Courtesy: PR Daily

Okay, I had to get a chuckle out of this article by Jessica Malnik. It’s pretty much spot on. Every generation has certain items and events that pinpoint what decade they grew up in. Here’s some of her list of the things people who grew up in the ’90s know how to do that is now obsolete. (And some of my comments in parentheses … How many others can you think of?)

1. How to save a file on a floppy disc
2. The Dewey Decimal System
3. Dial-Up Internet (Oh, the sound of the dial tone while waiting for AOL to connect …)
4. How to record something on a VHS tape (I still have a box full of VHS tapes – I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to watch them again.)
5. When all you could do on a cell phone was talk
6. Walkmans (I know I still have mine SOMEWHERE.)
7. How to place a collect call (A what?)
8. How to find your way using only a map and no GPS (With my Garmin, I really don’t know how to live without it now.)
9. Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? (LOL.)
10. How to write in cursive (The fact that schools are getting rid of this is madness!)
11. Just how awesome the original “Double Dare” and “Legends of Hidden Temple” TV shows were (and how awesome ‘90s Nickelodeon shows were in general). (YES!!)
12. The secrets to collecting the best Beanie Babies and POGs
13. How to entertain yourself without YouTube videos
14. How to send a fax (I just made a comment about that the other day – Does anyone still send them?)
15. How to survive high school without Facebook (Yes, it IS possible.)

By Tim Coulon, Vice President Creative, Coles Marketing Communications

When it comes to shooting photos for business purposes, pictures often really are worth a thousand words. But based on the quality of photographs encountered in newsletters, brochures and even advertisements, many companies are speaking to their customers in tongues.

Professional photographers produce the finest pictures, but there isn’t always the time and budget to hire one. Point-and-shoot cameras can often fill the void for simple day-to-day business purposes, and more people are carrying smartphones that can take high-resolution photos.

The problem is the business people wielding these cameras make many common mistakes, resulting in pictures that are out of focus, badly composed or over-exposed by flash. Fortunately, most of these issues can be corrected with the following advice, plus a little bit of practice!

• Don’t be afraid of retakes. The great thing about digital cameras is there’s no film to waste. The first picture you take probably isn’t the best one. Take four or five photos, and weed through them on your computer for the best one.
• Always shoot on your camera’s highest resolution setting. You can decide later to shrink a photo down, but you can’t improve a low-res picture once it’s taken.
• Don’t take the name “point-and-shoot” too literally! Many people assume wherever they happen to be standing is the best place to take a picture. Walk around your subject, looking for the best angle and lighting.
• Avoid leaving too much space around what you’re shooting. Move in or zoom in until you’re framed fairly tightly around your subject.
• Watch out for distracting objects or people in the background. You don’t want to take a portrait of your CEO with an “Exit” sign right over his/her head!
• Excess motion can result in blurry or bad photos. Anchor your body when you’re ready to shoot. Press the shutter button smoothly — don’t stab or jerk the camera. It might even be a good idea to hold your breath.
• Avoid shooting a person straight on, looking directly into the camera. They will look stiff and uncomfortable. Have them turn their body at a slight angle and swivel their head toward the camera for a more natural, candid look.
• You can even have your portrait subject looking away from the camera. If you do this, frame them slightly off-center and include more of the area in the direction they’re looking. This “look space” effect results in great environmental portraits.
• Don’t stand someone up against a wall to take their picture. It will resemble a police mug shot and create a shadow halo around their head.
• Use your point-and-shoot’s autofocus function wisely. Most digital cameras allow you to press the shutter button halfway to set the focus. You can then move the camera around to change or improve the composition. Aim first at what you want to be in focus, press the button halfway to lock it in, and move around until you like what you see. Then press the shutter the rest of the way to take the shot.
• Focusing with a smartphone camera is a little different. On most smartphones, you can tap the screen on the object you want to focus on. Then press the shutter button to take the picture. Otherwise it will just focus on whatever is in the center of your screen.
• Smartphone cameras have a wider aspect ratio than regular cameras, resulting in a long, skinny image. Avoid holding the phone upright while taking a picture, unless you’re photographing something tall like a building or a basketball player.
• Your camera’s flash function is best when used about five or six feet away from your subject. If you’re too close, they’ll be blasted with light and washed out. If they’re more than 10 feet away, the flash won’t reach them. Try to use natural light whenever possible.
• If you’re photographing outdoors, bright sunny days aren’t the best choice. Shoot on an overcast day or in the shade for the best effects.

