Thinkubator – A Thoughtprocess Interactive Blog

We think every woman out there will agree that today should be the day most celebrated every year.  National Chocolate Chip Day is probably the second busiest day at the gym or the busiest day in your local grocers baking aisle. 

To take our minds off from work for just a few minutes we thought we’d share a recipe that our very own baking extraordinaire, Stephanie Raumschuh uses as her fall back all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
• Sea salt.

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Source:  The New York Times

Image Source: RecipeGirl.com

You’ve heard it before. You may even believe it. But you’re probably still not doing it when it comes to your business’s messaging.

For whatever reason, it is far more difficult to distill a concept or idea into something clear and concise than it is to fill it full of business speak and big words. Counter-intuitive, but true.

Yet another example of this came yesterday in an article from Tom Searcy on Time.com. What a 9-Year-Old Can Teach You About Selling starts with a reference to a recent study confirming what those of us who work on the web have long known: people don’t remember most of what is presented to them. This mega-short attention span and low retention rate is perhaps even more true on the web.

The obvious solution to this problem for marketers and business owners  is to create a short, simple “elevator pitch” that can convey exactly who you are, what you do and why people should want your product or service in a sentence or two. Searcy’s advice on how to actually do this successfully is to think about how you would communicate this to someone with zero context, someone like a 9-year-old.

His example:

Daddy, What Do You Do?

• Right answer: ”I help companies to grow really fast by teaching them how to sell bigger companies much larger orders.”
• Wrong answer: ”Our company helps develop inside of our clients a replicable and scalable process for them to land large accounts.”

Why Do People Decide to Hire You?

• Right answer: “We have helped lots of companies do this before, so we are really good at it as long as they are the right type of companies.”
• Wrong answer: ”We have a proven process for implementation that allows organizations to tailor the model to their market, business offering and company’s growth goals.”

Why Don’t They Do It Themselves?

• Right answer: “Just like when you learned to play the piano: Mommy and I could teach a little, but we don’t know as much as your teacher, and teaching you ourselves would take a long time and be very frustrating. Daddy is a really good teacher of how to make bigger sales, and people want to learn how to do this as fast as they can.”
• Wrong answer: “We are the foremost expert in this field with over $5 billion in business that our clients have closed using this system. Usually our clients have tried a number of things on their own before we work together and have wanted outside help to get better results.”

As his example shows, both answers are accurate, but one is clearly wrong and one is clearly right.

Now, of course, there’s a big difference between simple and condescending and it’s important to consider your audience (and their true level of sophistication) to strike the right balance here, but, in general, Searcy’s direction is right on.

Given all that, does your messaging pass the “9-year-old” test? (Hint: if you aren’t sure, ask a 9-year-old).

Breaking into social media can be an overwhelming task if you don’t understand why your company needs it.  Social media allows us to connect quickly with people and brands.  Customers are forming relationships faster than ever and in many cases social media interactions have a direct impact on consumer buying choices, which has vastly changed the way the businesses are marketing.  So you need to ask yourself; Can your business afford NOT to be using social media?

The way we see it, participation in social media has a number of excellent business benefits.  It can help you gain leads, offer customer support, promote your services and demonstrate leadership among your competitors.  But most importantly, social media is an exceptionally valuable tool for increasing word-of-mouth for your business.

My recommendation to businesses is to do the following:

• Build a social media marketing plan and determine what you hope to achieve from your efforts
• Look at each social media outlet and determine which will be the most beneficial to your business and only take on one at a time (trying to take on too much too soon can be overwhelming)
• Remember that content is king!  Post things that are interesting to your customer base and don’t be afraid to have fun with it.  I live by the 80/20 Rule:  80% of your updates should provide value for your followers and 20% can be self-promotional.  If you need some examples take a look at some of the client pages we’ve listed below
• Once you have established your account and posted some content, share your page with your employees and current customers to build your fan base
• Remember to interact with your fans.  Typically you should respond to any questions or comments within 24 hours

Still don’t seem to understand social media or simply don’t think it’s important?  Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Want to see what we do for client’s social media accounts?  Click on these links below:

• Black Magic Car Care Facebook
• Black Magic Car Care Twitter
• Gumout Facebook
• Gumout Blog
• Thoughtprocess Interactive Facebook
• Thoughtprocess Interactive Twitter
• Thoughtprocess Interactive Pinterest

To learn more about what we do visit our website or contact us today… (We’re pretty good at it, if I don’t say so myself!)

www.thinktpi.com

info@thinktpi.com

As you all know by now Facebook has released Timeline for business pages!  This is exciting news, but trying to keep track of all these changes can be confusing.  Fear not! We have you covered.

Here’s a quick list of the changes you can expect to see in how businesses will communicate and market to their Facebook fans through Timeline (as seen in the Tiffany & Co example below).

1. The overall design, look and feel of Pages has dramatically changed.

2. Photos, Likes, and Apps are now at the top of the page.

• You have the ability to change the order of tab locations although the “Photos” tab must remain in the first position

3. Default welcome tabs will be eliminated.

4. Custom tab locations are changing and will have larger icons.

• Custom tab icons are now 111px by 74px
• Tabs are now wider – 810px

5. The cover photo can be 850px by 315px but can NOT include the following:

• Calls to action
• Contact information, such as web address, email or other information intended for your “About” section
• Price or purchase information
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or other Facebook site features

6. Admin Panel is new and more user friendly.

• In March new admin capabilities will be activated.  For example you can now add admins who can only post, have complete control over the page, or add an ad partner who cannot make any changes to the page without your approval…pretty cool, huh?
• Fans can now message the page directly and you can reply as the page, instead of using your personal profile!

7. Timeline can feature your brand’s history. 

• We love how Tiffany & Co. has highlighted their company’s rich history with “highlighted” stories

8. Access to a limited view of OTHER brand page’s insights. 

• You can view this only if the brand has the new Timeline.  Click on their “likes” box and voila…there are their insights for all to see!
• This is sort of a double edged sword.  For those who are new to business pages on Facebook…or just not so hot at fan engagement and outreach on this medium, this could be a way to learn from businesses and brands that are doing it well.  Consequently, if you’re doing a really good job with fan engagement, this could be a way for competitors to take a peek at your game plan.

Tiffany & Co. has done a great job taking advantage of the new apps boxes, filling their timeline with rich content and attracting fans with their cover photo. Head over to their page to check out how they have filled their Timeline!

Below is just one example of a highlighted story they’re featuring:

We have a feeling we will be updating this list with more changes we notice as we get more familiar with Timeline.  What do you think of the changes?  Tell us in the comments below!

Future technology is something we’re all curious about.  What will it look like?  What will it cost?  Will everything be touchscreen?  Well according to Corning Incorporated and their innovations with Gorilla Glass, soon everyday will be a “Day Made of Glass”.  See the video below for the story behind Corning’s Vision.  Full article can be found here.

Last year’s video (displayed below) followed the same family, brought in millions of hits on YouTube and left many in awe of Corning’s interpretation of what’s possible with photovoltaic glass, LCD TV glass, architectural display and surface glass.

Do you think this is possible in the future? Connect with us on Facebook and tell us what you think.

I love a good list.

I have a slightly Type A personality and, to me, organization is a beautiful thing (Although I have to admit that all the recent ‘Best ____ of 2011’ lists that every publication on earth seemed to be putting out around New Year’s were getting a little out of hand, amiright?). That being said, I’m intending to keep this list fairly short and just give a little shout out to a few of my current favorite bookmarks that I hope might be useful and interesting.

I do most of the front-end programming (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.) here at TPI World Headquarters, so anything that I come across to help me streamline that process is aces is my book. I’m also fortunate enough to have a few friends in the industry who help keep me in the know and introduce me to the latest and greatest technology for creating beautiful and functional websites:

1. Visual jQuery – (http://visualjquery.com/)Ok, ok, this Javascript library (jquery) isn’t news to anyone in the industry. It’s been around for a while now, but I gotta admit that I am still enamored with the way jquery simplifies javascript and makes things like animations and manipulations so easy and, dare I say, fun. This site is one of the most easy and useful documentation sources I’ve ever seen. It’s clean and easy to navigate and I can find what I’m looking for, usually, in a matter of seconds. Bonus: Each entry has syntax, examples and options all lined up and organized (Type A, remember? *sigh*).
2. Chosen – (http://harvesthq.github.com/chosen/)Speaking of jQuery, this little gem is a great plugin if you’re digging on some creative ways to utilize select lists.  Whoa. Did I just get a little excited about using select lists? I did. What can I say? A few lines of code and your oft-unwieldy multiple selects become an enchanting experience for the user. Ok, I have to stop now before this gets embarrassing.
3. CSS3 PIE – (http://css3pie.com/)Mmmmm, pie. If you’ve been reluctant to embrace the new-fangled awesomeness that comes with CSS3 because you’ve been worried about IE compatibility, fret no more! My friend, early-adopter, and programming wunderkind, Skye, introduced this to me on a recent project we worked on together. What a difference! While I haven’t had much opportunity to utilize it on other applications just yet, I’m definitely going to be putting it through its paces on some upcoming victims, er… projects we have in the works.

A short list, but a good one.

There’s new plugins, languages and tricks coming out all the time, it seems, to make our lives as developers ever more exciting. Have you come across something lately that’s changed your coding life forever? Let us know! We love expanding our knowledge and keeping our clients happy with interesting and engaging websites and applications.

