Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/26/10 “The Acronyms 2”

The acronyms just seem to fly out of the air in the interactive world but its important to learn their meaning, least you be the only visitor to your site? Two important acronyms in this discussion are SEO and SEM. Quick story, after being in the biz a while I have had different supervisors over me usually in the VP status and truth be told... I've mentioned SEO in my early conversations with only to asked what it meant WHAT?... WOW! So Int. Producer... be sure you can define it and make sure you can assist your team in all the angles of integration. My good friend and UGC mecca Wikipedia defines it as:

"Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion. Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. "

There are currently industry standards of SEO, these include making the website "search engine friendly" via a few things: optimization of the content and the HTML, the relevance of the descriptions and keywords, including also a sitemap.xml and a robots.txt, site submission etc... these are all common and need to be done as a part of the last stages of development but... they are old news friends. If you want to get ranked these days according to the methodologies that the search engines are using, let just say seeing as Google holds the larger share of the market amongst them all, you need to do a few more things.

Without getting into "deep" detail, after you have done the common industry standard SEO moves, you must flood the "social networking world" with your information i.e. a link back to your site. Let me give you an example and we will use me, Chance Spann, I'm a brand? I'm trying to sell myself on the internet Right?, I'm doing it right now (Grin). I created a base site, I actually use www.linkedin.com/in/chancespann or www.naymz.com as a base site to lead users back to learn more about me, my expertise awards etc. These sites will be the sites I want ranked the highest and will contain the full information I want the user to engage in. Then I use all the other social networks to lead users back like: Digg, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger etc. insert "tag clouds" and I get it into every one of them I can. My links get Dugg and Tweeted and clicked and passed around by users and it's just wonderful. The bots from the search engines are hitting my link from every source and then ranked and the whole process begins and as content gets updated daily by such methods as what you are reading now it keeps ranking and keeps me at the top of the search rankings. It takes a while for an "indirect" vs "direct" search terms to rank me on the first page of a search or higher, but at this point I'm doing quite well.

Here are some example search terms to look for me in Google, Yahoo Bing etc this is how is would work in any situation even with a big brand but that brand will probably rank highest simply due to the fact of the user base and competition:

Direct search terms: Chance Spann, Chance Spann Interactive Producer

You notice the page just fills with information on me. Hmmm so what Eh?

This is where the all the SEO work begins to show...

Indirect search terms (Google):

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = ( Im ranking 2nd with this one under a job posting... this is good)

2.Addy awards dallas American airlines = ( with this just random search term the SEO kicks in, and along side a huge brand name like American Airlines and Addy ( Addy Awards) I rank an incredible 9th on the first page in a Google search. This is great!)

Same terms in Bing:

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = ranking 3rd under paid search. Great!

2. Addy awards dallas American airlines = 3rd page in ) : needs work, actually needs clicks ( ;

Same terms in Yahoo!:

1. Interactive Producer Dallas Texas = 2nd page 6 down due to this blog I'm writing now. Getting better but I want on the first page!!! But remember its yahoo and remember I was on the first page on Google the master of the internet. LOL?

2. Addy awards dallas American airlines = not even worth mentioning. LOL hit and miss

All in all my work over the past couple of weeks I feel good about my tactics, just simply due to the Google ranks. Im going to leave with this thought, standard SEO practices are needed and please do them, but we now have the UGC model and Social Networking angles these are imperative and you must incorporate them into your "Organic" SEO strategy. SEM... more to come.

Just my two cents...

Chance Spann Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/24/10 "The Acronyms"

The acronyms? What are you talking about Chance? Well, lets see... UGC, UCC, CGM, SEO, SEM and it can goes on and on. Why so many acronyms and what could it all MEAN!!! Unless you are a HUGE brand that generates its own traffic and even still it could mean whether you get the traffic or optimal traffic to your site you need these. So you spent 6 months to a year on the site on a development server, you have ton of video and decided to go with a CDN ( another acronym...LOL) and now you think you will just launch?... and "IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME!". No, that unfortunately that is not how it works. Some of the coolest most creative and expensive sites I've produced and launched without the full support through the "acronyms", traffic was low even after "Site of The Day" awards on FWA and Communication Arts, the traffic went up and just right back down. You must utilize UGC methods and more to help to have constant flow of traffic, especially in a e comm situation.

