Another Friday rolls around and another chance to send out some Props so let's get right to it! The most amazing Robot Dance This guy is simply astounding - check him out. His play on the theme of Wall-E is well done and beautiful. This is from Kyrgyzstan got talent - and evidently they do.   Oru the Origami Kayak Really? Seriously? An Origami Kayak!? Believe it. This is just awesome. Oru- the Origami Kayak from Anton Willis on Vimeo.   Props out to the crew at  Moosach Bikes. This Dutch brand of bike rolls out twelve bikes a year, each a refurbished vintage, road bike frame with new parts. They are made to be excellent and gorgeous and each with a story. The retro look and feel and the hot design certainly worth note. Read More >>

The year is 2025 and the Zombie Apocalypse has devastated the United States, all save for Vermont, thanks to Edgeworks Creative and its ingenious co-founder, Cynthia Ryan. In the small town of Waterbury, this highly creative, fun and sometimes funny (there’s occasionally an issue with the punchline being forgotten because of the intricacy of the jokes) woman figured out the KEY to saving humanity through design. Cynthia wanted to be an artist from a young age and honed her skill while watching her grandparents, both professional artists, work in their design studio. Her passion for art spurred her to go to school and study visual media, giving her a strong foundation in design which she provided to her clients in a timely, cost-effective and ascetically pleasing manner... before the dark ages. Little did she know that her ancestors were passing down a valuable skill that not only would provide for her living, but also enable the continuation of the human race. Cynthia found there is more than one way to control a zombie invasion. Yes- there is the basic method (aim for the head and run like heck in the opposite direction) but she figured out that her skill and technique was so [....] Read More >>

One of the most effective tools we have in our bag of tricks is the effective planning and execution of well-done Landing Pages. If you own a business and are looking to expand your reach, it is worthy of your time to consider a Landing Page campaign. What are Landing Pages? I'm glad you asked. Landing Pages are simply web pages on your site that are typically designed for a singular purpose - usually a sign-up (lead generation) or a sale. A typical business might have anywhere from a handful to hundreds of Landing Pages. They are closely tied to online advertising such as a Google AdWords campaign in order to be logical extension of the advertisement or link. Why Landing Pages? Landing Pages are designed to speak to the target audience directly. When combined with contextual search advertising they are able to reach people interested in your service or product at the exact moment they are looking.  Landing Pages provide businesses a valuable resource for gaining new contacts and customers. When done properly a Landing Page campaign can easily pay for itself by generating new business leads. How are Landing Page Campaigns Done? When we create a Landing Page Campaign we look at several important [....] Read More >>

It's Friday which means its time to spread some love. Meghan Vogel Just watch the video. Class act. 17-year-old Meghan Vogel is a junior attending West Liberty-Salem High School in Ohio was in a 3,200 meter run at the state track meet on Saturday June 2nd,2012. She saw Arlington High School sophomore Arden McMath nearly on the track in front of her nearing collapse. Instead of passing her, Vogel helped her to the finish line in front of a cheering crowd. The rules say doing this could get both runners disqualified, but officials declined to take action. Cork Truck I'm a sucker for things that remind me of the I Spy books. I can't imagine the number of hours spent with my kids looking over those pages. Some of the artwork done by Jan Elftmann simply reminds me of this. The  Blue T-Rex and Safety Pin Curtain are my personal favorites. http://www.corktruck.com/artwork.html         3D Printers and Makerbot If you are unfamiliar with 3D printing technology I am pretty certain that won't last for long.  The folks over at Makerbot are bringing the ability to create your own 3D plastic model prototypes, toys and more to a much wider audience. Read More >>

Whether hob-knobbing with the jet set during the Monaco Grand Prix, having dinner with political insiders at The French Laundry or testing the latest jet-pack across the croc-filled waters of the Zambezi River, SEO / SEM Specialist Philip Stevens is the adventuresome social butterfly of the Edgeworks Creative Team. Tiring of the 5-star lifestyle, Philip settled back into Central Vermont and began transitioning his social networking powers for clients, boosting their reputation on the internet with well-developed marketing strategies. “Search engines and people aren’t all that different from one another,” he says. “The only difference is that sometimes people will invite you to Monaco. Search engines won’t.” Tracking the evolution of search engines and social networking, Philip combines his vivid imagination with precise marketing skills to develop exposure campaigns that would put a flasher to shame. Recruited to the Edgeworks Creative team in the fall of 2011, Philip worked in the hospitality industry as a manager at one of the best resorts in the country. His ability to adapt quickly and develop unique angles and niches for our clients hides his deadly aptitude with the Nerf gun. Working extensively in the worlds of Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn, Google Adwords, Google Analytics and Google +, Philip creates a buzz for our clients until it [....] Read More >>

