I guess there isn’t much sense in leading into this article with elaborate lead up to a big announcement, as my title has thrown off the covers. We are excited to announce that our full API is being released to all those who have been patiently waiting on it.

ConceptShare API link 

http://api.conceptshare.com/API/API_V2.asmx

The release of the ConceptShare API signals a new era in our company history. We want to enable our clients large and small to leverage our platform to further improve their projects. The API will allow users to customize the ConceptShare experience for their organizations, teams and clients. 

Implementation

An early API implementations include automated workspace generation from a web form. Our client wanted to create an automated way to get their customers to submit projects via the website. We worked with them using the API to build this functionality. The system allowed customers to setup new project spaces from a public web form on the corporate website. Customers submit a project brief via web-form and upload associated project files. The system automatically creates a new workspace for the customer project. Information from the project brief is presented as the first concept and associated files are saved into the workspace. The system will then bring the proper people into the project space and notify them. 

This system reduced: time spent getting projects setup, missed opportunities and communication problems throughout the project. This resulted in increased project capacity, happier customers, reduced time between design iterations, and over all better project flow.      

Support 

We are here to work with you and support your development and integration projects. We will be providing support for the API via our webforums as well as direct support at our (support at conceptshare dot com) email address. 

I look forward to hearing about the ways that people would like to work with this. A big thanks to our faithful users who have supported ConceptShare since our inception. We appreciate all the people we have talked to about this, we have listened to what you wanted and put it in the very comprehensive API. Thank you for the support that you continue to give to us as we grow.

If you have a question call us. If you have a suggestion tell us. If you want to talk about how this can help your organization call me. 

Show us what you can do!

Cheers 

Scott 

 

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Posted in ConceptShare, Development, Innovation, Tools ~ 7 Comments
Written by Scott

Apple has done it again. The iMac has been redesigned and once again they continue to impress. The new iMac is a great looking piece of technology that has all the stuff inside to back up a sweet looking exterior. The new aluminum outer has the same look as the MBP.

Just when i thought a keyboard was a keyboard…..uhhh no …they redesigned that and made it look even better.

So they have not spared any expense on the new iMac. This is going to become my home computer in the very near future. It is quite reasonable in my books starting at $1199 for the 20″ and going up to $2299 for the 24″ with all the stuff.

I can’t wait for my next trip to the Mac Store then I can check this bad boy out in person.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Innovation ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

So here I am at the hottest design conference in the world, in possibly the hottest city I have been in in a long time. Atlanta is a great place. I have been very impressed with everything so far. The people are very hospitable and the city is gorgeous. I hope to find some time to explore the city a bit more and see more of this cool place.

The opening day of the conference has been incredible we just finished off the opening night and I am exhausted. We had a huge night getting to have some really great conversations with some cool people. It seems that no matter where people are from they have felt the pain of the feedback process. It seems that email is the predominate method for communication in the design process. There were alot of ah-ha moments when we showed people Conceptshare. They have been looking for a better way to communicate design and until now they have been using ad-hoc ways to cover this process.

Tomorrow is going to be another big day as I have the opportunity to present ConceptShare in the Tech auditorium. We have a lot of people that we talked to today that are going to come and see what we do and how it is applicable to their design settings.

Will and I are going to get some well deserved rest and be fully charged for tomorrow.

Over and Out from Hotlanta.
Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare, Innovation ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

I was reading Steve Rubel’s blog over the weekend. He always seems to have some great posts that really makes me think. He hit the nail on the head today. Curiosity as the most important career skill you can have.

“So as I thought about it, the most important “tool” you can have today in business is insatiable curiosity. The minute you lose it, you’re dead.” – Steve Rubel

An interesting statement. Is curiosity the most important thing you can have in business today ? I agree. I don’t think you can be an entrepreneur or an innovator if you aren’t curious. Looking at it from inside ConceptShare if we weren’t curious, ConceptShare would never have come to fruition. We would have never asked if there was a better way to do it. We would have taken everything at face value and resigned ourselves to the fact that there was no better way to share visuals. But we asked the question …what if?

I look at all sorts of people who have created great things. They have all challenged the status quo and gotten curious.
So become more like a kindergarten student. Ask questions. How do they do that? Is there a better way? Why do we do it this way ? Why?
You might be interested to find when you start to be curious. Maybe there are things that are being done right in front of you that could be improved. Have a read of the article and see what you think. Are you curious?

Curiously yours,

Scott

Posted in Ideas, Innovation, PR ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

A while back we posted that we were setting up ConceptShare Labs as a way to engage the ConceptShare community in shaping the direction of the product. The community driven ideas filtered up from the needs of our users. When we introduced our first group of users to the workspace we weren’t really sure what to expect. The group consisted of a wide variety of users.

• Graphic Designers
• Architectural
• Engineering
• Software developers
• Product designers
• Web designers
• Print & Pre-Press

The goals for this project space

• Engage our users in the direction of the product
• Continue to improve upon the user experience with great tools
• Prove ConceptShare as tool for innovation

Once the workspace was created we simply posted design mock-ups along the product road map. We found that the flexible nature of ConceptShare made the discussions very relevant. Users from around the world didn’t have to sync to the schedule of EST. It was interesting to see how quick on the trigger some users were; we would post new designs and users would instantly come online after getting the notification email. We would start the discussions generally with a general description of key features, from there questions and suggestions began to grow.

As we made changes new designs would be uploaded replacing the older design. Starting the review process again. This drastically reduces the time between iterations. What would have taken many months of back and forth via email and meetings were completed in weeks.

Features being Discussed

This is a look at the concepts within the workspace. Once features were implemented concepts are moved to the completed folder, resulting in a clear experience. (Drag-and-Drop Folders are a graduate of the Labs)

A typical discussion in ConceptShare Labs

The users really took to using ConceptShare to discuss the new features. The ability of CS to structure discussions around specific elements of a design ensured that users were able to discuss fine elements of the design. Layering of comments keep users focused on the discussion at hand and away from comments and markups of other discussion items.

Users discuss the crop tool idea. You can notice that this was one comment of three on this particular mock-up

Continuous Innovation

We have more then one workspace underway in ConceptShare Lab. We are ready to roll out the GUI Upgrades 2 workspace to more users with the next evolution of GUI improvements. We also have other projects that we are working on quietly with the internal team. The flexibility of ConceptShare allows us to work internally first and then open up the workspaces to more people when we are ready.

We have some interesting stuff that is going to come out of the Labs in the coming month or so. These should prove to be very interesting to our users and greatly extend the use of conceptshare by ……oh wait that is another post.

The Result:

We have completed 11 features thru this process and it has proved to be incredible. We are very committed to this process as it has allowed us to be incredibley agile as we develop. We are a small team so the ability to have a feedback loop that is so accessible and instant makes the process faster. By integrating the feedback loop tighter to the design process we were able to take fast steps getting feedback needed along the way. This is a stark contrast to older styles of design where the design might get a lot further along in production before getting feedback.

We accomplished the goals that we had set out for this workspace.

• We had the conversations with our users giving them a real stake in the next generation of features.
• We created some incredible new features that have greatly added to the effectiveness of ConceptShare as a tool for business.
• We demonstrated that ConceptShare works as a tool for innovating.

We look forward to the release of the next round of GUI upgrades to the community. There’s lots of things that have been asked for that and we are really excited to let them loose on the ideas.

I hope this article is helpful, I wanted to give you some food for thought about how a different approach to the design process worked for us. Opening up for feedback early, coupled with the proper tools create a very fast development cycle. Think how this can apply to your product, your users, your designers.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare, GUI, Ideas, Innovation, Product Design ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

I was speaking with a good friend who works for a large advertising firm. We were talking about the potential for travel as there were projects requiring attention at the head office.

We talked about the fact that most things could be done remotely and travel might not be as frequent as initially thought. I was surprised by the statement “Well they like to have meetings and I have to be at them”

“Did you say they like to have meetings?” I recanted immediately as I figure the only people who like to have meetings are mid level public employees.

“Yes, they like to have good communications” ….. I went a bit silent …

Does the fact that you attend a lot of meetings mean you have good communications? I think that it is safe to say no.

Meeting Cost
I am not going to say that all meetings are totally useless …. But a good majority are. The way I look at it you can calculate the value of a meeting based upon this comparison.

(People x hrs x wage) + (opportunity cost) + (meeting fixed cost ) = true meeting cost

How much do your meetings cost your company? Ok so now that you have a grasp on how much that costs your company. Do you really need to meet as much? Are there things that you might not have to meet about? Do we really need to meet to discuss ideas? Or should we be saving the meeting for the decision and final debate on something?

When are you going to do your real job?
I have yet to meet a person who’s sole job it is to meet. But yet I have met many people who spend the majority of their time meeting. How many times have you heard this “I am in meetings all day” my response is always when are you going to do your job? When you look at the average persons day, throwing a scheduled meeting into the mix takes away from what they need to accomplish on a day-to-day basis.

Arranging Schedules
This is possibly the biggest pain in the ass. Trying to coordinate a time that works for all the people in the group. This problem further compounds when there are multiple time zones involved.

