Aqua Blue Creative Development is pleased to announce the addition of Everett Steele and his wife Allison to its leadership team. Everett Steele is a fourth generation entrepreneur and a former United States Army officer, and Iraq veteran. Allison is an experienced marketer and has worked with brands including Louisville Slugger and the Department of Defense. Many Atlantans know Everett’s father, Ricky Steele, as a serial entrepreneur and guru of networking in the Atlanta tech community. Allison and Everett are both University of Georgia graduates.

With an influx of interest towards mobile marketing, many companies are wondering why the need to get involved and how they can build a mobile site and apps.  Many people are now asking what is the "ROI" of entering the mobile space.  Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO of Eastman Kodak Company, asks what is the "ROI (Return on Ignoring)" the need to enter the mobile market.

There is a lot of fear around implementing social media in business. Because social media seems new to a lot of traditional organizations, many companies are trying to balance the harm of exposing their organization to social media against the harm of not entering the market. So what is the best answer?

Atlanta, June 2, 2010 - Aqua Blue Creative Development, Atlanta interactive development and marketing experts, announced today a strategic partnership with the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA) to manage development of AiMA’s digital presence.  The partnership includes developing and managing the new AiMA web site, www.atlantaima.org, member database and deployment of communications across channels.  Aqua Blue Creative Development also becomes an AiMA Gold Sponsor.

            In gearing up to start this blog, I thought I’d garner a little insight from Peter Drucker. Drucker’s Managing for Results is one of the pinnacles of business, as we know it today. Written in 1964, Drucker is a pioneer in conceptualizing “business strategy” (the term “strategy” was never really applied to business before this).

"Should social media be integrated into your organization's marketing initiatives, or should it be a stand-alone campaign?"

Launching a new website is kind of like having a baby- the process is long, and patience is a virtue. Like any birth, the process goes much more smoothly with careful thought and planning. 

Coming from a development background, I can attest to the fact that, in general, developers have their own methodologies and do not like to be forced to do things in ways that are not their own. However, when it comes to creating or editing a website, there are certain requirements that you should insist your developer meet.

There is a law known as Section 508 which requires federal agencies to make their electronic data accessible to people with disabilities. While 508 compliance is of course not required for most websites, it is a good standard to adhere to, for a number of reasons. You always want visitors to your site to be able to find what they need without a problem. And if you want search engines to easily find your content, 508 compliance will improve your SEO as well.

One of the latest trends in web development is building online communities rather than non-interactive websites to promote a product or service.  I found this article, "How to Kill a Community in 10 Easy Steps," and its a valuable resource for anyone building a community-based site as a stand-alone site or to promote a product/service.  Sometimes its easier to tell people what NOT to do rather than pointing them in the right direction. Here are the best strategies for building an online community based on what has worked for my clients: