KeyLimeTie Blog
Thanks to our employees, I'm pleased to announce we were just named as one of “Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For” by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). Here's a link to the press release we just issued about the honor as well.
In a nutshell, we're thrilled and thankful. It reflects the effort and consideration we’ve put into developing a constructive, relaxed work environment that has enabled us to attract and retain some of Chicago's most talented individuals.
What's great about this honor is we were selected thanks to our employees' responses to surveys the NABR distributed to our employees. They expressed their enjoyment of working at KeyLimeTie in such a way that ranked us in the top 101 companies in the area.
So, to that we say thanks. Thanks to everyone who each day makes KeyLimeTie what we are. We're honored to be on this list.
Just when you thought all the good domain names were taken, there's now a new opportunity to snap up a memorable domain—or even your brand name if your .com is taken. If you have a registered trademark, you can apply register yourname.co via the .CO Registrars today. If you don't have a trademark, you'll be able to get it as early as June 21.
What's this all about? Just like .biz, .info and .name, .co is the latest of what the industry refers to as "top-level domains" to be offered for domain name registration. The unique thing about .CO is it already carries similar credibility as .com around the world (think .co.uk, .co.au etc.) and that this is the first time .CO domains are being offered as top-level. If you're interested in background information, check out this Wired Magazine article on .CO domains.
Is it worth grabbing?
Yes and No. If you want your domain now, during the Global Trademark Holder phase, it will set you back $300. At that price, it’s not worth it for small businesses.
Once this becomes available at the $30 price, then it’s probably worth it. "Dot-co" rolls off the tongue. It connotes "company" and carries the familiarity of "dot-com." Plus, you have the opportunity to grab your first choice domain name if your dot-com is taken.
Register Your Own .CO
Here are our recommendations for getting your own .CO domain:
- Brand Managers: If you have a registered trademark and a high-value brand, register your .CO domain now before registration opens to the public. Only do this if your name is high-value as it will set you back $300 per domain.
- Small Businesses: Wait until the Standard Pre-Registration phase that starts July 20. Then the price will be a reasonable $30, and at that point we recommend you grab the .co domain.
- Everyone: Before the Standard Pre-Registration phase starts on July 20, think of opportunities to register just a couple generic domains relevant to your business that will have high search engine optimization (SEO) value (e.g. chicago-pizza.co). If high traffic either globally or from a specific region is valuable to you, you have another shot at creating a site that naturally ranks high for a generic search term.
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Scene from the KeyLimeTie Hackathon
On April 23, 2010, KeyLimeTie employees came together to present their entries from the first KeyLimeTie Hackathon, our first ever internal development and innovation contest. Most Hackathons span a short period of time—from 24 to 48 hours from start to finish. We gave each of the three KeyLimeTie teams several weeks to design, develop and deliver their projects. Teams were handpicked based on role and skill level, and we intentionally placed people who seldom interact on projects on the same teams.
The Rules
The contest was simple; teams were to pick at least two APIs from Programmable Web and create something interesting. To keep things original, teams could not use the same APIs as competing teams.
For some of the employees, this was a rare chance to be creative and go beyond their normal roles and responsibilities. The experience yielded market-ready products and tools, and some great laughs and memories.
Personal Reflections
I have organized and participated in several developer Hackathons and can easily attest to their role as a catalyst for innovation, creative problem solving and community building. The KeyLimeTie Hackathon was no different. We gave a talented group of people some raw materials and a little encouragement and were blown away with the results. You can do the same.
Incidentally, you will see the applications built during the Hackathon integrated into the KeyLimeTie Content Management System (CMS), as well as available for integration into your own websites. You can stay tuned for updates by following us on Twitter or Facebook.
Last week, Chris Pautsch and Peter Morano were interviewed by the Chicago Tribune about the things KeyLimeTie is doing on the mobile web and with mobile applications. Some of our comments made it into today's Minding Your Business column by Ann Meyer. Read the entire Chicago Tribune article here: Startups use mobile space to innovate, grow.
To underscore the article, remember these key points when looking to jump into mobile for your own company:
Strategy Before Tactics
Everyone wants to develop a mobile app because they're seen as sexy. Be careful though to examine what your goals are, who your target audience is, and the best way to reach them with timely, personal information. It may not be an app. SMS campaigns and response mechanisms like QR codes that point to a mobile web site may yield greater results depending on who you are reaching and what you're trying to accomplish.
Focus on the Mobile Web
Aside from social networking and email, search (especially finding directions, including potentially to your location) is a leading activity on the mobile phone. Give your customers the best mobile web experience you can. Anticipate their needs and help them achieve them seamlessly and they'll love you for it.
Be Real and Make it Relevant
People consider their mobile phones to be very personal. When people load your app or opt-in to mobile communications from you, they're demonstrating a high degree of trust. Note not to communicate excessively via SMS messages or based on a person's location as this can be seen as very intrusive. Use these techniques infrequently and with your most loyal customers who have expressed interest in receiving these types of messages (this also includes Push Notifications sent to smartphone apps).