It turns out there’s an advantage to old-school search directly from Google.com. Not just content to sit around fine-tuning their algorithm and counting their money, the web wizards of Mountain View, CA have also taken to working some clever tricks and treats into their programming to the delight of users that happen to stumble across or successfully uncover them. These fun little surprises have come to be affectionately known as “Easter eggs,” hence the shade of  hide-and-go-seek involved.

Here’s a few of our faves for your viewing pleasure (Fair Warning: this list is a time drain!):

• Find Chuck Norris…if you can.  Type “Find Chuck Norris” into Google, hit I’m Feeling Lucky, and Google will tell you what’s up with Chuck
• We can only assume that this one is meant as an ode to lost productivity: www.Google.com/Pacman
• Type “Do a Barrel Roll” into the search bar.  We dare you not to turn your head
• Type in “Askew” or “Tilt.” Same dare
• A holiday classic:  type in “let it snow” and watch the magic happen.  You can even defrost your screen and write in the snow with your mouse!
• See if you can find the subtle humor in this one: type in “Recursion.” Get it?
• Type “gravity,” click I’m Feeling Lucky and watch the Google logo defy Isaac Newton
• Ask Google Maps for directions from Japan to China.  You might want to pay close attention to step 42…
• BONUS: Google has a bit of Pirate in ‘em with this next Easter Egg.  Simply click here and have a good time, matey (or whatever pirates call friends)

UPDATE: April 6, 2012

In celebration of the upcoming Easter holiday, we’ve added one more to our “Easter Egg” to the list, and this time it isn’t from Google.

Yay ‘ol Facebook

• Is your Facebook profile looking a little bland?  Well spice it up with a little pirate action!  Simply go to your Facebook profile page, click on the small, downward pointing arrow on the upper right on the blue bar.  A small menu will pop up.  From there, click “Account Settings” and then the “Language” tab at the bottom.  Now look closely and you will see multiple English settings named English (Upside Down) and English (Pirate).  We recommend choosing the “Pirate” language (this is BY FAR the most fun).  Save your settings (of course you can change them back at any time) and have a look around at all the changes to your text!  We guarantee you will impress all your friends with this little gem!

Picture this: I’m walking through the park with my dog last week and my phone rings.  I take my phone out of my pocket to answer it and I can’t.  Why not?  Because I have gloves on.  I made it work by using the tip of my nose but you can just imagine how silly I looked!

For the rest of my very cold walk through the park I took my gloves off so I could text, take a picture of my dog and answer my phone…I might have been able to do all this with my nose but I choose not to look like an idiot and just let my hand freeze.

Fast forward to last night when I’m Christmas shopping at Target and I happen to come across the perfect present for everyone who has a smartphone:  TOUCH SCREEN GLOVES!  How did I not know about these before?  I ended up buying a pair for all my friends and family with smartphones – which is everyone.  So after my semi-expensive trip to Target, I Googled these gloves and it turns out they are everywhere!

While I realize you (or my boss, hi James!) are probably thinking this has absolutely nothing to do with what we do here at Thoughtprocess Interactive, consider this:  Morgan Stanley’s analysts believe that based on the current rate of change and adoption, the mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015.  That means if you want to get on the internet anytime during the winter in the future (without your hands freezing off) you may want to invest in these touchscreen-friendly gloves.

Or you can just use your nose.

How funny that I should stumble across this article today on Slate while eating lunch: Copy-Editing the Culture: The Holiday Horrors of Starbucks, Wendy’s, and a Foreign Film.

From the headline alone, I knew immediately what the author was referencing as far as Starbuck’s goes. I saw an ad on Facebook this morning that featured their new holiday tagline, “Let’s Merry,” and though I’m not quite as worked up about it as this guy is, I definitely winced when I saw it.

“Merry” is an adjective. “Let’s,” as in “let us,” as in “permit us to,” demands a verb. Presumably, this slogan represents some effort to make a pun. The effort fails. Would Starbucks write, “Let’s funny” or “Let’s delicious”? Apparently, Starbucks would. Customers ought to be concerned: Word play at the expense of grammar is not play at all. It’s antisocial.

I’m with ya, buddy (although you’d probably smack me for my use of “ya”).

I also second his call out of the Starbuck’s sizing terminology:

(The shop’s drink-size appellations shift, inexplicably, from general descriptions to specific numerals—and, what’s more, from English to Italian.)

I love you Starbuck’s, but seriously, what is that?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we took an internal survey to recap all that we’re thankful for.

Here are some of the clear winners:

• Family
• Friends
• Kids
• Spouses
• Health
• Employment

And here are a few of the more random replies:

• Soy peppermint mocha latte’s from Starbuck’s
• Alexander Skarsgard
• Habanero peppers
• DVRs
• Alcohol
• Opposable thumbs

And of course, we’re thankful all year round for great clients that trust us to do good work!

Got anything else you’d add to the mix?