DynamicDevelop

3 Sheeps Brewing Co. Selects Sheboygan's Dynamic, Inc. as Marketing Partner

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:00:17 -0500

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (April 5, 2012) – Dynamic, Inc. has been selected as the marketing agency for 3 Sheeps Brewing Co., a Sheboygan-based craft brewery. The local craft beer company partners with Dynamic Inc., a digital(+) advertising agency in Sheboygan, to drive all marketing efforts for the brewery.

Dynamic is directing all campaign initiatives including strategic planning, branding, point-of-sale & promotional materials, digital marketing, social media, and public relations. The agency has crafted an innovative website with unique features including a “Tap Finder” to assist craft beer enthusiasts in locating 3 Sheeps beers.

The key members on the account include Dynamic’s CEO James Grunewald, Executive Creative Director Brad Fleming, Writer & Content Manager Ross Fale, Developer Nic Horstmeier and Public Relations Specialist Beth O’Reilly.

Dynamic has contracted several local companies and individuals to launch and promote 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. products. The logo was designed by local-artist Kevin Payne of Sheboygan. The label illustrations and tap handle design were created by Steve Bossler of Greenseed Studios of Sheboygan. The detailed 3 Sheeps Brewing Co. tap handle is made by AJS & Associates of Random Lake.

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3 Sheeps Brewing Co. is a craft-beer brewing company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 3 Sheeps Brewery was founded in October 2011 and is privately held. www.3SheepsBrewing.com

Dynamic, Inc. is a full-service digital agency offering comprehensive solutions to assist businesses build their online commerce and reach. The Dynamic team develops brand experiences from concept to creation through research, planning, design, development and hosting. Additional agency services include online advertising campaigns, email marketing, social media campaigns, mobile and web applications, strategic planning, brand identity development and direct marketing initiatives. Dynamic, originally named DynamicDevelop, was founded in 2006 and is privately held.

DynamicDevelop, LLC begins the new year with new name

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:02:26 -0600

DynamicDevelop, LLC has made a monumental change to its web development and strategic marketing business--its name.

While in the process of transitioning from an LLC to a corporation, the Sheboygan-based startup dropped several syllables to what is now officially, “Dynamic, Inc.” This New Year name change hearkens back to the company’s beginnings for Jason Irish, web developer and founder of DynamicDevelop.

“Initially, we were a web design and development shop. DynamicDevelop fit that pretty well. Now that we've grown into a full service digital agency, the name Dynamic better fits the overall service offering,” says Irish, who now holds the position of COO.

The new name’s cleaner and elegant resound suits the brilliant work Dynamic creates for its clients. Add that to their punchy web domain, “Dynamicdoes.com,” and the team’s succinct, powerful message is impossible to miss.

The company’s growth over the past year has increased their capabilities far beyond web design and development. Clients call on Dynamic for mobile platform development, social media marketing, digital and print advertising campaigns and marketing strategy planning.

“As our company continues to grow, we've embraced Dynamic not only as our name, but as our way of doing things,” says Irish.

Dynamic prides itself on a full-service strategy, one that many web development and marketing companies fail to offer. From start to finish, Dynamic works with clients by doing all of the planning, research, design, development and web hosting from its shop, thus eliminating the need for clients to hire multiple agencies for such projects.

In addition, clients had a hand inspiring the new name after becoming accustomed to referring to DynamicDevelop simply as “Dynamic” for ease. Nevertheless, the rebrand is an integral part of their growth strategy. Dynamic will be hiring new staff in early 2012 as well as expanding its territory in their unique office space, Jake’s Cafe.

The space is just a mile from Irish's Sheboygan home and hosts numerous creative companies in a sprawling complex with some unique amenities: a cinema, a round table conference room equipped to screen projects for clients, and a renovated church suitable for large gatherings, complete with beautiful, stained-glass windows.

DynamicDevelop originally began pitching clients from Irish’s basement in 2006. However, in 2009, with the added partner of James Grunewald, friend and visual designer, DynamicDevelop grasped its footing in Wisconsin’s marketing and web development niche. In just 18 months of prosperous work, Irish and Grunewald say they have already run through their five-year business plan.

“When you are pushing the envelope, creating good work and listening to your clients, other companies take notice and want to partner with you,” says James Grunewald, CEO of Dynamic.

One year and 10 full-time employees later, Dynamic has a hefty roster of clients, including the likes of the Kohler Company, Color Guard, Case New Holland and Johnsonville Sausage, along with their homey office space and a list of contractors and interns to boot.

“We have been very fortunate in our growth,” says Grunewald, “all due to partnering with great companies and having very talented people working with us.”

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Dynamic, Inc., is a full-service digital agency offering comprehensive solutions to assist businesses build their online commerce and reach. The Dynamic team develops brand experiences from concept to creation through research, planning, design, development and hosting. Additional agency services include online advertising campaigns, email marketing, social media campaigns, mobile and web applications, strategic planning, brand identity development and direct marketing initiatives. Dynamic, originally named DynamicDevelop, was founded in 2006 and is privately held.

