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  • CRDF Global Redesign

    CRDF Global Redesign

    CRDF Global is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources and training. CRDF Global is based in Arlington, Virginia with offices in Russia; Ukraine; Kazakhstan and Jordan. It is dedicated to advancing peace and prosperity through science and technology collaboration.

    With more than 30 partners worldwide and a diverse international audience speaking several languages, CRDF Global’s website serves as an important communication tool for disseminating information about upcoming funding opportunities and conferences. It also connects scientists to each other and educates the general public about its work.

    To support CRDF Global’s goals, Matrix Group:

    • Developed a new navigation systemthat allows visitors to access resources by CRDF Global program, topic or region of the world.
    • Created a design that more fully embodies CRDF Global’s worldwide brand, collaborative style and progressive programs and services.
    • Implemented the SiteFinity content management system.
    • Create dynamic topic page so that a scientist looking for resources on specific topics—for example, Science Diplomacy—can learn about CRDF Global’s work in this area, including funding opportunities, upcoming events and recent news.

    Visit The CRDF Global Website.

  • American Society of Addiction Medicine Redesign

    American Society of Addiction Medicine Redesign

    The American Society of Addiction Medicine is a professional society representing approximately 3,000 physicians dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addictions.

    The redesign of ASAM’s website was an opportunity to position ASAM as the authority on addiction medicine; foster education and awareness to physicians who encounter addiction on a daily basis and encourage more physicians to specialize in the field.

    Matrix Group:

    • Created a modern design that demonstrated ASAM’s mission as the leading voice on addiction medicine.
    • Developed a robust taxonomy and wireframesby indentifying the site’s visitors and their anticipated behaviors through user personas and the site’s overall goals.
    • Implemented the website in the Sitefinity content management system (CMS)for staff to maintain the website.
    • Integrated the site with the member portal allowing members to access the physician directory, maintain their information, purchase publications from the online store and more.

    Visit The ASAM Website.

  • Everybody Dance

    Everybody Dance

    If Kirstie Alley can lose weight and get in shape by dancing, so can I! Love this game for the PS3!

  • Now That’s What I Call a Multilingual Strategy!

    Now That’s What I Call a Multilingual Strategy!

    Crossword puzzle showing many languagesI went to IKEA the other day to pick up a bookcase (doesn’t everyone have an IKEA Billy bookcase?) and a lamp. As usual, I ended up with a bookcase and lamp plus a pillow, chocolate and sparkling pear juice. When I got home and opened all the boxes, I marveled once again at the ingenious packaging and the instructions in multiple languages.

    When my clients at Matrix Group talk about a multilingual strategy, they’re usually talking about Spanish, maybe French. Several have recently taken the dive and are publishing web content in Chinese, Arabic and Russian. But the IKEA instructions make me think that here in the US, we have got to make a HUGE commitment to being a heck of a lot more global and multilingual. Check this out: the little brochure that came with my new pillow has care instructions in 31 languages, including Magyar, Serbian and Bahasa Malaysia!  If you visit IKEA.com, you have a choice of 41 sites in probably 31 languages (at least according to my count!).

    Clearly, global brands like IKEA must adopt a multilingual strategy in order to thrive in the world economy. But I wonder how many US brands have a web presence in 31 languages or more?

    A multilingual strategy like that adopted by IKEA is clearly not possible nor necessary for all companies or brands. I tell my clients that if they want to create a site in another language, they need to be able to respond to the inevitable e-mails, questions and complaints in that language. They also need to think about not just creating a static site in another language, but having an ongoing plan to post news and updates.

    Is Google Translate an option? Maybe. But here’s something to consider. When Matrix Group was designing its holiday card last year, one of our designers plugged Happy Holidays into Google Translate and then cheerfully put the resulting translations into the comp. Trouble is, Happy Holidays doesn’t really translate well into all languages. We might say Happy Holidays in the US as a general holiday greeting, but in the Philippines, you say Maligayang Pasko, or Merry Christmas. Google’s translation of Happy Holidays was a hilarious Happy Vacation.

    So hats off to IKEA for its global, multilingual strategy. And hey, IKEA recently reported a 10.3% jump in net profit for the year ending August 31. Could there be a connection?

     

  • The Personalized, Social Web or Why Your Organization Needs a Social Sharing Strategy

    The Personalized, Social Web or Why Your Organization Needs a Social Sharing Strategy

    SEO (search engine optimization) changed forever when Google integrated Google+ into its Google search results a few weeks ago. Basically, Google is now personalizing (to a much greater degree than before) its search results, based on the links and +1 recommendations of people in your Google+ network. Check out the example below.

