The Digital Buzz at Stormfront Productions

When you hear something is turning 5, most people immediately think of buying Barbie dolls or action figures. However, when something like YouTube turns five, it brings a whole slew of new changes to the table.

In a wonderfully smart, albeit sneaky, way to get more users to start using Chrome, Google, who is the owner of YouTube after a 1.65 billion dollar purchase, has begun testing for HTML5 video format. IE browsers do not support this format, making sure that if YouTube stops using Flash, you would theoretically have to switch to Chrome to watch those adorable kitten videos. Some notable changes that Google has already made to YouTube include the wonderful embedded ads on top of every single video that you watch. As an avid YouTube user, the track record makes me wonder, "Do they really want me to have a good video experience? Or are they just trying to make more money Gordon Gekko style?" In my opinion, its most likely the latter.

In the short history of YouTube, it has almost crashed the internet. Twice. Proving too much for unprepared hosts, the sheer amount of data that YouTube sends is unreal. YouTube is comparable in volume of hits only to the Google search engine, Facebook, and Wikipedia. All of which only give you still images or texts. Not streaming video.

YouTube is essentially walking a slippery slope. They are putting much faith in the fact that most internet users love kitten videos so much that until Microsoft or Mozilla create patches to support HTML5 video, the users will switch to Chrome, have an epiphany, and only use Chrome for the rest of their kitten video watching lives.

Some people may say that Google's push for users of its applications, such as Gmail, to stop using IE6 is a way for Google to promote Chrome. I see it differently. After working at an online media consulting business like Stormfront, it's obvious that IE6 has been obsolete for quite a while. Introduced in 2001, and mind you, Microsoft is now on IE8, IE6 requires upkeep on our end. Designers and programmers of our sites often get calls that the site they had just built "doesn't work" or "doesn't look right."

Aside from not working with many websites, IE6 has major security issues. According to Wikipedia (hey, it's how I got through college), "As of January 10, 2009, security advisory site Secunia reports 142 vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6, 22 of which are unpatched, some of which are rated moderately critical in severity." My question to you, why would you want to work with anything that has THAT many vulnerabilities? The way IE6 works is like locking your house, but giving a cat burglar the key too. It operates on the access level of the user, not the lowest access level like some later browsers. This means that if you are the computer administrator, malware has the same level of access. You can fix this by adjusting your settings, but it is not by default, and many users don't know about it.

Instead of making a lengthy rebuild that is compatible with IE6, consumers of websites should just upgrade! If you enjoy what Internet Explorer has to offer, stick with it, but upgrade to IE7 or IE8. If you never liked Internet Explorer, try Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. Firefox is freeware that can be easily customized with downloadable add-ons to suit your own tastes and browsing styles. Google Chrome is also freeware. It's all about the user these days. Choose what browser suits your needs. But for us, the lovable nerds who build your websites, recommend that you please stop using IE6.

When most people go to a job interview, they take care to make sure that their clothes are clean, their clothes match, and that their hair doesn't look like they spent the summer in the wilderness with Bear Grylls. They make sure their resume is immaculate with no grammatical errors. But what about their contact information? A new kind of elitism concerning what comes before and after the '@' sign of your email is one of the newest things that needs to be thought of when it comes to a professional environment. What does your email address say about you? I switched my personal email to Gmail as soon as the beta testing was finished from an email address hosted by CBGB, the now defunct punk rock club in New York City. It's very difficult for me to remember what life was like before Gmail, and my extremely unprofessional email. Would you want to hire someone with the handle "youngcrazedpeeling"? I think not.

Most people understand that handles like "BigManOnCampus" or "SuperQT7"should be changed to something like "jane.doe" or "jlsmith." What about what comes after the '@' sign? According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, even domains such as the once dominant AOL and Hotmail are looked down upon. Does it mean that you are so unprepared for the internet that you are still using dial-up? Or that you are pining for the 90s, and still spinning that Chumbawumba CD? Not necessarily. It all depends on where you are applying. Personally, I am glad to keep up with the times and use a sleeker, more dependable email domain. I've already signed up for Google Wave Beta, and life before Gmail is a memory that I have since forgotten.

It is so important for people to polish every aspect of themselves when pursuing any type of professional endeavor. Making the extra effort on a small thing such as an email address, which is a main channel for contact, makes a big difference between getting hired, getting an internship, and not living life as "SuperQT7."

Happy New Year! I can't believe we are coming to the end of another decade. This decade will always hold importance to me as I graduated college, got married and started our agency all in the last 10 years. 

The last year has been particularly busy here at Stormfront Productions. It seemed just like yesterday we were getting moved into our new building at 424 Main Street. It's hard to imagine that was last year this time already.

We were fortunate to have a great 2009 here at Stormfront Productions. With the economy the way it is I did have to personally put in longer hours and try new things to keep growing our agency, but in the end we had a solid year. Many thanks to all our clients and supporters!

We were also once again lucky enough to reward our employees with a net profit sharing bonus. Stormfront employees shared a percentage-based bonus taken from this year's profit margin in addition to the yearly raises.

In 2009, we added additional full and part-time staff, saw increased revenues for a sixth straight year and expanded our physical facilities by more than 400%.

Most importantly, because we were in a good position, we were able to give back to the local community in 2009 more than ever. Stormfront Productions donated to several great causes in the area including the Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition at Purdue University, the Purdue Center for Cancer Research 5K Walk / Run, a local Cystic Fibrosis Community Drive and the Downtown Development Task Force Committee. Additionally, the agency provided over $20,000 in charitable work this year for non-profits, charities and good causes including the Shelter Plus Weed and Seed initiative, LafCal.com and the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra.

The staff and I would like to wish everybody a safe and happy New Year. Best of luck in 2010!

In an effort to become even cooler, Google has set out to become the largest online library. With the advent of the Sony Reader, and other mp3 player format book readers, books are becoming popular again. They never went out of style with this girl, however, whose mirror has a sticker on it that states boldly "I'd rather be reading."

By utilizing Flash player to 'turn' the pages, Google books gives a more realistic reading experience, rather than scrolling on a screen. The scans are high-quality, and look great. The fee is nominal, about $8-15 per book, which is about the price of a bookstore. Besides books, Google has scanned in old Magazines, such as Life. The speculation is that over 10 million books have been scanned, yet Google is reluctant to release this information due to publishers feeling they are stealing the material by scanning it without permission. Look forward to hearing lots of legal issues in the coming months having to do with Google books.

This blogger's opinion is that Google books is really interesting, but nothing it going to replace tangible literature at my house. For one, my hard drive crashes about every eight months, and I like the smell of books.However, if online reading suits you, or you are lucky enough to own an electronic book reader, check out Google Books for yourself at: http://books.google.com

It's that time of the year, my personal favorite, Halloween. Stormfront will be participating in Downtown Lafayette's Operation Trick-or-Treat event on Friday, October 30th from 6:00 - 8:00pm.

Keep an eye out for us on WLFI's 6:00 evening news for a live broadcast from our "haunted house" (well it's really a building.....but "haunted house" just sounds better). That's right kids, enter if you dare! We will be featuring a haunted house at our office along with lots of candy for the little ones. This year's theme will include an evil carnival, outdoor graveyard, a real-time lightning simulator, live actors and lots of spooks and surprises. It will be a fun time for the whole family but be warned not everything is just a prop! We hope you'll have a spooktacular time!

To find out more about the event please visit WLFI's site here. A big thanks goes out to Lights Alive for donating all of these great props.

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