Congratulations To Mike’s Bloggity Blog
June 12, 2010
We just wanted to send a congratulatory note to our good friend Mike Morrison of Mike’s Bloggity Blog for being named the “Best Calgary Blog in Fast Forward’s Best of 2010 poll”:http://mikesbloggityblog.com/2010/06/bloggity-named-best-in-calgary.html.
We kinda feel like that proud cousin (or high school friend) that watches their multi-talented friend make it big.
So a big virtual HIGH-FIVE goes out to Mike.
Congratulations.
Categories: Calgary Social Media,Site News,Social Media
Facebook Fan Page Fan-tastic
June 2, 2010
It is with great pleasure that Armadillo Studios announces our new “Facebook Fan Page”:http://www.facebook.com/armadillostudios.
As you can see our new Facebook Fan Page is a fully customized site, which aims to show the *playful* side of Armadillo Studios and to also demonstrate the potential power of the *Facebook Fan Page*. We built all the elements of the Armadillo Studios landing page using FBML (Facebook Meta Language), a new cannon of design code which allows page owners to dramatically enhance the Facebook experience for their fans.
But Why Launch a Fan Page Now?
Some of you may be asking, _why is a Web Design and Social Media outfit only jumping on the Facebook Fan Page bandwagon now_?
To answer that, let’s look quickly at the Facebook platform.
When Facebook first started gaining some traction with the college crowd, it created a unique subsection for people to organize called *Groups*. As everyone now knows, Groups allow up to 5,000 users to band together to show their admiration for a wealth of topics. But the major flaw, with Groups, is that it was quite difficult to connect with your followers. Without a constant level of interaction between groups and their followers, most groups faded into the distance.
Now fast forward to the beginning of 2009 and Facebook is set to launch a new system called “Fan Pages”:http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/02/16/facebook-to-launch-redesigned-pages-for-businesses-tour-first-impressions/.
*Fan Pages are Group pages on steroids* – no limits on membership, the ability to post new content directly into your fan’s activity stream and the ability to customize the layout. When they first launched many organizations made the switch instantaneously, but one of the hidden elements of the new customizable elements was the ability to create new pages using *FBML* (Facebook Meta Language).
In recent months, FMBL has undergone a series of dramatic enhancements to the point where those who are familiar with the language, can now utilize this new tool to fully customize the Fan Page experience.
FMBL and The Future of Fan Pages
It’s because of the evolution of FBML that we felt it was time to create a new identity for the company on Facebook.
With FBML, organizations can now build a unique identity on Facebook which is akin to their own goals – something that will standout from the competition. These tools now allow users to create their own mini-web sites within Facebook. And with the unprecedented growth of Facebook in certain demographics, it is now more important than ever to make a great first impression.
Because of these developments, we believe that *Facebook Fan Pages are going to be a powerful new tool for companies and community organizations*. And while we think our own page is pretty darn fan-tastic, here are some examples of what can be done with Facebook Fan Pages:
* “The New England Patriots”:http://www.facebook.com/newenglandpatriots
* “Bullfrog Power’s – Pay More For Energy Campaign”:http://www.facebook.com/BullfrogPower
* “Gerry Loves Records – An indie record label out of Edinburgh”:http://www.facebook.com/gerrylovesrecords
* “Victoria Secret”:http://www.facebook.com/victoriassecret
So don’t just take our word on it, some of the biggest players in the internet industry are already taking note.
Fan Pages & Your Company
The beauty of Facebook fan pages is that they can built for a fraction of the cost of a regular web site and they also allow you a direct connection to your fans (via streaming your updates directly in to your fan’s stream). So if you like what you see with our own “Facebook Fan Page”:http://www.facebook.com/armadillostudios, send us a note at *info@armadillostudios.ca*.
If you get in contact with us to develop a Fan Page by July 15th, we’ll give you an introductory discount of 20% on our development rate.
Categories: Calgary Social Media,Corporate News,Fresh Ideas,Social Media
The Redesign of Mike’s Bloggity Blog
May 10, 2010
It’s with great pleasure that we get to announce our latest project, the redesign of “Mike’s Bloggity Blog”:http://www.mikesbloggityblog.com.
