The Sophomore Season

Looking back on last years birthday post, I wanted to compare the stats and see how much Inspiredology has grown. We didn’t reach some of the goals we wanted to but we surpassed the majority of them. This year Inspiredology has expanded in followers, daily visitors and new niche groups.

Bringing Andrew on board this year has really helped me in organizing the blog better and has also helped push out more content. Last year we had 96 posts, since then we have posted 156 new articles… WOW that is awesome. We can’t take all the credit though, this year Inspiredology also opened it’s doors to guest authors as well. And this is something we are going to be encouraging in 2010, we want to keep Inspiredology dynamic, and we want other opinions on here.

I believe the blog world is becoming over saturated with more and more blogs being created each day. I think some people should think about guest posting instead of starting their own blog. Every large blog is looking for guest authors and some guest authors become more popular by writing in different communities.

Not only did we have more content, but we have more of an active community with over 3000 comments this year – a huge plus compared to our first year of 1000. I must applaud all of you for that.

Inspiredology by the Numbers

156 Posts

3213 Approved Comments

945,694 Visits

1,637,004 Pageviews

78% Bounce Rate

1:28 Average time on site

3316 Subscribers

1710 Followers (chadMueller and dertMobile combined)

208 Countries

Most Popular Posts

31 National Geographic Photos

Cool Business Cards

Alfred Hitchcock Vanity Fair Photoshoot

42 Twitter Backgrounds

Inspiredology 2010

Enough about the past let’s talk about the future, yes Inspiredology will be getting another face-lift. This will be the third design of the site, and we are really taking our time and making sure this one really sticks. We haven’t really created the blog layout we really wanted yet, so we are working around the clock on this one. We are also working with a very talented illustrator Mathieu Beaulieu on the new site. So follow me on twitter as I will be tweeting some screens for you as we move forward.

Take the Survey!

For helping us out, we would like to offer you a chance to win a set of 50 cards from Squizcards.com. You should remember we just did a giveaway with SquizCards.com recently. So head over here, fill out the survey and you will be automatically entered into the draw.

If you could also help spread the word in any way you can, we would greatly appreciate it.

RT “I helped influence the design of Inspiredology, You can too – http://href.in/2i69vk“

In the beginning

First off, when I started Inspiredology I didn’t know what to expect and where this journey would take me. I wanted to start blogging to share my internet finds and inspirations. So late one night in January 2008, I designed the first version of the blog. The next day I launched the site with two articles; “120 Brilliant Logos” and “Cool Business Cards“, over the next week, I was checking stats, comments, trying to submit the articles to various social media outlets, plugging the website every way I could.

Within a week I started seeing a rise in traffic from 10 to 2000, then 16,000. As you can imagine, I was speechless. I didn’t know where these people came from, but for the majority of them, the feedback of the site and posts was great. So there you go within a week, I had a substantial amount of traffic, and I had to just keep sending out good posts, obviously the spikes went down, came back here and there like any other blog.

The first major road block

Things were going good, started getting advertisers, comments, generous emails for giveaways, reviews and just overall good feedback. Then June came around and the site was labeled by Google “This site may harm your computer”.

What do you I do, I started getting bad reviews, users emailing me saying my site broke their computer, bad Stumbleupon reviews (which Stumbleupon was sending me more then half my traffic). Things just snowballed, my site was gone, inaccessible by most people. The biggest thing, lost the trust of the general internet public. Search engine index’s stopped. I eventually switched hosts and found a friendly face to help me out with the virus/malware problem. Eventually after 2 week’s, the problem was resolved and Google started taking off the hateful label. Traffic started to rise after a week or so.

Moving forward

Skip ahead to Spring/Summer 2009, Inspiredology has a new look, new server (thanks WPWebHost), new writers and a trusty new sidekick (Andrew). Average traffic has doubled to 3000 – 3500 daily visits, and our feed has exploded to 3200 subscribers.

Not this again…another F#!%ing attack

About two weeks ago, I started off like every other morning, get to work make myself some oatmeal with peanut butter and read my emails. As I scan my new emails… Removed from Google’s Index, maybe it’s spam…nope its for real. Google basically saying that they have detected that I was using techniques that are outside the quality guidelines. They were removing my pages from the index for 30 days, and if I resolved the issue I could request a reconsideration complaint. Again, I immediately spoke to my hosting company, and I searched all the pages and files on my server. I found that my index.php page was corrupted with some crazy content and links.

I deleted the files, requested reconsideration from Google, by then the damage was already done, Google had removed Inspiredology from their index for at least 30 days. So, here I am watching my traffic go down the tube once again, Google was responsible for 20% of my traffic. We had some really good search results for a bunch of different keywords, if you search anything like Cool Business Cards – we were within the top 3. Not sure if Google will put us back up there, but if not – it’s a kick in the pants for sure.

As of now, I have tried searching Inspiredology on a few different computers and I am seeing some results, not sure how long it takes them, but I hope its sooner then later.