    I did a search for Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train, on Google. At the top of the search results, there’s a note that tells me here are 20 personal results, or 20 links or posts that mention Don Cornelius by people in my Google+ circles.

    If I click on personal results, I see the full search results list, but with the personal links at the top of the list. Holy smokes! That means that the Washington Post article on Don Cornelius, which was previously at the top of the page, just got overtaken by a link on nerdist.com because someone I follow and interact with a lot posted that link on his Google+ page!

    This is just another example of how Google is heavily favoring its Google+ social network and another giant reason to:

    • Create a Google+ page
    • Encourage social sharing of your content across all social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+), but especially Google+

    A study by Nielsen back in 2009 found that 90% of people 25,000 people surveyed “trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.” This makes intuitive sense. Think of all the people in your Facebook network who ask for recommendations for a contractor, camera or pediatrician. And consider the crazy, huge influence of mommy and wedding bloggers.

    So, what’s your social sharing strategy? It could be as simple as making sure there is a Share This link on all of your articles, meetings and products. Or you could actively ask your customers and members to recommend your products and service to their networks in your e-mails, tweets, and e-newsletters.

     

  • It Ain’t Easy Being Green – Our Journey to Get an All-Electric Car

    It Ain’t Easy Being Green – Our Journey to Get an All-Electric Car

    For those of you who know me, you know that my husband Maki and I are gadget afficionados, we’re early adopters and we’re doing our best to live a green lifestyle at home and at work. So we were thrilled when Maki finally took delivery of his all-electric Nissan Leaf last November. But let me tell you, getting this car and getting the charging station installed was a journey that showed us it ain’t easy being green (as Kermit the frog would say).

    First of all, Maki was on the Nissan Leaf waiting list for 18 months. 18 months! We kept getting these teaser e-mails and brochures about how the car was coming, but then there would be one delay after another. When Passport Nissan finally started taking orders, Maki was the first in line. Thank goodness we weren’t in a hurry to get a new car.

    Actually buying the car once it became available was a snap. But then again, buying a car these days is pretty easy. You go in, you get financing through the manufacturer, you sign a bunch of paperwork and you’re done.

    This is a photo of Maki during the assessment, which took place in August. The installation finally happened in November.

    Getting the charging station installed so that we can charge the car overnight (using a regular AC outlet would take over 24 hours) turned out to be quite challenging. Nissan gave us a list of contractors, but then they all dropped out of the program. We finally got a company to come out and do the assessment and give us a quote, but they didn’t actually have any installers/contractors available in our area for a month. When we finally got a contractor, the company took forever to file the permit and then they missed their appointment (just never showed up, never even called).  When the contractor finally bothered to come out, actually installing the charging station was a snap because all they did was hook up the equipment to our already-installed 240 volt circuit and mount it on the wall.

    Okay, so now we have the car. It’s pretty, it’s quiet and we feel super hip and green. But first generation products come with a price.  The Leaf’s range is less than 100 miles on a full charge. A few days before Thanksgiving, after driving our son around town for some errands in the afternoon, Maki headed out to Dulles airport to pick up my brother. According to the gauge, he had enough charge to get there and back. But he didn’t count on the gauge not being super accurate because range is affected by driving conditions, e.g., going fast on the highway lowers your range. So Maki is at Dulles and he realizes he can’t make it home. Remember all those TV ads about charging stations up and down the East Coast? Those charging stations don’t exist. Period. End of story. I called the dealer, I googled, I made calls. No charging stations. Maki even left a message with a woman who has a home charging station to see if she would help out. No answer.  I finally found a My Organic Market in Herndon that has 2 free charging stations. They’re not quick charge stations, but they’re charging stations nevertheless. So Maki, my brother and his girlfriend shopped at MOM and went to dinner. After an hour and a half, the Leaf had enough charge to get home. Phew. I guess we’re keeping my Honda Civic Hybrid for a while.

    Do we expect to save a lot of money by driving the Leaf? Eh, not really. Our commute to work is short and we can’t exactly go on long road trips with this car. Do we think we’re saving the planet? Eh, not really. We know it took a lot of energy to make the car, especially the gigantic battery. But we do think that if we keep the car long enough, it will be a net gain for the environment because the Leaf does not pollute. We also know that companies rely on early adopters like us to lead the way, share our experiences with others, and pave the way for greener cars.

    So far, we LOVE our Nissan Leaf.  If you’re in the DC area and you’re dying to get a ride or learn more, contact me or Maki at work. Maki is always happy to talk about his new car. 🙂

  • How a Nation Got Educated About SOPA and PIPA

    How a Nation Got Educated About SOPA and PIPA

    The PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 or PIPA), which was introduced by Senator (D-VT)  on May 12, 2011, aims to give the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods”, especially those registered outside the U.S. On the House side, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was introduced by Rep. Lamar S. Smith (R-TX) on October 26, 2011. The bills had bipartisan support and were expected to sail through Congress.  But today, passage of the bills are is looking more and more unlikely as SOPA and PIPA opponents’ voices grow louder and members of Congress are flooded with calls and e-mails about the bill.

