Community: “A group of people with a common characteristic or interest…”, this is how Webster’s defines a community. This idea is something very crucial to our species. Humans are social beings that build communities. Look around you, you live in a town community, you work in an office community. You belong to local communities and organizations and you enjoy these things. It is almost weird, not to be part of the community. “Outsiders, ewww, gross.” We all want to be part of something. To interact and engage is to be part of the community. The keywords in this phrase being interaction and I.

Social networks are enablers for creating interaction and engagement which are the foundation for community building. Instantaneous information allows individuals to discover those individuals with similar interests. I can go on Facebook and find other people with the taste in music, art, food, weekend activity, you name it, there is probably a group for it. By joining the group I become part of the community and am able to contribute through interactions and engagement.

I can go on Twitter and search for people who tweet about things that I am interested in. Perhaps it’s a cool new restaurant or a popular topic in the news. I am able to share my opinions just like we were having a face to face conversation. I can subscribe to lists and search hash tags to keep up with the conversations. A community has been formed and I am now a contributing member.

Or I can hop on LinkedIn and find like-minded professionals with valuable insights into my profession. Once I find my peers, I can check out the groups that they are in, join those groups and you guessed it, interact and engage the members of said groups. Viola! A new community has been formed.

You may think, well what good is a community if it’s spread half-way around the world. The reality is that, social networks can be vast, but you can focus on the specific by finding those individuals in your already existing, real-life communities. This is where the community building takes off: the ability to find common interests with locals and then interact and engage with the locals. Prior to social networks, I may have to talk to 50 people before I found someone who likes Fugazi, one of the weird bands I listen to. However now, I can easily find the Fugazi fans out there and we can discuss the classics.

As businesses, consider the possibilities. You define your target consumers with specific characteristics. Take those characteristics and define what type of communities they would be found in. Perhaps the characteristics you chose were A.independent, B.young, C.socially conscious and D. empowered. These individuals may be found in online communities centered on politics or local social movements. My point being is that the people are there, they are organized and social networks have enabled the building of your community, whatever your interests.

So with that,Welcome to our community, feel free to share a comment and interact with us; become part of the community!

The Apple Tablet?

The online grape vines are a-buzz with talks of Apple’s proposed tablet computer which could possibly “change the news media”, what Steve Jobs says is “the most important thing he has ever done” and what one Twitter user claims “to be able to remove lipstick from collar.”  Okay so maybe it won’t do all those things, but 2/3 isnt bad.  Get ready world; the itablet cometh, at least thats what’ve heard.

On Wednesday, Jan. 27th Apple will quiet all these rumors with a press event titled “Come See Our Latest Creation.” Although, there are no specifics as to what will be unveiled, there is visual evidence that an event is being planned. To witness the event first hand, you can watch live via Gizmodo.

So what you can expect from Apple this Wednesday:

• The rumor mill is leaning heavily towards the unveiling of a tablet computer for Apple. For Steve Jobs to come out and unveil something different would be a complete let down for tech-fans across the globe. Plus, Paddy Power, a UK bookkeeping service, is taking bets on the tablet’s name. So far “islate” is favorited with 4/5 odds and ‘itablet” is at 6/1 odds.

• A tablet computer with multi-touch screen interface, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi and the ability to download print media including books, magazines, newspapers and textbooks. These are the supposed key features for the tablet, which is beginning to sound a lot like a large version of the iphone. The separating factor will be the subscriptions offered for traditional print media.

• A device that looks and acts like an enlarged iphone. Online concepts stay true to the iphone’s design. The user-interface will most likely include Apple’s multi-touch technology, which is being introduced across an array of Apple  products.

• An explosion of tweets leading up to and following the event in San Francisco. Search #itablet in Twitter and you can keep up to date with all the rumors and add your own thoughts to the mix.

The proposed Apple tablet computer will be entering markets occupied by net books and e-readers like the Kindle. But, as we can always expect from Apple, the tablet will be something completely unique and stand in a field of its own. Just as the ipods did in the portable mp3 market and the iphone in the cell phone market. The big question is who will provide service to the tablet computer and will it be determined by the size of their map?