Staying Positive

The past 20 months, have been a roller coaster ride, and I have had some amazing opportunities from Inspiredology. I don’t regret anything I have done, I stay positive in hope that we will bounce back stronger and faster the second time around. How can you help you ask? A quick search for Inspiredology might help Google see that Inspiredology is still a hot ticket item, maybe get them to move their asses.

I hope this post has inspired some of you to stay positive and strive forward if you run into any problems like this, if your blog isn’t as successful as you hoped, just keep working at it. Determination is one of the most underrated skills to have to run a successful blog.

For those of you who are not familiar with Concept Feedback let me give you a quick rundown of what it’s all about.
I think I speak for a large majority of the Inspiredology community in saying that I constantly come up with GREAT website ideas, design concepts and start up ideas. But I wonder, are these ideas actually great, or have i somehow convinced myself into thinking they’re great? Well wonder no more thanks to Concept Feedback. Once joining the site (for free) the site offers you a platform to pitch and showcase your new idea or design to the community of designers and creative minds to help you work out a final result, or in some unfortunate cases ditch a project (for the best of course).

And now for all you visual people out there, here is a bit of the process:

The Concept

Here you can see how the pitch is launched. You give the community your basic info about the project.

Imagine Great Concept Idea Here

The Feedback

The community then comes and offers their opinions and rates your concept.

You then have a chance to comeback and reply to their comment, to have a bit of a conversation.

I would definitely recommend that you go visit the site! Go ahead and post that concept you have been thinking about for months, or rate and help other designers out there on their projects. Designers united we stand …well that might be a bit much, none-the-less check the site out! www.conceptfeedback.com

We are looking for some bloggers to help take Inspiredology to the next level. Inspiredology has had a great 2009 thus far, we have a steady growth of visitors and subscribers.

We are looking for bloggers who enjoy the Inspiredology community, being creative and love the web. We are open to publishing some posts that haven’t been explored yet ie: tutorials, development, photography.

We are looking for long term contributors that will lead in to huge exposure for yourself.

If you have fun creating quality and creative posts, this might be for you.

If you are interested, please email me at muellerchad[at]gmail.com. If you have been looking to get into the blog industry, this is your first step.

These are the problems ProofHQ claims to solve for designers and clients by enabling web-based design collaboration, proofing and approval. Like lots of online apps ProofHQ says that it saves designers time, reduces costs and increase margins. In the current economy that could be a real benefit if it works, so let’s take a look.

Creating a proof

Using a simple web interface, a new proof is uploaded and can be assigned to a specific client and workspace. Permitted file formats include PDF, PSD, JPG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, DOC, PPT and XLS.

Clients are entered by email address, and are emailed with a custom message and a personal link to the proof. Sure beats emailing large files or sending download links – which raises another feature of ProofHQ. ProofHQ can be used to simply send large files without creating a proof. Just about any file type is permitted, including ZIP. A great way to send print-ready artwork to the print shop, or even send code to developers.

Design feedback

This is where things really get interesting. Clients receive an email and open the proof with just one click.  Clients don’t need any native apps as everything happens in the browser. Once the proof is opened clients can start adding comments, asking questions and marking-up the proof. The drawing tools are very easy to use, although I would have like to see a simple text tool and some more shapes. I really appreciated being able to put a URL in the comments and link to other web pages. Attaching a file to a comment would be useful though.

In the example below, a comment has been added asking whether the can be lightened in a specific area. This comment was created by using the box tool to draw a box around the area and a comment was entered. On the example you’ll notice two other comments – one indicated with an arrow, and the other indicated with another box. Comments are displayed by clicking on the mark-up (in this case a box or arrow), or on one of the comments listed in the sidebar on the left (hidden in this screenshot).

Design collaboration

Comments that have been added to a proof can be seen by everyone with access to the proof. It’s easy to respond to someone else’s comments, creating a threaded discussion which is anchored to a particular feature of the design. This quickly removes ambiguity between different reviewers and the designer. For me this is one of the most powerful uses of ProofHQ, as all team members can see exactly what everyone else has said and join in the discussion.

At the end of the discussion the proof owner can set an “action” for the comment, such as “ignore” or “please make change”. I didn’t quite figure out how I would use this feature as I work directly with my clients, but I guessed that it is used when the process in managed by a project manager who needs to let a designer know what to do with each comment.

Designers can print out a To Do list of comments which shows clearly each comment thread. This is a fairly simple feature, but one that I personally found most useful. It would also have been helpful to have a view of each page showing all comments as well.

Versions

In the real world very few design jobs get approved without at least one revision and ProofHQ seems to understand that well.  New versions of the proof can be created, which then starts another round of discussion. Reviewers can easily move between versions for comparison and can even compare two versions side-by-side to check visually that change requests have been implemented. Once reviewers are satisfied, they approve the proof which informs the designer their client has approved the modifications and the project can proceed.