Dynamic Keeps Alliance Laundry System's Distributor Web Sites Out of the Wash

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:40:49 -0600

During the summer of 2011, Alliance Laundry Systems of Ripon, Wis. came to a quandary when their main web host went out of business without providing adequate notice. Fortunately, they contracted Dynamic for an expedited solution.

Alliance, a well-known commercial laundry equipment manufacturer, had dozens of websites about to go offline due to their web host’s looming shutdown. After consulting with Dynamic, the time-sensitive dilemma birthed an all-hands-on-deck scenario, where Dynamic staff pooled all of their resources to launch 27 websites within one 24-hour-period.

The harried effort consisted of moving every dealer/distributor web domain along with the site’s content to Dynamic’s servers, whilst merging them into a custom content management system. The sites were then put together using web page templates tailored to Alliance’s distributors unique brand standards.

“Dynamic was extremely helpful and responsive in getting our distributor sites up and running. Our sites would have surely gone offline had Dynamic not been as flexible as they were,“ said Kathryn Rowen, Alliance Laundry Systems Senior Director of Marketing and Brand.

Due to Dynamic’s quick action, Alliance’s distributor websites transitioned smoothly and are now live with the preserved look, feel, and integrity of their content and brand.

“We created a web application that allowed us to roll out 27 templated websites for Alliance,” said Jason Irish, COO of Dynamic. “This proprietary content management system application allows clients to manage all of their sites’ content with Do-It-Yourself tools directly from Dynamic’s servers. As such, Alliance is now easily able to update their web pages with fresh content as needed.”

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Alliance Laundry Systems offers solutions to a worldwide customer base through the delivery of premium quality laundry products and services. Alliance Laundry Systems brands include Speed Queen, IPSO, Uni Mac, Huebsch, Cissell, and Ajax.

Dynamic, Inc., is a full-service digital agency offering comprehensive web solutions to assist businesses of all sizes build their online commerce and reach. The Dynamic team takes website projects from concept to creation with assistance in research, planning, design, development and hosting. Additional agency services include online ad campaigns, email marketing, mobile websites and applications, domain registration, social media campaigns, strategic planning, brand identity development and direct marketing initiatives. Dynamic, originally named DynamicDevelop, was founded in 2006 and is privately held.

A Dynamic Redesign

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:19:11 -0500

In the world of digital agencies, the motto of “clients first” makes perfect sense. That said, as Dynamic grew in both size and capabilities, they realized that they would have to turn their attention inward and update their own website to better reflect their list of services, as well as providing a comprehensive design update.

Dynamic planned out the idea for the new site as time allowed. The process of design took several months, not because of the scope of the project, but because of the balance that had to be struck between working on their own material and completing client-centered projects.

After collectively choosing a design that was both minimalist and drastically different from the then-current design of their site, they began the development phase and used php, html, html5, CSS3 and jquery to lay out the site and create a creative and simple user experience. On the homepage, visible at http://dynamicdoes.com, users are greeted with two main navigation buckets---titled “Does” and “Is”---that will take them deeper into the sections of the site.

The “Is” section of the site contains news, information about the agency and methods to contact them. The “Does” section showcases their work, services and lists a number of their current clientele.

The website launch coincided with a significant milestone for the company: the celebration of their five-year anniversary. In addition to updating their desktop site, Dynamic launched a new version of their mobile site which reflected the content incorporated into the new desktop design.

Dynamic is a web solutions provider that creates elegant, innovative websites and marketing campaigns to help clients build their business online. A full-service resource for website concept and development, domain registration, web hosting, e-mail marketing and social media marketing, Dynamic has the expertise to grow your business.

Dynamic How-to: Force Siri to Update Facebook and Twitter (iPhone 4S Users)

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:47:08 -0500

What’s the saying? You can’t please all the people all of the time. Such was the case with the recent release of the iPhone 4S, which came with a piece of brilliant software called Siri: the seemingly female, voice-activated virtual assistant can send texts and emails, schedule meetings and reminders, give you the current weather in Belize, conduct Google searches and much more. That didn’t stop people from asking in collective despair, “Why can’t Siri update my Facebook/Twitter status?” Good news, my friends: Siri can. Read on to learn how to make Siri do things even she thinks she can’t.

Facebook

If your mobile phone is already attached to your Facebook account, you can skip to step 2. Otherwise:

1. Login to Facebook and navigate to your Account Settings. Click on Mobile in the left-hand menu. You’ll be attaching your iPhone, so click on Add a Phone. Carefully follow the steps Facebook outlines; once complete, your iPhone will be attached to your Facebook account.

I recommend turning off all of your notifications for mobile devices, which can be done on the same page. You don’t want to get a text message from Facebook every time someone comments on one of your posts.

2. Create a new contact in your iPhone called “Facebook,” or whatever you’d like to call it. The phone number you assign to this contact is 32665. Familiar, yes, as it’s the number you sent your confirmation code to when you attached the phone to your Facebook account.

3. Activate Siri; command her to “tell Facebook ‘I just forced Siri to update Facebook via voice command.’”

4. Visit your Facebook page and bask in your technological awesomeness. Never again will you have to use your fingers (or thumbs) to update Facebook!

Twitter

The process is very much the same as with Facebook. Once again, if you’ve already attached your iPhone to your Twitter account, you can skip to step 2.

1. Login to Twitter and visit your Settings. In the horizontal menu on the page, select Mobile. Walk through Twitter’s instructions, and once you’ve successfully attached your phone, you’re nearly ready to Tweet with your voice!

If you don’t want to be annoyed by text message notifications, you can turn them off on this page.

2. Create a new contact in your iPhone, but don’t call it “Twitter.” For whatever reason, Siri gets confused by this and assures you she cannot update your Twitter status. Oh, how she lies. Name the contact correctly and you can catch her in her lie. We’ll name it “Blue Bird” for this exercise. You’ll want to assign the number 40404 to this contact.

3. Activate Siri; command her to “tell Blue Bird I just forced Siri to update my status after she lied about not being able to do it.” (Make sure you stay under the character limit!)

4. Verify the post on your Twitter account, and grab an umbrella. It’s gonna be raining retweets!

Like this article? Check out the rest of our Dynamic How-To library or our Editorials for some often-informative, sometimes-funny articles centered around improving your tech life.

Custom Design & Engineering Company Revamps Its Web Presence

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:49:39 -0500

As a creative design and engineering company that produces custom displays, prototypes, furniture and other goods, ConceptWorks desired a website that showcased their vast capabilities which focus on turning a client's “ideas into reality” from start to finish though concepting, designing and engineering.

ConceptWorks approached Dynamic to provide their company with a complete front-end and back-end redesign. While the site they had at the time offered their customers a decent overview of ConceptWorks and their services, ConceptWorks felt that the overall look and experience of the site did not properly reflect their capabilities as a company. Dynamic audited the existing site in order to identify which elements were working well, and which elements could be improved upon. After adjusting the link structure so that information was more easily accessible, Dynamic transitioned into the visual design phase.

Once a design was approved, Dynamic’s development team started the heavy-lifting. Dynamic coded the front-end using “the whole nine yards,” as one of the developers put it, to create a clean, engaging experience for the end user. This was accomplished using custom HTML5, CSS3, and clever uses of jQuery and Ajax: functionality which can be seen on the Home Page and Case Studies Page animations, as well as the dynamically loading gallery on the Case Studies page.

The end result, viewable at www.conceptworks.biz, was a search engine-optimized website with an uncluttered layout, descriptive imagery and custom animations, all designed to load quickly and correctly in modern browsers. Dynamic also included a custom content management system which allows ConceptWorks to update their own website with ease.

ConceptWorks designs and engineers custom products. From concept, to prototype and final design, their mission is to exceed their customers’ expectations in quality, timing and workmanshop through innovative thinking and a relentless desire to be the best at what they do.

Wondering what we can do for you? Give us a call at 920-547-4401.

Dynamic How-to: Tell if the Groundbreaking, Life-shaking, Earth-shattering Information You Received in a Forwarded Email is True

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:39:02 -0500

You know the forward I’m talking about; they usually touch on hot-button issues like the economy, money, politics, culture, various foreign countries or stories too seemingly good/horrible to be true.

In the spirit of clean inboxes and ridding the world of the unwitting passage of false or purposefully misleading information, I’ve compiled a list for you to run through when you encounter one of these emails. From this point on, you’ll never again have to forward that email in order to avoid seven years of bad luck.

Characteristics of a Forwarded Email Which Immediately Render its Veracity Suspect

1. It came to you via email.

2. The color of the text in the email is red, blue, or some color other than black.

3. It contains information about a subject you are very passionate about, yet the information is new and alarming to you.

4. There are more capitalized letters being used than lower case letters.

5. There are more exclamation points than periods.

6. It contains images that are irrelevant to the message within.

7. The email contains an ambitious promise that pledges to “enhance” some aspect of your life.

8. The email contains a subtle threat to your well-being should you decide NOT to pass it on.

9. The email contains information that would shake the foundations of the world if it were public, but it doesn’t source where that info came from.

10. You would not believe this information if it were scrawled on a bathroom wall.

11. The content in the email is sourced, but when you click on the links your virus scan has a heart attack.

The email I recently received was guilty of numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6; however, what intrigued me was that the email included sources, which is arguably rare in the world of forwarding.

The message claimed that drilling for oil in parts of Montana/North Dakota would solve the United State’s oil shortage, and in fact could power the economy for no less than 2041 years! Amazing!