With iPhones, 3Gs and the ubiquitous Google; us humans have become accustomed to having answers at our finger tips. Just as long as we could type in our question.  However, how often have you been out with friends staring at some big monumental piece of architecture and wondered, hmmmm, I wonder what this is but have no way to describe it? Or perhaps you have a book you are interested in learning about but don’t have enough motivation to type in the title.  Or maybe even you receive a business card and would like more information on the company but once again do not desire to type in the full contact information.

Viola! Your wants and desires are once again satiated by Google.  Google Labs released Google Goggles on Monday.  Google Goggles is a visual search tool for Android Devices.  Snap a photo and Google Goggles is able to decipher what your picture is and search based on your picture.

Due to its freshness, the new technology does have its limitations.  For now, Google Goggles is only available on Android enabled smart phones.  (Don’t fret iPhone users, you can utilize other augmented reality applications for your visual search needs.)  Also, not all subjects are easily recognized by Google Goggles; think more general objects like food, cars, animals and people.  The Goggles will recognize artwork, business cards, landmarks, logos and books.

This technology could open up new realms of search optimization and internet marketing. Imagine a world where search optimization plays a roll in the manufacturing phase of products and buildings.   Will search’s influence continue to grow and take us to this level?

Becoming a popular, widely-used tool takes time and a lot of public speculation.  Looking back through history,  some of the greatest inventions and innovations initially deemed useless have left significant impact on society.  Things like cell phones, Velcro, and the Internet.  These inventions all faced initial public apprehension and  criticism but have since proven to significantly improve society and its processes.

Twitter falls into this category of being extremely beneficial but facing public apprehension and criticism.   With over 40 million users since its 2006 birth, Twitter is one of the fastest growing forms of communication to date.  The services rapid growth has provided many potential benefits to business as well as personal use.  However, apprehension about using the service is excluding many from the benefits of having a Twitter account.

Branding / Marketing
Twitter has the potential to be an extension of your brand.  Through participation in Twitter conversations, your business has the opportunity to create a positive image in the customers’ minds.  Involvement generates awareness, which in turn, will bring your brand to the forefront of customers’ minds when they are in the marketplace making decisions.  Not only can Twitter build awareness, it also adds a personal level to your company and its brand.   Take a look at this list of companies who utilize Twitter to present a personal side of their business.  Most tweets are not specifically about selling a product or service, but rather focused on the idea and image behind the specific product and service.  Take for example, Starbucks’ Twitter feed which does not attempt to push the Venti Latte but rather captures the aura of Starbucks’ brand and identity.  Creating this identity makes your Twitter page interesting thus making your business interesting.

Communication
Furthermore, Twitter provides an extremely low-cost method of being directly involved with consumers’ communication.  First, Twitter can be used to target the users of your product.  After locating these users, you can become involved in their conversations through answering questions, providing insights or just providing general information about your business.  Take Kogi BBQ, a mobile Korean BBQ Taco Truck based out of Los Angeles, CA., as a an example of an information provider.  Kogi uses Twitter to inform customers of the locations of its various BBQ trucks.  Visit their Twitter page and you will see various tweets about each individual truck’s location and special lunch deals.  With 46,926 followers, Kogi has found an inexpensive way to keep its customers informed and interested in their service through Twitter.

Creating Beneficial Relationships
Creating a brand and successful communication on Twitter can lead to the building of a successful business relationship.  Having the successful business relationship involves a combination of sharing information and handling customer’s inquiries and complaints.  Local cable provider, Comcast, has excelled at using Twitter as a hub for customer service.  Senior Director of Comcast’s National Customer Service, Frank Eliason, uses his Twitter account to field customer complaints, comments and service issues.  By using Twitter, Eliason has made providing cable, a very impersonal service, personal through Twitter.  Check out Comcast’s Twitter page to see Elison in action, handling questions and creating goodwill for Comcast’s customers.

