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Feb 16 2012
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communication, craftmonkey, marketing, startup

Craftmonkey: Connects crafters with the folks who love them

A blue sock monkey

With the continued success of handmade marketplace Etsy and the rapid growth of crafter-friendly Pinterest, crafting has really taken off from both a buyer and a seller perspective. Crafting has gotten so popular that many people are running their own “crafty businesses”, earning an income from doing what they love either part-time or full-time and making the world a more beautiful place filled with all manner of handmade objects. I’ve been an on-again-off-again crafter for years and especially now that I have two kids, I try to buy handmade whenever I can. I’ve also served as a resource for crafters looking to get started with building and running a business, since these are some of my very favorite small business owners.

I’m therefore really happy to announce Craftmonkey, Social Glu’s inaugural foray into the app building business. Craftmonkey is a free web application that allows Etsy sellers to connect their shops with their MailChimp accounts to send out simple, beautiful email newsletters. The coolest feature is the ability to drag-and-drop text and photos from Etsy shops right into a Craftmonkey templates. It makes sending out and tracking newsletters super easy and even kind of fun.

Our long-time friend Adam Darowski was nice enough to shoot a little screencast for us that shows Craftmonkey in action. It’s worth viewing just to listen to the velvety sounds of Adam’s screencaster voice. I think it’s because he has a big beard that keeps his throat warmed up :)

If you’re a crafter or have crafty friends, please check out Craftmonkey! And let us know what you think – you’ll find us on Twitter as @hiCraftmonkey, in the Etsy app store and at craftmonkeyapp.com.

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Jan 06 2012
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communication, marketing, startup

2-0-1-2 Launch! Tools to Get Your New Biz Going in the New Year

Lights spelling out Happy New Year

It’s a new year and if you’re like me, you’re launching a new business! That’s right, Social Glu is making its first foray into web app building and as you might imagine, it’s plenty hopping busy around here.

While I can’t yet say what the app is, I thought I’d share with you some of the free or low-cost tools that can help you, too, launch your very own shiny new business. Since my focus is on the marketing and communications side of things, that’s primarily what this list includes. Of course, there’s a bunch of other stuff to do too like business licences and tax dudes and dev environments, but we’ll save those for another post (or two).

  • Name: The first thing you’ll need is a name for your product and or business. It’s getting harder and harder to find an available name (especially one that has vowels!) I happen to love naming things and find the best way to come up with them is good old-fashioned brainstorming, a notebook, some friends and maybe a drink or two to get the creative juices flowing. However, if you are stuck, there are sites out there to help like Company Name Generator (which also runs a quick check on if the URL is available), Dot-o-mator (“Web 2.0″-sounding names!) and Crazy Namer (it’s true…they are pretty crazy.)
  • Website: Once you’ve thought of some good names, it’s time to see if they are available. Domain registration sites like GoDaddy, Network Solutions and Pear let you check availability quickly and for free, and their hosting fees are relatively inexpensive. Google being Google, they too offer domain hosting. You might have to be creative with the URL name (adding “app” at the end of your product name for example) but in general, it’s probably best to stick with a .com domain if you can. Other domain names like .biz and .net are fine and usually more readily available, but for now, .com still seems to be the respected industry standard.

    My advice is to buy any available domain you’re even considering, as it is better to own it then not. When you do purchase a domain, consider buying it for two years rather than one — it’s not much more expensive and one less thing you’ll have to worry about just as your new business is taking off.

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Jul 17 2011
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communication, family

Virtually track a journey with Firepin

screen shot of Firepin map

For the past five days, my husband has been driving West. He, his mom and our dog are driving our Prius cross-country to come meet the kids and I in Seattle, where we have been patiently waiting for the past couple of weeks. Cell phone coverage has been fairly consistent across the way, albeit a little spotty once they hit the places that boast “more cows then people”.

A great way for us to see the progress they’ve made, where they’ve stopped, and how close they are to arriving is by using a free app called Firepin. Firepin uses GPS tracking technology to allow you to both map and drop pins along your route using your mobile device. It’s been a fun, simple way for the kids and me to see where they are even when we can’t reach each other on the cell phone.

Showing the kids the Firepin map led to a discussion about and some research on Google Maps and Google Earth, including checking out a picture of what the Google Earth Streetview Camera Cars look like, how they had 360 degree cameras mounted on top of them, etc. Side note: a feature I wish Firepin had is allowing you to click on the dropped pins to go directly to Google Streetview. Instead we had to have two browsers open to jump between the point on the Firepin map and the Streetview, which was a sort of a pain but still let us get a good peek in on some of the highlights of their journey. We even saw Mount Rushmore!

Yesterday, the kids and I were heading down to the beach from our temporary home in West Seattle and my son gasped “Look! It’s a Google Camera car!” Sure enough, gliding down the street was one of the very cars we’d just been discussing. We followed it for a few blocks like the gonzo journalists we are until we got a slightly blurry picture (below) for evidence. Given our recent obsession, it was a bit like spotting a celebrity at our local coffeeshop.Google Streetview car

I know that Streetview is not without its controversies (privacy concerns, “disaster tourism” etc.). But good or bad, one thing is clear: the next generation will grow up knowing the world in ways we never could have imagined even a decade ago. Rock on, Google camera cars!