The two sources were a USGS press release and a website for an oil drilling contractor (the 2nd was in no way related to the message’s content). So, I checked the sourced press release and got the raw dig: the proposed drilling area contained an estimated 3.5 billion barrels of oil, and possibly more if they could find a reliable method to extract it. The United States, on the other hand, uses roughly 19 million barrels of oil per day. If you do the math, you learn that even if they were to extract every last drop, the known volume would only fuel the economy for approximaltey 170 days.

Two millennia versus six months? Margin of error, I guess.

The moral: be smart, be vigilant about what you pass along. It’s a good habit to get into.

If you want to streamline this process and not use my 11-point checklist, simply visit snopes.com or urbanlegends.com and search their database. They’ve been collecting and tracking false/true/partially misleading email forwards for over a decade. There’s a good chance you’ll find yours there.

Dynamic Celebrates its 5th Year in Business

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Just over five years ago in the summer of 2006, Jason Irish circulated a poll around the office at Lakeland College where he worked at the time.

The poll question: What should I call my new business venture? The options: Irish Interactive or DynamicDevelop. The results unanimously pointed towards DynamicDevelop, and a business was born.

Working primarily from his basement during the evenings for the first few years, Jason began to grow his list of clients who at that time came to him primarily for web design and development. In 2007, Jason left Lakeland to pursue a new opportunity with the Kohler Company. This move turned out to be a pivotal point in the history of DynamicDevelop.   While at Kohler, Jason met James Grunewald, future partner of DynamicDevelop. While on a weekend vacation together with their spouses, Jason and James began to entertain the possibility of pouring their energy and resources into DynamicDevelop full-time.

In the middle of 2009, James left his position at Kohler to concentrate on DynamicDevelop’s clients and build the business. Jason had since returned to Lakeland College, but resigned in January 2010 to join James. For those initial six months, they worked out of their respective basements---Dynamic East and Dynamic West, according to lore---and continued to build their client base.

By late spring of 2010, as their client list continued to grow, they identified the need to have a physical office location and soon found one at Jake’s Cafe, which is currently where the offices are housed. Shortly after moving into the new office space, DynamicDevelop hired their first employee.

"We tore through the original 5 year plan in roughly a year and a half," Irish says. "In a short amount of time we've built a great team and have done a lot of awesome work."

The next twelve months featured an explosion of growth, and now Dynamic (they’ve since dropped the Develop) employs eight full-time employees and two part-time employees, as well as several interns and contractors.

"While we're all extremely happy with the current state of the company," says Irish, "I can't help but think we're just scratching the surface of what Dynamic will become."

Make sure to connect with us on Facebook!

A 'Unique Boutique' Establishes Online Presence; Plans to Expand into Ecommerce

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:55:16 -0500

Sweet Potato's Unique Boutique, located amongst the Shops at Woodlake in Kohler, WI, identified the need to have a strong visibility online. After cultivating a successful business focused on providing fashion for everyday women, Sweet Potato's approached Dynamic to assist them in deciding on a strategy to launch the business in an online environment.

The comprehensive plan included two phases: the first phase was to develop a website designed to showcase the variety of products Sweet Potato's offers by creating a clean, visually engaging website; the second phase will involve creating an online ecommerce store so that consumers can purchase items from Sweet Potato's without having to visit the Kohler store location.

Utilizing custom CSS, Ajax, PhP and jQuery coding, Dynamic delivered a site that is simple to use, loads quickly and highlights the myriad of offerings a consumer can expect to find when visiting the physical store.

The ecommerce portion of the website will be added within the next year. You can check out the current website here.

Sweet Potato's Unique Boutique carries a well-curated selection of classic-meets-modern staples. Located in Kohler, WI, amongst the Shops at Woodlake, Sweet Potato's strives to provide women with magnificent items to enhance their special moments everyday.

Wondering what we can do for you? Give us a call today at (920) 547-4401.

Dynamic "Full-Blown Agency" Featured on Sheboygan Chamber Website

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:50:09 -0500

Earlier today, the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce published a feature profile of our agency. There's some cool tidbits about how the agency was started, and also includes some news that we haven't officially released to the public!

Click here to read the full story.

Facebook's New Privacy Features Are a Definite Plus

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:58:59 -0500

It was only a matter of time.

Remember the article we published a few months ago detailing the agony a person had to endure just to customize privacy settings in Facebook? How about the follow-up article where we argued that the privacy features in Google+ beat Facebook's privacy features, hands down.

Apparently, Facebook agreed.

Within the next day or two, Facebook will move a handful of previously buried privacy features to the front end. The settings include the ability to decide who sees what on every single post and image...just like Google+.

Other features taken from Google+:

1. Tagged photos can be subjected to an approval process, meaning if you're tagged, you have to approve the tag before anyone sees it on your profile.

2. People will be able to see how their profile looks to others, meaning you can see how your profile looks to a perfect stranger, or to Friend X.

3. People can enter location information, tag people they're not friends with (subject to #1), and edit posts once they've been posted.

