Google knows what we searched for, and if we were we naughty or nice.  Check out Google Zeitgeist 2009.

The top searched public figures in 2009 that made the headlines and probably didn’t like the news:

IE: Naughty

1. bernie madoff
2. mark sanford
3. rod blagojevich
4. john edwards
5. silvio berlusconi
6. r allen stanford
7. tom daschle
8. john ensign
9. bill richardson
10. charles rangel

IE: Nice

One of the fastest rising 2009 Google mobile search terms: CTA Bus Tracker. Makes sense that it’s starting to get colder here in Chicago and patience for a late bus is not the same. What a cool tool to provide some hope to the weary, frozen traveler. Yes my bus is in fact 10 minutes behind schedule and I can at least see where that is on the map in real time. If I leave three minutes from now, I can still make the bus and minimize my frostbite. Excellent.

IE: Nicer

Better news, even a long wait on New Years Eve and early New Years Day is worth it. The CTA is offering penny rides again.

“The Chicago Transit Authority will continue its tradition of offering penny rides on New Year’s Eve beginning at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31 until 6 a.m. Thursday, January 1 (New Year’s Day).”

Full article available here: CTA Ride For a Penny

So take the bus, do some Google Zeitgeist on the way to the party for some interesting 2009 trivia, use the CTA Bus Tracker to know “exactly” when to leave the party, and have a happy and safe new year!

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Tom Lynch Categories: General

For businesses, an email signature is like a website on a micro scale.  You should definitely have one, but it needs to be done well to make the right statement about your business.  There are also various stylistic and technical issues to consider.  I like to think our email signature is pretty good.  Clean, simple, with a hint of color to make it stand out and represent our brand:

However, one of our clients stands out for having an all-around great email signature that I think should stand as example to others.  As part of our ePiphany issue focusing on inspiring work by our clients, we would like to show you the email signature from Demi and Cooper. They are a Chicago advertising agency we have worked with to provide webcam service for building development projects.  Their signature has a nice mix of clean and simple design, appropriate use of images, and inclusion of social media links.  Have a look at the signature of Walter Ottenhoff, who did the actual design for it:

	Walter Ottenhoff | Web Art Director/Manager | Demi & Cooper Advertising P 847.931.5800 | F 847.931.5801 | demicooper.com

If you’re going to use graphics in your signature, do so sparingly.  And be sure to host any images at your company’s website, referring to them there rather than including them as email attachments.  If social media links are appropriate, by all means include them and use the appropriate thumbnails.

A professional email signature should ideally be crafted by an experienced web designer.  The signature is basically just a little bit of HTML, but there are concerns specific to viewing in an email client.  Test in as many email clients as possible to be sure that people won’t see an unintended mess at the bottom of your emails. We recommend Litmus for an automated service to perform such testing.

If you can’t get a custom HTML signature, one free alternative is a Firefox browser plugin called WiseStamp.  Their signature edit tool would feel familiar to anyone who has used MS Word or blog authoring tools.  You can input your social media profile addresses and it will add links to them automatically, with some nice options for customizing their display.  WiseStamp will add your signature to all the common web mail clients.  You can even get the HTML from it (although without the social media links) to use in a desktop email client like Outlook.  One tip: be sure to uncheck the promote Wisestamp Project option in the settings.

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Andrew Crowe Categories: General, How To, Marketing, Technology, Web, ePiphany Featured Story

We couldn’t be prouder of the first member of the Astek team to complete the Chicago Marathon. He clocked in at 4:03:28 last Sunday, which is great especially for a first-timer! Andrew’s an inspiration to us all, inside the office and out. I took the photo below after the 24-mile mark in his final push and got him airborne.

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Andy Swindler Categories: Fun, General

Today America lost a great leader with the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. In the press coverage today remembering his many great achievements, it was mentioned that Senator Kennedy was the first member of Congress to have his own website! A friend shared this screenshot of his actual website from 1993.

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Full article.

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Katie Hawkey Categories: Fun, General, Technology, Web

I spent last Friday at the Neumann Association, an agency which serves the disabled with housing and many other programs.  I was invited to photograph their Summer Games event, which is normally held in a park but due to rain that day it was at their main building in Edgewater.  Since I was there on a weekday they considered Astek a sponsor and even put our logo on the T-shirt!  Pretty cool.  Look for it right in the middle on the back of the shirts in this photo.

It was a real treat to shoot photos all day and interact with the awesome clients and staff there.  Note that Illinois is on the verge of drastically slashing funding for such social services.  If you live in Illinois, please consider contacting your legislators about the issue.

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Andrew Crowe Categories: Fun, General

Andy and Katie presented on using Social Media and Social Networking Web sites to promote your self and your business at CoreNet Global Chicago Chapter’s Challenging Economy, Digital World learning workshops, May 5 & 19, 2009.

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Katie Hawkey Categories: General