Lets start slowly with this and begin with UGC... buzz acronym of the moment and its sidekicks, CGM and UCC...Its hard not to laugh because there are just so many its ridiculous. Ive seen so many weird looks on faces when I so quickly bust out with the "acronyms"... But they are important... So what do they stand for? Lets go to the mecca of UGC and see what they mean... Wikipedia. "User-generated content (UGC), also known as consumer-generated media (CGM) or user-created content (UCC), refers to various kinds of media content, publicly available, that are produced by end-users." Now you can go read the history and such out there later if you like, what does this have to do with my site? UGC is or can be integration with social networking like Blogs, Reviews i.e. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Blogspot, Wordpress etc... allowing content from those portals via API's, feeds, RSS, XML or the like and serve back to your site creating... User Generated Content. Another way to do this is integrate forum software into your site, (FYI this can be dangerous and can backfire, get knowledgable of this UGC thing... least you end having to turn it off, don't learn this the hard way!) UGC and forums can improve rankings and it's just fun for your users, it will take off quickly if set up and pushed correctly.

Another is to have users upload content like photos or video to your site (Dangerous as well must me monitored!!!). I mentioned CDN earlier, Content Delivery Network, you can stream your video or whole flash site if you want off of 1000's of servers each in the geographical location of the call of the content lets say video from a local server rather than a single server on site to which will possibly overload i.e. crash if too many request are requested. Let me put this into perspective, how many employee's will you have to hire to keep the users of the internet happy with content? What you are doing is reversing the method and letting the user make themselves happy on your site by allowing thm to engage with your brand. You use their content. Good example of how this works? In forums... realize every single topic is ranked by a search engine and then according to certain keywords the post and how many read that topic/post that are associated they are then ranked by the search engines behind that, ultimately leading users back to your forum and to your site. It's wonderful!

With the technical genius to which Google and some of the search engines are heading towards in ranking content, in search or the paid search options they offer UGC methods are a must due to the fact users love to converse with one another. The search engines utilizing new methods allows users to have more influence on websites and ad units more than ever. You must understand and be knowledgable on how to integrate your campaigns and sites into the Search Engines methods. Brands that have been ignoring their users or members have a slow leak... so to speak. You need to get into the mind of your users, allowing them to push UGC onto your site will allow this but you must engage and pay close attention to analytics. Think about what they might be saying about your brand or more importantly your "Clients" brand. Then decide how you want to engage, eventually someone will have to answer, be sure you engage in time to give an answer that allows for knowledge to be spread and not have to try to curve negativity towards the brand in any way. The Search Engines...they are changing... offering more tools and options, evolving as to how we work with the internet. Producer... you must engage, and have the knowledge to evolve as well so you can bring it to the table when needed and support those who surround you and to support the UGC = User= Content methodology this is your content bread and butter.

Just my two cents...

Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/23/10: "Process..."Do or Die"

Over the years I have been in situations to where a process was in place and worked, well kinda sorta, places that had no process and scared me to death and places that I developed process but in general as the business of interactive is constantly evolving the process to which one works in the business will need to evolve as well. But there can be a basic guideline process that for the larger more profitable and resource allocating projects and through careful planning be designed special just for that initiative. This process will scale up or down and be defined as the project is scoped initially, lets jump right in... remember you are clay we mold ourselves to our clients and their needs following our proficiency and expertise, as does the process so this is just a guideline you may have seen many be inspired to create your own...