These three examples scratch the surface of how Twitter can be utilized.  With a growing base of users, Twitter’s potential for business grows daily.  Becoming involved with the service now will generate more opportunities for your business in the future.  Take the leap and get involved with the new wave of communication at http://www.twitter.com.  Now is the perfect time to sign up and follow VQC Designs because we are giving away a brand new Acer Netbook!  Visit VQC Designs’ Twitter-Hunt page for more details.

Don your best tweed jacket and tobacco pipe and call up your friend Watson for VQC’s upcoming contest, The Twitter-Hunt.  A twitter-exclusive scavenger hunt existing solely within the Twitter-verse of VQC Designs twitter feed.  Finding VQC’s questions and providing the correct answers could score you a sweet, sexy and very mobile Acer – Aspire One Netbook!

We will be showcasing the tiny netbook’s large capabilities on November 12th at the 2009 Harrisburg Chamber Business Expo being held at the PA Farm Show Complex.  Here you will get a chance to hang out with VQC Designs and see first-hand the beauty, size and power of the netbook.  Also, by attending the Expo and visiting our booth, #440, you’ll be giving yourself a better chance to own the netbook for yourself.  All you need to attend is a business card and you will be granted free admission into the Expo.

For the twitter-hunt you can view the complete details page at vqcdesigns.com/netbook.  For now, here is a quick run-down of how things will unfold.  In the next week, questions will be tweeted from our twitter account: twitter.com/vqcdesigns.  Each question will be numbered and have the hash tag #VQC.  The hash-tag is imperative for us to keep track of who is chatting.  Therefore, no hash tag, no netbook.

Once a question is posted, you will retweet the question to become eligible for that specific question.  Once you have “re-tweeted” the question, you may send us your answer through direct-message on Twitter to @vqcdesigns.  Be sure to note the question number in your answer so we’re able to correctly identify which answers correspond with what questions.  Each question you answer correctly provides you with another chance in the drawing to win the netbook. Due to our hectic work schedule and the desire to not make this too easy, we will be tweeting questions at random, so you better check often so as to not miss a question.

So how does attending the Harrisburg Expo pay off?  Well aside from spending time with the guys and gals from VQC designs, you’ll also have a leg-up on the competition of the twitter-hunt.  A few of our questions will be strictly derived from the happenings of the Farm Show complex on November 12th.  It could be anything from how much is the popcorn at the vendor stand to what color shoes is the guy wearing at the booth next to VQC’s.  Therefore, attending and answering questions correctly will undoubtedly increase your chances in comparison to those who decide to stay home.  Good times and chances at free stuff, come on, how could you NOT show up, it’s elementary my dear, Watson.

ClickableNow.com – Clickable Now is the twitterverse’s newest and coolest improvement; twitter backgrounds that have clickable links!  Clickable provides a means to place live, active links in your twitter background.  Now your sweet twitter background will actually be clickable and drive traffic to your blog or website and not just look freakin’ awesome.

Building Twitter backgrounds is quite easy with a basic Photoshop knowledge and idea for a background.  Utilizing this nice Photoshop template you can easily create a background and check its compatibility with Twitter Background.  Once you have your background established and uploaded on twitter, go through ClickableNow.com to drag and drop links into your background and begin the driving of traffic to your website! Enjoy the added traffic and make sure to check out our twitter background @vqcdesigns.

Photo courtesy of Luc Legay

Consider a typical networking event where you exchange business cards, meet new people, eat lots of cheese cubes and make contacts.  Social media is the business mixer of the 21st century and Card-ly is your digital business-card for the digital mixer.

Card-ly aggregates your online contact information in one sleek little website or “card.” The card offers an about page, a page for your social media pages, a page for business contact info and a page which streams your updates.  This thing has everything.

Imagine the possibility of placing your Card-Ly URL on your actual business card.  Now your contacts can call you, follow your tweets, facebook you, subscribe to your blog and check out your flickr shots with one, short, simple URL.