Check out the original blog post from Facebook with screenshots here.

Dynamic Archives: A Look at the First Six Months of 2011

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:38:36 -0500

It's been a whirlwind year at Dynamic so far; 2011 saw the number of full-time employees increase from three to eight, in addition to a couple of interns and numerous contractors. We thought this would be a great time to take a look at highlights from the first six months of the year.

January of 2011 marked the official relocation of Dynamic's offices to a larger space inside Jake's Cafe, as well as the hiring of Ross Fale as content manager and Nic Horstmeier as junior developer.

In February, we highlighted our involvement in the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation's microsite, which was launched in conjunction with the LeClerc Brother's film, the "Promise of Sheboygan County". February was the month where Dynamic welcomed a new creative director to the team, Brad Fleming.

In March, we looked at the resulting project from a partnership between Dynamic, Jon Rost and the Sheboygan Paper Box Company. After working for years on numerous mobile sites for clients, we created a mobile version of our site. We published an article about net neutrality and our position on it, and lastly, we featured a project we'd recently completed which provided a client with a clean, robust intranet for their salespeople and associates.

April saw the addition of Jamie Fleming as production manager. We also rolled out a mobile site for Kohler's Numi toilet, arguably the most stylish and sophisticated toilet that's ever been manufactured. We published two articles: one featured news feed readers, the other looked at the argument surrounding the benefits of print vs. the benefits of digital. We also started an integrated marketing campaign for a large manufacturer in Manitowoc.

In May, we followed up April's news feed reader article with a look at Google Reader, wrote about managing Facebook privacy settings, and had some fun writing about trying to save a waterlogged phone. We also launched a mobile site for Kohler's Tresham suite.

In June, we featured three recently completed projects focused on website redesign. We also featured two articles, one about creating a truly secure password, the other featuring tips for a greener office.

Granted, this isn't nearly everything we worked on during the first six months of 2011, and things are now busier than ever. We cannot fully express the gratitude we feel towards the clients we've had the opportunity to get to know and work with, and we look forward to forging new relationships in the future.

StartGooglePlus: A Browser Extension for One-Stop Social Media Management

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:36:35 -0500

***Update***

I'd recommend simply bookmarking the SGP page at this point in time versus actually downloading the application and experiencing the bugs yourself. Today, SGP decided to randomly share the top item in my G+ feed to my Facebook and Twitter feeds...five times...even though I hadn't authorized it once.

Needless to say, I'm going to wait for SGP to work out some bugs before I utilize the extension again.

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Are you considering joining Google+, but feeling hesitant about having to manage yet another social network? StartGooglePlus might help you make your final decision. StartGooglePlus---or SGP for brevity's sake---essentially creates a hub inside Google+ where users can easily interact with two of the most popular social networks, namely Facebook and Twitter.

Features

View Facebook and Twitter Feeds

Pros: Users have the option to show their Facebook and Twitter feeds inside their Google+ main feed; users can also isolate their Twitter and Facebook feeds for viewing while still inside Google+ and comment, like and retweet without leaving the page.

Cons: Combining three social media feeds into one can get messy. Also, Facebook and Twitter feeds aren't always updated on refresh in Google+; you may have to wait a couple of minutes. If you're of the impatient disposition, you can "donate" $3 to SGP which enables feeds to load in real-time.

Post Simultaneously to Google+, Facebook and Twitter

Pros: Just as users choose which circles to share with when posting in Google+, users also have the option to post to Twitter and Facebook. There's no longer a need to visit all three sites.(Update: the latest version also includes the ability to post to Twitter or Facebook on their own, meaning you aren't limited to simply parroting your Google+ posts)

Cons: You don't have the option to post to Twitter or Facebook exclusively; to do that a user still has to login to the respective site. Basically, you're limited to parroting your Google+ post on Twitter and Facebook. SGP doesn't feature a smart way to post status updates to Twitter that include more characters than Twitter allows per tweet (see the results of my Tweet test below).

Automatically Import Facebook Photos

Pro: The headline says it all.

Con: The steps a user has to take in order to accomplish this are very vague, and that's not just my impression; in looking at the comments in their customer service forums, the confusion is widespread.

Currently In Beta Development

Pro: Usually when something is in development, customer service is extremely responsive to user suggestions and complaints. This is the case with SGP's development team.

Con: Usually when something is in development, there are a lot of bugs. This is also the case with SGP. As of this writing, the addon is no longer functioning in Firefox, though customer service is diligently working on a coding solution. The current versions for Firefox and Chrome are functioning, but are very unstable.

Closing

Overall, this addon shows a lot of promise. Once they squash all of the bugs, it may help facilitate the movement of Facebook and Twitter users into Google+.

If you'd like to check out the extension yourself, visit http://startgoogleplus.com. Once installed, you can browse the help forums to learn more about what's happening with SGP.

The Privacy War: Google+ Wins Out Over Facebook

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:23:43 -0500

Earlier in the year, I wrote a guide detailing how a user can take full control of their privacy settings on Facebook. The process of protecting your information and deciding who gets to see what is rather cumbersome and involves going to the Friends page, creating a special list and finally diving deep down into dozens of buried privacy settings in order to restrict your profile content to the friends on that list.

Google+, on the other hand, seems to believe that your privacy matters. Google+ simplifies the dozens of steps Facebook forces you to walk through and places the feature smack dab in the middle of the Google+ platform.

Google+ has something called Circles, which essentially is their version of Facebook's segmented friends' lists. However, every Google+ user starts out with a default set of Circles, and when a user adds another person via Google+, they are immediately prompted to add the person to one of their Circles, i.e. Professional Circle, Friends Circle, Acquaintances Circle, Family Circle and so on.

This functionality plays out when the user posts something to his or her profile: Google+ asks which of the user's Circles the info should be shared with. Choose â€œPublicâ€ and anyone on the web can see it. Choose "Family" and only those in the Family Circle will be able to see the post. Users also have the option to share content with multiple circles at the same time.

Pretty darn cool from a privacy standpoint. Though I haven't had a great amount of time to poke around inside of Google+, I'm impressed thus far and excited to see what lies ahead.

If you'd like an invite to Google+, message us on Facebook!

Silver Lake College Selects Dynamic for Integrated Marketing Campaign

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:06:16 -0500

Silver Lake College has selected Dynamic as agency of record to develop an integrated marketing campaign to help build awareness and create new inquiries.

Located in Manitowoc, WI, Silver Lake College is a Franciscan Catholic higher education institution with a diverse body of over 1,200 students representing seven states and 4 countries, and features seven satellite campuses throughout Wisconsin.

Silver Lake College offers an engaging learning community that empowers students through a quality liberal arts education integrated with professional preparation within an environment of mutual respect and concern for persons based on the principles and truths of Franciscan Catholic tradition.

In addition to redesigning the Silver Lake website, Dynamic will market and promote the college's undergraduate, graduate, traditional and non-traditional programs through print, digital and social media marketing.

Dynamic is an integrated marketing solutions provider that creates elegant, innovative websites and marketing campaigns to help clients build their business both on- and offline.

Dynamic How-to: Make Your Office Space Your Own

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:08:06 -0500

Studies have shown that at least part of being happy in the work place is tied to how comfortable a person feels within the environment. A no-brainer, right?

Even though we spend much of our waking lives at work, most of us probably don't have our own office, nor do we get to choose how many walls our cubicle has nor how large our desk is. Though these factors can limit a person's desire to develop their own work chic, there are some simple ways for everyone to make an office space their own.

Beverage Containers

When you look at how you contribute to the office, you wouldn't describe yourself as a one-use throwaway plastic cup, right? Don't settle for one with your coffee or water, either.

Having a personal drinking container says you care enough about something---hygiene, the evironment, exclusivity---and won't settle for the cups and mugs found in the company kitchen. The poem on the side of your water bottle lets coworkers know you're into inspiring literature, and the "World's Best ____________" on your coffee mug tells people how you think of yourself.

That's right. You are the World's Best Accounts Receivable Clerk II. With your own coffee mug.

Trinkets

A coin from Ghana. A vintage fishing lure. The empty plastic Miller cup you dumped all over your wife last summer in a futile attempt to catch a Prince Fielder homerun ball. These are things you can set on a shelf or desk that at a glance only tell a tiny snippet of a much larger story where you are the central player. In other words, they give you and your space personality.

Ask yourself, what am I into when I'm not chained to this desk, and how can I bring more of it into the office? Why not hang one of your watercolors on your cubicle wall? It's not Picasso, but it is you.

Images

You've bragged to your coworkers about your girlfriend for months; why not satisfy their curiosity with a photo of the cute couple? Oh, the girlfriend you've been talking about doesn't actually exist? (See our tutorial on how to stitch two unrelated images together with Photoshop)

Images are an efficient method to tell your co-workers about your life. As they pass by your desk, they'll see your work area; they'll notice the picture of you rock-climbing with your cousin. They'll learn a little bit about you, and when work gets extra-stressful, you'll gaze at the photo and say to yourself in a hushed whisper, "I'd so rather be there."

Plants

Nothing shows your coworkers that you are a functional, well-balanced and contributing member of society than the ability to successfully nurture some living, photosynthesizing greenery. If the responsibility to care for living things frightens you, please consider any variety of cactus. You can pretty much forget about those guys for weeks and if the cactus really gets thirsty, it'll just start absorbing the beads of sweat off your brow.

Just think of your coworkers' reactions: if he can keep a plant alive, what else can he do? I bet he can cook. If he can cook, I bet can build a house! If he can build a house, he can probably single-handedly build and fly a spaceship to the moon!

The possibilities are endless.