For those unfamiliar with this popular site, Mike’s Bloggity Blog is one of Canada’s most visited entertainment blogs. Consecutively rated as the best entertainment blog in Canada for the past three years, Mike is a witty and persistent blogger with over two and half thousands post of valuable entertainment goodness.
He covers all aspects of the Canadian Entertainment realm, from the latest news on CBC’s smash hit _Being Erica_ to the latest in Canadian Films to the Junos. Mike’s Bloggity Blog is slowly becoming the go to place for everything related to the Canadian Entertainment industry.
Mike approached us earlier this year with a goal to take his *Blogger* hosted site to the next level. He wanted to roll out a unique and professional design, but to also keep the lighthearted aesthetic of the original site.
So, we set about designing a new layout which would push Mike’s Bloggity Blog to the next step. We created a new colour scheme which also leveraged a bright new header, but also incorporated Mike’s trademark Wordle logo. We upgraded the sidebar to make it easier for users to connect with Mike’s Bloggity Blog through other social media networks like _Twitter_, _Google Friends_, _TweetMeme_ and his own _YouTube Channel_.
We also equipped Mike’s Bloggity Blog with a fabulous new fat footer, which enhances the user experience by allowing for easier navigation and allowing users to discover some of Mike’s other writing gigs.
The biggest challenge for this project was the transition from Blogger to a self-hosted WordPress web site. But after some data wrangling, an unexpected downtime with a web hosting provider and some very useful WordPress plug-ins; we were able to transition all 2,500 posts from the original Mike’s Bloggity Blog to the new site, without any damage to the existing Search Engine results.
So with that we are happy to announce the new redesign for Mike and wish him all the best in his quest to conquer the _Canadian Entertainment Industry_!
Categories: Calgary Client Releases,Calgary Web Design,Client Releases,Corporate News,Web Design Trends
The Music-Critic Podcast
May 10, 2010
If you’re a lover of new music, one of our long-standing clients “Music-critic.ca”:http://www.music-critic.ca/wp/, is probably one of the best places to find out the latest bands. Over the past five years, Armadillo Studios has been constantly working with Nathan Atnikov (the owner and editor) to improve the web site and help spread the word about their fantastic reviews.
This week, Music-critic took another giant leap into the digital realm with the launch of it’s own weekly Podcast.
Hosted by Nathan, this new weekly podcast will highlight some of the best new tracks being released from well known and undiscovered artists. So if you’re looking for some new music to fill your iPods and iPhones, make sure you go to “iTunes and subscribe to the new and a 100% fresh Music-critic.ca podcast”:http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/music-critic-ca-podcast/id370841312.
Categories: Client Releases,Corporate Features,Fresh Ideas
Happy 10th Birthday iStockPhotos
April 7, 2010
Here’s a quick little post to acknowledge a pretty impressive milestone for the Tech Community in Armadillo’s hometown of Calgary.
If you haven’t heard, “iStockPhotos”:http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php is turning ten years old today and to celebrate they are “launching a mini-site, giving away a slew of prizes”:http://istock10.com/ and are “now one of the top trending topics on Twitter”:http://istock10.com/twitter/.
As one of our preferred service providers, by providing High-Quality stock imagery at an affordable price, iStock has done wonders for the Web Design community. Without their services, the development of many of our projects would not be possible.
But on a more local note, as a Calgary-based company iStock have given back even more. Through a trickle down affect of knowledge and talent, iStock has probably provided more to the growth of our community than many people know. Many of our fellow competitors, freelancers and partnering consultants have cut their chops and learned the ropes of the industry by working for iStock. By fostering a pool of great local and international talent to staff their operations, one of the great by-products has been the injection of new ideas and new talent into the Calgary community. Their presence at Democamps and other events has helped spread ideas and design concepts. Without their presence, the blossoming community in Alberta wouldn’t be as strong as it is today.
So to iStockPhoto, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and all the best in the future.