Adapted from evolutionary biologist Dawkin’s  concept for gene-centered evolution, the term “meme” in modern day society has come to represent “the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena” via the internet.

A meme can be anything from a hyperlink to a video to even just a fad word or phrase intentionally misspelled or grammatically incorrect for internet use (ie: “epic fail”). With that said, it’s generally agreed that internet memes fall into one of six categories: self-promotion, inadvertent celebrity, urban rumors/ hoaxes, advertising, image editing and finally references to pop culture.

Typically spread via social networking sites or chain emails, memes have become an increasingly important form of non-invasive viral marketing, particularly when it comes to creating “buzz” before the launch of a new product or service. This is for two main reasons:

1) They’re usually inexpensive to create

2) It is difficult to track their origin (therefore users may not realize they’re being marketed to) once they’ve gone “viral”

While academics have taken strides to be able to predict the success, evolution and longevity of various memes, ultimately it remains hard to say what will catch on. Oftentimes however, humour and/or shock value play a key role.

According to research, the majority of internet memes are spread by teenagers and those within their early 20s and 30s. Because this demographic is generally seasoned when it comes to computers and the world wide web, memes often change over time via commentary, imitations or parody.

To learn more about how your small business in London, Ontario can take advantage of this new means of reaching mass audiences, contact one of our technical experts today at Inspiratica for a free consultation.

Accordingly, new positions, at businesses of all descriptions, such as “Tech Manager”, have popped up in recent years in order to handle the incoming traffic, along with produce new content on a regular basis.

Just how important is the incorporation of a simple RSS subscription feed to your site?

A recent article from London, Ontario’s LFPress noted that The New York Times Newspaper, recently “reported a 3.4% jump in revenue, citing the introduction of digital subscriptions as its flagship.”

But again “interactive” technologies do not merely benefit news media websites. Email newsletters, for example, allow companies to update interested customers (ie: those who subscribe) about new products, services, promotions and more. Some companies even use newsletters to wish their subscribers “Seasons Greetings” when Old Man Winter rolls around; something that makes customers truly feel valued beyond just the dollars they spend on your products/services.

Likewise, feedback forms, along with comment areas following recent blog posts encourage direct communication between customer and business representative(s). With so many of our required modern day services being provided by “faceless” corporate conglomerates, having the opportunity to directly interact with your customers and vise versa demonstrates your business cares. Additionally, customer feedback can help any business improve its current offerings, as well as come up with innovative directives in order to suit its customers’ changing needs.

Finally, beyond the aforementioned business benefits, blog and Twitter feeds too assist in obtaining higher rankings in popular search engines like Google.

For more information on how you can build an “interactive” web presence, contact Inspiratica today for a free consultation.

According to statistics compiled by MobiThinking, “half a billion people accessed mobile Internet worldwide in 2009. Usage is expected to double within five years as mobile overtakes the PC as the most popular way to get on the Web.” The recent enhanced availability of unlimited data plans offered by most major cellphone networks serves too as a testament to the growing popularity of mobile Internet browsing.

As our blog on HTML5 noted, one of the key downfalls in terms of Flash as a web coding language was/is its inability to be displayed on smartphone screens.

In an effort to lead the race within their own locale of London, Ontario, the team at Inspiratica is proud to be able to offer their clients “responsive” website design. In short, instead of having to create multiple versions of websites, each compatible with only a limited number of devices and/or browsers, responsive website design, as its namesake would suggest, “responds” directly to its web browsing environment.

Technically speaking, CSS3 coding has been expanded to include a new “media query” specification which allows web designers to build right into their coding not only website layout targets for various device classes, but further website layout targets based specifically on an actual inspection of the physical characteristics of the device displaying a given site. This is not to be confused with simple site “re-sizing” however.

Responsive web design allows for the customization of a website’s content by taking advantage of one’s elected web browsing device’s specs in order to designate the most effective means of display. In other words, if you’re viewing a website vertically on your Apple iPad and then for whatever purpose decide to tilt your screen to its horizontal axis, the website will instantaneously re-configure in order to best make use of its new allotted space parameters.

The benefit for web designers and developers? Increased efficiency resulting from the ability to make a single cross-platform compatible layout.

The benefit for small business owners desiring a website? Reduced costs and more potential customers.

Sounds like a win-win situation!

To learn more about how you can make your current website “responsive”, contact Inspiratica today for a free no-obligation consultation.