So do you really need to schedule that meeting to look at concepts for your new marketing materials?
The fine folks over at Flash Café understand this and have summed it up nicely in this excerpt from their article about ConceptShare.

“How do you run it? I often wonder how anything gets done in some creative design spheres, what with busy schedules, egos, and uninformed clients all clouding the process. A good producer understands that his creative vision is no greater than that of the workability or outcome of the project. Feedback is king and getting that feedback can be very frustrating, so how does an artist communicate best with those who must doll out the feedback? Look no further than ConceptShare.” – Flash Café

How ConceptShare helps
We detest meetings. So we do our best to save you from their time wasting energy sucking paths. As the guys and gals over at the Flash Café point out Feedback is king and people are busy! While conceptshare facilitates both synchronous and asynchronous communications our clients find the ability to manage multiple projects with asynchronous workspaces to be the biggest benefit

We facilitate the project not the meeting. When a project is started a workspace is created and this becomes the center of visual communication for the project life. It allows the members of that project to review and give feedback on their own time. Why is this important?

Because time is the one thing that we can’t buy or trade.

If you find yourself in meeting about visual elements please give us a shout or try it for your self. You will see that you can make your schedule less cluttered and find that meetings are reserved for decision making not design debate.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare, Innovation ~ No Comments
Written by Scott

So after a holiday break and some minor tweaking …DemoCamp is back and it is going to be better then ever!

David Crow, Joey Devilla and Jay Goldman have tweaked the program a bit. They went out to the group and asked for some feed back on what should be changed to improve the overall event. From the looks of it ….. they have done it.

Here is the new format:

Demo Schedule

1. Flock – Will Pate
2. Distributed Development Mozilla Style – Mike Beltzner
3. BubbleShare v2.0 – Albert Lai
4. 2 minute updates by previous DemoCamp presenters

Bernie and I will be presenting a 2 minute update on where ConceptShare has gone since our presentation at DemoCamp9. Wow 2 minutes for wrap up …..that is pretty fast. There has been alot that has happened since then. There is alot we have learned and want to share with the group.

So if you can make it I encourage it. TO has quickly emerged as one of hottest tech scenes anywhere. Things have really started to come together and we are really excited to be apart of this. We will be there and hope to have a chance to catch up with all those we don’t see so often.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Ideas, Innovation ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

Are you listening to what they are saying? Do you give them a voice in your products direction? Do they get to see what is coming down the pipe? I hope you are able to say yes. I think that there is a very valuable resource within user groups. Listen to what they are saying. Not only do we tell them what is coming down the pipe we literally put the red pen in their hand to give us feedback so that we can build a better experience.

We are using ConceptShare to innovate ConceptShare. Enter ConceptLabs, the home of innovation at Conceptshare where we have opened the doors to our customers to innovate the product on an ongoing basis. This isn’t a space where we put our vetted ideas up for the ceremonial rubber stamp by the users …. this is where Bernie, Chris and I go to look a the latest screens for any of the upcoming additions that we are making on a regular basis. We look at it this way …who knows knows more about what ConceptShare should do then our users? Who better to give us feedback on the next iteration or the next really cool tool …. I can’t think of a better group to be asking then the people who are using the product every day.

I am sure there are a few people who would cringe at the idea of opening the doors to clients so early in the process. But we see it as being the best way to get the real ideas talked about before we implement them. It really echoes the way that we developed ConceptShare; we were on version six of the interface design before Chris ever started coding.
So how can your company take advantage of this? Create a workspace that is dedicated to client feedback. Invite your “Rock Star” users. Show them what you are thinking of doing. This is a different approach but it works. Our users are more involved, they see our progression and they genuinely want to be involved in it. So innovate with your users ….they will appreciate it.

If you are using ConceptShare to innovate your site or product please let us know we will be profiling power users in the coming months, we are always interested to hear how you are using ConceptShare.

Cheers

Scott

PS:if you are interested in joining the ConceptShare Labs …..let us know via email to feedback (at) conceptshare (dot) com

Posted in ConceptShare, Innovation, Product Design ~ 2 Comments
Written by Scott

As our idea for visual conversations continues to spread I have the opportunity to meet and talk to some great people. It has been very interesting to say the least. Many of them come from industries that we never expected to connect with. Most of are core users see ConceptShare as a way to streamline the design and innovation process. To  some the image is all important, discovery and discussion have to happen around an image.

One of the coolest people that I have had the opportunity to talk with is Felice Frankel, admittedly I didn’t know about her work before we started talking. I am not even sure where to start to describe Felice’s achievements. I leave that to her site and a search on google, there is a plethora of great reading about her work. Felice is a leader in the use of image to promote discussion of science using images.