First item of business is looking at these in "Phases":

Discovery/Ideation Phase

So we have met initially with the client responded to the RFP etc ... but we feel we will need a bit of time to get a tight grip on the project and our approach. We do a "Discovery Phase", this allows time to get our bearings, gather the best resources for the project and begin to create an idea and vision of what we can deliver to the client. This would include for example: the receiving of materials from the client to review and study, creating a client facing Business Requirements Document (BRD), conducting a competitive analysis, do user profiling, create client facing Technical Requirements Document (TRD), plan of communications i.e. who are the point resources between the client and you? and a preliminary Project Schedule ( this needs as detailed as one can get at this point as this is when the client receives, locks into their mindset and will more than likely hold you to it. Besides, the client is paying for this "Discovery" phase, if I were the client I would want the timeline close to reality so I could get a line on my internal parallels that may be inline with this project. So with timeline and milestones within the timeline, be accurate in working with your Project Manager and the rest of the team to be on target with this large detail.

There is also a part of this Phase I would like to separate and that is "Strategy". Due to the differences of every project, for example a website about a staffing agency vs. a major airline, although the interactive principles are the same the strategy in which we engage the user/users will certainly be different. Competitive analysis of other major sites etc will shine some light on what is being done and not being done to give the team a good start. Strategy would include more or less the following: Identify the Goals and Objectives, define user needs of the site (there may be multiple User Interaction Paths), Research the Market, Benchmark Competitive Sites and lastly separate this part of the document on the Strategy and how it will impact the goals and objectives and this must be a client facing and be sure the client completely understands the proposed strategy.

Planning Phase ( Ideas are evaluated and turned into projects)

Strategy will continue in the "Planning Phase" at times, as the team will come upon new revelations as they all begin to come together and work as one on the project. This Phase will also include other task such as, making sure we have the correct team assigned, this gives us one more chance if anything changes in Discovery to switch around some resources who may have more experience. time etc. Now that we have the Business and Technical Requirements signed by the client and we all understand one another we can move into specific details. These may include specifications for design as well begin to spec out some ideas, development approaches that may have evolved, enterprise ideation, legal, analytics approach, and a branding approach/possibly an integrated ad campaign. Kickoff meeting with the final assigned team internally and then present back the consensus to the client and sign off to move forward.

Design Phase ( Information, Interaction, Visual Design) ( Project Requirements guide the conceptual and technical development)

Now that we are off to a good start and are beginning as a team to really understand the clients goals and objectives, we can move to the "Information'. What is a good way to organize the information? Is there an existing site? Does it need to just go away or can it be salvaged? Analyze existing site structure if applicable. Begin from scratch if the site is yet to exist. Begin to define the user profiles and then move into "Interaction". We begin by asking "How will the user (s) interact with the site? (User Experience, UX) We begin to define from the user profile the user interaction paths throughout the site and then quickly into site architecture options i.e. Information Architecture (IA). This phase begins to the define the architecture of the information and how the user will experience this information according to the choices they make. We now... very gently present these IA ideas to the client and get sign off.

Visual Design

How will the site look? Creative begins to define the visual designs based on the architecture documentation and the UX as we have previously defined and gained "CLIENT SIGN OFF"... Danger areas here include, not gaining full client understanding but a sign off. Be absolutely certain your client understands where the site headed. I've worked with some clients who are very visual, they smile and sign off on the architecture but then begin to step backwards as they see it with creative. This can cost time and money. DANGER WILL ROBINSON! There is a trick here I have learned and actually put to the test. One will have to use this rarely and by this point in the project you will know the client well enough to use this, and really you are only offering the client more of what they want. Sometimes if the site is really complicated this should be required, a simple design one layout may be enough with some revisions. The idea is to have three creative designers approach the HP design and one secondary page layout from their personal perspective. You will be so surprised at the differences in the creative approaches! There are a couple of variations to this approach, are you having budgetary probs with the client? Is the client just creatively very picky? This approach can help to solve both of these problems. If the problem is the client is having slim budget, present the three options strategically to focus on the middle option that includes the specifics needed in moderation for the client and then at a budget that the agency can actually make some kind of profit from or create a site that could be award-winning. Secondly if the issues are picky creative responses the three options gives the client more to look at, more options, they are more likely to begin to narrow down to a singular focus and keep the creative process moving with less revisions. Try it... I have actually run test on these theories and they actually work out better for both ends. So we've presented the paper prototypes and we finally have a creative vision with client sign off... YES! There are some meetings and details before this but we are moving along... One thing I would like to certainly mention are "Focus Groups", there will be scenarios that Focus Groups are absolutely needed and must be integrated in so not to surprise the client with a hidden cost.