Head over to Card-ly to improve your networking opportunities today!  Be sure to check out our business card: http://www.card.ly/vqcdesigns.

P.S. we’ll keep you posted on the cheese cubes moving online as well!

It takes two to tango.  It also takes two to use technology, the user and the piece of technology.  Hence our new weekly blog covering the wonderful world of technology.  We spend all week dancing around the internet and come Tuesday we are ready to perform.  Each week VQC will highlight a piece of the tech world which caught our eye and will hopefully catch yours.

This week we’ll take a dive into augmented reality; would you like the red pill or the blue pill?  Okay, so augmented reality may not be on the level of the Matrix, but once it becomes widely available, augmented reality will redefine the way people use their mobile devices.  The technology allows a live digital image of a physical environment to be integrated with virtual information.  Take a moment to let the gears grind and imagine the possibilities this technology offers to users. Check out these examples to get a better idea of what AR offers.

Info for shoppers

FoodTracer concept+demo from gusepo on Vimeo.

This past summer an Augmented Reality Consortium of 8 AR companies was formed with a focus on developing tools, technology, applications, and content for AR.  This technology has been conceptual for nearly a decade and is now being pushed towards widespread application.  President of the consortium and CEO of Ogmento, Ori Inbar, has gone as far as to refer to this technologies development as a “digital renaissance.”

One of the leading companies of this digital renaissance is Layar based in The Netherlands.  Layar, a mobile “reality browser”, launched in June 2009 has recently become available globally on all Android Devices.   I’ll allow the video below speak for itself.  Just imagine the possibilities yourself.

“I view ceramics in two ways. First as a bold and even subtle expression of form and second as a canvas that gives the form its final statement of expression.”

-Tim Hoover

Tim Hoover is the next artist we will be featuring during the 2009 Gallery Walk. Don’t forget to check out the other artists and we hope to see you on September 13th!

Tim was born on May 12, 1965 in Boise, Idaho. He moved to Carlisle in 1973 and attended Big Spring High School, where Tim’s appreciation of art began. In the summer of 1983, he was accepted into the summer session of the Pennsylvania Governor’s School of Arts Program. He went on to further study art and ceramics at Kutztown University. In 1991, sponsored by the American Crafts Council, Tim went to Japan where he studied with several potters. He attended Kutztown University as an art major, specializing in ceramics, wood and painting.

In addition to his paintings, he continues to push ceramics with visual imagery of 2-D designs onto a 3-D format.  Tim’s work can be found in the Perry County council of the Arts Gallery, and in Carlisle at The Garden Gallery and the Carlisle Arts Learning Center. Tim’s work is also owned by a  number of private collections overseas and the state headquarters for the Comanche Tribe, in Lawton Oklahoma.
Tim resides in Carlisle where he maintains a studio and continues to work in ceramics and painting.

Special thanks to:

James Krabiel – Game On

Our next featured artist is James Krabiel.  James work will be on display on September 13th during the 21st Annual Art Association of Harrisburg Gallery Walk.  Be sure to visit VQC Designs during the walk to enter a chance to win Jame’s art.

It was at the age of eight when James gained an interest in art, first through comics, and cartoons. It was then that he began attending the Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented and upon completion of that program in 1997; he began attending the Governors School for the Arts in Norfolk Virginia. He finished the Governors program upon graduating from high school in 2001.  James was featured in Who’s Who of American High School Students of 2001. And held a successful show at the Kane Marie fine arts gallery in Virginia Beach.

Shortly after graduating high school James relocated to Carlisle Pennsylvania where he began working for Ron Stinson, a metal sculptor in Carlisle, at Ron’s Metal Expressions studio. In 2001, James began attending the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, graduating with honors in May of, 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in fine art. In 2009, he accepted a position in the Dickinson College Art Department as an art lab technician.

James now resides in Carlisle were he maintains a studio at the Haverstick Gallery & Studios and continues to work in diverse media such as ceramics, paints and metal.

Special thanks to the Garden Gallery for providing the artists and their art

Proceeds Benefit