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Last week Digiday wrote that, according to research by University of Massachusetts, agencies are blogging less. Agencies reps state that there are couple of reasons for ditching blogs.

Maintaining a blog takes a lot of effort. Therefore agencies are switching to other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram that doesn’t request so much time and energy. Plus, it is easier to attract audience on these social platforms.

On the one hand, I understand and support this shift. Time is an essential value. So if you can reach your audience in less time and with higher efficiency, there’s no reason not to do this. On the other hand - I’m a huge fan of agencies blogs. Over the years I’ve learned a lot from many insightful posts created by agencies. In my opinion, communication on social media is more suitable for brief messages while blogs provide space for deeper analysis. That’s why I hope that in future agencies will stick to blogging.

Here are some blogs of my daily reading list that are maintained by agencies:

• Fresh Egg
• Carrot Creative
• iCrossing
• Alexander Interactive
• Fresh Networks
• Made by Many
• We Are Social
• White Hat Media

Couple of days ago I came across presentation by Luke Wroblewski, founder of LukeW Ideation & Design, also former Yahoo! design architect. In the presentation he explains why it is better to focus first on mobile devices and only then on desktop when designing web applications and sites. Wroblewski’s ideas are quite simple yet very strong and they made me believe that the designing process of web applications and sites is changing. 

I will look at just couple of things that grabbed my attention, so I strongly recommend you to watch the whole presentation (scroll down to watch it). It’s really great.

The core idea is that mobile devices have certain limitations comparing to PC’s. Mobile screens are up to 80 percent smaller than desktop. 3G network has limited capacity and speed comparing to broadband connection. Therefore you are forced to cut some stuff out and focus on things that matter the most. You have to know your users and what they care about. Once you get the application or site working smoothly on mobile device, you can be sure that it will work even better with powerful broadband connection and when viewed on a large monitor. Plus focusing on main functions makes product better.

Wroblewski also presents some interesting numbers regarding to situation in mobile world.  At the moment in the US, mobile web growth is outpacing desktop growth by 8 times. This will lead to situation that in 5 years mobile Internet traffic will be more massive than desktop Internet traffic. Also, in a 1-2 years period smartphone sails will pass PC sails. I believe the numbers in Europe might be quite similar. This means that it might be a good idea to practice “Mobile First” approach rather sooner than later since in near future mobile devices will rule the Internet.

Here’s full presentation by Luke Wroblewski: 

If you are interested in this topic, there’s also a book by Luke Wroblewski called “Mobile First”.

It is time to share great stuff!

Paul Chaloner, Head of Social Media at Fresh Egg has created a great eBook called “The Science of Social Media Button Placement”. In this short guide Paul looks at different types of social media buttons, where they should be placed on your website and what design to use.

You can get the eBook for free here!

The use of social media for business is still a hot and ongoing topic. I’m sure you’ve heard about concepts of social media strategy, engagement, monitoring and other similar stuff. But often, behind those “fluffy” words, it’s hard to find the actions that should be taken. Implementing social media buttons on website so your customers can reach you and share your content is one of the first steps towards “social media awesomeness”. And here this eBook helps a lot.

The most valuable information for me was that adding Google “+1” button influences the website’s ranking position. Didn’t know that.

Pitbull ad on a Megadeth video? I would say irrelevant, at least.

Creative placement by Adidas on ESPN NBA featuring New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon.

Dogs are awesome. That’s why this campaign created by Pedigree and Colenso BBDO speaks to me even stronger. The goal is to encourage people to adopt homeless dogs. The main idea behind the campaign is to relate to the belief that dogs and their owners often look alike. So you can use your photo and the software will scan database to help you find a friend to take home.

I found out that I look just like May. I guess my ladylike forehead is the reason here.

I have many unfinished things “hanging in the air”. For example, blog posts, half-developed ideas for campaigns, some apartment improvement stuff and my ultimate action movie data base. The main reason is that I can’t get rid of feeling that the idea or result is not good enough - that it still needs some improvement. It sucks. Here’s why.

Ben Barry, designer at Facebook, points out that “done is better than perfect”. “That doesn’t mean making crap - I believe you should always strive for the highest quality you can - but you have to finish”.

You have to agree here. After all - the end result is what counts and provides value. Unfinished project has almost no value even if your goal is 100% pure awesome thing. So, let’s get things done!

Update: You should also read the article “Why Can’t I Finish?” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders. She looks at four of the most common barriers to completion and gives us techniques on how to treat them.

Even if you are 100% satisfied with your current position, there is still a good reason to check openings for jobs in the industry. Find out what qualities, skills and experience other companies are looking for in their employees and use this information to develop as a person and a professional. This is a way to discover new tools, techniques and approaches to achieve better results.

Last week Springwise.com published an article that presented an interesting way to use QR codes.

Croatian cigarette brand Ronhill has began to use QR codes on its packaging to help consumers find a place to smoke. The idea was developed by local advertising agency Bruketa & Žinic OM.

Image from bruketa-zinic.com

This approach made me think about other similar ways to use QR codes. Here are some ideas from the top of my head:

1) QR code on dog food package shows local parks for dog walks.

2) Billboard with QR code that advertises, for example, a car. The code helps to locate the closest car dealer for test drive.

3) QR code on products at surf shop. Buy wax and use QR code to find the best surf spots in area.

I’m sure that you have some amazing ideas. Please, don’t hesitate to share them in comments.