Implementation Phase ( Build, Test, Maintain) ( The Site is built and modified based on testing and analytical feedback)

It is time to begin to create a working website in the "Build" stage. We move to technical production front end and back-end development. Tie the front end visual interface to the backend, go through internal reviews/revisions and launch an "Alpha" site on a development server ( we will not be getting into servers in this discussion as it can get lengthy). This is where Quality Assurance (QA) technicians come in and "Test" test test! Now we can determine... Where are the problems? We determine through, proofreading the copy top to bottom/every page, testing on various platforms and browsers, complete QA, a client review once stable, gain feedback make revisions and move to "Beta" testing.

Maintain (How Can We make the Site Better?)

We will certainly hear from the users if it was a "re-design" and can incorporate valid revisions from this angle as they will catch the smallest of detail so be sure to provide an area suggesting they provide their feedback. Also, begin to analyze the server logs over the next month or so, look at your analytics applications, Google, Webtrends, Omniture, whatever you have gone with, I suggest have two installed to so you have something to compare to Google is free and has so many other options to integrate you gotta use it as at least one angle (period). You also have the online versions that if you integrate the code can give you data as well: Quantcast.com and Alexa.com, if you are planning on serving Ad Units/Banners this is a must as well as becoming IAB certified. From all this data begin to prioritize the revisions and quantify the rational of the users via the interaction with the site and how you would change the site to get the results you are looking for to gain ROI or funnels to a goal. The process above never ends, it continues and continues, one will always need to maintain and upgrade the site with content and remain fresh.

There are a million details that are between the lines you have just read, but this is a good start and a good "umbrella" process and has worked for me on projects ranging from 30K to over 1 million. Remember process is imperative, it will evolve and need to be tweaked from project to project, but a process like I've described above will keep you on track which equates to agency profitability and more importantly a happy client.

Just my two cents...

Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/22/10... "Your Resources"

In the world of the Interactive Producer one is only as good as the "Resources" one is surrounded by. Carve that in stone! By resources I mean the other experts that make of the team of professionals that are engaged in the project you are producing. These could be a variety of internal functions such as Account Service/Executive, Flash designers and Developers, Front and Back end Developers, Production Managers, Project Managers, Writers, proofreader's, Translators, Media (Ad Units), Video experts, Creatives etc... This group is very diverse in nature, think about it, you have many personalities with different capabilities coming together to form a singular function with a common goal. As a Producer one must utilize these Resources to the advantage of the project as diligently and efficiently as possible, how you do this is grounded according to a process or protocol in place. I recently had the pleasure of working in a digital environment who had a Traffic Manager but not in the traditional sense of the title, not media traffic, this person was in charge of allocation of time of the creative and production resources ( people). They were able to keep track of this by utilizing an online application and gathering of project needs on a weekly basis or as needed by a Producer. We knew exactly who was available who was becoming overloaded and we were able to make better decisions on resources and bring a greater sense of efficiency to the process in general and most importantly ... Forecast resource needs. This is very important as Time = $$$ = Happy Boss = Job/Raise... ( ; This is a good example of at least one process that helps the Producer utilize their resources efficiently and productively to get the best usage so the resources do not get over looked and especially overworked to the degree the project is jeopardized. Each resource including yourself as a resource has their own niche, their own function that brings something special to the team, as Producer you must watch this closely, not to become that defined resource yourself but you better be able to take on that role or find another resource to fill it quickly if needed. Know your resources, respect your resources, surround yourself with knowledge and professionalism in your resources and as a Producer you are on a path to a successful project and a very rewarding career.

Just my two cents...