At the End of the Day

Stake a claim on your area of the office and---though not exclusively yours---make it feel like your own. You'll find yourself in a noticeably more comfortable environment, and your coworkers will see there's more to you than the ability to rid their Windows systems of malware. With that gleaming personality of yours, that's surely a win-win!

Mineral Exploration Company Reinforces International Presence With Website Redesign

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:46:22 -0500

River Hills Resources, Inc., a mineral exploration company, wished to expand further into a global market. Boasting a sustainable approach to mineral extraction, River Hills wanted to make sure they had to best tools to showcase themselves on the web to investors across the globe.

Dynamic identified several areas on their old site that could be improved upon while still maintaining the purpose of the site: investor relations. Dynamic offered a visual design that was more engaging via photo and video galleries, slide shows, and a live stock ticker.

After River Hills approved the design, Dynamic moved to piece together the site using HTML, CSS, and Ajax. The site features common-sense navigation, loads quickly and is search-engine optimized. During the process, River Hills indicated the desire for self-managed updates, so Dynamic included functionality that allowed River Hills to swap out images, text and video at their will.

"I have worked with two other web agencies in the same capacity and I can unequivocally state that [Dynamic] is the only one I can recommend," said Paula Kletzien, Director of Communications at River Hills Resources, Inc. "Among the items that set [their] agency apart from the others is [their] focus on communicating with the customer. The other, of course, would be the quality of [their] work."

River Hills Resources Inc. is a global junior exploration company aggressively seeking growth in the gold and precious metal mining industry. They believe that the foundation for effective partnerships is mutual respect and build long-lasting relationships with our neighbors based on shared objectives.

To learn more, visit http://riverhillsresource.com.

To learn more, visit http://dynamicdoes.com or call 920-547-4401.

Dynamic How-to: Contribute to the Green Office With These 5 Simple Tips

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:37:13 -0500

Every little bit counts. I try to remind myself of this fact often.Getting into the habit of practicing green living doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. You may not get the sort of kudos from your boss you'd normally enjoy after landing an important new client when you make effort to reduce waste or conserve energy. But what if the Earth gave you a big, happy thanks in the form of being around long after you're gone so that your grandchildren can enjoy lush, green landscapes or the new iPhone Xeus?

The following six tips won't cost you time or money. In fact, they can save you and your office a chunk of cash. And, doing them will make you feel that much better about yourself.

Eliminate Disposable Containers and Utensils

We have a water cooler at Dynamic. I know, we're spoiled. I interrupted this paragraph to get up and walk over to the cooler to see how we've been doing with our paper cup usage. Not too shabby, I reckon. Most of the team at Dynamic have refillable receptacles for water; some go even further and have their own plates, bowls and utensils. Granted, we're fortunate enough to have a large-basin sink within our complex where we can actually wash dishes, but at minimum everyone should have their own water bottle and their own coffee mugs.

Ditch the papery plastic stuff. Just do it. It's one of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

To Print, or Not to Print. Or Fax. Or Copy.

Shakespeare didn't have the luxury of a beefy electronic printer/copier/fax machine that most modern offices have. Oh...you didn't know that? It's true! I have it on good faith that if Shakespeare had an electronic printer, he'd only print when he absolutely had to.

Just because you have the fancy equipment at your disposal doesn't mean you should use it every chance you get. Quite the opposite, actually. Most of the time, you really don't need to print that document.

Sure, that funny cartoon that Marty sent you would be perfect for your cubicle wall. But why not just set it as your desktop background instead? It's true, that five-page email exchange could be printed for your records and filed into a client folder, but why not create a folder on your computer and store all important documents and correspondence there?

Printing unecessarily wastes paper AND energy. So don't settle with simply adjusting your own habits. Utilize some subtle guilt in your email signature to encourage others to jump on board, such as, "Every time you press print, somewhere a tiny, adorable, baby tree dies," or, "Paper is made from baby tree skin and ink is made from baby tree tears. Please reconsider printing this message." They don't have to be true; they just have to resonate.

Finally, when you walk up to the printer next time, make sure to ask yourself, "What Would Shakespeare Do?"

The Light Bulb's Gone Off

If you're lucky enough to have windows in your office or around your cubicle, use 'em.

You may balk and scoff while pointing out that you already use cute little energy efficient light bulbs, but the sun--AKA Sol, AKA that almost-perfect sphere consisting of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields situated in the center of our solar system--is laughing at your puny little light bulbs. "You are no match for my radiance, little light bulb," exclaims the sun.

Sol is there every single day, whether you're paying attention to it or not, and its warmth and luminosity can provide plenty of light to work by. Consider it, at least.

If you have a lamp or two at your desk, switch them on only when you must; and of course, use energy efficient light bulbs. As puny and insignificant as they are.

Power Down

It may be a no-brainer to shut down your computer at the end of the day before you leave; believe it or not, many people (I'm guilty) will leave their machines on, or in standby mode through the night. We point and laugh at those people and shout, "Energy hogs!"

