Sarah Hill has helped to redefine broadcast news in the past year. She (along with another one of our featured mothers) have integrated the viewing audience into their broadcast through Google+ Hangouts like no one else. Ever. That and her support of the Honor Flight is more than enough reason to want to connect with her. Need another? She’s one of the nicest people you’ll meet.

Jen Reeves has teamed with Sarah Hill to change broadcast news. In her spare time, she blogs about being a mother to her son and daughter (who was Born Just Right), teaches a class at Mizzou, and tweets like crazy.

Renee Hulshof is the co-host of KFRU’s Morning Meeting, and one of the most outspoken  women in the political arena in the state. Strong in her convictions, and quick with a joke, Renee is one of our favorite follows on Twitter. She’s a joy to interact with and a wonderful example of what a strong mother should be.

Finally, our favorite mother in Columbia. Our own Nelly Roach. She’s a leader, a nurturer, a comforter, and someone we aspire to be like every day. Thank you seems like such a shallow phrase to express our gratitude to Nelly, and all of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, stepmothers, and any other woman that has influenced our lives. We love you all, and thanks.

How are you helping mom celebrate this weekend?

Image: Kevin Dooley via Flickr. CC 2.0

A quick correction. This article originally said the TQBC auction raised more than $20,000. In fact, the auction was a part of the TQBC golf tournament. The auction did raise a significant portion, though less than half.

To succeed in a short-term online effort, you balance beauty and functionality. If the page is beautiful, but entirely ineffective, the audience will love the eye candy but ignore whatever it is you want them to do on your site. If your site is a functional eye-sore, your audience won’t stick around long enough to interact with your page.

As an example, we recently developed the Tiger Quarterback Club’s silent auction.  In keeping with our traditions, the interface was clean, fast and reliable, and auction organizers were elated with the results.

The auction was a huge success, helping to raise more than $20,000 as a part of the TQBC golf tournament, with more than 500 bids in the auction. That’s a huge success, but there’s more … it’s also helped lead to other successes for the TQBC; some of which had been building:

• The Club has grown from about 350 members to more than 500 members over the past year (you should join, too).
• Twitter followers have increased by 800%
• Facebook fans have tripled.

Much of this can be credited to the efforts the Club has taken in social media (with the help of our friends at KimberMedia) and brand development efforts. And the success with TQBC landed Calevir an opportunity to develop the online auction for the Guatemala Milk Program‘s Fiesta de Guatemala (more on that next week).

When you have a place online people feel comfortable coming to, and want to interact with you in, success is much easier to achieve.  Get in touch with us today, and we’ll get you started on  your new digital home.

Connect with the University Concert Series on Facebook and follow it on Twitter. 

One of the better parts of living in Columbia is the diversity of events we have access to. From Dr. Zhivegas to the latest national tour hitting Mizzou arena, there’s always something going on. A huge part of that is the University Concert Series, which is winding down its 2011-2012 season. UCS Assistant Director Nathan Anderson says tonight’s show with the Ozark Mountain Daredevils is truly a once in a lifetime.

“This is the 40^th anniversary tour for Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and they’re coming to Columbia for the first time in years,” says Anderson. “It’s also the LAST COLUMBIA performance for Big Smith, who will be retiring at the end of the year.  We’ve put them in Missouri Theatre, and added a special VIP reception before the show that will include an acoustic performance by members of both bands.  This show should be a complete sellout as well.”

A big end for this year’s series. Which makes you wonder what is in store for the 2012-2013 series, right? We tried to get that out of Anderson…but it seems he’s not quite ready to spill those details. “The best way to find out what we have in store for next season is to show up for our first of what we hope becomes an annual tradition; ‘Premiere’.  It’s a fundraiser for the Concert Series on June 2nd at Missouri Theatre that will also serve as the official unveiling of the 2012-13 season.  Tickets to the event will go on sale early next week, and they can go to the new concertseries.org for more info.” We’re looking forward to June 2nd already. What were some of your favorite shows this season?

Arnie Fagan’s legendary retail outlet known to millions as Cool Stuff has closed (on Saturday April 28, 2012), but we have good news! Cool Stuff isn’t going away …

Connect with Cool Stuff on Facebook and Twitter … and don’t forget to check out the all-new Cool Stuff Land.

One of the icons of downtown Columbia is set to close soon. Cool Stuff opened 23 years ago and has been the place to go for, well, cool stuff ever since. Owner Arnie Fagan announced his store would be shutting down soon back in February, and the familiar location on Broadway downtown will close its doors this weekend. We have good news though. Cool Stuff isn’t going away.

We’ve been working with Arnie and the gang on the digital version of Cool Stuff, and it’s close to ready … it just needs you! While we can’t replace the physical presence, you’ll always be able to have a bit of Cool Stuff just a click away.

What’s your favorite memory of Cool Stuff?  Visit Cool Stuff Land today, and share your thoughts, your memories, your photos and videos, your favorite finds, and anything else Cool Stuff you’d like to share.

Shelby

We are excited to welcome Nicole Shelby to the Caledon Virtual team!

Nicole will serve as Account Executive working with some of the many new clients who’ve signed with us, and will also serve in a business development role with our sister company KimberMedia.

For those of you who know Nicole, you’re already aware of the energy and dedication she brings to our team of professionals.  For those of you who don’t, drop by and say “hello”.

More officially, here’s the press release.

Driving traffic to your website is one of the most important parts — well, maybe the single more important part — of digital marketing.

Nelly wrote a fantastic post on Voices Daily yesterday that talks about exactly that. The keys success involve more than just great content, SEO, and social media.

To see if you’re doing what needs to be done, check out what she has to say.

If you need the geeky details of what’s new in this version, you can find that here.

As is tradition here at Caledon Virtual, we will be vetting the latest version of WordPress first to work out any issues it may have, and then quickly upgrading our clients’ websites. If you have any questions about the latest version of WordPress, or are interested in learning more about what Caledon Virtual and WordPress can do for your business, get in touch with us.

Image: John Fischer via Flickr CC 2.0

Image: Chris Lott via Flickr CC 2.0

Shonali Burke
Shonali is VP of Digital for MSL Group in Washington, D.C. Not only that, but she also teaches at Johns Hopkins. She is a measurement maven, and one of the smartest people we’ve ever encountered. Check out her blog at Waxing Unlyrical.

Sarah Evans
Sarah is owner of Sevans Strategy, based in Chicago. She founded #journchat, the original Twitter-chat, and is a frequent contact for national media outlets in the topic of social media. Sign up for her daily dose of news via #commentz.

Chuck Hemann
Chuck is Director of Analytics at WCG in Austin, TX. He is one of the brightest minds in communications today, and loves how he looks in argyle. Chuck is constantly pushing the field of analytics forward, striving to increase the quality of communications for clients and the industry.

These are just three out of thousands of amazing professionals on Twitter. What are some of your favorites?

With the popularity of TQBC, and the auction, we knew we’d have to do this page really well. Quarterback Club Web Administrator Joe Schmitter was very happy with our responsiveness. “The smoothness of the auction completely hinged on Caledon’s responsiveness. They corrected a clock issue that could have been very confusing for our bidders, eliminating the issue quickly.”

That wasn’t the only way we were responsive. “The auction software was designed to increase the bids by $1 increments,” said Schmitter. “Because this was a fundraising auction, the club wanted the bids to be shown for the full amount each bidder was willing to pay for an item. Within minutes of raising this issue, Caledon Virtual was able to adjust the settings to the clubs preference.”

We always strive to experience our potential. This is what it sounds like when we help our clients experience theirs, “I was under a ton of pressure to make the online silent auction and the live auction blend seamlessly and there is no way I could have done so without Caledon Virtual making my life so easy!” says Schmitter. “The club has not yet released a final total, but every indication was that it was quite a bit more than last year. A significant portion, in my opinion, can be contributed to Caledon Virtual for providing the necessary tools to help us reach the desired audience.”

Really, it’s all summed up nicely by TQBC President Kyle Bowers, “Thank you for making the event so successful. You guys were GREAT!”

That’s why we do this. Not for recognition or for nice things to be said about us. It’s because we want our client’s to continue to succeed and grow.

If you’re looking for some local help with your taxes, Williams-Keepers is one of the larger business consulting firms in Mid-Missouri. It has offices in both Columbia and Jefferson City. You can connect with them on Twitter and Facebook.

The Missouri Department of Revenue handles not only tax collection, but a plethora of other duties for the state. The agency is (somewhat surprisingly) not on Facebook, but you can connect with them via Twitter and YouTube(!). The DOR’s YouTube channel is full of helpful videos including how to register your business and information about a graduated drivers license.

On the national level, the Internal Revenue Service has a strong social media presence. You can connect with the IRS on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. TONS of fantastic information here including tax tips, how to do your taxes for free, and tips for tax preparers (i.e. CPA’s and the like).

It’s a time of year no one is truly a fan of, but it’s better to have information like this at your disposal than not. On a brighter note, what are you doing with your tax refund this year?

Image: Donkey Hotey via Flickr. CC 2.0

It’s something we try to do every day here at Caledon Virtual as we develop solutions and communications that make you stop, pay attention, and feel truly satisfied about what we’ve created.  And it’s what we do for our clients.

Each day, a client will come to us to with an idea, a spark … a potential.  And it’s our job to work with them to experience that — not to just get the job done, but to realize the full potential of the idea.

Someone that made that same decision recently is filmmaker Casey Neistat. Nike recently tapped him to make a film around its new FuelBand, centered on the theme of Make It Count. So Casey did what every person in that situation would do. Grab their best friend (Max Joseph in his case) and go globetrotting for 10 days. The end result is, frankly, spectacular:

The story so far is that Nike gave Neistat a pretty big check (exactly how big, we don’t know), with the orders of making a movie that would “make it count”. That’s exactly what he did. He and Joseph took the trip of a lifetime, circling the globe in 10 days visiting places from Paris to Tahrir Square.

We all have this kind of potential inside of us to make it count. It’s taking the leap off of that ledge and embracing the idea no one in your industry is seizing on. It’s risking ridicule to win praise.  We’ve done it for PrintNinja, for Club Rock, and many others; and we can do it for you, too.

Neistat’s film captures a lot of what we try to make Caledon Virtual every day. We make every effort count towards building our client’s brand. Websites. SEO. Social Networking. We never feel we’ve achieved perfection; we’re always striving for more.

How do you Experience Your Potential? Contact us today to get started and make your idea count.

Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Follow Michael and Nelly on Twitter.

We’ve been wanting to write this for a while, but Michael and Nelly have tried to put this particular post off (mainly because they don’t tend to talk about themselves). Which is why the rest of us like to make sure they get the credit they deserve.

We wrote a post earlier this week about the culture of Caledon Virtual. That’s the foundation of what our company is all about, and that extends to our clients. Their needs are what drives our business and we work to ensure those needs stay at the forefront of what we do. From corporate branding to online marketing to social networking, we listen to our clients needs and shape a unique strategy around those needs. If we sound like the kind of place you want to learn more about, get in touch with us today.

We can’t wait to talk with you.

Recently, our good friend KC Flaker left us for New Orleans. On her last day at Caledon, she left this note:

The line that strikes the biggest chord is this. “You’ve very much become a family for me and I will miss all of you in my move.” That’s really what we’re most proud of. That KC feels like we’re her FAMILY! That’s the culture that we try to develop here at Caldeon. One of love, hope, support, and success.

