February | 2012 | Aqua Vita

2.29.2012
Serious Stuff

Google Privacy Changes: Don’t Panic

Published by Jessica Cox under Serious Stuff

Google brings a massive Privacy Policy Update live tomorrow!

What does this mean for you?

Everything you do on Google, Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs or any of the other 60+ properties of the Google-verse will be tracked, and the data shared.

Basically if a tree falls in the Google-verse, they will be able to measure the impact, wind speed, and how many chipmunks were affected on the other side of the forest.

The National Association of Attorneys General were not happy:

“Google’s new privacy policy is troubling for a number of reasons.”

“On a fundamental level, the policy appears to invade consumer privacy by automatically sharing personal information consumers input into one Google product with all Google products.”

Fun Fact: You can’t opt out.

You’re in for the whole ride. Unless you want to stop using all Google properties.

Why are they doing this?

Google wants to tailor the web just for you. They will use all the information they have about you to tailor your results to perfection. This means over time, no two search results will look the same.

This should come as little shock to you.

After all, Facebook knows your age, sex, religion, political affiliation, whether you are dating, what year you graduated from college, how you spend your free time, and whether you like Star Wars.

Wowzers.

Photo by keso

The Nerdery

Tulsa Web Developer Delusions

Published by Cassie Imel under The Nerdery

Where would we be without them?

Thanks to weknowmemes.com for the laughs!

2.27.2012
The Nerdery

Social Media Explained

Published by Joshua Lee under The Nerdery

Sometimes, social media can seem a little confusing.

Sure, you have the big guys, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, that everybody knows. But what about the new ones that everybody seems to suddenly be talking about, like Foursquare or Pinterest? Where do those fit in?

Well, Douglas Wray posted this picture over at Instagram, which explains social media with donuts.

Yes, this sums it up nicely.

2.22.2012
The Nerdery

Comic Book Office Wall

Published by Cassie Imel under The Nerdery

We love comic books.

Epic stories. Heroes struggling to save the world. It’s great motivation for the office:

We featured the The Fatal Attraction arc, the Captain America “Fighting Chance” storyline, Classic Spiderman from the 1980s, and the 30th anniversary of Spiderman.

Staff favorites:

Uncanny X-Men: Enter the Mutant Called Gambit. The first appearance of Gambit, Storm’s origin story, and the return of the Shadow King.

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time. DC Heroes and villains battle Parallax (former Green Lantern Hal Jordan).

2.01.2012
Design Inspiration, Serious Stuff

Branding Design Strategy: A 5-Year-Old’s Perspective

Published by Jessica Cox under Design Inspiration, Serious Stuff

Fantastic video from Ladd Design. His five year old looks at various logos without the names to see what impression she gets from each one.

This video demonstrates how logos provide memorability, but they are not the brand. She associates and remembers logos based on her life experiences so far with these brands.

For the brands she recognizes, she gives distinct examples. For ones she doesn’t recognize, she uses logic to arrive at what the logo is. Those brands are a big part of her life, so this video helps us get a better understanding of branding.

Branding encompasses the entire impact your product/service has on a consumer’s life. Logos are the touchstone they remember best. Great brands are built on great experiences for their customers.