    Unless you live under a rock, you’ve no doubt read about, heard about and discussed the SOPA blackout that’s happening all over the Web. Web giant Wikipedia has gone dark to protest SOPA and PIPA, while others like Craigslist, Google, Wired, WordPress and dozens of other sites have put prominent messaging and graphics that clearly show opposition to the proposed legislation. Wired and WordPress show large portions of their home pages blacked out as if they have been censored.

    Wow. Let’s just stop and consider the reach of these Web site giants.

    Google is ranked by Alexa as the number 1 site in the US and is visited by half of ALL global Internet users daily. So at least half of us today got messaging from Google about SOPA and PIPA. If you use the search tool embedded in your browser, you missed the black censor bar over the Google logo and the simple plea to: Tell Congress: Please don’t censor the web!, but the Google logo is still blacked out in the top left corner of all pages.

    If you ignored Google’s censor logo and call to action, you probably did a search on Google and found a link to Wikipedia, which was blacked out for the day (just the English version). Alexa says Wikipedia is the 6th most popular site on the Web, so millions of us didn’t get to use Wikipedia to look up names, places and things.

    If you were looking for a job, car or apartment today, you probably went to Craigslist, the 9th most popular site in the US. Although Craigslist did not go completely dark, an intro page urges everyone to oppose SOPA and PIPA.

    And oh yeah, even though Facebook and Twitter didn’t join the dozens of sites that participated in the SOPA blackout, the conversations on these sites were dominated by SOPA and PIPA.

    And then of course, there was the overwhelming coverage about the SOPA blackout by mainstream press, alternative press and bloggers.

    All of this means that today, January 18, I would bet that the vast majority of American got some kind of exposure to SOPA and PIPA, most of it negative. And if just a fraction of the millions of Google, Wikipedia, Craigslist, Reddit, Wired, WordPress (and on and on) users took action and contacted their representatives and Senators, today was a very busy day on Capitol Hill.

    That’s one heck of a grassroots movement. How about you? How many sites did you visit that had some mention or call to action re: SOPA and PIPA? Did you contact your representative in Congress?

     

     

  • Your New Website Isn’t Done, It Probably Needs Tweaking

    My family moved into our new house last July and guess what? We’re not done with the unpacking and decorating. Yes, the new house is worlds better than our old house, all the furniture is in place, we have stuff on the walls, and most of the boxes are gone, but we’re not done and it’s taken months of tweaking to make the house fabulous.

    Our move reminds me of every single website launch at Matrix Group. When a Project Manager reports that he or she will be done with a project when it launches, I warn that there could be weeks of tweaks and that we should just expect it. Here’s why:

    Sometime, you just don’t don’t know where to put something until you’ve lived with it a while. I wish I could say that our information architecture process is perfect and we account for every piece of content, but it’s not and we don’t. Clients often have to live with a site for a few days or weeks before they figure out where everything should go. In the meantime, content doesn’t go up or it gets stored under some generic navigation called Resources. I feel like Resources is like our garage; there’s a lot of great stuff in there but it’s hard to find what you’re looking for and you know you need a better organization system.

    The little tweaks can make all the difference in the world. The new master bathroom in our house is wonderful but it had a few problems. You had to walk inside to reach the light switch and the towel bar was several feet away from the shower. We were unhappy from the beginning but we didn’t know what we wanted or how to fix the problem. Then one day, my husband came home with a wireless outlet that he attached to the wall. Voila! We can now turn on the light before entering the bathroom! And a hook added to the wall just outside the shower solved the towel problem. Same with a website. We often need a few days or weeks of real users road testing the site before we can make the slight improvements to the flows and paths that make the site really great. For one client, we added a Google map link to a calendar application; it was amazing how much happiness 2 lines of code created.

    You can’t finish decorating right away. Our new house is laid out in a very similar manner to the old house but nearly everything had to be re-arranged. Bookshelves got moved around the house, we re-arranged the closets, and the living room is completely different, even though the dimensions are the same and we didn’t buy new furniture. With website redesigns, small changes to the navigation sometimes means a total rework of the content and CMS. And clients often can’t conceive of how to “dress up” pages with images and formatting until they are live.