Looking for experts behind the lens? Check out what photography services Coles has to offer!

From Psychology Today

planning some coveted vacation time. Not only is it a time to relax and refresh, but according to recent research, it gets your creativity juices flowing.

A 2011 IBM global survey of CEOs found that creativity was regarded as the “most crucial factor for future success” in a “highly volatile, increasingly complex business environment.”

In his article, Seth Schulman offers some simple suggestions for structuring your next vacation to maximize your own creative development:

• Use time away to catch up on sleep. Most of us don’t get enough of it, and it’s essential for performing creative tasks well.
• Create psychological distance from work. It’s tempting to keep our smartphones on, even if we travel to another country. Unfortunately, that might damage our ability to replenish our creative stores. Several studies have shown that just thinking about things distant from the here and now can enhance creativity.
• Vacation with people you love. When participants in one study were “primed with thoughts of love,” they grew more creative. On the other hand, they became less creative “when primed with carnal desire.” (I’ll leave it to you to figure out what to do with that…)
• Read something crazy. Those of us who like to read might be tempted to choose the latest business book or a title that otherwise bears directly on our work. Think again: Research has found that reading absurd stories by Kafka increased the ability to recognize hidden patterns. Apparently, absurdity forces our minds to work harder to make meaning out of what we encounter, thus enhancing our creative skills.
• Play games — especially video games. Believe it or not, a recent study has found that playing video games makes kids more creative.
• Spend time with your kids. If you spend time interacting with children, you might find yourself more inclined to think like them. And one study has found that just thinking about life from the point of view of our 7-year-old selves improves our creative performance.

And when your vacation is over, plan a mindful re-entry into work. Come up with a plan to deal with the onslaught of post-vacation emails and other work, so that the effect of the stress doesn’t sap up all the creative energies you’ve had so much fun unleashing during your time off.

Courtesy: CareerCast

police officer — and rightly so. So why are public relations and marketing professionals so stressed out? This article from PRNewser boiled it down to the top five reasons:

1. Clients. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. From “unrealistic expectations” to limited budgets, respondents talked about how difficult some clients can be to work with. Based on our unscientific observation, this was the number one reason for the industry’s tension.

2. Constant change. Media changes never stop. And technology always has something new to offer. But there’s more to it than that.

“’Doing’ PR is stressful because: You’re working toward a creative vision that changes as it develops,” @Vivacions told us on Twitter. On top of that, there’s a ton of multitasking to be done.

“PR is so stressful because you often have to have a hundred different balls in the air at one time, and you have to be able to make that look effortless to your clients. Demands and expectations are high, budgets are often low, and dealing with the media can be challenging and draining!” wrote Erin Nevicosi in our comments section.

3. Because that’s the way relationships are. @AmyPR tweets, “…it’s based on relationships with people, and everyone is so different & [you] have to manage emotions.”

Commenter Heidi Groshelle says it’s also the number of relationships. “We are managing multiple relationships: Media, Analysts, Clients, Our Team, Advisors.”

4. PR personalities. “Cuz we touch everything. And we’re Type A control freaks,” @JennPet told us, an attribute that we’ve actually heard before.

“The type of personality required to make a great PR pro wants to please everyone from the client>media>customer,” said @MeganePR.

5. Lack of research. Frank Walton makes a case in the comments for the need for more data about outcomes.

“PR people know the principles of the practice and have past experience to draw on and (often) good intuitions. But we have just about no evidence, no data to predict the outcome of a PR tactic or strategy,” he writes.