“The Image and Meaning (IM) events, part of Harvard University’s Initiative in Innovative Computing (IIC), began in 2001 by Felice Frankel in MIT’s Envisioning Science Project. Felice Our purpose is to help scientists, writers and visual communicators develop and share improved methods of communicating scientific concepts and technical information through images and visual representations. The goal is to enhance the level of discourse within the scientific community, among teachers and students, and those who communicate with the public.” There is a great movie on the site that I think is tremendous …it is a montage of great shots from their workshops.

I am most taken by Felice’s ability to capture incredibly stunning images. These images are much more then just pretty pictures. They provide a discussion point. So what is this image? If you are like me this image creates questions and a natural sense of wonder. How much better is an image vs text? In this case is worth 10,000 words. How much conversation can happen over this image?

Photo Credit MAGNETIC A 3-cm drop of ferrofluid, a suspension of magnetite in oil, placed on a glass slide. Under the slide is a yellow Post-it and seven circular magnets.
© FELICE FRANKEL, FROM “ENVISIONING SCIENCE”

“This compound is the basis for one of the most astounding demonstrations I have seen in science: the response of a ferrofluid to a strong magnet. A common ferrofluid comprises nanoscale particles of magnetite suspended in a liquid. When a magnet is brought up to a black quiescent puddle of ferrofluid, the liquid suddenly seems to come to life: The placid surface of the puddle erupts into spikes as suspended nanoscale particles of magnetite relocate themselves in the magnetic field and drag the liquid along for the ride. Ferrofluids are used to dampen unwanted resonances in loudspeakers and to create seals for high-speed computer disc drives. There is even experimental work in which drugs are combined with ferrofluids so that their physiological location can be controlled with magnets.” Arthur B. Ellis

I wouldn’t even know where to start talking about the above paragraph, does nothing to help me understand what is happening in this experiment. I am really interested to hear about how our readers use images to communicate meaning. So much more effective in sharing information, there is very little left up to the personal interpretation of words or linguistic differences. Show me a picture …
I am also very glad to know that Felice is a Mac User, curious as to how she captures such brilliant images? Check out her profile page on apple, it has her complete setup. From the sounds of it …she has a really pro set up.

I have been looking for her book “Envisioning Science : The Design and Craft of the Science Image” Once I have had a chance to get down and check out her book i will be sure give it a read and let you know.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in Innovation, Technology ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

ConceptShare has launched with enough usable value that will help out a lot of firms, software companies, designers and creative people, theres more to come but it solves a real problem now. Our crazy account creations and early sales figures have shown this but there is something thats brewing in the background.

Now that the platform is there and circulating around and people are seeing how it can help. All the pieces are there for our expert model. What is our expert model? Well..we think there are a lot of talented people out there who have a lot of skills that can contribute to any visual project. We envision a community of these people that would open themselves available to be tapped for what’s inside their heads. You don’t need them to do the work. Just give their experience, feedback and wisdom to your project. For some people they only need 10 minutes in front of a design to say “change that, wrong color, move this down below” etc. etc. ..We believe the expert directory will contain usability people, designers, business people, ad execs…you name it.
How does it work. From a users perspective we will have soon a direct expert registration in which you will not need a ConceptShare account to list yourself. You can upload a bit of your portfolio some information, links etc.. Natural fits are people with experience or education in design, usability and human factors, color, photography, advertising etc. but anyone is useful..Tag yourself with your hobbies..Who knows, PING golf may want to select a bunch of golfers to discuss new ads, or equipment.

The account holder who needs expert help can browse the directory and invite people based on their skills, demographics or reputation. Not everyone has a UI guy on staff, or a logo guy. So why not ask an expert?
Compensation: We are still working all this out..for now its just fun to help others with design and its not a lot of work to give feedback. We figure reputation points and rating is a good way to start. We want people with good reputation and those that create alot of value for others to be compensated in some way. But its not labour work. its mind work so what would people pay for recognized experts. I assume people that have proven themselves invaluable to ConceptShare users would create their own celebrity in our directory and could set their own prices.
Let’s Survey!!

How much would you pay for one feedback session with:

• Jason Fried on your new web app interface
• Seth Goodin on an AD campaign
• Guy Kawasaki on anything
• Tom Kelly (IDEO) on anything
• Tom Peters on anything
• Famous Photographer or Photoshop re-Toucher
• Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots on your football offensive plays that you uploaded field diagrams and have drawn arrows showing movement and routes.

Bernie

*** Update***

We do not actually have these people in our expert directory this is a hypothetical question. Please do not email these people inviting them into your space.

Posted in GUI, Ideas, Innovation ~ 6 Comments
Written by Bernie