The Vantage View

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Halloween from Vantage Internet Services

I’ve seen so many incredible advancements in the field of computer software in my modest professional life, that had I been told that you would be able to animate a complete ten seconds with effects and everything in forty-five minutes, I would have called you a lying fool. Here we are in 2009 and that fiction has become a reality. Being a graphic designer in this day and age you have to be fast and flexible to make sure you can meet your deadlines and so I’m always looking for a faster, better way to do things and still get the results that my clients and I both want. There’s nothing I’d love more than to spend a month getting each and every project “artistically perfect”, but that kind of time isn’t permitted or lucrative in this business. In this case I’m talking about animated titles, they’re deceptively simple but can actually run your work hours through the roof if you want something even remotely dynamic and original.

To animate a dynamic title with a flying camera with particles and backgrounds and the like, would take me several hours to get the camera movement right, the randomization of the background pattern to work and all sorts of other stuff just to make a simple ten-second intro graphic. Three Adobe After Effects versions later I’m able to do the exact same work in about forty-five minutes! After Effects has added several tools and functions that make my workflow so much quicker and my end product so much better looking. There are also presets that can be found online to make things go even faster, here’s an example of what I’m able to accomplish in roughly 40 minutes or so. To be fair I did spend an extra twenty minutes looking for the music track, so I actually did this in one hour. Yay me!

Rob Acosta
Graphic Designer/Lactose Intolerant

When a sandwich needs-a-eatin’, I’ll eat it, when a drink needs-a-drinkin’, I’ll drink it and when a design needs-a-designin’, I design it. I’m one of Vantage’s graphics designers and quintessential jack-of-all trades. I design print work, illustrate, animate, edit video and create custom motion graphics. Drop me a line at rob@vantageinternet.com.

It’s official, Twitter is now mainstream. Phone service providers, now offer smart phones with not only Facebook, but Twitter update capabilities and businesses across the nation are plugging their products in 140 characters or less via Twitter.

Only a handful of Twitterers have been able to improve a company’s social and financial status using this hip, microblogging space. Below you’ll find what I consider to be the top 3 brands that tweet; and tweet well.

Which is your favorite?

Dell – Exclusive Twitter Deals = $$$

Dell is the one company that has been able to really monetize their social media marketing. Just last June, Dell announced that they received $3 million in sales directly from their Twitter presence. According to a blog posted by Stephanie Nelson who manages the Dell Twitter account, $2 million of the sales came from Dell’s exclusive Twitter deals and coupons and $1 million from customers using the Dell Twitter page as a point of entry to the site where they purchased merchandise.

Currently Dell (@DellOutlet) has more than 700,000 Twitter followers and is one of the top 100 most followed profiles according to Twitter Counter.

Zappos – Customer Service At Its Best

Tony Hsieh, CEO of e commerce company Zappos.com, uses Twitter to foster the Zappos culture where exceptional customer service is the norm. Since Zappos.com launched in 1999, the company has amassed $1 billion in gross merchandise sales. Though there is no indication of Twitter’s contribution to the $1 billion, many expect Zappos’ active social media presences to play some part in why 75% of all Zappos orders are from repeat customers.

Currently Hsieh (@Zappos) has more than 800,000 Twitter followers and is one of the top 50 most followed profiles according to Twitter Counter.

JetBlue – Building the Brand One Tweet At A Time

JetBlue has embraced Twitter as a true interactive customer service tool. In addition to tweeting fare specials, JetBlue consistently uses Twitter to post delay alerts and to interact/reply to consumers in a targeted and timely fashion.

Currently @JetBlue has more than 730,000 Twitter followers and is one of the top 100 most followed profiles according to Twitter Counter.

If you are living under a rock and haven’t caught on to the Twitter craze, read our previous blog posting: Twitter Basics.

About the Author: Jennifer Villalobos
Online Marketing Coordinator/Ringmaster
I enjoy long walks on the beach, the full imitation cheddar flavor that are Cheez-Its, Gonzaga basketball, Budweiser commercials and managing web campaigns for both consumer and business to business clients.

Drop me a line at jennifer@vantageinternet.com, or follow me on Twitter @vantagejennifer.