Even more than that, we received another note from KC recently, after she’d taken a position with Habitat For Humanity. We want to leave you with a quote from her message, and here’s what we want you to take away. Caledon isn’t about winning awards, or bringing recognition to ourselves. It’s about relationships, people, and teamwork.

Here’s what KC had to say:

“You guys created such a unique experience and culture and I’m so fortunate to have been part of it, though now I’m afraid no other culture can live up to it! I wanted to let you know how important you are to me and how much the opportunity to work with Caledon means to me.”

If this sounds like the kind of company you’d like to hire, or the kind of company you’d like to work for, let us know.

Connect with the Guatemala Milk Program on Facebook and donate to the cause.

The goal of the Guatemala Milk Program is to lower the infant mortality rate in Chichicastenango, Guatemala by providing proper nutrition for mothers and their children. Many of the Rotary Clubs in Columbia are banding together to aid in this cause. Funds raised will provide free milk, formula and vitamins to malnourished children age four and under as well as pre-natal nutrition for mothers.

Join us on May 4th for Fiesta de Guatemala at Fr. Tolton High. Salsa dancers will perform, along with salsa dancing lessons and a performance by Caleb Rowden. This cause is incredibly important to us as it supports needy kids; we are helping the helpless in this cause. Malnutrition and hunger are two things no child should experience and no parent should have to worry about for their kids. We’re looking forward to seeing you on May 4th!

Follow Google Analytics on Twitter and connect on Facebook.

Earlier this week, Google made a pretty big announcement; the first true attempt at measuring the bottom line impact of social media. Tying all of those likes, comments, tweets, follows, and posts to what matters the most to your business. The financial return on what you’ve put in to your social media strategy.

The three biggest things Google is trying to capture (from the announcement post):

• Identify the full value of traffic coming from social sites and measure how they lead to direct conversions or assist in future conversions
• Understand social activities happening both on and off of your site to help you optimize user engagement and increase social key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Make better, more efficient data-driven decisions in your social media marketing programs

We’ve known for some time that social media is valuable. It allows you to pay attention to what is being talked about in your industry, listen to your customers, and react in real time to any issues, or compliments, they may have for you. This new tool is attempting to take this another step further and show real, tangible, financial results. We’re looking forward to using this tool.

We are very proud to say we recently reworked the MFBA website, improving its design, making it easier to navigate, and creating a better digital space for one of the most important causes in Missouri. We hope you take some time to check it out, and if you can, donate to this important cause.

All of the links in this article go to Twitter and Facebook accounts you should connect with for full enjoyment of Mizzou Hoops in the NCAA Tournament.

Yeah, we did this a couple of months ago. However, with the “March To Zou Orleans” kicking off at 3:40 this afternoon, it seems appropriate to revisit the Missouri Men’s Basketball team. We covered quite a bit in February, but here are a few more, as well as some hashtags to keep up with on Twitter:

• #ZouOrleans
• #Mizzou
• #MizzouHoops
• @MizzouHoops - The official Twitter account of Mizzou Hoops.
• Mizzou Hoops – Facebook
• @MizzouNetwork
• Marcus Denmon
• Kim English
• Phil Pressey
• Michael Dixon, Jr.
• Ricardo Ratliffe
• Matt Pressey

Of course, there’s plenty more out there to follow, but this is a good start. The next question is…where’s the watch party this afternoon?

• Howard Hutton of the U.S. Postal Service
• Kathy Vaugn and Bryan Kuhn of Windows-Walls & Design
• Dave Hockett of Moresource, Inc.
• Ron Fauss of MultiAd
• Jennifer Willamson of The Callaway Bank
• David Thompson of the Green Clean Institute
• Jackie Casteel of KOPN
• Robert Olson of Quantum Wireless Internet
• Beth Steele of Re/Max
• Jane & Keith Boles of Re/Max
• Jennifer Heishman of First Midwest Bank
• Jessica Macy of the Boone County Council on Aging
• Jeff Price of Mediacom
• Michelle Magee of KMIZ
• Travis Jett of America’s Coupon Network
• Chance Mullins of McAlister’s Deli
• Julie Wiecken of the American Red Cross Capital Area Chapter
• Pam Sikes of Rodan & Fields Dermatologists
• Sherry Major of Columbia EDP

Follow Jen Reeves on Twitter and her Born Just Right page on Facebook.

South By Southwest Interactive is underway, and there’s TONS to pay attention to in Austin over the next few days. You’ll want to pay attention to this hashtag as there will be lots of news and information coming your way. Another option is following a familiar face as she navigates the streets of the Texas capitol, Jen Reeves.

Jen will be hosting a panel this year, focusing on how social media helps bring the parents of special needs kids together, strengthening the advocacy of that group. Jen’s daughter was born without a left arm, and her Born Just Right page is the story of that particular journey. Looking at the community she’s built there, this will be a wonderful session to attend.

Beyond that session, Jen is one of the smartest social media people we have in Columbia, if not Missouri, if not the country. Her documentation of her Austin experience will be nothing short of spectacular, and we can’t wait to follow it.

Photo via Sean MacEntee; Flickr Creative Commons

That J. Michael. He’s everywhere it seems. We want to point you to two articlesfeaturing, or written by, Michael today. The first is over at the Columbia Business Times and talks about how social media and business intertwine and help build a brand. Interesting stuff, to be sure. The other post is on our sister-company KimberMedia’s blog, and is the 2nd leg of Michael’s four-part series about measurement in social media. This post focuses on Twitter. Take some time and read up. Then, when you realize you can harness Michael’s intelligence, along with the rest of the team at Caledon Virtual, get in touch with us. We can’t wait to begin, or continue growing, our relationship with you.

It’s no secret that we have a  unique business model here at Caledon Virtual, which goes to the core of who we are as an agency. It shapes how we do business, our cash flow; everything. Michael wrote an article for The Agency Post (his debut on the site) explaining what kind of an agency we are, and how we’ve grown since going to our virtual model back in 2007. It is, of course, centered on us but there are many lessons to be learned from our story in how to grow as an agency, even if you don’t subscribe to our model.

Be friends with Chuck on Facebook and follow him on Twitter. More accurately, convince him to start using Twitter. 

There aren’t many people in Columbia who don’t know Chuck Everitt. He is a fountain of joy to be around, and if there’s a bigger Mizzou fan around, we’ve not met them. Chuck is an amazing person, always laughing and smiling, ready with a joke or a supportive thought if you’re having a bad day.

Recently, Chuck had surgery to rid himself of throat cancer. Following his odyssey on Facebook was heartwrenching, while being incredibly inspirational at the same time. Chuck never doubted he’d fully recover, and a minor setback of having a SECOND surgery because the first didn’t get all of the disease was an annoyance. This man is a model for how to live your life. Full of cheer, unabashed joy, and a heart full of love. Thanks for including us in your journey, friend. We’re glad to be a part of it.

Photo courtesy of Sean MacEntee via Flickr Creative Commons

Our J. Michael Roach has launched a four-part series about digging into how to interpret the Insights Facebook provides your page on our sister-company’s blog. This is incredibly important stuff to know, primarily because once a user “likes” your page, that may be the last time they visit it. They’ll use their newsfeed as the way they interact with you the most. So, read up. Parts 2-4 coming soon.

Follow Jina Yoo’s on Twitter and connect on Facebook.

You know Jina Yoo’s Asian Bistro as a wonderful restaurant on Forum Boulevard here in Columbia. You may also soon know it as the business of an international television and cooking star.

Jina has been selected for MasterChef Korea, where she’ll compete for a shot at $300,000. Pretty awesome, right? (Another shot she’s taken? A flaming shot with Michael on his 40th birthday last summer. Photographic evidence to your right.) We’ve known Jina for a few years now, and she is a client of ours. We are ridiculously excited for her and the opportunities this presents. Jina is a joy to know, and interact with, in both real life and in social media.

Connect with her, and get in on the ground floor of her rising stardom; or at least enjoy some out-of-this-world spring rolls.

With the weather we’ve experienced lately, and are supposed to the rest of the week, you’d think baseball season was here already. Technically, IT IS! Major League Baseball’s spring training is underway with pitchers and catchers reporting this week, and even some position players. Our long national nightmare of the baseball off-season is nearly over.

The Diamond Council here in Columbia is revving its engines as well. Another summer of teaching kids all about the game and the life lessons that come with that is just around the corner. Their website, which we designed, has all the information you need to get registered as well as plenty of other useful information. It’s an easy to use site for parents  who are ready to spend summer evenings at the ballpark.

What are some of your fondest memories surrounding playing, or watching, baseball?

Follow Justin on Twitter.

We were introduced to Justin Goldsborough about a month ago by Matt LaCasse, our social media guy who also works for our sister company, KimberMedia. Justin wrote a fantastic post about why return on engagement isn’t enough of a return, and we’ve been interested in him ever since.

Justin is one of the brighter minds we’ve come across in the communications realm. His specialty lies at the crossroads of public relations and social media, but he does so much more than that. If you read his blog, you’ll quickly see he is a communications expert of the highest order. His insights into business management, branding strategies, and the Kansas City Royals are second to none.

We’ve always held the belief that even if we are competing agencies and/or professionals, there’s no reason we can’t learn from, and work with, each other. Justin is the perfect example of that, severing as co-founder and co-host of #pr20chat each Tuesday night at 7 p.m. CST on Twitter. It’s a gathering of communications minds, working to become better at what they do. If all of that isn’t enough to convince you to follow Justin, then do it because he’s just a great guy and a pleasure to follow and interact with.

Valentine’s Day is branded by Hallmark (specifically) and other companies as the day to show your one true love how you feel. It’s the day that cards, chocolates, flowers and fancy dinners are in high demand. It’s much like Christmas when you stop to think about it. A holiday campaign designed to have you spend money with companies to show someone how much you love them. While that sounds cynical, it’s not. It forces us to concentrate on that person we care so much about, and how to show them we love them.

So, the questions that have been in our mind are:

• How would you brand YOUR Valentine’s Day?
• For your relationship, what would your slogan be?
• What would your logo look like?
• What would be your campaign goals?

Interesting thoughts, aren’t they? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

Follow Addison’s on Twitter, and Facebook.
Follow Sophia’s on Twitter and Facebook. 

If your idea for Valentine’s Day calls for something a bit more, um … permanent, our friends at Club Rock can help you out.

You pick the size and shape of the diamond you want to buy, then the setting and voila! You have your very own custom piece of jewelry to bestow upon your love for the celebrated day of love. The great thing about Club Rock is that they go out of their way to get you the lowest price possible on great diamonds and jewelry. Everyone deserves a terrific piece of jewelry their loved one will treasure forever, and Club Rock makes that possible.

Follow Club Rock on Twitter, and Facebook.

If you’d prefer something a little closer to home, our friends at Buchroeders are the hands-down local favorites for diamonds, engagement rings, and just about anything else you (er, she) would want.  Follow on Twitter: @buchroeders … Find them on Facebook … facebook.com/buchroeders … or just head straight to the website at www.buchroeders.com and check out the Hot Buys (unbelievable deals out there).

Follow Buchroeder’s on Twitter, and Facebook.

Happy Valetine’s Day … and if you pop the question next Tuesday, let us know if she said Yes!

Follow Honda and Budweiser on Facebook, and VW on Twitter

The New England Patriots and the New York Giants face off on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVI. The most watched few hours of TV each year are nearly upon us and we’re incredibly excited for…the commercials. It’s true. The game is like the tortilla chip. Simply a vehicle to deliver the seven-layer dip to our waiting mouths. In fact, with the pre-release of several of the commercials in advance of the Super Bowl, it looks like this will be an amazing year for ads. Three have caught our eye thus far.