Integration

Another recently added feature, and one I find particularly useful for collaborating publicly on redesigns, is embedding proofs in blogs and wikis. Using simple embed code (as easy as embedding a YouTube video), a proof is embedded on a static website, blog post or wiki page. This allows public viewers to zoom, pan, view existing comments and move from page to page. Such a facility is incredibly handy for facilitating public review of upcoming website redesigns, such as the much publicized Facebook profile redesign. For websites and social networks striving to harness public trust and collate feedback, embedding ProofHQ proofs and calling for comments is an efficient way to present versions, collect feedback and demonstrate transparency – all in one place. Neat.

ProofHQ uses the embed code to integrate with Basecamp, but I don’t use Basecamp so couldn’t test this. It would be nice to see integration with some other project management tools, as Basecamp is not the only project management app out there.

Getting super efficient

Dubbed the ‘Uploadr‘, ProofHQ’s desktop uploader for Mac and PC can be used to efficiently upload files up to a ginormous 75MB. Using a simple interface, designers can drag a new proof onto the Uploadr, enter the usual proof details and the proof uploads in the background, allowing designers to continue on with their work. Once uploaded, reviewers will be automatically notified by email. Sweet huh?

ProofHQ and the project cycle

So ProofHQ does seem to deliver hat it promises. I was quickly able to improve feedback, version control and approval with my clients and even used ProofHQ as a sales tool when I pitched to new clients.

The biggest challenge is probably getting clients to use something new. My tech savvy clients loved ProofHQ from the first time they used it. They said that the app was dead easy to use. One less technical client needed a five-minute run through first. Having said that, the investment of those five minutes saved a whole round of revisions on that project and probably saved me and the client about two hours the same day.

Pricing Plans

ProofHQ offers a 14 day trial on all plans.  There is a free plan with some functions restricted and then paid plans that increase in price based on the number of proofs that you use each month.  There are unlimited workspaces and reviewers, which is cool for me as I often have over twenty active projects open at one time.

One concern that I had is that this is yet another monthly subscription and the cost mounts up. However, this is one app where I could directly link time savings to use, so it was easy to justify.

What do you do?

Many designers are still using email to manage their proofing process. How do you currently do it? Email? FTP? Online? Please let us know in the comments.

Review Written By Andy Howard

Andy Howard is a designer, digital strategist and UX consultant based in Australia, currently traveling and working around the world.

Scion Presents: the Freshly Squeezed Web Design Challenge

In its mission to advocate community outreach and foster creativity in the younger generation, SCION now joins forces with Cut & Paste in the FRESHLY SQUEEZED Web Design Challenge (“Contest”). The website design competition will benefit J.U.i.C.E., a nonprofit weekly after-school program that allows the underprivileged youth of Los Angeles to express themselves artistically through dance, music, visual arts, and MC skills workshops.

So please head on over - be creative and submit something. The deadline is May 8th, so we only have 1 week today. I have compiled a few designs sitting in the gallery already – so if you think you can do better.. then step up to the challenge.

This weekend in Toronto, the annual Cut&Paste Tournament is coming to Toronto for the very first time, and Inspiredology is going to be there. So if you are living in the area, you should come down and check it out. The tickets will only set you back $15.00 online, or $20 at the door. It’s being held at the Sound Academy.

For those that can’t make it, Andrew and I will be covering the event to the best of our abilities for you. If that is not enough for you, they offer a live webcast as well. We will see if we can set up some live updates or something for you guys.

Cut&Paste Digital Design Tournament 2007 from Cut&Paste on Vimeo.

Scion Presents: the Freshly Squeezed Web Design Challenge

This great event is powered by Cut & Paste (another great event on it’s own), and Inspiredology has been lucky enough to be a Media Partner. We are going to keep you up to date on the events leading up to the event and hopefully after the event as well.

What’s in it for me?

You can win $5000 and help out some less fortunate kids.

What do I have to do?

As J.U.i.C.E. focuses its resources on programming and operations, they need your help: SCION’s new online competition, the FRESHLY SQUEEZED WEB DESIGN CHALLENGE summons all web designers, illustrators, graffiti connoisseurs, coding geniuses, hip-hop enthusiasts, and creatives all around to help J.U.i.C.E. refine their online presence with a brand new homepage design. Web designs submitted for the competition should embody J.U.i.C.E.’s urban aesthetic and youthful spirit, while adding to the site’s functionality as a user-friendly vehicle for communication.

Register Now

Registration is currently open until April 10, 2009, so head over and get involved.

Guest Posts

So I have recently been coming up with some posts for some other blog’s. Yesterday I had my first ever (but hopefully not last) guest post published on Webdesigner Depot.

22 Website Designs Inspired by Apple.com – So please head on over, subscribe to a great blog and check out my article. It has been dugg 125 times, which is fantastic.

Many bloggers believe that guest posting is a great way to get more traffic to your own blog, so I am hoping we get some new subscribers around here to join the Inspiredology community.

Contributions

If that wasn’t all…. in the same day there were two more articles, that I took part in;

Music of Design: What do you listen to – Outlaw Design Blog

What’s Your Favourite Colour – Fudge Graphics

I also have a few more guest post that are sitting in the bank. So I hope to get them rolled out in the next few months as well.

If anyone is interested in guest posting for Inspiredology, leave a comment or email me here muellerchad[at]gmail.com.