2/23... Suggested Process Milestones

Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/19/10 “The Int. Producer Evolution/Revolution”

No Neandertal talk or tea party business in this one, I’m wanting to slightly touch upon the issue of the integration of the three mediums: print, broadcast, and digital/interactive. Print and broadcast advertising, “More power to you!” But it seems with the economy and the state of things, its just flat out cheaper to get the message across online even if the masses are not actually buying now…brand recognition and “eyeballs” are worth their weight in gold. And online we can track that down to the eyeball to prove ROI. So what are you talking about Chance? I’m talking about you Interactive Producer and integration and knowledge of the print and the broadcast angles into your medium the world-wide web (LOL I feel weird when I call it that?). Print not as difficult for us on the digital end as,… well, its already in a digital state, we don’t hav to go through the respective processes they go through and the vendors and the color matching, reprints etc etc etc… Print is a tough and respectable advertising angle. But, in our world once the layout is designed, approved, its digital… we can easily have it in front of eyeballs quickly. So the point… learn to deal with another angle… your print professionals they are not going anywhere and can teach much my friends. Secondly and to me a bit more sentimental due to the fact I was a video editor, encoding professional and motion graphics designer for almost a decade, is the integration of video in to the digital realm. Me personally, I have a large enough monitor and have watched full feature films online in HD. There is much involved in this process. I mean to get high-end broadcast quality video online in so many forms i.e. from a video integration into a flash ad with tight specs, to a feature-length film in HD all from the actual shooting from a camera. It’s important that as a Producer one begins to open your mind to the possibilities, actually if you have not yet… you are years behind. I actually started in the biz encoding video for the web back in the day when there was only one encoding technology “Cinepak” there were other methods but with the pipe at that time being small the video size had to be really small to even get it to play was a chore. Anyway… the point is…Evolve as a Interactive Producer. Move your skill set to be a better Interactive Producer by having an understanding of the integration of other mediums like said video. Video alone has to go through to many steps according to complexity and quality to even get to the point to where you can press play online. An Int. Producer needs to have a familiarity with the steps and respect the “Broadcast” Producer…they are your friend. The future as a fact, contains High quality video online, more than one can ever imagine. By now you have worked with some in some form or fashion, because you can do so many cool things with video online especially in flash. There is also video that is rendered from 3D modeling. Ummmm… very popular guys. Ultimately ends up an encoded video product of some sort but before that is a heck of a lot of work. Have to give a shout out to a few folks cause I want to show some examples of this 3D integration in to Award winning sites I’ve produced they are the real champions. www.bell429.com my friends and colleagues at TM Advertising: Andy Mahr Creative Director, Boone Jarshky 3D animator and AS3 flash, Joe Burud secondary Flash. Also a masterpiece especially the “upgrade” section is www.theflagshipexperince.com from the genius of Eric Feitel Creative Director, Boone Jarshky 3D as well as some outside vendors at SLC McCann. These are wonderful examples of what can be done in the digital world online with other mediums. Now a days there are no limits online, if its digital we can figure a way to incorporate it into an idea or design, as a Producer one must have the basic knowledge to accommodate, be a force that helps to push the envelope… keep that edge and know how to support the technology.

Just my two cents.

Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/18/10... "Engage"