Honda – Lots of people thought their ad was the preview for a new Ferris Bueller movie.   It’s not (sadly), but it is sure to stand out on Sunday.

Volkswagen - Last year, Volkswagen did the impossible. It made Darth Vader cute. This year, it continues the Star Wars theme, and we even get a visit from an old friend.

Budweiser - Budweiser is home to some of the most memorable commercials in Super Bowl history. Bud Bowl. The 9/11 tribute and many others. This year’s ad is truly spectacular, and is sure to be remembered for years to come.

Of course, there are the Patriots and Giants team feeds, the NFL, and NBC Sports to follow. Don’t forget the hashtags either. #SuperBowl, #Giants and #Patriots are three to look into. Our favorite hashtag during last year’s game was #BrandBowl. Instant analysis of the commercials and implications for the brands behind them added much enjoyment to last year’s game. What are you most looking forward to?

Dave Reiter – Dave is the Sports Information Director for the men’s basketball team. In other words, he’s the guy the media gets their information from. Not only does Dave hold the keys to all the information you desire about Mizzou Basketball; he’s a really great guy too. You’ll find value in his tweets beyond stats and scores.

Steve Walentik - Steve is the Mizzou men’s basketball beat reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune. You want the stats and scores broken down? Meaning brought to your Tiger basketball fever? Steve’s your guy.

Mike Kelly  - The Voice of the Tigers. not a whole lot more needs to be said about this guy.

Mike DeArmond - Mike is the Mizzou beat writer for the Kansas City Star. He’s been around slightly longer than the game of basketball. He’s also an absolute bulldog of a reporter and terrific source of information.

KTGR – The lone radio station in Columbia completely dedicated to sports is a must follow. Debate, information, and interaction.

Eric Blumberg - Eric is one half of the KOMU power team (the other being Chris Gervino) and one of the best sources of Mizzou information on Twitter. A wonderful follow and source of Mizzou information.

There’s plenty of other Mizzou sources to be found, and those can be found via these five sources. So, what’s your favorite Mizzou follow? Who’d we miss?

Caledon Virtual's new office location in southwest Columbia

We are a virtual company. What is a virtual company? One that subscribes to a new idea that a building doesn’t define where work is done. It’s the people that make up the company that define it. We’ve always been a virtual company and we will continue to be a virtual company. However, over the past few years, we’ve developed a core team that meets every day and has grown. We’ve grown that team to the point that we need some office space we can utilize and better serve our clients. So, starting on February 1, we’ll have a space we can strategize in each day.

Our company is built on a strong virtual network, and that will stay the same. Our clients will receive the same terrific service they’ve become accustomed to, we’ll just need to invest in a bigger coffee pot most likely. We’re excited about this and how it will help us continue to grow and meet our client’s needs.

Follow the Girls Scouts of the Missouri Heartland on Twitter and connect with them on Facebook.

Do you know what time of year it is? Not Valentine’s Day time. Not “so cold out icicles form on my eyelashes” time. GIRL SCOUT COOKIES TIME. We are slightly excited about this as our stash of Thin Mints just ran out last week. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a box of cookies for each week of the year, right?

Of course, cookies are the first thing that many of us think of when we think of the Girl Scouts, but there are many other things that should come to ming. Leadership, strong values, social conscience,  and self-worth. The lives the Girl Scouts touch are too numerous to count, even here in Mid-Missouri. This is an organization that helps mold our young girls into the women that will lead us in the future.

When you’re buying that box of Tagalongs remember what you’re really buying. An education of how to become a leader of society. Just in an incredibly delicious way.

What are your favorite Girl Scout cookies?

Photo courtesy of League of Women Voters of California

We encourage you to follow ALL of the candidates on Twitter and Facebook (we’ll link to them in the post). You can’t make the best decision if you don’t know as much as you can about each. To be clear, the only thing Caledon Virtual is endorsing in this post is educating yourself and exercising your right to vote.

We may be more than 10 months away from the November, but it’s quite obvious that the 2012 election is in full swing. With Iowa and New Hampshire in the rear view mirror, the next battleground for the Republican hopefuls is South Carolina. In no particular order whatsoever, let’s look at the front-runners from the GOP:

Gov. Mitt Romney (Twitter and Facebook) The guy most folks believe to be the front-runner seems to already be running against the President. Will he secure the nomination with a win in South Carolina?

Rep. Ron Paul (Twitter and Facebook) The candidate the media ignored until the public forced them to take notice. Will he be able to tip the campaign in his favor in South Carolina?

Sen. Rick Santorum (Twitter and Facebook) The guy that…actually, where did this guy come from? Widely panned as being exciting as a loaf of white bread, he seems to have caught fire in Iowa and hopes to capitalize on it in South Carolina. Can he make that happen?

RNC (Twitter and Facebook) The Republican National Committee will have a big hand in  who ultimately challenges the President in November. Will be interesting to keep an eye on what it is saying.

President Barack Obama (Twitter and Facebook) The President has a tougher road to travel in this re-election campaign than many thought he would have four years ago. Will he be able to solidify his positions and win re-election? Only time will tell.

DNC (Twitter and Facebook) The Democratic National Committee will be doing everything it can to supplement the President’s campaign. Will be very interesting to watch what it has to say as the front-runner from the Republican party becomes more apparent.

There you have it. The feeds  you need to keep an eye on as this election year moves forward. Again, the most important thing to follow is your own thoughts and opinions. And your nose. To the voting booth.

How can you avoid some of the more common mistakes business owners make on their personal profile activity?  Take a few moments to read these seven undeniable rules for business owners on Facebook.

Typically, we rely on the watch on our wrist to keep us on track. However, sometimes our minds drift, and we find ourselves in Jolly Old London and that familiar sound reverberates around the city:

The @big_ben_clock feed on twitter is exactly what you see here. One bong for each hour it tolls. Makes perfect sense for the fake feed of one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks, right? What’s most impressive about the feed is that it’s been doing it’s thing (sticking to its brand, if you will) since 2009 and at the writing of this post had more than 18,300 tweets. That’s dedication.

To maintain your brand, creativity, innovation and and repetition are key. That’s exactly what this feed does. It’s created a alternative brand to the world famous Big Ben; one that’s a little goofy and has created revenue from that. So beyond those three pillars we’ve discussed, what else can we learn from Big Ben?

Commitment to your brand breeds success. That doesn’t mean you should stay the course with something that isn’t working. Consistently analyze the direction of your brand and allow it to progress naturally. What about you? Have you ever had your watch break and depend on a twitter feed to tell time? Tell us in the comments.

Caledon Virtual will be rolling out version 3.3.1 upgrades over the next few days, so be on the lookout for:

• a new drag-and-drop uploader
• hover menus in the Dashboard navigation
• an updated toolbar
• improved co-editing support
• a new Tumblr importer
• pointer tips for new features included in each update
• a friendly welcome message for first-time users
• revamped help tabs throughout the interface
• improved the dashboard experience on the iPad and other tablets with better touch support

We trust you’ll like the overall improved performance, as well.  Several sites that had previous used aggressive caching to improve performance are no longer using third-party caching as a result of the performance improvements combined with Caledon’s impressive new web hosting service.

Of course, if you should have any questions or run into any issues, let us know.

New Year’s Eve. It’s the night where everyone wants to stay up until midnight, sip champagne and make sure the next year is better than the one that’s just been completed. It’s a time of renewal and change; a time to reflect and improve ourselves. Of course, for that one evening, everyone is in a partying mood.

We loved watching Dick Clark growing up, and we’ve also enjoyed the transition to Ryan Seacrest taking over the hosting duties. It’s so much fun for us to see how the entire country is celebrating. We’d encourage you to follow the Centennial Ball, Ryan Seacrest and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Twitter.

Even more than this, we encourage you to follow your heart and instincts in 2012. The new year is the perfect time to make that big change you’ve been contemplating. Don’t doubt yourself. Take that new job. Start that new business. Do something unexpected. 2012 is the year to make it all happen. What are you doing to do with 2012?

Connect with Norad Tracks Santa on Facebook and Twitter.

There are less than 48 hours until Christmas is here. Can you believe that? Our yearly ritual of setting motion detectors out to identify the exact moment Santa leaves all that we’ve asked for under the tree is ready to begin. Don’t judge. We have more holiday spirit than you do.

An annual tradition for millions across the globe is tracking Santa on his yearly journey using Norad. Norad is stepping it up this year, allowing you to track Santa along with them using Google Earth; you can practically follow Santa right down the chimney. We love following St. Nick each year. It allows us to plan for when we can go to bed and then set alarm for on Christmas morning, assuring us of as little sleep as possible.

It’s such a great tradition for families with young children or families like ours with Michael. That guy has been wearing Christmas socks since Thanksgiving. Seriously. On a somewhat serious note, thank you to all of you; our friends and customers for a great 2011. Merry Christmas!

UM System President Tim Wolfe

Leadership is one of the most important qualities the head of an organization must possess. Obviously, just because one is the head of an organization, DOESN’T mean they possess the quality of leadership. For example, if you have the wrong leader you may expect to be on a three-hour tour and end up stuck on an island.

That’s why we were elated to hear of Tim Wolfe becoming the next president of the University of Missouri System. His bio is quite impressive, showing a history of taking companies and products from ground zero to the heights of success. The product he has now is nowhere near ground zero as the UM System has a reputation as one of the country’s, if not the world’s, leading research institutions. With those resources at Wolfe’s disposal, it’s exciting to think of where the System could be in 10 years.

We encourage you to connect with the UM System in the social media space if for no other reason than to keep your fingers on the educational heartbeat of our state. What are you most excited about with President Wolfe?

That laughing you heard earlier this week? That was Zynga on their way to the bank in advance of their company’s IPO next week. Alec Baldwin was on an American Airlines flight this week and had a disagreement with one of its flight attendants over the hugely popular game Words With Friends:

There was an uproar over this, with American issuing a statement calling Baldwin, “violent, abusive and aggressive”. Which, given how famously short the actor’s temper can be, isn’t a total surprise. American Airlines handled this about as well as it could. Of COURSE it has to put its foot down. Despite the fact that, you know, there’s no real reason we need to turn off our electronics on a plane. But, we digress. (A quick note. We’d fully intended on linking to Alec Baldwin’s Twitter feed, but he deactivated it on Thursday.)

Zynga, being the brilliant people they are, seized a moment of opportunity and launched a campaign that puts its brand awareness at an all time high less than a week before its IPO.

Three words that sum up everything all of us who are obsessed with Words With Friends are thinking, “Just let me play my game.” Zynga has made MILLIONS of dollars off of selling digital games. Be it Farmville, poker, Words With Friends or any other of its games, Zynga is the foremost brand in social gaming. It was presented with a golden opportunity; its brand at the center of a huge story and there’s no way it came out looking bad. Bloomberg is estimating Zynga stock to be sold between $8.50 and $10 a share; the high end of that values the company at $7 billion. That’s a TON of sheep on Farmville. Or whatever it is you buy on Farmville.

Obviously, this isn’t a situation you can orchestrate, but Zynga did exactly what it should have done to place its brand in the highest profile mere days before it goes public. It’s difficult to say exactly how much the company will benefit from this, but one thing’s for sure. We  had no idea “Qi” was an acceptable word until we played Words With Friends. What’s the strangest word you’ve ever seen played in Words With Friends? Let’s commiserate our devastating losses in the comments.

