and trends that can point us in the right direction.

A ton of technologies are ripe for further development in the coming few years. Social media and related apps are definitely going to be at the forefront of the Web for a long time. But plenty of other technologies are on the verge of becoming mainstream, either because of more social acceptance or because of advancements in hardware and applications. Read on for 15 predictions about the future of the Web.”

Read the article

Supporting local, privately-owned businesses in Hagerstown (part two)

posted by Scott on September 15th, 2009

If you missed my first post on this topic, you can view it here.

I wanted to follow up with a couple of other examples of how to support local business in and around Hagerstown. One thing that these places have in common is that they not only offer quality services and products, but they greet you when you walk in the door. Doesn’t it feel good to walk into a store and they remember your name or at least say hello?

For example, try shopping at Russo’s Rx for your next box of cold medicine or prescription. I decided to check them out, and they gained a returning customer — fast, friendly service! Exactly what they advertise.

I take my Wrangler to Total Lube in Smithsburg instead of franchises or dealerships. As we all know, maintenance and repairs can be costly, so being able to find a mechanic that you trust makes the experience easier to swallow.

If you’re shopping for jewelry, stop in at R. Bruce Carson jewelers instead of the mall or outlets. I just can’t say enough about Tom and the great people that work there, not to mention the impeccable quality of their jewelry. They have a shop downtown and in Stone House Square.

Studio 6 Health Club is a new gym in the Stone House Square. They work really hard to make sure that their club is first-class and that their members are happy and see results. They are not the only privately-owned gym in town, they just happen to be the one that I go to, so I’m recommending them.

There are several Women’s clothing shops around town and a few Men’s shops (we really need more Men’s shops). Some of the clothes they sell can’t be found in any other retail stores around here and the service is unmatched.

Carol and Company is a retail shop in downtown Hagerstown that has a wide selection of high quality gift items. There’s also a new gift shop on the square, but I can’t recall the name at the moment. Odyssey is another great gift shop in Williamsport.

Ten years ago I wouldn’t have put much thought into this issue, but through the years of working with clients and building friendships with other business owners, I see the importance of supporting these good folks firsthand. I hope that you consider doing the same and give them a chance to earn your business!

What are some of your preferred local businesses?

Supporting local, privately-owned businesses in Hagerstown (part one)

posted by Scott on September 14th, 2009

Bulls & Bears in Hagerstown, MD

Last Thursday I was at an event for Leadership Washington County and I was talking with Kent Reynolds about some of our favorite restaurants in the area. Kent and I found that we had something in common; we prefer local, privately-owned restaurants over franchises and chains.

We are fortunate to have a decent number of great, privately-owned restaurants in Hagerstown and the surrounding area. It’s important that we support these restaurateurs; they are our friends, neighbors, family, and they are a critical piece of our local economy.

Below is a list of some of my favorite restaurants in Hagerstown, if only for the benefit of getting the word out there and letting people know that there are nice, friendly and original places to eat with exceptional food and great service.

Schmankerl Stube – German
GG’s (Gourmet Goat) – American
Laila’s Kitchen – Afghan/Middle Eastern
Bulls & Bears – American
Rhubarb House – American
The Plum – American
Durango – Mexican
LJ’s – Amercian
Hempen Hill – American
Palettie – Mixed culture
Black Eyed Susan – American
Mr. D’s – Wings, Sandwiches, Ribs
Red Curry – Asian Fusion
House of Kobe – Japanese
Sakura – Japanese

There are also cities outside of Hagerstown with some fantastic options as well. Shepherdstown, Frederick and Gettysburg, to name a few.

See, now you can cancel your reservation at Olive Garden tonight and try something new! Don’t forget to tell your friends and co-workers about it too! Viral marketing, baby! Cheap, simple, effective.

What are some of your favorite locally-owned places to eat?

Red Curry – Asian Fusion
House of Kobe – Japanese
Sakura – Japanese

Help Us Out of the Ruff — for Tails of Hope Sanctuary

posted by Scott on September 9th, 2009

Kate received an email today and I wanted to post it here to show support. We used Tails of Hope Sanctuary when we adopted our 1.5 yr old German Shepherd, Loki, and they were fantastic to work with. The wonderful folks at Tails of Hope take a proactive approach towards pet adoption and have forged contacts through a deep network of shelters and foster homes. If you “just want a dog”, they’ll have one ready to be adopted. If you’re looking for a specific type or have specific requirements (cat-friendly, child-friendly, breed etc), they will probably have one for you, and if not, they’ll find one. From our experience in working with them, it’s very clear that they love animals and truly care for their well-being.