MusicWorld, BlockBuster, Sam the Record Man and now even Netflicks have either become defunct or are shortly on their way out. While the traditional music and movie industries are seemingly collapsing due to lost revenues as a result of illegal downloading and an increased interest in user-created content, the demand for mobile apps at 99 cents a pop has skyrocketed.

Not merely simple emergency communications devices any longer, the “cellphone” has metamorphosized into an all-in-one gadget equipped with emailing, file storage, task management, note taking, audio/video recording, internet browsing, photographic, instant messaging and navigational capabilities. It doubles as an alarm clock when you’re on the road, allows you to quickly perform mathematical calculations, provides you with regular updates to RSS feeds of your choice and functions for many as a means of keeping track of one’s daily agenda. Did I mention you get all of that WITHOUT the purchase of any additional features and/or services?

Android users can now add “convertible gaming console” to the list. Confirmed by Google’s Framework Engineer, Romain Guy, via Twitter, basically instead of having to lug around a PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo, your mobile device, thanks to the implementation of HDMI technology, is now able to act as an interactive entertainment computerized system.

As one tech writer explains, “in short, you [can] hook up an external gamepad to a USB-to-microUSB adapter on the [phone], connect it to your TV and transform your handset into a fancy portable gaming console” (Engadget.com).

Of course with any innovation, the market will issue a response (ie: more gaming apps!) If you’re interested in finding out how your small business can take advantage of the mobile app world, contact Inspiratica today for a complimentary one-on-one consultation.

While the term “web design” refers to the actual layout of your site’s content (includes: text, image, video, logo and menu placement) as well as the amount of pages a given site will house, “web development” defines the coding that will be used (i.e.: flash, javascript, html) and whether the site has built into its backbone user-friendly software for the client, such as a “content management system” (CMS).

Beyond these fundamentals however, in order to launch an online presence, one must also purchase and maintain a “domain name” (i.e.: .ca, .com) via a domain registry such as Netpros.ca Domain names typically need to be renewed on an annual or biannual basis, depending upon one’s purchasing agreement. Generally speaking, buying years in bulk is more cost-effective and also better protects you from having someone else scoop up your domain because you’ve missed your expiration notice.

The purchasing of a direct domain versus having a website hosted by a free server also provides you with the benefit of being able to create email addresses associated with your domain (i.e.: info@inspiratica.ca); something that makes your business look that much more professional.

The final piece of the equation is “web hosting”. Without getting into any unnecessary technical jargon, in a nutshell, in order for a website to be active, online and accessed remotely, it must be hosted by a server that has an uninterrupted internet connection. Ideally, the server that hosts your site will have a fast and reliable internet connection and is stored in a secure location.

There are two common types of web hosting available for most consumers: “shared hosting” and “dedicated hosting”. Shared hosting involves putting a large number of websites on a single server, while dedicated hosting or “semi-dedicated hosting” involves putting a small number of websites on a single server. It’s important to note that the more websites that are hosted by a given server, the higher the likelihood of slowed speeds and poorer performance for users accessing one of the hosted sites.

Like domain registration, web hosting is an ongoing expense (packages are typically monthly or annual) that requires monitoring. Depending upon the complexity of your website (i.e.: the amount of pages as well as media content) and your security preferences, prices vary for this service. Netpros.ca again offers affordable web hosting rates for small businesses and has been voted one of the best in London, Ontario for its services.

From start to finish, approving your final design and development considerations all the way to electing the right web hosting package, we pride ourselves on our ability to complete our clients’ projects within a month long timeframe, on average.

Once a business’ online vision has been brought to life, it’s important to keep it current and on trend. Content management software, such as that designed by our technical experts at Inspiratica, allows even clients who have limited computer proficiencies to be able to easily update news feeds and more.

Complete website re-designs are recommended approximately every two years (or in conjunction with new campaign launches) to maximize your site’s functionality, marketability and security features.

As per the design’s construction, the basic idea is to have the top lid of the Macbook feature a mirror to attract the sun’s rays. The energy emanated from the sun will then be processed via built-in photovoltaic cells (which convert the energy into electricity) in order to supplement an LED backlight.

While it’s clearly an on-trend and inspired idea, Apple fans have already started to point out some notable design issues: namely the fact that in order to achieve maximum efficacy, the Macbook would have to be constantly pointed at and unobstructed from the sun.