    You’ll get more done if you throw a party. My mom always says that if you want your house to look good, throw a party. You’ll get the boxes unpacked, the pictures hung and the furniture arranged – just in time. When a client picks the launch date for their website, we ask if they will be unveiling the site at a conference or event. I love having a deadline tied to a conference because conferences don’t move, which means everyone hustle to get things done and it’s amazing how much content gets written right before the event and launch.

    Anticipate the tweaks. At Matrix Group, we know that it takes time for clients to get comfortable with the new site, use its new functions and figure out what’s working and not working. Leslie Blum from Carolinas AGC calls them “iron outs” and she’s right on. It generally takes between 2-4 weeks to get the help text just right, all the new content loaded, and the integration use cases all worked out. So rather than fight the tweaks, we anticipate them and plan for them in our schedule. I will caution, however, that tweaking past 30 days can get counter-productive. You run the risk of the team losing steam and experiencing launch fatigue.

    In the last 30 days, we’ve launched new sites for the Ironworkers, the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the Washington Building Congress. Although the sites look great, we’re still tweaking. 🙂

     

  • Matrix Group Is Raising Money for Local Charities!

    Matrix Group Is Raising Money for Local Charities!

    Our social fundraiser last year was so successful that we’re repeating it this year. Help Matrix Group raise money for DC area charities by participating in our social media campaign. We’re starting with a pot of $1,000. We’re adding $10 for every new “like” on our Facebook page and every new subscriber to our YouTube channel. Then we’ll distribute the money according to votes for the videos about each charity on our YouTube channel.

    This whole campaign has been about social media and group effort. First, I polled the Matrix Group staff to see if they wanted to repeat the social media fundraiser from last year. The answer was yes. Then I asked the staff to nominate their favorite charities; I picked the top 5 charities selected by staff.

    Next, we reached out to the local charities and asked them to create an informative video that makes the case for giving them money. Not surprisingly, we got amazing, authentic videos from each organization. One was created by a volunteer who did a stellar job.

    Next, we came up with a way to fold in social media, increase our reach, and make the campaign fun. So we filmed a kitschy video that explains the campaign and tied the donations to getting new likes on Facebook and subscribers on YouTube. The whole campaign, including creating the video, working with the charities and putting it all together on the web was made possible by my amazing staff.

    Check out our funny video on YouTube explaining the campaign and introducing the charities.

    Watch the videos of the five deserving organizations on YouTube. The five organizations are Doorways for Women and Families, Food and Friends, SPCA of Northern VA, Washington Animal Rescue League and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

    Here’s how YOU can raise money for those in need this holiday season:

    You’ve got until December 20 to like, subscribe, vote and share. I’d love to raise $5,000. Can you help?

  • 2011 Top Holiday Gift Ideas from Matrix Group

    2011 Top Holiday Gift Ideas from Matrix Group

    My son’s Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar reminds me that we’re about three weeks away from Christmas, which means scant time to find the perfect gift for family and friends. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you’re probably shopping for some people in your life. As always, I polled the Matrix Group staff for their top holiday gift ideas.

    • For the gamers in your life, a Playstation Move or an Xbox Kinect will let them interact with games in a whole new way. With these accessories, your body becomes the controller and you can run, jump, punch and dance to a new generation of games. My favorite Move game is Everybody Dance, which teaches you cool dance moves and provides quite the workout. I’m dancing every morning to try to lose the last of the baby weight. Hey, if Kirstie Alley can dance her way to a new figure, so can I!
    • If you’re looking for cool game titles, check out Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Batman: Arkham City.
    • In my office, we’re all about the techie toys and all things Star Wars are cool. James thinks the Lego Super Star Destroyer is super cool.
    • For a different type of game experience, Tanya recommends Dominion Card Game. This game is so geeky, it won a MENSA award!
    • If you want to shop for unique gifts that give back, Jessica likes The Greater Good Network Store. For example, shopping in their Hunger site raises money to fight world hunger and promote peace on earth.
    • Jenny loves to hop on Etsy.com, which features mostly handmade items from individuals.  I especially like the reusable paper towels and storage box and wallets made from duct tape of different colors!
    • Since zombies are all the rage, it’s important to be equipped with the proper zombie gear. Kelly has some great suggestions: a tactical vest, a zombie survival guide, and survival tools.
    • For the kids in your life, a Nintendo 3DS will endear you forever (well, a few months at least), and a Mindflex Duel Game will let them test their powers of concentration and use their brainwaves to levitate a foam ball (no kidding!).
    • For the movie lover in your life, we love the Roku LT streaming media box.
    • And finally, since we all mostly have everything we need and want in our lives, how about making a donation to a local charity? There are so many good ones in every community, we hope you’ll think of them during this holiday season. Maria likes Oxfam USA and Heifer International.

    How about you? What’s at the top of your list this year? What are you gifting and what are you hoping to receive?