In this instant age, we think we don’t have time to proofread. Or, we say, “That’s why they created spell check.” But sending e-mails and documents with typographical errors and poor grammar says that you don’t care. You don’t care enough to re-read what you’ve written, or run spell check, or double check how to spell someone’s name. And if you don’t care about your interpersonal communication, you’re saying you don’t care about the person with whom you’re communicating. It’s personal.

In our last post, we reported that one-third of American adults now own a smartphone. A newly-released Nielsen report confirms that the trend continues to grow exponentially and provides more in-depth insights for popular marketing tools, such as deal-of-the-day websites.

Our web development team intuitively understands that smartphone users don't browse the web in the same way as laptop and desktop users. Last week, Forbes published an in-depth look at the changing landscape, contributed by a UK-based SEO and web design firm. Articles like these help us systematize our approach to creating content and developing for the mobile web.

My wife wants an Amazon Kindle Fire for Christmas, and my mother, a Barnes & Noble Nook. They are hardly alone. These two moderately priced pieces of techno-wizardry should put the tablet permanently on the map. What does this new reality of tablet technology mean for advertisers and businesses in general?

At The Ivy Group, we like talking “integration”, as in Integrated Marketing Communications or IMC—the strategic coordination of promotional methods (public relations, advertising and sales promotion) to create successful marketing programs. And social media is all about integration. Otherwise, why would Twitter and Facebook have us sync posts and tweets across platforms? Because it’s convenient? Well, perhaps…

Currently looking for a spring internship? Or are you a business looking for a student intern? The schedule and assigned duration of the internship will shape its direction and success. Both parties should discuss early on their respective expectations and goals—intern experiences should be eye-opening and enriching for all involved, and this is one way to ensure that happens!

Data management systems are one of the most exciting results to come out of the digital revolution. They automate and simplify repetitive administrative tasks, freeing up personnel to focus on business development and client relations. Previous “revolutions” – industrial and electric most recently, and agricultural before them – had the unfortunate side-effects of making the jobs of tens of thousands of unskilled laborers obsolete and decreasing the number of workers required to complete a given task. Happily, we have not seen a similar trend today in the deployment of data management systems.

During the California Gold Rush, a lumber magnate and a prominent coffin maker shared their boxcar with a journalist on a week-long train ride out West. For several days, the men spoke of their families and future, yet uttered not one word about business until the final stop.

You may not know it, but punctuation kills. At least according to one of my favorite T-shirts.

Remember road trips past, before the emergence of GPS and smartphones? In spite of the bundle of maps squirreled between the driver’s and front passenger seat, my father insisted on navigating by highway signs until forced to wrestle with one of those gigantic maps, concealing my entire view of the windshield.

Sometimes we get complacent in our user interfaces. A bad idea can take root, whether because of technical constraints or poor planning, and become accepted over time because “that’s the way things are”. Think the QWERTY keyboard, microwave controls and parking brake release levers.

“Facebook is and always will be free.” So saith Facebook. Sworn statements. Vows. Do you believe it? Here are comments (and hairbrained theories) floating around: