Every fall we close the office for a day and set off on a secret mission.  The night before we get basic information like what to wear and where and when to meet, but nothing else. This years mission: build the fastest and best looking derby airplane and dominate at the bowling alley. Although this might seem like a silly mission to you, the goal is simple: have fun, get to know the people you work with in a new way, and maybe win something in the process.

Job Search Tip #1: follow directions. Seems obvious right? Well you would be amazed at how many applicants don’t. Here at ::play:: we are currently searching for a graphic designer. In the posting I request the following: resume, portfolio, and a list of your 3 favorite sites. Less than 25% of applicants to date have included the sites. I wonder why this is? Is this generation so adverse to reading something start to finish? Do they think that my idea was silly thus making it optional?

What ever the reason, all these applicants have been red flagged.  If you can’t follow application requests how are you going to take direction from clients and teammates?

So take that extra minute or two to reread the posting, make sure you have provided all info (and attachments). It will be worth it in the long run.

I read a powerful quote the other day….”when we change the things we see, the things we see start to change”.   Got me thinking…. in today’s economy….this is the difference between businesses that flourish and ones that wither and die.  Everyone is making cuts, but too many cuts and in the wrong places means you’re left without the resources to sustain and grow revenues.  Hats off to the business owners, executives and employees who keep turning in their old glasses and seeing smarter, more creative ways to multiply profitability and increase margins. Making change not just for change’s sake but change based on what the end-user wants.  You know… “give the people what they want” sort of thing.

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If you have ever had to guide a Graphic Designer into the world of designing for the web, you are familiar with the ‘Font Conversation’.  Its that moment where you say, you know all those cool fonts you have on your computer well you can’t use them, from now on only pick from this list of web safe fonts. As they review the dozen or so fonts they are left with, you can tell they are unimpressed.

But web design isn’t bad, it just has some different rules. So, how can you pass all of these guidelines along without frustrating the designer? One way is by enabling them. Give them simple tools that will help them understand. A great example I just came across is Typetester. With no HTML / CSS knowledge you can play with fonts the same way the coder would. Its fun and easy with the guidelines built-in.

A favorite ritual at ::play:: is the afternoon smoothie! Right about 2:30. Totally trumps coffee, bag-o-nuts, power bar, walk across the street, 7th inning co-worker stretch. The ice, the fruit, the froth….seriously gotta try it! Like someone hit the “restart” button and the day just magically started over.

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We are thrilled to announce The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has awarded our team the statewide contract ITT37 for Internet Hosting and Access Services, including web design and e-Learning. Like a chapter out of the David and Goliath legend, our small but versatile, woman-owned technology studio beat out web communications giants Verizon and Qwest to emerge as an IT partner with The Commonwealth.

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We recently decided to add a personal video greeting to one of our sites. So we painted a wall green, pulled out the video equipment, and got to work. Here are some photos of the shoot.

 NOTE: It says director on Greg’s hat, so it must be true.

Growing up, the kitchen was the ‘worker’ space where Mom would shoo away curious party guests. So my sister and I would slip through a narrow doorway to fetch pigs stuffed in blankets, olives trays and Gouda cheese balls that apparently the oompa loompas had whipped together inside the linoleum-lined food factory [aka a 10×12 space with brown rolling chairs and orange formica counters clearly designed by Mike Brady]. And heaven forbid a guest needed another drink, we’d jump up and fetch it. No way Mom would have gone for the big leaking ice bucket on the floor or guests grabbing from her frig.

Okay, so maybe you’re too young to remember life this way. But trust me when I say that the change from old [closed] to new [open] kitchen designs is at the heart of the “us” versus ”them” divide.

Check it out. —- When I got my own house, my parents wigged over the wide open kitchen that overlooked the great room. By the way they wanted to know what happened to the living room? And what the heck was a great room? But the big hang-up….“your guests will see you cooking!”. Yeah Mom & Dad. That’s the general idea. The real party is inside the kitchen. And by the way, my friends like to show up early and help cook and they bring food that has nothing to do with the menu theme. Oh wait, there is no menu and no theme. Just food. Fingers allowed. My invitation isn’t even printed. Neither is the thank you note.

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You know the drill. You’re mucking around with co-workers when the boss rounds the corner. Like ants scattering to avoid a boot, you dive in the nearest office and blurt out random work phrases like “let me know if you want me to take another look at that?” The boss grunts. Does he know? Did he see us laughing? Uh, yeah. Of course he knows. That’s not the real question. The real question is, what is he going to do about it?

Probably nothing. Until the day he just can’t take it anymore and replaces you with someone too new for co-worker chats in the hallway. Wow, that’s productive. Welcome to Corporate America.

In the late 1990s GenYers tried to do it better. Twenty-five-year-old CEOs introduced ping pong tables, tents for nap time and employees on the ‘beach’. Every corporate shirt pulling 60 hours a week from a cubicle was scheming for a virtual cash-cow over beers with friends. Then ooops, it was time to start showing a profit and the .net playground ended in cascading bankruptcies and vacationing VC firms. Twenty-something grads who just lectured Mom & Dad about ‘the new world order’ were served a well seasoned dish of crow. A big victory for grown-ups everywhere. Or was it?

What if GenYers had it right? What if they had tapped into something more powerful than a paycheck? What if they just didn’t know how to execute it?

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