Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Storing data on Dropbox? Think again and then rethink again…

Who says no one reads the fine print anymore? Dropbox currently sent an e-mail to customers with updated terms and conditions to their clients. Within these revisions it said,

"By submitting your stuff to the Services, you grant us (and those we work with to provide the Services) worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable rights to use, copy, distribute, prepare derivative works (such as translations or format conversions) of, perform, or publicly display that stuff to the extent reasonably necessary for the Service."

With a lot of creative agencies using Dropbox as a way to transfer files among employees, this definitely caused an uproar. But do not be scared, after the immense disapproval, Dropbox quickly revised their Terms and Conditions to save their millions of loyal followers. It now states,

"You retain ownership to your stuff. You are also solely responsible for your conduct, the content of your files and folders, and your communications with others while using the Services.

We sometimes need your permission to do what you ask us to do with your stuff (for example, hosting, making public, or sharing your files). By submitting your stuff to the Services, you grant us (and those we work with to provide the Services) worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable rights to use, copy, distribute, prepare derivative works (such as translations or format conversions) of, perform, or publicly display that stuff to the extent reasonably necessary for the Service. This license is solely to enable us to technically administer, display, and operate the Services. You must ensure you have the rights you need to grant us that permission."


Dropbox's intention was to merely cut the legal lingo out to make it more understandable to their everyday user. But it seems that they cut out too much, this simple miss-wording of their terms and conditions could cost them many customers. This is the reason why the use of copy/technical writers AND editors is crucial to releasing pertinent information into the public.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Roy Rogers Museum has closed its doors for good.

A time in History, never to be seen again, but what a ride it was. HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!

The Roy Rogers Museum in Branson , MO has closed its doors forever. The contents of the museum were sold at a public auction. Roy Rogers told his son, if the museum ever operates at a loss, close it and sell the contents. He complied.

Here is a partial listing of some of the items that were sold at auction:
1. Roy 's 1964 Bonneville sold for $254,500, it was estimated to sell between 100 and 150 thousand dollars.

2. His script book from the January 14,1953 episode of This Is Your Life sold for $10,000 (est. $800-$1,000).

3. A collection of signed baseballs (Pete Rose, Duke Snyder and other greats) sold for $3,750.

4. A collection of signed bats (Yogi Berra, Enos Slaughter, Bob Feller, and others) sold for $2,750.

5. Trigger's saddle and bridle sold for $386,500 (est. 100-150 K).

6. One of many of Roy 's shirts sold for $16,250 and one of his many cowboy hats sold for $17,500.

7. One set of boot spurs sold for $10,625. (He never used a set of spurs on Trigger).

8. A life size shooting gallery sold for $27,500.

9. Various chandeliers sold from $6,875 to $20,000. Very unique and artistic in their western style.

10. A signed photograph by Don Larsen taken during his perfect game in the world series against the Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1953, along with a signed baseball to Roy from Don, sold for $2,500.

11. Two fabulous limited edition BB guns in their original boxes with numerous photos of Roy, Dale, Gabby, and Pat sold for $3,750.

12. A collection of memorabilia from his shows entertaining the troops in Vietnam sold for $938. I never knew he was there. His flight jacket sold for $7,500.

13. His set of dinner ware plates and silverware sold for $11,875. The

14. Bible they used at the dinner table every night sold for $8,750.

15. One of several of his guitars sold for $27,500.

16. Nellybelle sold for $116,500.

17. A fabulous painting of Roy , Dale, Pat, Buttermilk, Trigger, and Bullet sold for $10,625.

18. One of several sets of movie posters sold for $18,750.

19. A black and white photograph of Gene Autry with a touching inscription from Gene to Roy sold for $17,500.

20. A Republic Productions Poster bearing many autographs of the people that played in Roy 's movies sold for $11,875.

21. Dale's horse, Buttermilk (whose history is very interesting) sold below the presale estimate for $25,000. (est. 30-40 K).

22. Bullet sold for $35,000 (est. 10-15 K). He was their real pet.

23. Dale's parade saddle, estimated to sell between 20-30 K, sold for $104,500.

24. One of many pairs of Roy 's boots sold for $21,250.

25. Trigger sold for $266,500.

26. Do you remember the 1938 movie The Adventures of Robinhood, with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland? Well Olivia rode Trigger in that movie. Trigger was bred on a farm co-owned by Bing Crosby. Roy bought Trigger on a time payment plan for $2,500. Roy and Trigger made 188 movies together. Trigger even out did Bob Hope by winning an Oscar in the movie Son of Paleface in 1953.

It is extremely sad to see this era lost forever. These were the great heroes of our childhood, and they did teach us right from wrong, and how to have and show respect for each other and the animals that share this earth.

So it's good-bye to Roy and Dale, Gene and Hoppy, The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Farewell to Sky King and Superman and Sgt. Friday. Thanks to Capt.. Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers and Capt. Noah and all those people whose lives touched ours, and made them better.

It was a great ride through childhood. HAPPY TRAILS MY FRIENDS.

How is your presidential candidate campaigning?


It all started back in 1992, when the first campaign e-mail was sent out. Candidates are finding the internet is the most cost efficient advertising medium to spread the word to the greatest amount of people. They have now embraced Google AdWord campaigns, facebook ads, blogs, and more. But the 2012 elections will take the publicity on the internet to the next level.

Now don't get us wrong, these upcoming presidential candidates will still be out there shaking hands and kissing babies. But these presidential candidates know that every baby they kiss and every hand they shake could end up on the internet. Here are some trends you will see:

  1. Reputation Management: Making sure that they look like an angel to the world wide web. This includes responding to posts that are negative toward their campaign, making sure inappropriate content does not leak out (i.e. Anthony Weiner), and also making sure that there is enough positive feedback in the web to balance the negative.

  2. Advertising through video streaming: With more and more people disconnecting their cable and watching videos and television through the internet. You will not only see campaign advertisements for television, but also shorter versions for the web. Many companies will sponsor a show to get advertisement spots on streaming television shows. The advantage is interactivity, once the ad has played you are able to allow the viewer to click a link to your website to learn more.

  3. Blogging: People are now starting to look more towards blogs to find the truth about campaign platforms. This is because the bloggers are generally not paid, and give more honest non-biased information. It is also quicker to spread word and less expensive than putting on the press or airing on television.
The presidential candidates will need to be at the top of their game in 2012 with the ability to reach the largest amount of voters with only a click of a button. Let us know how you feel about the upcoming presidential campaigns...

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Getting The Most Out of Your Website


As you bask in the glory of a newly launched website created by Glint Advertising, you might ask yourself, now what? Having your website fully optimized in the backend code is only the start of creating perfect Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings.

Let's start off with a little background on SEO. Your SEO ranking determines your list placement when people search for websites. You have two types of placements: Organic and Paid. We will focus on how you can improve your SEO through organic placement (which means you don't have to spend any money!)

Website Graffiti: Know someone who owns a website? Have them post a link on their website to your website in exchange for putting them on your "partners" page. The more relevant their site is to your industry, the better. The more incoming links to your website, the higher web crawlers will calculate your site being relevant.

Keep the website updated:
Having an active website cues web crawlers to search your website more often. You can accomplish this by a simple blog. Post articles relevant to your industry or recaps of recent events that your company has attended. (P.S. This article along with the rest of our blog is not only for your enjoyment, but also our SEO). Don't forget to use your tags, this will help categorize your article for search engines.

Google Analytics: Register your site with Google Analytics. This will give you an in depth analysis of the activity of your website (Number of visitors, pages viewed, and even where they came from.) For example, you may see a lot of people are visiting your "About Us." Buff this page up by adding links to other pages in your website. People view websites differently, where one person sees a link another may not. It is always good to give your users a variety of ways to access the different pages within your site.

These are only a few things you can do to help with your SEO. If you would like more suggestions, give us a call, (817) 616-0320. We will gladly analyze your website and inform you on how we can help improve your Search Engine Optimization.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Battle of the Browsers.

Do you ever browse websites and wonder – Why does this website look so different in different browsers? Or why does your technologically advanced child keep insisting that you upgrade to one of the new fancy-shmancy web browsers such as, Google Chrome or Firefox? As Google Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer battle it out to to be the top contender on the desktops of internet users today, we explore the issue and what Glint Advertising recommends using as your home base for internet browsing.

Top Recommendation:
Firefox. All three browser's were recently put to the test with Firefox 4 coming out on top for speediness, memory usage and security. The advantage Firefox has with both chrome and Internet explorer, is that it has embraced the coming of HTML 5.

2nd recommendation:
Google Chrome, Chrome is the new shiny object of today's browser, of course gaining popularity so quickly because it was developed by the all-powerful google search engine. A lot of research was done to develop this web browser. The outcome became a browser that was very intuitive to use. Chrome could be also referred to as the "Apple" of Internet Browsers.

3rd recommendation:
Internet Explorer 9, While IE is still the most popularly used web browser today (mainly because it has the advantage of being pre-installed on every PC), it is the last on our recommendations for web browsers. IE is notorious for security issues and crashing. You would think that after 9 versions of IE, that these problems would fade.

And there you have it, what Glint thinks about the competition of the most popular web browsers today. If we have struck your interest and you would like to try one of these browsers, they are are all downloadable for free. GOOGLE IT:)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Agencies Get Into the V.C. Business, But Why?


As noted in the article below, posted by Adweek, our business society often over simplifies it's approach to venture capitalism, mergers or acquisitions by trying to categorize everything in a "general" area. Sometimes, and often with agencies, investing or acquiring other firms (as Glint has done in the past) is a tactic to solidify your place in the market and give a better offering to your clients. This was noted at the bottom of the article by the individuals involved in the outlined cases.

ADWEEK REPORT: "Venture capital has again become a pretty cool gig—cooler, in fact, than advertising. Which may explain why in recent months, an influx of agencies has wandered into the risky business of investing in media startups.

There’s the recently launched Rockfish Brand Ventures and Redscout Ventures. Consigliere, started last year by former Deutsch Inc. chief strategy officer Mike Duda and Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash, is marketing a $20 million fund. Last month Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners launched KBS+P Ventures. Bartle Bogle Hegarty is raising $16 million through its newly formed Black Sheep Fund. And Method Inc. is rounding up $30 million for Method Ventures.

Media coverage of the trend paints the move as a win-win: startups get funds and agencies get to say they’re at the forefront of innovation. Everything, and everyone, is cool.

Except as any venture capitalist will tell you, investing is not that easy. Even though the strategies and structures of these new venture arms are widely varied, none mirror a traditional venture firm, and for that reason, none expect venture-like returns. And that’s where things get tricky. "I don't think we've ever seen a case where all those investments were primarily motivated by money," says Chris Yeh, marketing vp for PBworks.

The idea of relationship capital, or buying access to innovative technology (and possibly new clients), creates a conflict that’s manifested in the structure of the fund. Agencies with outside investment need to consider fiduciary duties to limited partners ahead of potential benefits for their agencies. Meanwhile, agencies investing from their balance sheet haven’t necessarily hired dedicated investment professionals to conduct due diligence on new deals.

Rockfish and KBS+P Ventures plan to invest capital from their parent companies’ balance sheets, so their limited partners are, essentially, themselves. If their efforts ultimately lose money, the failure could technically be written off as a marketing cost—these are, after all, only small, seed stage investments. But the approach of "connection first, returns second" is a far cry from the competitive world of Sand Hill Road, where a break-even performing venture fund often means game over for its managers.

Rockfish Ventures Chief Marketing Officer Dave Knox says his fund doesn’t have a specific goal for internal rates of return or hold time. "We don't have LPs to answer to other than ourselves. We're doing this to be better for our partners and clients," he says.

Sentiment toward returns at KBS +P Ventures was similar. "We can sacrifice IRR to make sure we're on point with things our clients will find most interesting," says Darren Herman, the venture arm's managing director." Written by Erin Griffith.