From Digital Trends: According to the company’s 2010 audited financial statement (PDF) the organization pulled in just over $123 million during 2010, a revenue increase of over 18 percent from 2009. However, of that $123 million in income, more than $121 million came from “royalties,” which is the category that would encompass partnerships with search-engine companies.

It’s obvious that Mozilla is in some kind of trouble without Google’s funding. So what are Google’s motives here? From Infopackets: Some cynical analysts note that pulling funding at this point could deal a major blow to Firefox, helping Google establish its own dominance among browsers now that Chrome has outpaced Firefox’s market share.

From Geek.com, just because Google could elect to not fund Mozilla anymore doesn’t make them awful; just smart business people: The reason Google may not renew the search deal is because its Chrome browser is doing so well. It has just passed Firefox in the web browser usage charts, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google save $100 million and tell Mozilla to go look elsewhere.

What do you think? Will Google tell Mozilla to “go look elsewhere”? Should it? Tell us in the comments.

Follow the SEC on Twitter and connect on Facebook.

So long. Farewell. Good bye. Sayonara.  Auf wiedersehen. And in the parlance of our times; peace out. After two years of speculation, the University of Missouri left the Big 12 Conference last month and headed for the Southeastern Conference; better known as the SEC. If there were any doubt left, this clearly elevated our beloved Tigers above that school to the west of here.

The SEC has a rich athletics tradition, especially recently with winning the last five BCS National Championships. It’s not just football though. Basketball in the south has strong roots. With Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, the return of Coach Mike Anderson to Columbia at the head of the Arkansas Razorbacks, we are entering an equally competitive conference in basketball. This move sets Mizzou up to be in a league at the forefront of the conversation of conference competitiveness; and stability, for years to come.

Make no mistake Tiger fans, this is a new culture we are entering into. Take some time and connect with our new athletics home.

Follow The District on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/the_district) and connect with it on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-District/19236787847)

The holiday shopping is finally here. Sure, the signs have been around for a few weeks now, but we prefer to digest our turkey in peace before setting sights on Christmas. With so many great places to go shopping in Columbia, it’s difficult to pick one place. Somehow though, we always find ourselves drawn to The District.

The District has a vibrant social media presence, constantly tweeting and posting about the downtown area. It lets us know where we should eat dinner or to pick up that certain something that only a store in The District would have. As you might expect, the feed is a bit quirky. But that’s what makes it so much fun, just like The District itself.

On this most joyous of American traditions (Black Friday), follow The District in all of its social media outlets and head downtown to enjoy in the joy of the holiday season. What’s your must visit place this holiday season in The District?

Follow Tony Richards on Twitter and connect with Word Marketing on Facebook.

Leadership. It is one of the most important qualities a person can have; yet it is also one of the most difficult to define. What makes a great leader? Strong personality? Wisdom? A kickin’ goatee? All of them?

Our friend Tony Richards knows all about leadership. It’s what he’s built his career on. As a Senior Partner at Word Marketing, Tony works with clients every day on making them, their businesses and their brands leaders. Not just in a “business” sense either. Tony focuses on what makes us all better PEOPLE; in other words, he’s shaping clients to lead society.

Think about that for a minute. If we have strong leadership in society, our world is that much better. We’re not talking about a strong mayor, city council, school superintendent or even business leaders. We’re talking about the people you meet every day that you look to as pillars of our community. Those whose opinions shape and mold our community and matter to you. That’s why we recommend you follow Tony. Plus, he’s one heck of a nice guy.

“We’ve been working with the engineering team at Socket to build a server that will provide the best webhosting performance in town, bar none. The new server boasts the latest 64-bit version of Microsoft’s server operating system and the capacity for up to 96 Gigabytes of operating memory,” says Caledon Virtual Creative Director J. Michael Roach.

But Caledon isn’t stopping there. “We’ll also be using solid state drives, rather than traditional rotating hard disk drives. With SSD storage, there is no file fragmentation, no moving parts to align, and roughly a hundred times faster access times. This means our client websites will be served virtually instantaneously. The benefits to a visitor’s ability to quickly navigate a website can’t be underestimated.”

The average time spent on a website is roughly 56 seconds, so Caledon Virtual’s clients will have a distinct advantage in the digital marketplace with this upgrade. In addition, Google and other major search engines continue to weigh site performance more heavily into the ranking factor, giving faster sites a distinct marketing advantage over slower sites. With a target load time of about a quarter of a second, every millisecond counts. “With our new server, we’re reducing access times from an average of 5-10ms down to about 0.1 milliseconds. We’ll able to load your home page as many as 100 times in the time it currently takes to load it once.”

To accomplish these, Caledon Virtual is making a significant investment. SSD storage currently runs about $1-2 per GB while traditional hard disk drives run closer to $0.10 per Gigabyte. Caledon’ hosting clients will see an increase only in performance, not pricing. “Our clients are receiving this upgrade free of charge and our hosting prices will remain the same,” says Caledon Virtual Executive Director Nelly Roach. “We’re constantly evolving to the marketplace, placing our clients in the best position to succeed. That’s the reason we continue to succeed. Our clients and their needs always come first.”

Photo used under Flickr Creative Commons Licence, courtesy of Tammy Green

Follow Shakespeare’s Pizza on Twitter and connect with them on Facebook.

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” If Juliet only knew just how dumb of a question that was. If you’ve spent any time in Columbia, you know the answer is, “Eating some Shakespeare’s Pizza.”

Preparing to open its third location in Columbia, Shakespeare’s has been the pizza destination for hungry Tiger fans for decades. The quirky nature of Shakespeare’s is legendary in CoMo, and that has only carried over into its social media efforts. It’s not often we say it’s a joy to follow a person, much less a brand, but Shakespeare’s tweets are always good for a chuckle, chortle, guffaw or laugh. As an example:

First of all, that’s hysterical because we’re pretty sure eating that much pizza might be longer than Kim Kardashian’s “marriage”. Second of all, it’s absolutely true. The fond memories we have of evenings spent at Shakespeare’s have been with us for years and will continue to be.

That’s why Shakespeare’s social media and marketing tactics are so brilliant. They’re exactly what you would expect out of Shakespeare’s. Sometimes snarky, sometimes business, always something you want to be around. What are some of your favorite Shakespeare’s memories? Let’s reminisce in the comments.

Follow the Chamber on Twitter and connect on Facebook.

Columbia is a wonderful place to live and work. That’s not exactly a bold statement, but we have a vibrant community comprised of people of all ages, and a business community that is strong, competitive, and supportive of each other. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has a big hand in cultivating that kind of culture in Columbia.

The Chamber serves as the “front porch” when new businesses are checking out Columbia. Don Laird and the team at the Chamber not only make sure new businesses are welcomed in Columbia, they’re actively searching for new businesses to bring to Columbia. If you think about our business community as a body of water; the Chamber is ensuring it’s a river rather than a farm pond; fresh and moving rather than still and stagnant.

There’s much the Chamber does every day to make sure Columbia is always moving forward. We haven’t gotten companies like IBM to Columbia simply because they like the taste of Shakespeare’s Pizza (though that’s enough to make many people come here). Hard work, handshakes, and a desire to make Columbia a sought after destination for businesses are all reasons our Chamber is at the forefront of growing business here. What do you think of our Chamber?

What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question we hear a lot as kids, and even some in our 20′s. You hear lots of ambitious answers; “President”, “police officer”, “firefighter”, “astronaut”, “inventor” among others. How many of us actually follow through with those dreams? At least one guy has. Russ Potterfield is a native Columbian whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as an Inventor and Entrepreneur. Having worked with Russ and his company PrintNinja for the past couple of years, there’s no more fitting titles to describe him with.

When entrepreneurs have an idea, that idea is typically something that assists or improves an industry. Some of these are ideas that have the potential to revolutionize how things are done. We believe that’s what Russ has done with PrintNinja. His idea for PrintNinja is simple. The company is based in the United States (Columbia, specifically) while its print shop is located in China. This allows PrintNinja to offer ridiculously low prices on all of its products. When Russ had this idea, he didn’t visit China to set everything up. He moved there. MOVED TO CHINA. Take a second to soak that in. Russ believed in his idea and plan so much that he moved to China; and took his family with him (which says amazing things about them).

That’s what true entrepreneurship is all about. Believing in yourself and your idea so much that you jump in with both feet and don’t look back. You can accuse us of being biased when discussing Russ since he is a client of ours. We obviously believe in PrintNinja as well, otherwise they wouldn’t be a client. However. Spend 15 minutes talking with Russ and you’ll note the same things we already know.

We firmly believe Russ is a model example of what an entrepreneur should do if they’re serious about their ideas. Of course, not every entreprenuer’s idea will take them to China; but they should be willing to do whatever is necessary to bring their idea to fruition. It’s why the list of truly great entreprenuers is not incredibly long. What do you think are the hallmarks of a great entrepreneur?

Photo courtesy of the Columbia Missourian

Cindy Mustard won for Professional Excellence. Anyone that knows Cindy knows just how big her heart is, and after more than two decades of running the Voluntary Action Center, she’s readying for a well-deserved retirement. Cindy has been a cornerstone of the non-profit community in Columbia for years and has set an example of what giving back to the community and being a source of hope for the less fortunate is all about. We couldn’t be prouder of or happier for Cindy.

Photo courtesy of Columbia Daily Tribune

Anne Churchill received the Emerging Businesswoman of the Year award. Anne owns and operates AnnaBelle Events & Rentals which provides turn-key event planning services for corporate and civic clients as well as those celebrating everyday life events. Anne is as homegrown as they come, graduating from Columbia College in 2008 and working at a few places around Mid-Missouri before opening AnnaBelle in October of last year. We can’t wait to see what else Anne will accomplish in her career. Congratulations Anne!

Michele Spry, President at Midway Electric and Vice President at Midway CSI (which she and her husband Brandon co-own) was named Businesswoman of the Year. Michele has helped to build the family business from the ground up, founding Midway Electric on

Photo courtesy of the Women's Network

November 1, 2001. The determination to start two companies with her husband and grow those into successful enterprises certainly deserves to be recognized, and we’re pleased Michele got that recognition today!

There’s plenty of nice things to say about all three of these outstanding women, so let’s talk about them in the comments!

Photo courtesy of Rob Kleine, Creative Commons License

Follow Wade Foster and Snapier on Twitter.

There’s lots of talk about entrepreneurship bouncing around Columbia at the moment, thanks in large part to Startup Weekend a few weeks ago. As you’ve no doubt heard by now, Wade Foster and his team at Snapier were the grand prize winners of the weekend. You should absolutely read the Snapier blog; it is a great read about how the birth of a company happens.

While Snapier is a fantastic idea and Wade is an outstanding human being, that’s not why we’re highlighting them. We’re highlighting them because of the courage it takes to be an entrepreneur, and take those steps to launch your idea into a workable business model. Anyone can come up with an idea. We all have ideas every single day. What takes some serious courage is to take that leap of faith that you can make your idea succeed. Wade and the Snapier team have done that. They’ll tell you that Startup Weekend gave them a running start, and they’re right. It still takes a special type of person to make an idea convert into a business.

Will following Wade and Snapier turn you into the next great entrepreneurial superstar? Maybe. What’s more likely to happen is you’ll get a front row seat into how you develop an idea into a business while working a day job. And that’s pretty exciting too. What are your biggest fears about being an entrepreneur or starting your own business? Let’s digitally hug it out in the comments.

iOS5 Logo courtesy of TechCrunch

Follow Mashable’s Christina Warren, TechCrunch’s Greg Kumparak and The Next Web’s Matt Brian on Twitter 

Just one week after the passing of Steve Jobs, Apple unveiled iOS5. The new operating system from Apple is the latest edition of the technology giant’s mobile software, and its early reviews are quite good. Other than a snag where everyone with an iDevice was apparently trying to download iOS5 at the same time, upgrades appear to have been going smoothly.

Surprisingly, Apple does not have an official Facebook or Twitter page, but fear not. We’ll point you to the sources of information you need to keep up to date with the latest on iOS5. Christina Warren of Mashable has done a masterful job of keeping on top of all the breaking news, and has a great Top 10 list as to why you need to upgrade. Warren does a wonderful job of staying on top of Apple related news for Mashable, even if her main “beat” is entertainment.

Greg Kumparak is the mobile editor for TechCrunch, so while he isn’t Apple specific, he certainly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to iOS5. Kumparak, again, has a history of being on top of all things mobile, and is well worth the space in your Twitter timeline.

The Next Web is one of our FAVORITE sources of info. Much like Mashable and TechCrunch, TNW covers news related to the online world. Matt Brian covers the Apple beat for TNW, and does it quite well. In fact, TNW does the best job of covering the news having dedicated reporters, beats and even Twitter accounts for those beats.

What are your favorite Apple-related sources online? We’ve given you our two favorites; who do you count on?

Send your condolences to rememberingsteve@apple.com

We collectively have a heavy heart this week. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away Wednesday night after a years-long battle with the insidious disease of cancer.  Jobs did nothing short of changing the way the world communicates (iPhone/iPad), entertains itself (iPod/iPad/iPhone) and who knows what other things to come that will have his fingerprints all over them.

We don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that Jobs’ legacy is in the same realm as Edison, Einstein, Franklin, and other great inventors and thinkers. His vision, HIS vision, singularly spawned the digital communication revolution. When the first iPhone was released, Google was simply a search engine. BlackBerry was a phone with email. Whether you are on the Android or iOS side of the “mobile device war”, you cannot deny that we wouldn’t be as far along in this revolution without Jobs’ vision.

The pictures in this post are from Apple’s home page on Wednesday night. While we, obviously, think very highly of Jobs and his legacy; we didn’t know him personally. And that’s the real tragedy in this. His wife and children lost a husband and a father. His close friends lost someone to confide in. As much as he meant to all of us; imagine how much he meant to them.

This week, like Apple, we ask that you send your thoughts, memories and condolences to rememberingsteve@apple.com. What are your lasting memories of Steve Jobs and his legacy? Let’s remember him in the comments section.

Startup CoMo (Twitter and Facebook links) was held over the weekend, bringing designers, developers, and business people together to create the perfect storm of creativity and launch a business. There’s lots we have to say about this, but first the most important thing. Snapier won the weekend with their idea of minimizing data entry across your web apps. Congrats to Wade Foster and his team for coming away with the top prize; his tweet obviously shows Snapier has a bright future:

Allow us to wax poetic for a moment about the concept of Startup CoMo (part of the larger Startup Weekend movement). When the opportunity is presented for the strengths of creative people to combine in this manner, great things are a lock to happen. When we say “great things” we of course mean things like Snapier (and the many other ideas that were brewed), but what we really mean is moving our country and society forward. Is that being a bit grandiose? We don’t think so.

Creativity and innovation are what our entire society are founded on. Without creativity, this American Experiment wouldn’t be ongoing. Without innovation, we would have folded years ago. Without the opportunities events like Startup CoMo provide, we’d remain stagnant; an economy and country stuck in the throes of the same old, same old. We are incredibly thankful, and proud, to have and event like Startup CoMo, and the people behind it like Brent Beshore, here in Columbia. Here’s hoping it’s not another year before the next Startup CoMo.

Follow Blair Levin on Twitter @blairlevin and with Gig.U on Facebook 

We began a month-long #FollowFriday theme last week with Gig.U, and we’re continuing that this week with its Executive Director, Blair Levin. You know all about Gig.U from last week’s #FF post, and Blair is the brains behind the effort of Gig.U. And we do mean brains. A quick look at his resume:

• Chief of Staff of FCC Chairman Reed Hundt from December 1993 – October 1997
• Oversaw implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act
• Executive Director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative
• Lots more you can find here

Follow Gig.U on Twitter (@GigU_) and Facebook 

It’s fun to say you’re on the leading edge of something. Unless that something is an avalanche. Then you’re probably running (skiing?) for your life away from tons of snow that are hurtling down the mountain towards you. This isn’t an avalanche though; it’s an effort to bring ultra-high speed networks to research universities and their communities. As you may have guessed, the University of Missouri and Columbia are a part of this effort.

So beyond making YouTube load faster so we can see cats do ridiculous things even quicker, what’s the goal of this? It’s about moving all of us forward. The more data that can flow to a research institution (in our case, MU) the more amazing things that institution can innovate and/or create. The digital world is shaping how we will work, communicate, play, shop, socialize and more every single day. Gig.U wants to ensure that research institutions and their communities help in that shaping.

Why follow? Because you can help in the mission. By showing our support for this project, we can bring these high speed networks to Columbia. What would you do with an ultra-high speed Internet connection? Let’s hear it in the comments.

Typically, we start off our #FF posts with something funny (at least WE think it’s funny) or lighthearted. There’s really nothing funny or lighthearted about substance abuse though. It’s a serious problem in our country; one that has ripped apart families and destroyed communities. That’s why we’re asking you to connect with Phoenix Programs this week.

Phoenix Programs focuses on promoting recovery, so rather than trying to attempt someone to “quit drugs”, they encourage positive behavior. They want their clients to put their energy into something that will make their lives positive rather than their addictions. Our Nelly Roach has recently become a member of the Phoenix Programs board of directors. We’re incredibly proud of her for taking this leadership role in the community. This is an important issue in Columbia, and anything we can do to help raise the profile of Phoenix Programs is something we’re happy to help with. Connect with Phoenix Programs on Facebook; and if you or someone you love needs their help, don’t be afraid to contact them.

Jet Roberts (@JetForce5) and Spencer Kane (@SpencerKane) are co-hosts of KFRU’s The Closers. These two are always on top of the latest Tiger news, and are sure to provide you a laugh along with information. Follow them on Twitter and tune in from 4-6 Monday-Friday on KFRU. If you’re familiar with those two, you’ll no doubt know one of their frequent guests, Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond); proprietor of PowerMizzou.

PowerMizzou is one of the best sites around for Mizzou news (a  heads up that it is a subscription site, but that shouldn’t stop you from following Gabe). Gabe is about as in depth as you can get. He’ll provide you more stats than you can shake a stick at; and then tell you what it all means. If your taste for Mizzou news leans more towards “official” then check out the athletic department’s official website, MUTigers.com and Twitter feed (@MUTigersdotcom). Kat Lucchesi (@KatLucchesi) is worth your time as well. She runs We Are Mizzou, the official Mizzou football site and twitter feed (@mizzoufootball).

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Tiger Quarterback Club (@TigerQBClub), of course. The biggest booster club of the football team, the TQBC has a weekly luncheon on Monday’s with exclusive information from inside the team. That includes speakers like Coach Pinkel and other staff members.

If you’re looking for a more lighthearted, yet informed, take on Mizzou football, may we direct you to Rock M Nation (@rockmnation). Rock M Nation is a blog run by fans that delves a bit more into rumor and speculation (making it the perfect spot to predict where Mizzou might end up in the conference musical chairs game).

All of these are fantastic places to learn about Mizzou football and the athletics department in general, but most important of all; go to the games. Support our Tigers. It’s going to be a great season.

Have suggestions for a future #FollowFriday? Let us know in the comments!

The question we hear most often about Nelly is extremely simple; but ridiculously complex, “How does she DO it all?” It’s an excellent question, and Nelly answers it in her latest post. We thought the most interesting point she makes are the societal pressures levied on women for familial responsibilities, that don’t fall so much on men:

“… it is generally considered more acceptable for men to work long hours to provide for their families, while women may be judged or suffer from overwhelming feelings of guilt. 

I choose to look at the math of my 24-hour day a bit differently, allowing eight hours for sleep, eight hours for business, and eight hours for my personal life — but not in a row.  Sure, business can often “take away” (such a negative term, let’s use “borrow”, instead) from personal life outside of normal working hours, but that allows me to “pay back” that personal time during the work day.  So, I can allow time for field trips, tennis tournaments, taking the kids to and from school, and lunch with my friends.”

It’s this  unique perspective she brings to life, as well as business, that makes us glad we don’t have to compete against her every day. Unless it’s to see who gets the last Oreo cookie. Because Michael ALWAYS ensures he wins that race.

Not only is he a realtor, he’s the #1 realtor in Columbia. That means when you are a seller in this buyer’s market, he’s your new best friend. Here’s why we love Don. He’s a genuinely great guy who just wants to make sure his clients are getting what they’re paying for; or getting paid what they should on their investment.

Buying or selling a home is really one of the scariest things you can do. Honestly, we’d rather face Dr. Evil’s tank of ill-tempered sea bass with laser beams attached to their frickin’ heads than deal with the real estate process. That’s why we encourage you to connect with Don on Twitter, @comohomes and on Facebook. He’s like your sherpa on a trek through the Real Estate Mountains. Trust us, you won’t come away disappointed.

Our J. Michael Roach was spotlighted this week on MO.com. Working with him every day, we know how smart he is, and why he (and Nelly of course) are such great leaders for our company. Here’s a small sample from the interview: From our perspective, competition is a driving force that keeps us on our toes, keeps us innovating, and makes each project a more rewarding experience.  We know that we did more than build something; we won.  And we seek to bring that sense of winning to every project, and every client.

Want to do business with us? Here’s how to get in touch with us.

Our #FollowFriday this week goes to the Missouri State Teacher’s Association (@MSTA). They disagree with the new law, and have filed a lawsuit against it. As of the publishing of this post (6 a.m. CDT Friday, August 26, 2011) we are still waiting for a ruling from a judge as to whether an injunction against the law will be issued (UPDATE: The judge has ruled in favor of MSTA. The ruling can be found here and MSTA’S statement here). That’s not why we’re recommending you connect with MSTA. This is an organization that has the best interest of the teachers that are with your kids for 8 hours a day in mind. Want to know what’s concerning teachers? MSTA is an excellent resource to rely on.

Connect with them, get involved and help make our schools a better place to work in and a better place for our children to learn in.

Photo courtesy of US National Archives via Flickr

Hard to believe, but back to school time is officially upon us. Stores have been jam packed with families stocking up on all the necessities, and college students are once again roaming the streets. So how’s a person supposed to keep up with everything they need to know? We’re glad you asked.

Sadly, Columbia Public Schools doesn’t have a Facebook or Twitter page, but they do have a website, which is full of great information. We recommend you do some poking around there. Columbia Independent School has classes starting soon as well. The college preparatory school, located on Stadium Boulevard, just north of I-70 can be found on Twitter (@CISRoar) and on Facebook. What an amazing and rich academic foundation our children have in CPS and CIS. We’re blessed to have both of them available to our kids.

Of course, after they graduate from high school comes college. With three top tier, higher education institutions in Columbia there’s no lack of choice for where to continue your education. Mizzou leads the way, and a great way to keep up to date with the latest happenings on campus are MU’s Twitter (@Mizzou) and Facebook feeds. From advice about the best strategies for getting moved into the dorms to letting the rest of us remember what it was like to be young once upon a time, these feeds are must follows for anyone connected to MU.