Engage... Hmmm... yes pretty much what your thinking, the work is not a male or female, but you are engaged to it. LOL. You need to have a high sense of integrity, drive and passion to hold up the project and the team at times, the team will only be as strong as its weakest link. Unfortunately that could be angles not normally thought of...i.e... the client, just due to a lack of understanding of what the heck you are even doing to which it is your job to help to manage, it could even be higher leadership such as a VP. These stakeholders are part of the team as well. A producer must "Engage" themselves into this monotony at times to be sure the understanding is there that the "why's" are answered and understood by those that can make decisions that ultimately end up on your shoulders if there is a misunderstanding. I know, I know... there are just some outside of the Interactive world that just don't want to get us or want to follow the SDLC to build websites or have IT run the back end instead of actual web developers, not having the actual interactive professionals be taking the lead on the project. (Yes there is an actual difference in lets say .NET for software development and .NET for web development) There are a plethora of areas where as a Producer you will have to "engage" to be sure that you and the team are following the process but just simply to protect your expertise and the expertise of your fellow interactive professionals protect their good name and their good work. Example, traditional creatives at times lack experience on interactive projects, they can learn, or if they know PS or Illustrator and can design in these and have the conceptual skills to think in a more 3D environment rather than flat art, we will get somewhere but most utilize software such as Indesign that just can not be translated particularly to Flash. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE to see it when traditional creatives begin to see the value of the digital space and begin to incorporate their skillset for interactive, I think that is a great expansion for a creative. But this is an area again where the producer must "engage" to be sure we as a team have the skill set to accommodate the Business Requirements we have promised the client and the integrity we have set forth for ourselves and our team. You are the protector at times, and unfortunately you take on a burden and a responsibility and can get hammered... Never let this bring you down, always follow process and be team oriented and stay engaged with these principles, in the end you can hold your head high and know that you did the best job possible. There will always be those that will just never see the light... even as you warn them of the pitfalls or the dark alleys, but that is why you are the professional, that is why you must stay engaged with the team... Be as one... and Be successful... Be Engaged.

Just my two cents.

Interactive Producer Suggestion 2/17/10 Staying on the topic of “Team Collaboration”

Collaboration… what is it? Creative vision can be a singular art? Each of us are individualistic in our thoughts and who we are, it’s just how we are made? If you wiki “collaboration” it begins with “is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals”. Id say a fair assessment of the definition, but I begin to laugh as I write due to the fact that the definition seems to not take into account all the individualistic angles that will come into play as people begin to try and “\kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt\”. Whats my point you ask? Producer! (period). This is a large part of your job. A producer is a part of a team of an initiative/project that has many stakeholders with angles with many different agendas and perspectives, luckily I have over a decade of experience to drive me to solve issues towards a common goal. The key word here is common goal and this is what the producer needs to focus on throughout the project to keep the momentum going, you (Producer) must wear every hat in the process if needed, even cry with the “very frustrated” at times to keep the peace, all with the goal of maintaining that momentum to keep the project on track so the PM will stay in a pleasant mood. ( ; I have a saying or lets say I don’t say it as much as I think it… I like to approach any situation as a Producer as “clay”, then mold myself to the situation to be sure to be a team player looking for a solution from the problems perspective, sometimes I cant find that perfect mold being clay, so we re-convene as a “TEAM” from Jr. PM to Group Creative Director, everyone… and we work together as a team we…”\kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt\”. Producer… you are the “oil” that keeps the many cogs turning in the very intricate mechanism that will create awarding work, or in the least a happy paying client that will pay again and again (smil’n at cha), Producer you are also the “glue” that holds this very diverse team of geniuse together to bring the project to the projected creative vision, development criteria, time line and budget.

Just my two cents.

Interactive Producer suggestion 2/16/10… Creative conceptualization and developer collaboration…

I have noticed the past few digital worlds Ive taken a glance at that often the creative and development teams often lack in collaboration and often not enough conversation. I often smile as I hear frustration come from developers or creatives either front end HTML/.NET etc. and especially Flash about the lack of knowledge or input they were asked of before handed creative layouts or the creative frustrated that the vision did not come across as intended. Producer problem… Producer Suggestion… almost every developers goal is not to give a rats patootie about the creative, they only want to make it work to the best of their ability from a development perspective to the creatives vision to the restraints of the application to which they master . So… that being said, there is a GREAT possibility of creating efficiency and not falling down a pitfall of misunderstanding of how the creative translates into Flash for example by simply inviting the Flash Dev./Designer to a meeting. Sit for 20 minutes and have the Flash Designer/Developer take a look at the “conceptual ideas” before moving into valuable and costly creative time, this ensures that idea will translate over the way the creative envisions and will help to keep the project to time line and to budget. Outside vendors… see if they will “spec” an idea, most likely in my experience they will, this helps to keep cost down in the long run if the project goes amuck and it gives the client something to LOOK at and they will feel as if progress is being made.

Just my two cents.