We think it sounds like a lot of calculated risks to make the bottom line a little stronger while being proactive toward engaging new tactics. Isn't this how great brands and companies are built. It's time our industry reporters become a little more "open" with their vision. Venture Capitalism, just like advertising, is not what it used to be. Both have become much broader in scope of offering.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Breakfast with the Rear Admiral


April marks the 100th anniversary of Naval aviation and the Fort Worth business community rallied to hear more over a breakfast event hosted by the Combined Area Councils of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Chair of the North Area Council Board and President of Glint Advertising, Craig Lloyd, attended the event and couldn't say enough about the humble inspiration delivered by speaker, Rear Admiral John "Chris" Sadler, Commander, Naval Air Force Reserve.

Events like this help open the eyes to a variety of lives, industries and careers that you may not touch on a daily basis. It brings us great comfort to know we have military leadership that is strong, experienced and recognizes the contributions and combined efforts of those operating in civilian life.

In addition, the stories shared by Rear Admiral Sadler were quite interesting and gave the audience good reason to start the day with a chuckle and smile. It's a good reminder that our military although strong, decisive and stern, also come with great personality.

To learn more about this event or upcoming events with the Fort Worth Chamber, visit www.fortworthchamber.com or call Glint Advertising President and Board Member, Craig Lloyd at 817-616-0320.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Women Influencing Business


"It's not often you find yourself surrounded by strong and empowered business people who also overwhelmingly make the business man feel like a minority," said Craig Lloyd, President of Glint Advertising. At a recent event held by "Women Influencing Business," a group of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, our fearless leader was not only one of a handful of men in the room, but one of many influential business people. Included in the audience was mayoral candidate Betsy Price, Cynthia Sadler with Frost Bank (incoming Chair), Julie Hunter (outgoing Chair), and program speaker Col. Kim Olson, USAF (retired), among others.

This event was especially close to our hearts since "Grace After Fire," who's Executive Director is Kim Olson, is also a client of Glint. This event identified significant milestones that have been achieved by women, was inspirational and brought light to issues that women still face today. "It was a great event and helped reinforce that the work we provide for our non-profit partners makes significant impact," said Lloyd. This was confirmed by the emotional response after viewing the premier of the Grace After Fire video that Glint produced in addition to contributions made after the event.

To learn more about Grace After Fire, visit www.graceafterfire.org and discover how you can help our women veterans. Visit www.glintadv.com, or call 817-616-0320 to learn why our non-profit partners like us and the services we provide. Featured in the photo above, Marilyn Gilbert, Executive Vice President, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce; Cynthia Sadler, Chair, Women Influencing Business and Craig Lloyd, President, Glint Advertising.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Join us for some fun!



We all work hard and rarely, hardly work, right? Glint is taking this to heart and has gone back to the core of our culture, work hard and play hard. Our recent bowling adventure brought our team together for an afternoon of camaraderie and fun.

The winning comment from the afternoon, "I didn't come in last!" said agency President, Craig Lloyd. A strong, focused finish moved him out of last position with a one pin advantage over Vice President, Patty Marshall. We don't need to go into details on the total pin counts of all the participants, however, it is fair to say there was controversy over the final score.

Feeling like all you do is work hard? Take a break and join us for a late afternoon get together and discover how taking a break for fun can make you more focused and refreshed.

Send us note on one of our interactive outlets at www.glintadv.com, facebook.com/glintadvertising or twitter.com/glintadv and tell us what you like to do and when you'd like to do it with us.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

A good time was had by all!


You'll often find us looking for any excuse to "costume" up and Open Channels Group, a PR firm in Fort Worth, Texas, indulged us with the opportunity to do just that. Their annual client event was nothing short of fantastic, and as you can see, Glint's President, Craig Lloyd, willingly participated in adorning a new look.

"It's great to celebrate the success of a local business that shows growth, produces great work and has a good time along the way. We also find comfort in the fact that the same standards we apply at Glint, are also applied within other companies." said Lloyd.

We hope all businesses can discover a good balance between success and fun. As our business continues to grow we have been fortunate to connect, partner and befriend some of the best organizations around. Let's work hard, play hard and enjoy our friends, family and community along the way.

To learn more about Glint Advertising, visit us online at www.glintadv.com or follow us at facebook.com/glint advertising.