In seriousness, powering down one's computer should be a mandatory component of any green company's policy. At my former job, we had a concerted, company wide effort to reduce our waste and energy use. One of the things our IT department made sure of is that computers were completely powered off throughout the night.

However, if you leave your computer plugged in to a live powerstrip, you're still wasting energy. Consider flipping the switch on your powerstrip, too, if you have easy enough access to it.

Know Where Your Dead Equipment Rests

This is where you make sure your electronic devices don't end up in some massive landfill in a far-away country. The USPS has some great incentives when it comes to recycling smaller electronic devices; Dell is another corporation that aids in the recycling of computers and their components; a quick Google search will reveal numerous charities that have recylcing programs for electronic devices.

Don't contribute to an electronic wasteland. Be smart about where your equipment goes after you've no more use for it.

And remember, every little bit counts.

Resources

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2007/03/10_ways_to_go_g.html
http://www.greenofficeprojects.com/green_office_tips.html
http://workawesome.com/office-life/green-office-tips/
http://greenlivingideas.com/2008/05/23/going-green-at-the-office-a-checklist/

Construction Company Builds Strong Web Presence With Site Revamp

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:28:21 -0500

McMullen & Pitz Construction Company, based in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, already had an existing website when they approached Dynamic for a possible redesign. Their main areas of focus were the overall design of the site including its navigational complexity, and the creation of an intranet. Secondary, but still important, was McMullen & Pitz's desire for the ability to self-manage website updates--something they couldn't do with their existing site.

Following the initial consultation, McMullen & Pitz charged Dynamic to help them update the site with a sharper look, easier navigation and an intranet with do-it-yourself capabilities.

The redesigned website features a rugged, yet clean look with horizontal navigation across the top of the page. The home page holds three images that slide away to reveal links to prominent pages on the site.

The intranet's functionality revolves around the need for McMullen & Pitz to be able to communicate and share files with their clients within a private area that is inaccessible to the public. This includes having the ability to create login accounts for new business acquisitions. McMullen & Pitz desired more than just email communication; they wanted a place where they could upload large files and push them out to clients.

The site was built using CSS, AJAX, and HTML5 and is optimized to load quickly and be easily found via search engines.

McMullen & Pitz Construction Company continues to be a family-owned and operated business with a rich history of providing marine and heavy construction services throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Visit http://mcmullenandpitz.net to learn more.

DynamicDevelop Online Solutions is a web solutions provider that creates elegant, innovative websites and marketing campaigns to help clients build their business online. A full-service resource for website concept and development, domain registration, web hosting, e-mail marketing and social media marketing, DynamicDevelop has the expertise to grow your business.

Learn more by visiting http://dynamicdoes.com or by calling 920-547-4401.

Dynamic How-To: Secure Your Password

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:00:02 -0500

With the recent network assaults--including Sony's, some of our nation's most prestigious defense contractors, as well as an unfortunate guy in New York--we thought it would be timely and beneficial to chat about how you can keep your information secure via a strong password.

You've seen it before when creating a new account with Vendor A: you enter your desired password and underneath the text box there's a little bar that indicates the password strength which often ranges from poor to very strong.

Unfortunately, there's no password potency police. One on password-strength checker website, my password, which includes a combination of random upper and lower case letters as well as numbers, received an overall score of 75 out of 100. I imagined that this meant my password was considered quite secure.

I was wrong, at least according to Microsoft.

After landing on their page that housed general security tips, I entered my special combo into their password checker. The result: a dismal poor.

Did I change my password right away? Not yet, because I particularly like it. What I did do was search for some best practices and came across great articles anyone can use to inform themselves about the risks of a weak password and how to create a secure password.

Wiki on a Brute-force Attack

Explains a common method for password cracking. Basically, the hacker "systematically checks all possible keys until the correct key is found," usually by using a program involving a complicated algorithm. They're not just trying to guess your password; they're hitting you with every possible combination under the sun. If your password can be found in the dictionary in any language, they will crack it.

The 10 Most Common Passwords

A four-year old article from PC Magazine that lists passwords such as "password," "qwerty," "letmein," and "123456." (though I was surprised to see "monkey" on that list). There are dozens of lists out there that tout the most common passwords, but I chose this one because many other lists contained language that would not have been suitable for this article.

Tips for Creating a Strong Password

This one's taken from Microsoft's security section, and includes a neat step-by-step outline on how to create a password both meaningful and secure.

They offer very important, yet often overlooked suggestions including to avoid creating a password that uses words found in the dictionary in any language, not using personal information, and to avoid using sequences or repeated characters (i.e. 22222 or abcdefg).

Finally, if you want an ultra-secure password that even you'll have problems remembering, visit this site; this is where we create our beefy, nearly uncrackable passwords for sensitive info at Dynamic. Just make sure you write the password down and give yourself a week or two to memorize it.

Now, go forth and be secure!