Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

10/29/15

Do you need a new website?  I surveyed the team here at Force 5, asking them each for 2 or 3 signs that someone might need to update their web presence. Some of their responses are based on functionality, some on user experience, and some on overall look-and-feel, but here are their answers: Christian Mattix Web Application Developer & Network

10/22/15

When I read about the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Highway Beautification Act, which was intended to limit billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising along federal highways, it reminded me of the iconic Mail Pouch Tobacco barns. According to Mail Pouch barn enthusiast Eddie Robberts, farmers were willing to let Mail Pouch Tobacco paint their

10/06/15

Our Little Free Library has been in front of the Force 5 offices for about two months now.  Our library is one of over 20,000 registered Little Free Libraries in over 70 countries.  The response in the neighborhood has been very positive, and there is always a new selection of books that have been left by the neighbors.  (Note: we always seem to run

10/05/15

I recently wrote a post about the importance of having a mobile-friendly website.  I have created a dashboard in Google Analytics to see how your mobile traffic stacks up against your desktop traffic.  If your mobile traffic doesn’t fare well against your desktop traffic, you might need to look at making the website more responsive. To download the GA dashoboard,

09/18/15

According to a recent study, mobile device usage is significantly higher than desktop usage, with people viewing 51% of the content on mobile versus only 42% on desktop/laptop.   (Five years ago, it was 12.5% mobile vs. 75% desktop/laptop). Which means that many of your website’s visitors will be viewing your site from their mobile phones and you need to make

09/14/15

The Creative Group released results from a survey they conducted with advertising and marketing executives.  The national study was based on 400 telephone interviews — 200 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees and 200 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees. Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “When interviewing

08/24/15

Google’s new Project Sunroof uses its expansive data in mapping and computing resources to help calculate the best solar plan for you.  Project Sunroof looks up your home in Google Maps and combines that information with other databases to create your personalized roof analysis. Project Sunroof recommends an installation size to generate close to 100% of your electricity use, based

08/13/15

Google Analytics is one of the best ways to help you understand ways to reach your audience through digital marketing and drive traffic to your website.  And best of all, it is a free tool offered by Google and relatively easy to incorporate into just about any website. There is a tremendous amount of information that you can get from

08/06/15

Over the weekend, Deb DeFreeuw and David Morgan installed a Little Free Library in front of the Force 5 Offices.  For those of you that don’t know about the Little Free Library, it is a nonprofit organization that supports the worldwide movement to offer free books housed in small containers to members of the local community. The idea was popularized in Hudson,

05/06/15

With over 50 food vendors, 60 musical acts, Headliner Ben Folds, dozens of art exhibits and booths, things to do for the kids, a Tech park, and even a Zip line, South Bend’s birthday celebration over the Memorial Day weekend in downtown South Bend will be one of the biggest and most exciting community events ever held. How do you

03/03/15

March 3 marks the day that President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national anthem of the United States, but that might not have happened if Francis Scott Key hadn’t practiced certain social media marketing principles that helped increase the song’s popularity. Francis Scott Key’s Social Media Tips… Find a way to be an ongoing

01/30/15

Is your favorite Pet’s name also your password? How about your street name-or your favorite sports team? Are you using password as your password? And here’s a good one: 123456….Yikes! Danger, Danger, Will Robinson. Get ready to be hacked!!! SplashData.com has announced its annual list of the 25 most common passwords found on the Internet – thus making them the