Visit the Tails of Hope Sanctuary website

Tails of Hope Sanctuary

HELP US OUT OF THE RUFF

Attending the GFAF Kick-off social at Flying Dog Brewery on Thursday, September 17th? Here’s your chance to lend a paw. Please help Tails of Hope Sanctuary, a no-kill animal rescue based out of Mt. Airy.You can make a difference! Help homeless animals out of the “RUFF” by bringing a new or gently-used pet supply to the social and receive a COMPLIMENTARY DOOR PRIZE TICKET for your good deed. (There are 10 door prizes up for grabs.)

Tails of Hope Wish list: collars, leashes, harnesses, dog/cat toys, dog/cat treats, dog/cat beds, pet store gift cards, postage stamps and gas cards.

RAFFLE PRIZES

If you get to the social and realize you forgot to bring a donation, don’t fret you can still help! We’ll be raffling off 3 gift baskets, donated by Two Paws Up! and Flying Dog Brewery. PLUS, 3 separate raffle prizes of Flying Dog beer. A huge thank you to Rona Mensah, from KEY 103, who will be our raffle ticket girl.  Be sure to go and see Rona at the event and get your tickets: $3/2 tickets, $5/4 tickets, $10/10 tickets, $20/25 tickets.

100% of the proceeds will go to Tails of Hope Sanctuary to benefit homeless animals.

If you can’t make it to the event and would like to make a monetary or in-kind donation, please contact Lisa Gorham at lisa@jeanpetersondesign.com

High-four to the super-cool two-legged sponsors of this months public service campaign:

Tails of Hope Sanctuary

Here’s a recent picture of Loki, he came from a shelter in Grafton, WV via Tails of Hope Sanctuary. He was dropped off overnight and only had one day left because they were full. We only saw two pictures of him and decided to take a chance! He was a little malnourished and had a skin infection in his paws, which our vet cleared up with some antibiotics. He is now very healthy and extremely strong. He’s very loyal (he’s taken it upon himself to be the Watchdog); he’s also lot of fun (excels at frisbee and a pretty good wrestler!), and he gets along great with our two other dogs Jake and Star.

Loki likes cheese

And he’s camera-friendly.

Loki and Star

I can almost guarantee you that whoever took this picture had some food. Yeah, I know, the chandelier in the background is ugly.

Where’s Jake? Probably sleeping.

Team-building with online gaming.

posted by Scott on September 8th, 2009

Rock Band 2 - Image courtesy IGN.com

This evening I stumbled upon an article that I had bookmarked a few weeks ago. I had intended to post it to the blog but I must have been sidetracked or had another idea.

I only have one thought on the article.

Let’s do this!

Actually, Joe and I have worked together previously where we had LAN (local area network) gaming sessions at the end of the day and they were a lot of fun! Back then the team-building aspect of it was more or less just about having fun together and relieving stress because we were all in the same big room — strategy and tactics didn’t exist. :)

I think it would be fun to include some of our partners and clients as well. Heck, we’ve been discussing doing something like this with games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero anyway, so why not expand on the idea? The difficult thing is finding out who the Gamers are. People are sometimes surprised when they find out I’m a Gamer, and I admit to occasionally being caught off guard when I hear that the President of a company is playing World of Warcraft every night until 4am. I wonder how many of our clients are going home and logging into MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) or staying up late on their Xbox/PS3/Wii?

Maybe we could even set something up for Fridays at the end of the day in our office. We’re going to move our Hagerstown office from its current location at 240 S Potomac, which we’ve been at for over a year, to a larger space above Bulls & Bears, anyway. We’ve discussed setting up a lounge area in the new space, so why not just add a 46″ plasma, an Xbox/PS3/Wii, a nice little home theater that will rattle the silverware on the tables below in the restaurant (just kidding, Matt!), and have at it!

We’re a small company, so teamwork and positive energy is absolutely essential in order for us to continue to produce the exceptional results that we’re accustomed to delivering. This might be one of those ideas that may seem “out there” to some, but that’s okay, it sounds like fun to me!

Joe — you, me, Tiger Woods 10. It’s on!

Here’s a link to the article on CNN.com.

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