Crowdsourcing the Good, Bad and the Ugly

Crowdsourcing is the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an individual employee or contractor, and outsourcing  them to a group of people or social community, through an "open call" to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions. The best idea is then selected and that individual is paid. Many dislike crowdsourcing because it is spec based while others that it is a cost effective alternative. Some designers use it as a way of sharpening their design skills. Many freelancers use it as a learning tool to hone their design skills.

In these times we are going to see the rise of crowdsourcing on a much larger scale. The reason is a lot of companies and individuals believe that getting a crowd to do something is better then using an individual. Not only will you get what you want from a crowd, but you will also get ideas that were never thought of. This would be the good.

Then you have the realistic view that crowdsourcing is just a means of creating what the project director want by following their instruction. This also greatly reduces the creative energy needed to do something and cheapens the price. While you may get highly qualified people to contribute to your project many crowdsourcers have had failure after failure which is why they allow themselves to work this way. This is the bad and the ugly. Crowdsourcing takes away the inventor and the invention; it reduces the motivation to do a good job and cheapens the desired outcome.

We would love to hear your comments and views on crowdsourcing, so please share them with us.

Can Flash and Silverlight be Search Friendly?

Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight can create some awe inspiring animated web sites. Awe inspiring won't put money in the bank though and so if you have a Flash or Sivlerlight based site then most likely the search engines have no idea what your website is about. Currently about 95% of browsers are Flash ready and 25% are Silverlight ready.

There are some new technologies coming out that help search engines read these types of files. Venda Inc. can take a flash file and convert it to an XML file so it can be indexed for the search engines. Once a file is converted then changes can be made directly to the XML file. This in turn makes the file searchable on the major indexes.

Back in mid 2008 Google also announced that they had begun crawling and indexing Flash based websites. Through a flash reader that was created by Adobe Google's algorithm can read Flash files. While the technology isn't perfect it is a start. Google has stated that Googlebot can now extract textual content and links so Google can better crawl, index, and rank a website.

The technology of reading Flash files will get better over time and hopefully at some point reading a Flash or Silverlight file will be the same as reading text based file.

Abstract Art and Abstract Design

Abstract Art

If you have spent any time on hiero.com then you have most likely noticed that we enjoy abstract art. Most of the header images on any given web page have abstract art on it. We have always enjoyed abstract art because it leaves a lot to the imagination and creates eye popping effects. We enjoy it because it is different and gives one a great sense of expression.

Abstract Design

In order to create abstract art all you really need is a vision of what you want to express. Using your favorite image editor you can start your creative juices flowing. When creating your abstract piece you do want to adhere to basic design principles like: direction, size, balance and weight. Try to stick to a minimalist palette and style but yet have a sense of expression. Remember less is more so you don't need to overdo it.

Look at the header images on hiero.com any maybe they will give you some inspiration. Happy abstract designing! If you have any favorite links on abstract art, please share them with us.

2009 Goodbye, Good Riddance!

2009 from a business standpoint was a very disappointing year. We all watched our economy crumble because of a select few's decisions. We watched greed take over these few people’s lives that affected us all. In the end we all shook our heads in disbelief that one of the greatest countries in the world had this happen. We can only hope that many leasons have been learned by what we lived this past year.

From a technology standpoint there were some welcomed additions this year. We saw Windows 7, Google Chrome, Oracle bought Sun, Bing, Cloud Computing, and the continued emergence of the social revolution.

Hello 2010, please bring us tidings of joy! ;o)

Your Web Developers Toolbox

As any web developer knows web development is a time consuming task that has many facets. Anything that can help you test and improve the usability of a website is a welcomed addition. Below are some of our favorite links for any web developer:

    * Markup Validation Service
    * Feed Validation Service
    * W3C mobileOK Checker
    * Website Link Checker
    * CSS Validation Service
    * Web Developers Toolbar
    * Google Toolbar
    * Firefox Firebug Extension
    * XenoCode Browser Sandbox
    * Seobook Toolbar
    * rBuilder
    * gotAPI

I hope these links serve you well and help you simplify your web development projects.

I also wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Web Development and Design Links Worth a Look

 Where would we be without art? The artist's creativity garnished by fall like colors.  Below are some of my favorite links related to design.

    * Resources for web designers
    * 25 Amazing Logo Collections
    * Digital Bokeh in Photoshop
    * Photoshop Quick Tips #11
    * Scanline Text
    * Graphic Design Studio Web Layout
    * Making a Grungy Business Card
    * 25 Free Online Magazines For Graphic Designers
    * Top 20 Most Important Names in Web Design Going into 2010

Social Media and what it means to your Future

 There has been mention that social media is a fad that we will soon outgrow. To me this would be equal to saying that right after the invention of the telephone, that it also was a fad. Social media is a viable communication tool that will grow and in my estimation become better and stronger. Twitter has an enormous customer base and has set a new standard for social networking. You can already see many derivatives of Twitter, like: Sprouter – a Twitter like client for entrepreneurs, Ning – a social network application that lets you create your own network, Google Wave – where you communicate and collaborate in real time, and many others. I can see a future where the network becomes video based in some form or fashion.

 The whole social aspect of software is a welcomed addition to the way we communicate and market ourselves and our companies. I look forward to its development and the many uses that it will bring in our future.