Columbia College is also getting ready for all of its students; be they on campus, evening or online students. @ColumbiaColg on Twitter and on Facebook are keeping students, parents, staff and the community up to date with what’s happening over there at the corner of Rangeline and Rogers. Stephens College is welcoming in their students just down the road from Mizzou and Columbia College. For the latest happenings on that campus tune in to @StephensCollege on Twitter and on Facebook.

There’s one more entity out there we’d be remiss not to mention. That’s a new Facebook page launched by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce called Connect2CoMo. It’s a one-stop-shop for students of all ages learning their way around Columbia. Businesses are allowed to post on the page about their services, letting the students know about them.

That’s a lot of information to digest. So, before we send you on your way, let’s all join hands and sing our favorite back to school song together. Because it’s just not back to school time until you sing along with Billy, is it?

This never gets old.

With that in mind, there’s no better way to get ready for Tiger football than to start following the Tiger Quarterback Club on Twitter (@TigerQBClub). These guys (and gals) are a great source of information for everything Mizzou, and we just finished building and launching the new Tiger Quarterback Club website (which is pretty awesome if we do say so ourselves).

We’d encourage you to join TQBC, connect with them on Facebook, and get out to Faurot Field on football Saturday’s this fall. Those false start penalties on the opposing team aren’t going to happen on their own after all! GO TIGERS!!!

We’ll start with Sophia’s. Everyone knows about their fantastic dinner and lunch meals, the fantastic wine selection, and a location that makes you feel like you’re in Italy the minute you step inside. What many don’t know about is their brunch on Sunday’s. Do yourself a favor and check it out this weekend.

If you mention Sophia’s, the first place you think of next is Addison’s. Nachos Bianco (our personal favorite) is absolute legend in Columbia. Not to mention the late night happy hour. Their impressive selection of beers on tap and absolutely ridiculous prices after 10 p.m. make it a go to spot for college students, young professionals, and people like us who try to relive their youth every so often.

Murray’s is another Columbia classic. There’s plenty of things people think about when Murray’s is the topic of conversation; jazz, a great selection of spirits and one of the best atmospheres anywhere. We always think about the fried green peppers covered in powdered sugar. Seriously. Have you ever tasted something so weirdly awesome? Other than a peanut butter and banana sandwich, or course.

Bleu is a recent entrant into the Columbia restaurant scene, and they’ve quickly established themselves as one of the most unique places in the city. The upscale, modern dining room makes you feel like you’ve walked into one of the trendiest restaurants in New York or Los Angeles; not Columbia. It is a fantastic addition to downtown, and we love having it here.

There are so many other restaurants we could mention. C. C.’s City Broiler. Shakespeare’s Pizza. Teller’s. The list goes on. What are your favorite places? What’s the one place you think someone needs to experience to get a taste of Columbia? Let us hear it in the comments!

See the little girl and how bored she is? It's because she just got done watching a Choddy.

We have many enemies here at Caledon Virtual. Squirrels. Red lights. Lint balls. The mere mention of lint balls is a surefire way to send Michael into an apoplectic rage. There is one other thing, above all others, that drives us to fits of rage that would make Lewis Black blush. Boring commercials. Fortunately, our friends at Door Number 3 in Austin have started an organization to fight against this awful trend; Stop The Choddy. So, how does one define a Choddy (i.e. an incredibly boring and uninspired commercial)? Glad you asked: Choddy 101: What is a Choddy?

We’re in an incredibly competitive industry. The creative minds we are matched up against every day are incredibly talented; just look at each year’s ADDY winners here in Columbia. So when we see a Choddy, like this one, or this one, but ESPECIALLY this one, it makes us absolutely furious. The thing is that in most Choddy’s, the message is really important; which makes these ads all the more horrific. If the ad isn’t interesting, why is the audience going to pay attention?

So here’s what we ask of you. Follow Stop The Choddy on Twitter and Facebook. Sign the petition. Most importantly, if you’re a part of the ad creation process; BE CREATIVE. Don’t fall back on these useless and tired tactics. Show your audience that advertising is an art.

I see a huge benefit for user generated content and citizen journalism when Hangout becomes mobile enabled.  Had KOMU had a G+ mobile Hangout in Joplin for example, immediately after the storm, we could have invited a multitude of people to share emergency information and talk about the destruction they’re seeing in their own backyards.  It takes a while to get a microwave live remote camera set up or even a satellite window booked. With G+, you can go “live” instantly.

That is simply a brilliant use of social media, and using it in a way that enhances the news rather than just adding a bell and whistle to the newscast. What KOMU is doing is shifting how we consume our news. That’s no small task. Even with the advent of this experiment KOMU’s been doing with G+, Google itself wasn’t quite ready for it. Because it hasn’t opened up G+ for businesses and other entities to have their own pages, they shut KOMU’s G+ page down on Tuesday. Jen blogged about that yesterday:

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’m mad or disappointed. How can I be mad when I’m having so much fun in this new space? KOMU’s account started on July 1st and ended 19 days later. Google didn’t tell brands to get out and stay out until July 6th.

We’re anxious for Google to open G+ up to brands so this forging of path of journalism and social media can continue. Connect with Sarah and Jen on Twitter and on G+ if you’re lucky enough to have an invite. They’re friendly people, and best of all, love talking about the work they’re doing.

There's no proof that you'll turn into Megatherium ground sloth skeleton if you don't get outside. Of course...there's no proof you won't either. (Photo via Field Museum Library flickr account)

Despite the popular belief that we at Caledon Virtual sit behind our computers for hours on end, barely moving except for typing and mouse movement, we enjoy getting out of the house, letting our hair down and seeing other people face to face. We’re looking forward to a massive amount of fun this weekend.

The last installment of the Harry Potter franchise hits theaters today (or at midnight last night if you’re young enough to stay up that late). The epic tale of The Boy Who Lived culminates with the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The Potter series is one of our all time favorite book series, and the movie series has been everything we’d hoped and expected it to be. So, the first part of our Follow Friday is for Mr. Potter. Follow all the Potter news you can handle with SnitchSeeker on Twitter and Facebook.

After we catch our snitch, we’ll be heading to the Social Media Summer Picnic on Saturday. Join us, our sister company KimberMedia and the Social Media Club from 4:30 to 6:30 tomorrow afternoon at the Nickel Shelter at Cosmo Park. Our friends at Addison’s are being kind enough to cater the meal; we just ask that you bring a side dish and a donation for Sol House.

That’s a pretty busy weekend, everyone. Hope you find time to shut off your computers this weekend and connect with folks at the Social Media Summer Picnic, and at the movie theater. Just remember…if you show up to the movie dressed as Lord Voldemort, you’ll creep lots of people out.

If you know Nelly, you know that is the equivalent of a baseball manager exploding and throwing bases all around the field. No phones for Caledon Virtual is not a good thing. We rely on telephonic communication every day to keep in touch with our clients.

Then we woke up on Saturday morning we had no Internet. And Socket wasn’t going to open until 11 a.m. Three hours without Internet service is more than a problem; it brings our business to a screeching halt, which means we aren’t meeting the promises we’ve made to our clients.

We immediately called Socket customer service who was then extremely responsive, appropriate, and got our issues solved. While the three hours of waiting to get all of our phone and Internet services restored was horrific, the extra mile Socket went to solve our issues and to then follow up and acknowledge how much they regretted our hardship is the number one reason we’ve been a loyal Socket customer for more than 14 years. We recommend that you follow Socket on Twitter, connect with them on Facebook, and do business with them. You won’t regret it.

An artist's rendition of the first ever Caledon Virtual/KimberMedia family picnic

We love family. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, fishing expeditions; you name it. That’s why we’re so excited to highlight our sister-company KimberMedia today.

Kimber is an agency specializing in social media, SEO, and website maintenance that’s owned and operated by Michael and Nelly Roach and Tom and Kim Trabue. They’ve hired some nifty people along the way including Ryan Crowe, Matt LaCasse, Adrienne May, and Joe Schmitter.

The philosophy of KimberMedia is easy to find. It’s right on the front page of their website:

“We understand the difference between blindly shouting to the world, and having intimate conversations with the customers who are most likely to reward you.”

If you’re going to hire someone to do social media, you don’t want someone who is selling their services simply because it’s the latest thing, or an easy way to make a dollar. KimberMedia believes in founding their social media, SEO and web maintenance strategies on sound marketing principles. You see, it’s not about being the best at social media; it’s about being the best at representing the client no matter WHAT the arena is.

Online marketing and PR is Kimber’s strength, there’s no doubt about that. The ability to see past the hoopla surrounding social media currently and point clients towards success online that goes beyond followers, friends, fans, and check ins is what sets KimberMedia apart. We hope you’ll connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, and on their website. If you have questions for them, reach out to any of the partners or the account managers. They’re all really friendly people. Except for that Matt guy. He’s a Cubs fan, so we just try to ignore him as much as possible.

I'm creeping in your window...snatching up all your catnip.

First and foremost at Caledon Virtual, we love cats. Seriously. Fluffy cats, Siamese cats; doesn’t matter. Cats, cats, cats. Second of all, we’re business people (Wait a moment. I’m being told we’re not fans of cats at all. Well…that’s a bit awkward…).

As business people though, we are members, and huge fans, of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber’s annual banquet was held this past Wednesday night, which could spawn it’s own list of FollowFriday’s. Valerie Russell, Paul Land, Outstanding Businesswoman of the Year Michelle Spry and Outstanding Citizens of the Year Al and Marjo Price, just to name a few people recognized.

The Chamber is the pulse of the business community here in Columbia, not to mention our advocate in business matters in front of the City Council, County Commission, and the state government. It is our front porch to new businesses, and leads the fight to bring new businesses to Columbia. Don Laird and his team have done an incredible job at the Chamber. We’re proud to support them and their efforts. We’d encourage you to engage with them on Twitter, Facebook, their website, and in person.

Songbird Station won that recognition for a reason. They take great care of their customers, and they know WHY their customers are coming to see them. They want to experience the Great Outdoors as a family; or at least with a group of people they care about greatly. That’s why they’ve been so successful. They know exactly what their customers are looking for in both products AND experience when they come to the store; and when they take those products home.

We encourage you to go meet Mel in person, and to connect with Songbird Station on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a decision you won’t regret; and  you’ll be amazed at how much more peaceful your backyard can be if you do business with Songbird Station.

Image courtesy of State Library/Archives of Florida

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. We know this because of the movie “A League of Their Own”, and because of that movie and Tom Hanks we are now incapable of crying from spring training through the end of the World Series. Frankly, the concern that Hanks might show up on our doorstep and berate us for shedding some tears during baseball season paralyzes us with fear. No, really. Paralyzed.

But we’re not here to talk about baseball diamonds, or diamonds at all really. We’re here to talk about Mills Menser and Buchroeder’s Jewelry. Mills is a good friend, and client, of ours. Like Dr. Hana, Mills was recently profiled on MO.com. And like Dr. Hana, he also has some fantastic insight into business; and that the key isn’t capital, inventory, or many other things you would think would be at the top of the list (though, they’re certainly up there):

“…the key is customer satisfaction or exceeding their expectations, because that’s so much better than traditional marketing. That’s going to bring so many more people back in. We pamper our customers and have a huge selection and then strive to be better.” – Mills Menser

It always comes back to how you treat other people. The Golden Rule in play, all these years later. Mills’ commitment to his customers is a huge reason Buchroeder’s is as successful as it is; and why his entrepreneurial enterprises are flourishing. We encourage you to connect with Mills on Buchroeder’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and check out their website (which we built. Pardon us for patting ourselves on the back). It’s rare to find someone with an understanding that a commitment to customers is absolutely vital to maintaining, and growing, your business. Connect with Mills and Buchroeder’s to experience that intimate level of customer service.