Relevant KeyLimeTie Mobile Links
It gives me great pleasure to announce to our clients and to the industry as a whole that KeyLimeTie's Tim Courtney was recently selected alongside Andy Angelos as finalists for the Illinois Technology Association's annual CityLIGHTS awards for their work producing the SocialDevCamp Chicago conference.
The SocialDevCamp team joins other area leaders as nominees in the annual award that highlights the outstanding contributions of both individuals and companies in the Illinois technology industry. The ITA will announce the award recipient at the annual CityLIGHTS award gala on April 29 at Union Station. Please join me in wishing Tim and Andy well.
KeyLimeTie had the privilege of sponsoring SocialDevCamp Chicago 2009 last November, an event that attracted over 200 developers, entrepreneurs and social application enthusiasts to learn about and create social applications. Keynote speakers included Facebook and Google senior developers who shared strategies behind their respective companies work building the infrastructure of the social web.
To learn more about SocialDevCamp, see Tim and Andy discuss the conference in this highlight video:
Yesterday, Google boldly released the Google-branded NexusOne phone (manufactured by HTC), the closest device to date to compete with the iPhone in terms of features and flexibility. For those looking to enter the mobile application marketplace, this adds some serious momentum to Android OS's expansion into the smartphone market.
2010 will no doubt be a year of aggressive innovation as we start to see the power shift in the mobile market from the carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to carriers and manufacturers like Apple, Google, Motorola, and HTC.
While the iPhone paved the way for consumers choose a handset first before a carrier, AT&T's exclusivity in the US limited choice. The Motorola Droid created similar demand, and remains tethered to Verizon. Now, Google has taken the next step by making the NexusOne available either subsidized (with a 2-year T-Mobile contract) or unlocked for any network (with the expectation of adding other networks in the future).
What does this mean for companies and brands looking to get into the app market? Greater focus on Android and iPhone as the platforms of choice. The Android Market's 20,000 apps, along with the iPhone's 90,000+ apps far overshadow both BlackBerry's and Palm's 4,000 and 1,000 apps, respectively (source: BlackBerry App World and BillShrink). For companies and developers looking to build apps, focus on Android and iPhone.
AdMob, the mobile analytics firm acquired by Google last year for $750 million, today reported that ad requests from iPod Touch users were up 96% on December 26. This means that a lot of new people received iPod touches this year, increasing the potential user base for iPhone and iPod Touch applications by a significant amount.
At the same time, AdMob data indicates momentum is building around Android phones as they continue to penetrate the market. While the iPhone remains wildly more popular, growth has slowed in the US while Android trends upward.
If you’re looking to build an application that drives engagement and revenue, the iPhone and iPod Touch will continue to represent significant opportunities for a long time to come. However, keep an eye on Android as we are sure to see significant competition in 2010.
Interested in either iPhone or Android applications? Give us a call at KeyLimeTie to discuss your plans. 630.598.9000.
Last week, client Sloan Valve received press in CONTRACTORmag.com for the new Water Savings Calculator iPhone application (iTunes Link), developed by KeyLimeTie. The article discusses ways the manufacturer is allowing facilities managers, architects, engineers, plumbers, and others to immediately estimate water usage in a building and calculate potential savings they would incur by using Sloan products.
Sloan is using the app as a part of their continued effort to position the brand as a green manufacturer, concerned with ensuring customers and end users are making the most efficient use of water resources possible.
Read the CONTRACTORmag.com article here.
We’ve enjoyed watching the continued success of an iPhone app we built, "The Secret™ Daily Teachings," in the iTunes store. Yesterday the app was selected as "New and Noteworthy" and now appears on the App Store homepage in iTunes.
This builds upon last week's success; within 48 hours of the app's release, it rose to the #1 app within the Lifestyle section. Now a week after release, it still rests as the #2 app in the category.
Congratulations again to the team at The Secret and Prime Time Productions! We're honored to be a part of this project and looking forward to a continued partnership.
We are thrilled to congratulate KeyLimeTie client Prime Time Productions, owners of the popular book and film The Secret™ on their early success with their new Daily Teachings iPhone application (App Store Link). Within 48 hours of its release on October 27, the app skyrocketed to the #1 paid app in the Lifestyle category, and #49 overall! Congrats!
KeyLimeTie was contracted to build the application, which allows users to read a daily affirmation or teaching from The Secret, highlight favorites, and share with friends. The app also allows people to set daily alerts on their phones, reminding them to read their daily teaching.
One of our favorite features on the app is its use of the iPhone’s Push Notification service, which Apple released earlier this year through the iPhone OS 3.0. Push notifications allow app authors to send content to users (in this case a daily reminder), which results in more engaged app users over the long term. With brands and developers seeking ways to keep users engaged, whether to increase impressions or generate additional revenue, Push Notifications has been a welcome feature.
To power the alerts, we used our iLime service, a publicly available service for iPhone developers that enables them to easily deliver Push Notifications and In App Purchase content to their users. For us, it ended up being the perfect synergy between our service and product businesses, an example of what we do best.
You can purchase The Secret™ Daily Teachings on the iTunes App store at http://appsto.re/dailyteachings.