Those of us who reside in areas such as London, Ontario, characterized by humid continental climates, obviously weren’t in mind when this idea was conceived. Irrespective of this, it is encouraging to see more and more businesses, especially one with Apple’s influence, taking the initiative to become more “eco-oriented”; something the team here at Inspiratica definitely supports.

To learn more about how we’re doing our part, please click here.

We hate to continually stroke Google’s ego, but they’ve really got a toe-hold in terms of coming up with innovative and useful web and mobile applications (apps, for short).

Following the recent 7.2 earthquake in Turkey, Google released a personalized version of their “Person Finder” app to help Turkish victims search and hopefully find their missing loved ones.

Originally launched in 2010 following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, “Person Finder” is an open source web application that provides a registry and message board for survivors, family and loved ones affected by natural disasters to post and search for information about each other’s statuses and whereabouts.

Hosted by Google’s App Engine, “Person Finder” is multi-lingual and houses an associated Picasa account to allow victims to submit photos corresponding to the name lists posted in emergency shelters.

While “missing persons” lists are nothing new, the problem that was occurring is that many different non-related organizations offer this service and prior to Google’s implementation of the People Finder Interchange Format (PFIF) application programming interface for its app, there was no such thing as a master list which combined all of those developed by the various emergency relief organizations.

Sites that adopt PFIF formatting are able to export and transmit data to each other. End users accessing the software widget (pictured) can also directly embed “Person Finder” into their own web pages.

Japan’s “Person Finder” currently houses information about approximately 2000 missing individuals related to the tsunami disaster earlier this year.

All data collected by “Person Finder” is publicly available to any user. Accordingly, Google has posted a disclaimer warning users that it does not overview entered information for accuracy or truthfulness. Unfortunately, abuse of the system has already been reported in terms of false entries and worse, false recovery reports.

If your small London, Ontario-based business requires the development of an open source web application or registry, don’t hesitate to contact Inspiratica today for a free consultation.

According to statistics recently compiled by the Canadian Cancer Society, “40% of women and 45% of men in Canada will develop cancer during their lifetimes.” Of even more significance to public health concerns, “on average, an estimated 1,310 children and youth aged 0–19 years develop cancer each year.”

While Canada has been successful in developing effective treatments contributing to an overall decline in mortality rates in recent years, further research in this area is needed.

Inspiratica is proud to be teaming up with Scholar’s Choice this fall in support of their “I Am One Person” campaign, which aims to raise funds for ongoing pediatric cancer research.

We strongly believe in this campaign and are happy to do our part. We are excited to become a part of this campaign this year and facilitate online donations for “I Am One Person”; a feature absent from last year’s fundraising efforts.

We are optimistic that our team’s contributions will further the success of Scholar’s Choice’s mission.

Make your donation today at http://iamoneperson.org

Previously, website traffic data was available after a certain time period, ranging from three hours to one day. But now, you can monitor the happenings on your website as they happen!

Google Analytics users can now monitor how many visitors are active on their website at the moment, how much traffic is being driven from any source at that specific time. This means you can easily find out what medium suits you best for the promotion of your site.

To activate the new Google Analytics dashboard you need to login to Google Analytics and click the ‘New Version’ link in your header, near the ‘Sign Out’ link.

The best part about Google Analytics Real-Time Monitoring is that IT IS COMPLETELY FREE!!!

Released last month, the smartphone technology allows users to ditch their old-fashioned physical wallets, along with all of the rewards cards causing them to burst at the seams.

As Google explains, “you’ll be able to store your credit cards, offers, loyalty cards and gift cards…without the bulk. When you tap to pay, your phone will also automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points for you“. Additionally, the app’s “smart” technology is able to recommend the latest in new and upcoming offers, personalized to your past purchasing history.

On the merchant side of the equation, the use of Google Wallet will also speed up the checkout process considerably.

While currently only accepted at select retail locations and compatible with Sprint’s Nexus 4G, Google is working diligently on making the app accessible across all major networks and with any smartphone, worldwide.

Beyond eliminating unnecessary bulk, customers who make the switch will also benefit from the enhanced security “paying digitally” offers. As one tech writer jokes, “to unlock my phone, you need to know my password. To unlock my wallet, you only need to figure out how to open a wallet.” Like a regular debit card transaction, Google Wallet also requires the programming of a unique PIN number for use.

To learn more about how your London, Ontario-based small business can take advantage of new marketing opportunities like e-coupons and mobile application development, contact Inspiratica today for a free consultation.