Courtesy of normanack via Flickr Creative Commons

You know what we hate at Caledon Virtual? Stuffy noses. It’s true. We hate to let the cat out of the bag (a lazy Sunday afternoon cat as you can see here) and admit there is something on this earth we cannot stand, but stuffy noses are right at the top of that list.

Our good friend Dr. Hana R. Solomon at Nasopure was featured back in April on mo.com, a site dedicated to Missouri-based entrepreneurs. We built Dr. Hana’s Nasopure website, and she in turn has been keeping our noses clean. There are many people to be inspired by that we come across in our lives and work, and Dr. Hana is a great person to emulate. Check out what she told mo.com in April:

I always planned to make a difference in the world. I began this growing soy beans on a spiritual commune in the early 70’s. After a few years of this, I realized my real dream was to attend medical school. I completed 4 yrs of college in 3 yrs, and completed medical school as a single mom of 2. I always had a natural and preventative approach to medicine, and nasal washing became an obvious answer to my ‘snotty nose’ patients. I did not think writing prescriptions was in line with my medical school oath ‘FIRST DO NO HARM. Nasopure was born.

Dr. Hana

How amazing is that? Not only was she raising two kids, she saw an opportunity to create a product that would help people take care of themselves in a natural way, without using drugs of any kind. A person like that is worth paying attention to; and worth connecting with. You can connect with Dr. Hana on Facebook, Twitter, and online at Nasopure.com.

Consider doing business with Nasopure and Dr. Hana, she’s one of the great ones.

Caledon Virtual is now hiring for the following positions:

• Web Developers
• Project Managers
• Account Managers

We are a local company seeking freelance/independent employees.

To apply, visit us online at: caledonvirtual.com/jobs

We’re absolutely amazed (but not surprised) by the outpouring of support we’ve seen for both of these communities across Missouri, and the nation. Information about these storms was chaotic at first, but outlets like the Springfield News-Leader, Joplin Globe, KOMU, and the staff at KMIZ have done a wonderful job at keep all of us up to date. You also have people here in Columbia originally from Joplin who doing a phenomenal job of not only updating the news, but driving the effort to support the recovery there. People like Brent Beshore and Erica Pefferman.

Organzations like the Ozarks Red Cross, the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest Missouri, and many others are making the relief effort in Joplin a bit easier. Pizza Hut distributed hot meals to those in need this week; just one example of a community and nation stepping up to help a devastated community.

Our friend (and social media guy) Matt LaCasse lives in Sedalia, and wanted to make sure we recognized companies like Kansas City P&L; which is the main source of electricity for that city. Crews are working around the clock, and have done a wonderful job getting power restored. Matt’s house barely escaped the destruction suffered by his neighbor:

Matt's neighbor lost his roof; and it landed on his patio.

The same story as in Joplin is happening in Sedalia. Information is being distributed by the media as well as on Twitter and Facebook; community organizations are stepping up and meeting the needs of those affected, and the recovery effort is underway. It’s heartwrenching to see the devastation in both of these communities. But it’s even more heartwarming to see the outpouring of love and support for both communities as well.

Our Follow Friday is for all of those people and organizations we’ve linked to. If you can, look through this list provided by the Springfield N-L and choose how you’ll help in the Joplin relief effort. And if you have a new patio you want to give to our buddy Matt, we’re sure he’ll take it.

You’ll notice the changes from the very first page. Been a long week? Need a laugh this weekend? You’ll find showtimes prominently displayed along with just who these funny folks are with photos, bios, and even a video of the headliner. Not only that, but you can easily book your ticket after ROFLMAOing at the video of that big headliner.

Deja Vu Comedy website

OK, so you still want to ROFLMAO at Deja Vu, but your 2nd cousin is graduating from kindergarten and your parents have issued an executive order that you attend said graduation this weekend. No problem. You can just see what shows are scheduled for the upcoming weekends after your 2nd cousin is a proud owner of that kindergarten diploma.

The site is also designed with the audience in mind. Not the Internet audience; the audience actually sitting in Deja Vu. The site will poll visitors as to which comedians should appear at The Vu, and other questions as they think of them, which we’re sure will be funny. The folks there DO run a comedy club after all, which means they’re much funnier than we’ll ever be here at Caledon.

There’s much more on deck for The Vu’s website, stuff that we’re SERIOUSLY excited about, but can’t quite reveal yet. Trust us. It’s going to be really awesome for you; and for The Vu. So go ahead, make your reservations, and go ROFLMAO at The Vu, and tell them the website sent you.

The Centers for Disease Control is typically one of the more conservative entities in the online world. On its emergency preparedness blog, you’ll find many different topics ranging from bioterrorism to natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding. But you’ll also find one entry that is not like the others. A zombie apocalypse disaster guide. Why? Well, let’s be honest. You never know when the impending zombie apocalypse is destined to descend on us and turn our world into something that makes AMC’s The Walking Dead look like Disneyland.

True to its core mission though, the entry advises the reader to implement the advice for the impending zombie apocalypse to disasters that happen more frequently; a house fire, hurricane, tornado, and the like. The CDC’s Twitter feed is a stream of useful health information, tweeting statistics, advice, and reminders about vaccinations.

It’s not often you find an organization like the CDC has a sense of humor, and it’s refreshing to see a government agency put a human face on itself (or undead face on itself in this case). This is, frankly, a brilliant public relations move on the CDC’s part, because how often to you get a disaster preparedness plan to trend on Twitter like Zombie Apocalypse was for a time yesterday?

Any agency willing to do that deserves your follow.

All images in this post are property of the CDC.

In the last 18 months or so, McDonald’s has had an experience much like Keanu Reeves’ character Neo in The Matrix. It has taken the (very expensive) red pill to see just how deep is the rabbit hole of overhauling what the public’s view of McDonald’s.

The fast food giant is pouring $1 billion into redesigning many of its stores to change public perception from, as this USA Today article puts it, “the 500-pound clown of fast food”, to an entity that competes with more upscale restaurants like Starbucks, Chipotle (rather ironically, formerly owned by McDonald’s), and Panera Bread. This is an effort to entice patrons to begin viewing McDonald’s as a destination restaurant as opposed to food that is eaten only when time is at a premium.

This is not the first time a huge pillar of the American economy has attempted to rebrand itself as more “upscale” than what the public currently pigeonholes it as. Remember a few years ago when Wal-Mart went after Target during the holidays with ads from the likes of Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah, and members of Destiny’s Child (including Beyonce)? That failed on an epic scale. Why? Because Wal-Mart has a stranglehold on being the biggest of the big box discount stores.  They invested literally billions into gaining that reputation, and it’s a brand truth, as well.  It’s just not believable to the average American that Beyonce would shop at Wal-Mart, so the message comes across as irrelevant and fake, causing trust to falter and the brand to erode.

40% of McDonald’s profit comes from Happy Meals. That’s revenue derived from families on the go, the bright red roofs, the plastic tables, the Play Place, and a corporate culture aimed at getting people in, out, and on their way. The people that go to McDonald’s on a regular basis aren’t interested in organic food or fair trade coffee, and they’re not interested in getting work done or catching a few extra study hours.  Leave that for the Starbucks crowd.

If McDonald’s wants to build nicer restaurants, that’s a fine idea.  But they shouldn’t pretend they’re higher-end quick-casual restaurant.  They’re not.  (Side note: if McDonald’s wants to be a quick-casual restaurant, they should buy one, or build one … which is probably a great idea, if you ask me.  Which you didn’t.) Plus, no matter how you dress it up, it doesn’t smell like gourmet coffee when you walk inside (or pull up to the drive through window, for that matter) … it smells like … McDonald’s.  People just won’t be interested in hanging out in that environment.

Make no mistake though, McDonald’s is directly going after Starbucks. In Sedalia, Missouri, there are two McDonald’s. One of them is directly across a very busy Highway 50 from a Starbucks. It currently looks like this:

Notice the familiar green awning in the background.

This rebranding experiment is heading in the same direction as Wal-Mart; an epic failure. McDonald’s is simply too entrenched to ditch it’s 56-year old brand strategy.  Which, by the way (lest you should feel I’m overly negative on McDonald’s brand strategy), has been classically brilliant and phenomenally successful.

Pretty nifty, wouldn't you say?

As you can imagine, with a name like Print Ninja, these guys are an absolute blast to work with. Not only do they have ridiculously competitive pricing, but they produce high-quality work. We think we’ve created a site that reflects that.

This site does much more than you would expect from a printing company. Ever seen a site that provides you with blank templates to design your project from? Print Ninja does.

Get a head start on your project with templates provided for you

Have your postcard art ready, and just need to get that order finished and to the printer? No problem. You can do that on the Print Ninja website. You’re beginning to understand just how user-friendly this website is. It puts lower prices, high-quality production, and control directly in the hands of the client, because after all, that’s the most important person in the relationship.

The ability to upload artwork is a key factor to the Print Ninja site. Knowing you are almost out of letterhead and needing to get some ordered quickly, you can just direct yourself here and have your order to you before you run out. Ease, convenience, and again, high-quality products are what Print Ninja and the website are all about. Enough from us though, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Self, this sounds like an awesome place to do business. But what exactly IS Print Ninja?” Glad you asked. Here’s how they describe themselves:

What is Print Ninja? Your new best friend for printing jobs

PrintNinja is a Missouri company that provides US customers with “wicked low” prices on printed goods from China while delivering traditional American quality and service standards.

They can’t deliver overnight, but they’re your ideal printer for jobs with longer lead times. (Could you plan ahead if you knew you would get 25-70% savings off your last printing job?)

Because we’ve enjoyed working with the Print Ninja team, and look forward to working with them in the future as our relationship develops, we would encourage you to engage with them on Facebook as well. Obviously, we have a direct relationship with Print Ninja, and we want to be as upfront with you as we can when we hand out our Follow Friday recommendations. That said, we can tell you that it is worth your time to go like them on Facebook.

Leave your comments below to let us know what you think of the site, and go visit it.

This is the logo of the group of SEALs who raided bin Laden's compound

We are recommending you follow the SEALs Twitter account because even though they don’t want congratulations and adoration, they surely deserve both. These men risk their lives every day to protect not just our rights as Americans, but our way of life. They do it without thanks and often in the face of gunfire overseas. These men will never claim personal glory because of this mission, but they certainly deserve it. A follow from all of us grants a small amount of recognition to this elite group of soldiers who made America a little bit safer last weekend. Hooyah.

Two feeds we’ve been following with great interest in the past few weeks include the official British Monarchy feed and the Clarence House feed which keeps tabs on Prince Charles and Camilla, and Princes William and Harry. The Clarence House feed is so good that the British Monarchy feed has simply been retweeting the majority of its tweets throughout the wedding festivities.

Are there more important things in the world? Of course. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those across the South who have died, their family members, and anyone who has been affected by the horrific storms this week. Follow the Red Cross for information on how you can help those devastated by that tragedy. We hope you can find room in your Twitter feed for some fun in the Royal Wedding, and also room to help those who are in need with the Red Cross.

