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Fastspot Creates Second Awards Web Site with Social Media ToolsJanuary 5

BALTIMORE, Md. (January 5, 2009) — Fastspot, an interactive agency headquartered in Baltimore, Md., has launched a second awards Web site that features social media tools, according to Tracey Halvorsen, creative director and principal.

The Baker Artists Awards, a competition established in 2008 by the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, is open to artists working in a variety of disciplines and media such as painters, writers, musicians and sculptors and who reside in the city of Baltimore as well as the five surrounding counties.

In addition to social media tools such as online voting, a comment area for each nominated artist, and e-mail alerts, the site features a gallery format similar to that found in a museum.

The artists are vying for several cash prizes of at least $20,000 each as the result of a private juried process. Additionally the general public is voting on the Baker Artists Award site for their favorite artists to receive one of two Baltimore Choice awards with cash prizes totaling $5,000.

“We designed the site to make it easy for artists to nominate themselves,” Halvorsen said. “They simply hit a button and upload their portfolio along with descript

Little Things Make a Big DifferenceDecember 31 2008

At the beginning of 2008, Fastspot gathered together the entire company and declared 2008 to be the year of the “Little Things”. By little things, we meant things like time tracking, being extra mindful of budgets, triple checking our code, strictly following Website launch checklists, remembering to track and bill for hours devoted to smaller tasks. Little things also meant taking time out to have fun, not big crazy rent the zoo for a day fun, but bowling parties, ski trips, poker tournaments, happy hours with like minded companies - that kind of fun. Other little things meant tightening up our process, not straying too far from what we knew worked, and refusing to let clients force us off track.

Additionally, we put incentives in place to make the “little things” like time tracking more fun, or at least more competitive. For the first half of 08, the best time tracking Fastspotter was awarded $100 to spend on something for their work space. In August we had our mid-year meeting, and regrouped to discuss our goals for the second half of the year. Everyone was asked to write down their top 5 dream clients and top 5 dream projects. Then everyone shared what they wrote do

Holiday Parties = Holiday HangoversDecember 23 2008

Fastspot just had an amazing holiday party at Woodberry Kitchen and after some laughs, drinks, and arm wrestling, a few of us now find ourselves suffering some wicked post-party side effects.

We dragged ourselves in this morning, each with his or her preferred medication in tow — Pepto-Bismol, coffee, Advil, greasy food — and this struck up some conversation: What is a great natural hangover cure?

Thanks to some quick research, here are some natural hangover remedies for your reference during the holidays.

Pre-Drink Prep

• Almonds
  Native Americans claim that eating 6 raw almonds prior to drinking helps prevent intoxication.
• Peanut Butter
  Africans eat peanut butter before imbibing.

After the Damage is Done

• Water
  Drink 2-3 large glasses of water before you go to bed.
• Exercise
  Get some blood and oxygen to your brain by stimulating circulation.
• Apples
  Eaten on an empty stomach the day after drinking has proven to be an effective remedy.
• Bananas
  Make a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. The banana helps calm the stomach and honey builds up d
  

QuickPic - Simple and Convenient iPhone AppDecember 19 2008

I love it when apps are created to solve a simple problem. Chances are, if you are being annoyed by something and have a solution, other people suffering the same annoyance will gravitate towards your solution. It’s a basic rule in business and marketing, and Zach Waugh has followed that rule with the creation of QuickPic.

QuickPic’s strengths are that it allows you to download photos directly from your iPhone to any computer using a web browser over WiFi. Features of the app are that it works over WiFi (no cables required), lets you download full resolution photos, requires no software beyond a web browser, and works on Mac, Windows or Linux.

I remember Zach talking about the technical hurdles of getting a photo from the iPhone to a computer if you didn’t want to, or couldn’t, synch up with it, or shrink the picture down and email it. For example, here in the office, you may want to quickly get a shot from your iPhone to a co-workers computer, and now the QuickPic app solves that problem!

Natural Selection is InevitableDecember 16 2008

Let me start with the obvious, we are facing scary times. The news is a non-stop chorus of “doom and gloom”. The knee-jerk reaction is to scramble for any bit of business, security or revenue you can get your hands on. Other panic reactions are to start cutting costs, overhead, staff, and “low-balling” every bid and estimate to ensure you get the work.

What should you do instead of panicking and slashing costs, staff and budgets? Focus on what you are passionate about, and do it really really well. The competitive landscape is going through a house cleaning and when the dust settles the companies that are providing real value will remain in a prominent position atop the mantelpiece. While we may see a cutting back on project budgets, we won’t see a cutting back on expected quality. And the only way to keep delivering quality when things get tight is to be extremely passionate and talented at what you do. If you are, there is no chance quality can suffer or degrade.

It is equally important to stay focused on who your target clients are, if you start picking up random work, the quality will inevitably suffer, as it is nearly impossible to put out amazing work with smaller budgets for brands or