Every small business owner knows the challenge of growing their customer base - getting traffic through the doors or onto their website in order to drive an increase in sales. Many businesses rely heavily on local traffic - that is, on getting people through the doors of their establishment. With the dawning of the age of mobile internet connections via smart phones, it is becoming increasingly important that you be searchable and reachable on multiple platforms that provide location-aware services to users of smart phones. When a person is using their mobile device and searching for a bite to eat, the restaurateur  certainly wants her establishment showing up in those search results - be it on Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp or  Google Local search results to name just a few (and there are dozens!) It can't be overstated how important local search is for businesses that rely on foot traffic. Folks don't turn to the yellow pages as they did in years past and the small businesses that can leverage the power of local search results will fare much better than those that do not or cannot. So how does the owner of a local business end up getting listed in local search engines [....] Read More >>

Entanglement This is one of those games that can be very addictive. it has a timeless sense of play to it. By turning tiles you create paths and the reward for each segment of path you create is a cascade of points and a waterfall of sound and music. It's really quite pleasing and deserving of Props. Entanglement is available for the Google Chrome browser in the Chrome store. Props going out for a delightful, addictive, quality gaming experience.   GTD: Getting Things Done The book by David Allen, Getting Things Done, is a groundbreaking work-life management system ideal for information workers. It moves you toward an integrated system of stress-free productivity. Whether you are an executive, student, or run a business and/or household, GTD will teach you the tips and tricks of how to get--and stay--on top of it all. The beauty of GTD is that it is both effective and simple and is agnostic as to the tools you use to implement it. Some folks do GTD on paper while others go completely digital.  Props going out the David Allen for GTD. 99% Invisible Podcast and Radio Show You need only listen to one podcast from this show to understand why we're giving it Props. [....] Read More >>

Edgeworks Creative co-founder and Web Strategist  Ed Rooney brings a host of skills to the table including superhuman strength and x-ray vision due to his exposure to radioactive materials. But beyond his superhuman capabilities, he also has a deep understanding of the techniques and tools used to create effective websites. His passions include unlocking the mysteries of online marketing with a focus on search engine marketing, search engine optimization and social networking for businesses. Before joining forces with Cynthia Ryan to form Edgeworks Creative LLC, Ed worked with teams both large and small developing websites. He also ran his own small web design business for many years. His insights into the website development process formed the backbone of the Edgeworks CMS - the primary web development platform the team now uses. As Web Strategist, Ed's job involves getting to know the goals, audiences and business methods of our clients and transferring them to an action plan for building new business.  But it doesn't stop there. Ed has many years of experience as a web developer and hits the keyboard every day to develop web properties for our clients. Ed has taught adult education courses on many subjects related to owning a small business and [....] Read More >>

A few weeks back, Google launched the Penguin update, targeting websites that use a variety of tactics to boost page rankings on Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page). From a ‘consumer’ viewpoint it’s often difficult to gauge the validity of a website on a SERP: that’s what Google’s algorithm is all about. With each of these updates, Google aims to bring you the best results possible for any keyword search by refining the algorithm to eliminate or reduce the rankings of those websites that employ “black hat” SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics. Black Hat? What’s that? By nature, every SEO is looking for the edge, the opportunity to maximize their exposure (or their client’s) on the web and push a website to the top of the SERP. Common “black hat” tactics include keyword stuffing, cloaking and redirects, duplicate content and linking schemes all of which are designed to supersede the rankings of competitors and, ultimately, generate more business. There are a hundred different analogies we could incorporate here (i.e. Star Wars, Talledega Nights) about good vs. evil, but to boil it down, SEO’s need to play by Google’s rules. Is your website’s page rank about to get whacked? Probably not. By their estimate, [....] Read More >>

According to the Urban Dictionary: Props is a slang term for "accolades", "proper respect", or "just dues". Popularized in the 1980s by rappers who shortened the term "propers" which was in turn being used as an abbreviated version of "proper respect" at least by the 1960s. The increase in this term's usage during the late 1980s and early 1990s coincided with an increasing fascination with the mafia within rap circles. Both communities have traditionally placed great emphasis on the importance of earning and giving respect. Our Friday Props series is simply a look around the web at cool things being done. We're giving out Props to those people, projects and ideas that are simply awesome. Without further explanation, then, here are the shout-outs for this week: RedBall Project The RedBall project is a really cool mobile art installation that travels the globe from city to city. The giant red ball is wedged in the oddest of public places. It causes great amusement and the interactions with the accessible art installation are great. The project is the brainchild of Kurt Perschke - an artist who works in sculpture, video, collage and public space.  You can read more about the project , the artist, or check out the Flickr group for [....] Read More >>