Piet’s tweets (HA! We’re rhyming machines) are introspective, reflective, and show how a church leader has many of the same struggles as the rest of us. His feed is reassuring in that we have a great mentor and a great friend to guide us in our daily walk. Piet will also be doing a guest post next Thursday for our sister company KimberMedia, so keep your eyes peeled for that! We hope you all have a great Easter and encourage you to attend the Easter service of your choice this weekend!

When communicating online, grammar, sentence structure, and everything else that goes in to language are even more important. However, something that not many think about is what the words actually look like. For example, you’re reading this in the Arial font, which is a fairly common font to use.

But what if you’re the President of the United States, and you just aren’t finding the font that truly expresses what you’re looking for in your re-election campaign? You hire Hoefler & Frere-Jones to create an entirely new font just for you.

H&FJ is will known around the typography world, and the firm understands that what the words look like convey just as much message as what they actually say. Times-New Roman screams newspaper. Arial (which you’re reading this in) says modern and online. The new Gotham Serifs is about progress and hope. So, why should you follow the H&FJ Twitter feed? If for no other reason than the feed is extremely conversational and it’s a glimpse into understanding what all those different fonts really mean.

Another interesting read is What You See Is What You Get: Comparing the Logos of the Candidates from the 2004 Presidential contest between Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Edwards – from Art Director Scott Dadich as published on October 9, 2004 in the New York Times.

Both accounts are interactive and offer terrific information; two standards we consider when asking you to follow someone. One other POSSIBLE FollowFriday recommendation for you. The founder of WordPress is named Matt Mullenweg. We believe this is his personal account, but as it is not verified by Twitter, we’re not completely sure. It seems legit, but you can make your own decision.

The smaller square inside the larger square serve as both a brainteaser (how many squares can YOU find), as well as links to explore the Marathon website.

Ready for us to launch a new website for your organization? Get in touch with us, we can’t wait to talk to you.

What this means for you, our customer, is we’ll be rolling out the updated WordPress format to your sites very soon. Which means, no more issues. Insert your favorite happy dance song here. This is ours.

Occasionally, we like to point at something we create and say, “Look. We made that.” Case in point is the new Buchroeder’s Jewelers site that launched this morning.

The new Buchroeder's website

If you like the new Buchroeder’s site as much as we do, we’d love to talk with you about how we can design (or redesign) your website. Get in touch with us here.

Our Follow Friday recommendation this week is John Moore, who goes by @BrandAutopsy on the Twitters, and runs a marketing practice of the same name. John provides great insight into the world of branding and marketing, along with pithy, witty, and funny tweets along the way.

Who you follow on Twitter should not be a decision made without a measure of “what’s in it for me”. By following John, you’re going to become a better branding and marketing professional by simply getting the knowledge he tweets.

Have a suggestion for Follow Friday? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

First, let’s take a look at how branding is defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:

The promoting of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand

That’s, um…a bit bland. But what else would you expect from a dictionary, right? It’s not that it is WRONG per se, but it leaves a lot out of the picture.

We believe branding is defining who you are as an organization. Finding your core values and implementing them throughout the organization. That will then have an affect on how your organization represents itself to clients, colleagues, and the rest of the world in general.

Your brand is more than a logo or a slogan.

It is about how your organization conducts business, the type of people it hires, and how it interacts with the world. In short, your brand defines who you are as a company. How do you define branding? Let’s hear it in the comments!

And, we’d be remiss if we didn’t say that we would love to help you figure out your corporate branding. If you feel it’s stagnant or doesn’t represent what your organization is all about, get in touch with us so we can talk.

We just became aware of Christian this week, but based on his post, and the rest of his website he is an outstanding professional and someone worth getting to know. So click on over to his Twitter feed and give him the hoards of followers he so richly deserves.

The KimberMedia Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting at the 2011 Columbia Business Showcase

Voices Daily was kind enough to write an article highlighting the two women (and their husbands, of course) who lead KimberMedia — Nelly Roach and Kim Trabue.  We’d like to take a moment to doff our collective hats to Nelly, Kim, and the rest of the KimberMedia team.

Congratulations folks!

Longevity is something we strive for every day. Longevity in our life, relationships, jobs, you name it. A well crafted brand CAN last for decades. It takes hard work, patience, and a TON of planning. You have to know your audience. Not just your audience right now, but what that audience will be like in 10 or 15 years. Let us help you guide you down that path of longevity. We’ll be like a Sherpa guiding you through the Branding Mountains. You can get in touch with us here.

We start with Lee Clow. He is most famous for being half of the creative force behind Apple’s 1984 ad, having led many other national campaigns since. Lee’s twitter feed is a constant flowing mixture of snark, insight, and intelligence revolving around the advertising industry. A small sampling:

Showing smiling people using your product reinforces the important message that paid talent loves being in your ad.

Dear Jr. Team, If you’re going to be irritating, you better cough up some pearls. Love, LCB

Collaboration is not a group of people sitting around telling someone else how to do their job.

Ads are just the love notes in a B2C relationship. Some flirtatious. Some reassuring. Some of questionable taste.

So there you have it. Our first Follow Friday. If you have a recommendation for a Follow Friday, leave it in the comments, or @ us on Twitter.

We believe strongly in offering help where it is needed. When a tragedy of this magnitude happens, providing our resources to a larger entity. The Red Cross has already been offering assistance in getting those affected by this disaster shelter, clothing, food, and other necessities. We’d like you to join us in helping the Red Cross in its relief efforts. There are two ways you can donate. You can donate online by clicking this link, or you can text “RedCross” to 90999 to donate $10. If you choose to text your donation, it will show up on your next phone bill.

Individually we can do very little, but together, we can do great things.

“KimberMedia, (J.Michael) Roach said, will be able to provide the ongoing evaluation, planning and execution required to boost search-engine rankings and communicate with customers via sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.”

We’re looking forward to working with KimberMedia in the future, and we have little doubt you will as well. You can find KimberMedia on Facebook and Twitter.

How far from the truth it actually is, though.

By and large, customers work with companies they like, unless they are under contract to do otherwise – and just like people, they tend to like companies more after they “get to know” them.  Companies, products and brands (also just like people) tend to take on a personality.  So, let your customers get to know you by offer a blog on your website.

Furthermore, while not necessarily a “blog” by traditional definitions, a blog can offer a simply and easy-to-use platform for posting news, updates, information on new products, employee recognition and recent awards.



• a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages
• an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages
• a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new users
• a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.

For Calevir hosting clients, upgrades will take place beginning immediately, and will roll out over the next few days.  Please call any issues to our attention.

For complete details, visit http://wordpress.org/news/2011/02/threeone/

www.vbma.biz

The Veterianary Business Management Association (or VBMA) launched the second version of its website today.  The site, intially developed by Caledon Virtual three years ago, has been well received by the associations members and leadership.  This launch represents a new design and layout, along with a number of functionality enhancements.

The new site, developed by the Calevir Drupal team, offers virtual association management functions, including online membership management, up-to-date compliance information, support for over three dozen chapters nationwide, and a host of membership communication tools.

• Check it out: www.vbma.biz

The Culligan Mid Missouri website (dubbed the Water Web) – featuring creative direction from Nelly Roach with graphic designer Erica Fisher, lead web developer J. Michael Roach and copywriter John Mulette – was recognized with a Gold ADDY.

The Kliethermes Homes & Remodeling 2010 postcard campaign – co-written by J. Michael Roach, Nelly Roach, and Elaine McCrary and design by J. Michael Roach featuring photography from Brad Noblitt and Art Smith – received a Silver ADDY in the Direct Mail competition.

Culligan Mid Missouri is the area’s franchise for Culligan water softeners, bottled water, and commercial water conditioning systems.

Kliethermes Homes & Remodeling a home remodeling company and custom home builder with more than 30 years of experience.

AAF | Mid-Missouri (formerly the Mid-Missouri Advertising Federation) is the area chapter of the American Advertising Federation.  The ADDY Awards are the nations largest advertising competition.

• Chris Groening assistant professor of marketing at MU’s Trulaske College of Business
• Susanne Bylund chief operating officer at Pure
• Sean Cotton interactive director at True Media Services
• Anna Quast consultant for Word Marketing
• Nelly Roach Executive Director of Caledon Virtual
• Scott Wendling owner of Penguin Spark.

The editors asked contributors to rate them for potential effectiveness in the Columbia market and add occasional comments within the categories.

See the full article: Internet Marketing: Tools and Trends in 2011

Addison’s brilliant new “FNG” BBQ Sauce is now available at area Hy-Vee grocery stores.

The sauce packaging feature artwork by the great David Spear (creater of the famous painting which adorn the interior of the restaurant) and packaging design by Caledon Virtual.

See the website: www.comopedia.com

The site features a dynamic and impactful portfolio header, Cufon font embedding for maximum brand integration, photo galleries, an automated email newsletter, and more.

See the website: www.septagon.com

• Greta Bassett-Seymour The Bassett Law Firm
• Paula Elias Axiom, an Identity Co.
• Kelly Kilgore-Bietsch Kilgore’s Respiratory Services
• Mariel Liggett Williams Keepers
• Kat Cunningham Moresource Inc.
• Jennifer Perlow PS: Gallery
• Nelly Roach Caledon Virtual
• Keri Tipton Bucket Media
• Kay Wax Bright City Lights
• Ivy White New Village Midwives
• Jill Womack TRYPS.

Says the Tribune:

Nelly Roach founded and serves as executive director of marketing firm Caledon Virtual. She has provided award-winning work for nearly a decade for such clients as Boone County Millwork, Columbia Independent School and Maplewood Barn Theatre. An energetic volunteer, Roach provides hours of pro-bono marketing work each month.

In the end, Moresource’s Kat Cunningham was given the honor.  Nelly and Kat are friends and fellow Rotarians in the Northwest Rotary Club … so no hard feelings.

Read the full story: 2010 Women in Business Award Finalists Named

Deep Fried Diesels specializes in converting diesel-powered vehicles to run on vegetable oil.   The conversions are geared toward people that want to be independent, set their own fuel prices, and reduce their carbon foot print all at the same time. Almost any vehicle that runs on diesel fuel can be converted to run on recycled vegetable oil.

To build his corporate identify and develop the initial branding, Deep Fried Diesels owner Lance Coolley turns to Art Director Shawn Willhoite and Caledon Virtual.  The results are as interesting and informative as they are impactful.

See the website: www.deepfrieddiesels.org

You go girl.

See the full article: Virtual Reality

The new logo is completed and talks are underway to develop an online association management system to improve communication among its members and the public.

Stay tuned to www.feedingmissouri.org and www.caledonvirtual.com for the latest updates…

Successful corporate branding starts with the vision and long term goals of top management. That vision must be emphatically and persistently communicated so employees buy into it and project it to current and potential customers.

At Caledon Virtual we use all the available tools to mold perception about your firm until it matches your corporate goals.

Most corporations today utilize many different marketing tools – print and broadcast, outdoor, Internet, etc. We’ll help you make sure all of them are selling your corporate brand at the same time they’re selling your goods and services.

At Caledon Virtual we have a history of successful online website designs as long as your arm and as near as your mouse. Check them out in our Portfolio section.

But even the most intriguing, attention-grabbing website is worthless if nobody sees it. So we’ve made it our business to become experts at search engine optimization, search engine marketing, banner ad placement, e-marketing and other web strategies designed to make sure your site is seen by the maximum number of potential buyers.

(We’re currently building a network for a client that will have nearly 3,000 members, all of whom will be very interested in what our client has to say and sell.) That’s targeted marketing at its best and most efficient.