Twitter is a great example of simplicity. A straightforward concept with a clean user interface. It may almost be too simple because I don’t fully “get it” sometimes. That could be that I’m still searching for my purpose on Twitter. As you might guess I have a hard time keeping anything beyond a URL under 140 characters.

On the flip side, Facebook is a growing example of the ultimate end-all be-all social network experience, packed with functionality–plenty of buttons to click and things to do. Thus, the dilemma when embarking on a social network concept. Aim for simplicity, or mash Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and eHarmony into one website and hope that it ultimately outgrows and outshines them all?

The more features you build into your network, the more time it will take and the more expensive your development fees will be. That represents your investment as well as the opportunity costs of launching months or potentially years after you feasibly could. As a builder of social networking websites, you might think that I would push for more features to sell bigger projects, but more often than not I will vote for the simple concept or the scaled down “Phase 1″ feature list. My philosophy is that you can always roll out more features down the road. It’s never too late to do this, but it can be too early in some cases.

I honestly find myself much more excited to work on the simpler websites that come through our doors. With the overall mission or goal of the site being simplified, it provides an opportunity to really optimize a few screens with a handful of key functions. Find the most intuitive experience to engage your users immediately and have them coming back for more without needing to think too hard or search too far. Once they like what they see and can do, that I feel is the time to surprise and reward your user base with new fun features to try out!

Looking at the potential features to build into a network is like being a kid in a candy store… for some. So how do you scale down your concept to achieve a simple but successful concept?

• Find your target audience. Don’t say “everybody.” Think about the specific type of users you want participating on the site. Then think about what they would want to see and do most. This feature should ideally be what fundamentally sets you apart from competing sites. Build off that one group and that key user experience to flesh out the most imperative features for your beta launch.
• In the struggle to identify these key features, don’t feel as if you are relinquishing other features that you really do want. Draft a running Phase 2 list. Once you launch your beta and start growing your initial user base, you’ll be able to periodically add in new features from this list, as well as feedback on desired features that you’ll likely receive from your users. Remember that what you think is critical may not necessarily be what keeps your users coming back. Your community will let you know through their activity and website feedback what they want to see to improve their experience. Even better, collect a focus group and survey what features they would find most helpful!

• Functionality aside, less can be more when it comes to design as well. Web 2.0, shiny, crisp and clean are all terms that our designers like to hear most of the time. It’s a style of design that is minimalist and uses subtle design elements to guide the user experience without overwhelming them with loud or overly intense graphics. This is not always the case of course, as sometimes a site theme calls for a bold color palette or rich, textured graphics. But over the years I have grown to appreciate the many shades of gray that can make up a very elegant design.
• Look to the social network giants as examples of what to do and not to do. While Facebook has an abundance of features, they still have a classic user interface, unlike it’s former rival MySpace which quickly became synonymous with sparkly graphics and cluttered pages. This out of control user experience may have been a key factor in its decline in popularity, especially in certain demographics.

In our consumer-driven society, it’s increasingly difficult to “keep it simple.” There are so many choices, so many possibilities. We rarely get to the store getting only what we set out to buy, we often walk away with much more, some of which we don’t really need or ultimately use. Don’t let your development project turn into a wasteful impulse buy. Drill down to achieve a sensible development plan and remember that simplicity can make all the difference.

Step one: Create a Twitter account.

Step two: Add “Social Media Consultant” into the Bio line.

Step three: Let the clients roll in.

Seriously though, that’s pretty much all it takes to call yourself as a Social Media Expert these days. Even though most people in our office would consider themselves experts in the world of social media, it’s almost taboo to don the title because of this overpopulation of supposed experts and gurus on the subject.

Silly as it may sound, I feel a bit like a veteran in this industry. I made my entrance “back in the day” when MySpace wasn’t even on the radar as a marketing tool, before every major household brand had an official profile and a fan page, before Facebook surpassed MySpace in growth, and way before Twitter was chronically over capacity. Part of my sales pitch was convincing companies why social media was relevant, and how creating a professional presence on sites like MySpace and Facebook would be a progressive and important step for their business. Nowadays, it’s more a matter what can we do, not why should we do it. Social networks are no longer considered just for kids, or just a passing phase. They are now widely known as vehicles for viral, targeted and cost-effective marketing campaigns.

This social media revolution has given way to a new brand of PR professional, who is more proficient with getting fans for your a Facebook page than drafting a pitch for traditional news outlets. So how do you identify the true experts when looking for a service provider?

1. Background

Before engaging with a so-called social media expert, you’ll want to make sure that you’re putting your marketing dollars in the hands of someone who hasn’t just recently jumped onto the social media bandwagon. What is the history of the company, and what have they done for their clients successfully using social media? A successful track record of clients, testimonials and cleverly marketed microsites is critical.

2. Innovation

How innovative are their ideas? Anyone–even my dear grandmother–can set up a Twitter account. Will your social media expert also customize it, bring sufficient fans, followers or friends to it, and brainstorm with you to create viral promotions that will drive traffic to those social media accounts as well as your primary website? Make sure that your expert can bring you ideas that are out-of-the-box and informed by a history of other successful campaigns.

3. Diversity

It’s important to see social media marketing beyond the social network giants. It’s true that Twitter, Facebook and MySpace are the most prominent sites, and it’s important to have a presence on them. But part of a solid marketing plan includes establishing your brand on niche community sites, utilizing blogs, and also supplementing new media marketing with traditional PR services as needed. Having a well-rounded approach will allow you to explore multiple avenues and measure the results for future campaigns.

On the plus side, contracting with a company who legitimately specializes in social media marketing is a great benefit to succeeding on those platforms, versus companies that offer a range of marketing services but don’t put emphasis on that particular method of marketing. Being especially tuned in to social media trends and applying them to your online presence is key to putting your business ahead of the competition and reaching your target market quickly and efficiently.

As Pearse Street evolved into a social network development company, I founded Social Focus Marketing, Inc. to focus exclusively on social media marketing and design. You can learn more about their service offerings at www.socialfocus.com.

On Saturday night I received unexpected news that my project manager needed to be out of the office for the whole week. With baby in arms, I immediately went from “I love being domestic” mode to “shit, I have to go back to work” mode. To be honest, after the initial panic wore off I was secretly excited. The entire day I was actually feeling rather tormented about how to apply my energies now that I was feeling healed and more energetic, contemplating crafts and more house projects.

The cold hard reality is that I am habitually, neurotically productive. As much I sometimes love the idea of kicking back and taking it easy, I can only realistically do that for so long before the train goes off the tracks from the wheels in my head running a little too fast with nothing substantial to do. I’ve spent the past five years running this business, and at the end of the day it’s much more efficient for me to be doing this than making jewelry professionally or devoting myself to scrap booking full-time, both of which I was seriously considering prior in the day. (more…)

In the past I have always sort of scoffed at those little motivational messages, like “Set a timer for 5 minutes and finish your task!” Pffft. Whatever, I’ll get it done in my own time, my own way. Well, now I realize that this is actually a very effective way to get a lot done in a short period of time. But because very little on my task list can be done in 5 minutes, my timer is set at around 3 hours. This happens to coincide with how long little Eva sleeps! After I get her comfortably and 100% sleeping, the timer begins.

My typical day involves checking email, updating the project schedule, making sure all our employees have questions answered and a work agenda for the day, lunch, more emails, maybe some design and/or brainstorming, and if I absolutely have nothing else to do, dreaded paperwork. Paperwork includes payroll, retirement contributions, organizing papers for filing, budgeting, taxes, bills (ick!) and anything that requires a call to customer service (double ick!). This is usually the very last thing on my agenda. Of all the hats I wear in the office, the finance manager role is my least favorite. But alas, the work still needs to be done and as much as I may dread it or procrastinate, typically it’s just faster if I do it instead of delegating. If we hit it big, this will likely be the first position I hire for! (more…)

This week’s revelation: I like working from home. This sounds silly. Who wouldn’t? Well for this workaholic mom, after weeks of feeling anxiety about not being in the office, I have come to a place where I am enjoying being at home every day, and I also do not feel especially compelled to be at the office. This transition has taken several weeks, a few months really, of feeling daily guilt about my absence from work. No doubt this is why it feels like a revelation. Chalk it up to maternal instinct, but suddenly nothing is as important as being with little Eva. Beyond that, I am thoroughly enjoying being able to multi-task my work to-do list and my home to-do list throughout the day. You know I’m not happy unless I have a full task list!

Typically coming home from the office was met with the exhaustion of immediately needing to jump from work mode to domestic mode, looking after our two boys, not to mention trying to address things that need attention on our fixer upper New England home. My work is never done! But being home the past several weeks has given me the opportunity to put our house on the to-do list, and multi-task to tackle some much-needed updates and repairs. Bringing our garden to life, throwing some paint up, reorganizing our living spaces are just a few things that my husband and I have been able to devote time to between feedings and Skyping. Making such regular progress in this area of our life has been really cathartic–especially now that the kitchen is done, and small jobs seem all the more manageable!

That said, Pearse Street is (as always) my other “baby,” and I am bugging my staff with questions and updates just as frequently if not more than I usually do. But so long as things are running smoothly, I don’t feel that I need to be in-office, in the flesh, when I can be occupying dual roles, at home and at work. The irony is that when I started the business 5 years ago, this is precisely what I had mind, until our business grew so quickly that my level of involvement was no longer open for negotiation.

This could all be a phase. As Eva grows and starts to be able to hold her own with her rambunctious brothers a little better, I will no doubt feel more compelled to return to my daily office regime once again. For the time however, I am glad to be able to take this reprieve and the opportunity to re-prioritize and take care of some long-neglected home matters, bettering our personal lives and my overall peace of mind!

I’m officially that negligent blogger! I have a good excuse however. I’ve spent the past few weeks anxiously awaiting the arrival of our third child, and this Mother’s Day, I was blessed to finally meet her! Since leaving the hospital early last week I’ve been able to catch up on my email, get updates on projects, connect with my clients and coordinate a few milestones at work. (So glad she came on a weekend!) Unfortunately six weeks maternity leave is just not in the cards for this C.E.O.  :/

That said… my head is still quite firmly in the new-blissful-mommy clouds. Our little girl is officially a true beauty and an amazing blessing. The experience of having children is well beyond words, as any adoring parent can tell you. It’s a combination of relief, bliss, excitement, anxiety and of course, the inevitable exhaustion. I have been overwhelmed by all of this, in addition to the great amount of love and support from our friends, family and extended network of Pearse Street team members and even clients! (more…)

“Use your creativity.”

“Make it pop.”

“Can you make the logo bigger?”

“Make it look just like [insert industry leading website here]…”

If design feedback had a 10 commandments of things not to say to your designer, these four would very possibly be among them. Designers think in colors and styles and audience, and they pull inspiration both from current design trends and hopefully an overflowing pool of visual ideas. “Make it pop” means nothing, visually speaking. “Use your creativity” basically implies that we’re not already using it. We like your logo too, but we don’t agree it should be the biggest element on the page. And, honestly, we won’t and legally can’t make something look “just like” something that’s already out there. Getting vague and generic feedback is frustrating, especially when the ultimate goal by client and designer is to nail down a great design: a product that the client is excited to use and one that the designer will proudly display in his or her portfolio.

So, how do you give constructive feedback to your designer for hire, or in my case, to your designer employee? (more…)

Have you ever realized how a little bit of quiet time can result in some really great ideas? I think this is why people have revelations in the shower. It’s the 15 minutes in your day when you aren’t being distracted or stimulated by email, co-workers, kids or the general buzz of daily life.

A couple weeks ago I took the afternoon to enjoy the rare window of warm weather and sunshine that we were having here. I sat outside for about an hour eating cheesecake and doing nothing. Some might argue that I should have also been thinking about nothing, but achieving the “doing” nothing part is momentous enough for me, and the result was that I ended up having a really important idea for the business. After I finished my cheesecake (of course) I spent the next two days mapping out and implementing this new idea and service plan. Already it has made a significant difference in our ability to appeal to a broader range of clients and budgets. (more…)

It’s official, we’re in business kindergarten! Hmm, maybe business years are like dog years, because it definitely feels more like 40 than 5. In any case, I registered www.pearsestreet.com on March 8th, 2005, marking the birth of a new chapter in my life, and a whirlwind roller coaster ride into entrepreneurship. Five years feels like a short period of time, but it has been so full of activity, growth and learning. Here’s a retropective!

2005.

Pearse Street's First Logo Design, May 2005

As I was wrapping up the writing for my last issue at Destin Magazine, the idea of establishing Pearse Street as my first entrepreneurial endeavor took shape. I had spent the past year profiling local businesses for their features in the magazine, and in the process I could not help but feel that the potential for starting up my own business was well within reach. Thanks to the support of my husband, a military firefighter at the time, I designed our first logo after hours, and first website design came to life in March. Voila, we were in business! My first client was a local author and Hollywood actor, Thom Gossom, Jr. who I met while heading up the Emerald Coast Writers group. We ended up developing a number of websites for Gossom’s various projects, and maximized our circle of friends, cow0rkers and author connections to keep Pearse Street profitable for our first year in business. (more…)

So I took the weekend off.

I still checked my email and Facebook a few times a day, but made a point to not aimlessly surf or brainstorm new concepts. I cooked some decent meals, cleaned my house, played with the kids, tackled a few small home projects and hosted two poker tournaments with our friends. Productive, good fun, exhausting.

Sunday nights are usually my pre-game into the work week so that when I get to work on Monday morning to a pile of work, I don’t feel too overwhelmed. But this past week was a mix of loving work and hating work, so I am wondering how to emotionally prepare for the next five days.

It was actually a pretty good week overall. I connected with two Inc. columnists this week. Meg Hirshberg, writes regularly on the juggling act of balancing life and career. As a mother of three, she sympathized with my current “condition” (as I’m calling it these days) and the challenge of maintaining clarity through the nonstop chatter and activity of a two-year-old and a four-year-old at home. It’s always encouraging to connect with someone who has been there, especially someone who’s writing about it. I read another post by a fellow Smith College alum and new mom whose maternity leave has expired. She mentioned her surprise appreciation for having emerged from the “pregnancy fog” at work. I had forgotten all about this and was momentarily excited about when that day will come for me too. After seven months, the fog begins to feel permanent.

(more…)