Other stressful careers that made the top 10? Event coordinator, corporate executive, photojournalist and … taxi driver. And check out what stress factors were measured to create the top 10 list.

With our on-the-go society, it’s a safe bet that many people not only have a desktop computer or a laptop but also have access to the Internet through an iPad or tablet device as well as some variety of smartphone. With all these devices and the constant desire for information, it is becoming more popular — and sometimes essential — to create a website that can be easily viewed on all devices.

“Having different versions of the same website makes it easier for the user to navigate the content no matter which device they are using,” says Kevin Moore, our multimedia designer here at Coles Marketing. “Without having different versions available, the user is limited in being able to view all content, such as video and images.”

For one of our clients, Dealer Services Corporation, Kevin has designed three different versions of their DSC Unplugged site — for the desktop, iPad and the mobile device. Certain content has to be designed specifically for each of those three versions. For example, the main difference between the desktop and the iPad version of DSC Unplugged is in places where Flash is used on the main site, still images are used on the iPad version because it doesn’t support Flash. And the mobile site is a significantly sized-down version of the main site, highlighting the core content from the site with little or light use of images.

What’s the best part? The site will detect which kind of device you are using and automatically take you to the particular version you need for the best view. I even tried it on my trusty BlackBerry, and sure enough, after typing in the main website address it took me straight to the mobile version of the site.

And with all the new devices and upgrades of older devices appearing at a quickening pace, it becomes a must to start considering the use of different versions of your brand’s website. Otherwise, you may not be reaching all possible consumers who are grabbing their phone or tablet and going on their way — without seeing your website. Need help with retooling your website and making it tablet and mobile-friendly? Let us know!

Well Android has released there answer to Siri, Iris (note: Siri spelled backwards…go figure). How does the Alpha release of Iris (powered by ChaCha) compare to Siri? Can it keep up with current events? Can it answer some of the more bizarre questions? Watch the video to find out.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, the 10-day Indianapolis Home Show is the nation’s oldest and the Midwest’s largest home-focused extravaganza at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Since the Home Show was founded in 1922, it has become a tradition within the community, offering generation after generation the best in home products, decorating, construction and remodeling ideas. It is the largest consumer home event in Indiana, attracting crowds of homeowners primarily interested in home improvements and renovations.

And now the show is bigger and better than ever, offering those attendees primarily interested in gardens and outdoor living their own feature areas. An additional building in the South Pavilion will offer 25,000 square feet devoted to landscaping and gardening, with more than 20 lavish, landscaped feature gardens. From lovely lilies and ravishing roses to dazzling dahlias and jazzy jasmines, the gardens will offer a grandeur of greenery.

“We’re very excited to combine the Indianapolis Home Show with the Home & Flower Show,” Keller said. “With the excitement of the Super Bowl coming to Indianapolis at the beginning of February, we didn’t want residents to miss out on all the Home & Flower Show has to offer. Combining the two shows will cater to Indianapolis area residents’ continuous desire to learn, compare and shop for products and services for their homes and gardens. And the added bonus is they can visit two jam-packed shows in one location at one great price.”

The Indianapolis Home Show opens Friday, Jan. 20, and continues through Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Admission is $13 for adults, $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and younger.

For more information, call 317-705-8719 or visit the Indianapolis Home Show website at www.IndianapolisHomeShow.com.

And that includes local businesses, who are gearing up for the inflow of an estimated 150,000 visitors — not to mention the media spotlight that will shine on Indy like it never has before. The Coles team has been keeping busy this December preparing messaging for our various clients that ties in with the Big Game, from getting the word out about parties and other special events to preparing friendly notices to customers that they may experience increased traffic in the days and weeks leading up to the big event.

(Speaking of which, if you’re wondering why I’m being so coy about not coming right out and stating the name of the game, you should know that the NFL is very protective of its brand in this regard. One of the things we’ve had to educate clients on is that it’s a big no-no to use that moniker in their external company communications — unless they want to get a cease-and-desist letter lickety split.)

If you haven’t already, swing over to the Indianapolis Host Committee website for a host of good information, including the General Information page that lays out street closings and restrictions, parking, getting around downtown on foot or by mass transit, and much more. The committee just launched their “Know Before You Go” campaign on Thursday.

This is a fantastic opportunity for all of Central Indiana to put its best foot forward. The entire community should try to be welcoming and accommodating to all players, media, workers and fans who will be visiting us.

So if you have to wait a little longer in line at the bank or have to park a little further away than you’re used to, remember that it’s a small price to pay for all the attention flowing into the city and surrounding area — not to mention millions and millions of dollars!

Let’s face it, journalists (even recovering ones like me) aren’t always the best when it comes to math. And that can result in a lot of misspeak  flooding into the community’s conversation.

The most obvious local example recently is the new mass transit plan proposal introduced earlier this week. It would introduce a lot of new bus routes and some rail lines, funded partially through federal government grants and partially by an increase in income taxes in Marion and Hamilton counties.

I’ll quote from the story that appeared in The Indianapolis Star:

Business leaders today will unveil an updated 10-year, $1.3 billion transit overhaul that would double IndyGo and add train service from Noblesville to Downtown Indianapolis.

The plan is the latest in a decades-long push for mass transit. But the difference this time could be in the details, something opponents say previous plans have lacked.

The Central Indiana Transit Task Force has proposed a plan with roughly 50 percent federal funding and a local portion centered on an income tax increase of three-tenths of 1 percent.

The last emphasis is mine. Most other media outlets that I’ve reviewed used similar language, something to the effect of “an increase of local income taxes by 0.3 percent,” or words to that effect.

As the veteran of covering many a city, county, school board and other governmental meeting, as well as the author of an untold number of budget stories, I immediately realized this description of the proposed tax increase was misleading.

With this usage, the media are saying that income taxes will rise by three-tenths of 1 percent — an infinitesimal amount. If I were paying $1,000 in taxes, this would mean a rise of just $3.

But that’s not what the proposal states. They’re talking about raising the effective income tax rate in Marion and Hamilton by 0.3 percent. Currently, the rate in Indianapolis/Marion County is 1.62 percent of income; the mass transit plan would bump it up to 1.92 percent.

In terms of how much local income taxes would change, this represents an increase of 18.5 percent — or $185 on that same $1,000 of current taxes cited above.

I think most taxpayers would agree there’s a pretty big difference between their taxes rising by 0.3 percent vs. 18.5 percent.

The same goes for marketing purposes. Whether you’re quoting from a survey or an auditing report, it’s important to present statistics to your audience in a way that is both clear and accurate. Muddying the waters by putting the numbers in a false context is a terrible way to build confidence in brands.

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli famously said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

The phrase has come to be associated with the idea that statistics can be manipulated or tweaked in ways to bolster virtually any argument. For example, witness  the current disagreement between the White House and Congressional Republicans about the latest employment figures: President Obama heralded the drop in the unemployment rate (down from 9.0 percent to 8.6 percent) while his political opponents noted that the decrease was mostly due to 350,000 people giving up looking for a job.

There had been much chatter lately in the real estate industry about home sales improving – until the National Association of Realtors revealed that many home sales since 2007 had been double-counted, resulting in an inflation of the number. Revised figures will be issued shortly … no doubt they will be received with a skeptical eye.

In Indiana, the big news has been the discovery of $320 million of money sitting around in state coffers. It had been collected from corporate taxes and placed in government bank accounts, but somehow never got moved over to the state’s operating budget for dispersal.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has done his darndest to spin this as a happy windfall for Indiana’s books. The state worker who discovered the error is even being singled out for praise and a possible reward.

But for a governor who prides himself on being a wonky fiscal expert, the shoddy accounting still leaves some egg on Daniels’ face. Democrats, concerned about deep cuts in state funding for education, are crying foul at the GOP proposal to return most of the money to taxpayers.

It just goes to show that cold, hard numbers don’t always tell the whole truth.