JP Aley  |  No Comments
Pinterest. What’s All the Buzz About?

Here at 815 Media, we like to pride ourselves on staying pretty up-to-date on the latest technology. Gadgets, social networks, web trends, etc…  We’re interested in that stuff, and what it can do for our clients.  So when we see an emerging trend out there, we pay careful attention.

Pinterest is one of those emerging trends that has caught our eye recently, and for good reason. According to USA Today and Hitwise, Pinterest is now one of the web’s Top Ten social networking sites. Not bad at all, for a site that technically is still not open to the public (you can request an invite on their site).

So what is this phenomena?  Well, think of Pinterest as a sort of online cork board.  Just like some other social networks, you can “Like”, “Repin”, comment, and share content from Pinterest to the masses.  If you are familiar with the basics of Facebook and Twitter, you will quickly pick up on Pinterest.

So, if it’s so similar to Twitter, Facebook, etc…, what makes it different, and why should you join it?  That’s probably largely a matter of personal opinion, and since Pinterest seems to still be an emerging trend, we probably don’t quite know exactly what it is yet.

I think of Pinterest as the new-age way to flip through a magazine.  For example, when I am flying, I am fascinated by the “Sky Mall” magazine.  Not because I necessarily need anything, but because it’s a potpourri of various items.  For somebody like myself, who is quite visual in nature, Pinterest is a great experience.  In just the several weeks that I have been a Pinterest member, I have gotten great ideas for my house, our office at 815 Media, my kids, and I’ve even bought a watch that somebody Pinned.  It’s a marketplace of visual ideas.  A marketplace that you can filter and browse with relative ease.

That’s a real short-winded, basic explanation of what Pinterest is.  It’s fun.  It’s helpful.  It’s free.  And, contrary to popular belief, it’s not just for women!  And, I’m betting that retailers, mom and pop shops, and other people looking to sell products, will start catching on to the Pinterest craze.  Time will tell, but Pinterest seems to be here for the long haul.  Leave us a comment, if you’re interested in an invite!

JP Aley  |  No Comments
‘Tis the Season… For Freebies!

At 815 Media, we recently finished our first “Freebie” giveaway.  We gave away an Apple iPad 2 as our grand prize, and also dished out some t-shirts, too.  Not only was this a fantastic way to introduce our company to people here in the Illinois Valley, and elsewhere, but we enjoyed seeing how surprised and excited the winners were, too.  At 815, we like to think that we do things a little differently, and to the best of our knowledge, nobody around here has ever done anything like this.  Congratulations again to our winners – we hope you’ll enjoy your new freebies!  To those who weren’t as lucky this time around, keep your chin up!  We plan on doing something like this again in the future.  If you missed out completely on this giveaway the first time around, make sure you sign up for our email newsletter, and “Like” us on Facebook.  Don’t worry – we won’t send you spam – we promise.

As the end of 2011 draws near, we want to pass along our sincere well wishes to you and yours.  We appreciate you supporting 815 Media, and look forward to a terrific new year ahead!  We have some great stuff planned for 2012, so stay tuned for more details!

JP Aley  |  No Comments
Discovering Art at Annies Little Pots

Annies Little Pots Princeton, IL

A few months ago, we began work on developing and designing a new website for Annies Little Pots.  We were excited to get moving on this project, because Annies is such a unique store for this area.

For those unfamiliar with Annies Little Pots, it’s located in Princeton, IL, right on Main Street, in the Princeton Art District.  As soon as you enter this beautifully restored 1880′s building, you’ll be greeted with all sorts of wonderful findings, including hand-made art from Central Illinois,  a wide variety of metal sculptures for your home and garden – trellises, arbors, plant stands, critters, and more!  The gallery also features beautiful original paintings, photography, jewelry, purses, and greeting cards.  All of the pottery is created by Ann Dittmer in her studio on-site. Read More

Landon Miller  |  45 Comments
Create a Simple HTML5 Contact Form

After reading up on HTML5 and hearing all the buzz, I decided to take a few minutes and create a simple form to help me learn a little more about it and maybe share a few things along the way. Accompanying me are 12 new input types, most of which I don’t use in this form, but are pretty snazzy.
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Landon Miller  |  5 Comments
Detect iPhone & iPad in PHP

Oh and this works for the iPod touch as well.  I’m aware that there are great mobile detection solutions out there but I was working with a client recently that has a flash logo animation on their site and unfortunately the source file was unavailable to tweak.  To accomplish this I applied a “simple fix” by using the following code to display alternate content if the visitor is using an Apple device.
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