The Basecamp integration has been up and running for a few months now. We released it quietly to our users that had been asking for the tie in. We allowed them to try and test the system to see how it would work for them. We took the feedback that they gave us on the tie in and did some tweaking on some of the things that we were doing. “We have always felt that listening to the people who are using the tool is better then giving them what we think they need.”

An 2007 email from a user

We like the way Basecamp keeps all comments/messages/etc. within the project as a threaded discussion alongside to-dos, milestones and such. Its great for project management. However it still requires a client to download a comp to see it…that is where ConceptShare rocks! I really don’t like the thought of clients having multiple versions of comps on their computers.

That is why we love ConceptShare’s proofing abilities. But then we have to transfer messages/comments to Basecamp to keep it all in one place. So I guess what I am asking for is a feature where it can be set up that comments and console comments appear as messages in Basecamp. Granted comments are often directed to a certain spot on the design so I would still need to look at ConceptShare but at least the record of everything would be in one place.

We hope you enjoy the functionality that this integration adds to both products. If you have any feedback we are always open to listening.

Cheers,

Scott

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Written by Scott

Got a great email from Robert Christensen Sr. Product Manager on Adobe AIR today congratulating us on the ConceptShare Desktop Partner that just got posted on the Adobe Air Marketplace. Rob has been a great help ever since we first met him back in 2006 at the techcrunch party and gave us some big thumbs up for being the best implementation of flash within a browser that he has seen.

We have come along way since then … we are now using the Air platform to really push the limits and blurr the line even more between desktop and webbased software. ConceptShare is already being adopted by truly impressive companies that are world leaders in video, advertising, online content, merchandising, architecture and engineering. This will work to make their experience and project flow a lot better.

So if you have already downloaded the early beta version of the App we reccommend the following.

Uninstall the current Air App and reinstall with the version that is on the Air Marketplace … The app is now signed requires a clean install of the app. this is a quick process and will ensure that you have the most recent version, future updates will appear automatically with a user prompt to update.

We are really excited about the Desktop partner app and how it makes all aspects of managing projects much easier. I hope you can try it out on your projects. Enjoy.

Cheers

Scott

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There has been no stopping the development @ ConceptShare. We have moved our desktop partner app out of the development house and into the wild in Beta release. It is working great and we are really happy with how it is improving the flow for ConceptShare users.

Here is how it helps you:

Drag and drop uploading – No need to launch a web browser to add files to a workspace. The desktop partner allows for multiple uploads, all by dragging and dropping the file into the workspace.

Workspace event alerts – We deliver all your workspace notifications directly to the desktop. Read comments, see thumbnails and other workspace activity.

New workspace creation – Create and manage workspaces from your desktop. This makes your new workspace even quicker to deploy.

Link directly – Quickly get to the space you need to be in directly from your desktop. One click and you are in. No signing in required.

The ConceptShare Desktop Partner is designed to streamline your use of ConceptShare …. don’t believe me here is what one of our newest clients said yesterday in an email to me

“We are new business account users. I have my team of seven using both the AIR application and the of course the website.The feedback I am getting is that they LOVE IT!!! Great work, as this is going to change our department for the better.We will sing your praises and I am sure others within our organization will follow”

Interested? Download it here http://www.conceptshare.com/conceptshare-desktop

Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 2 Comments
Written by Scott

It is an honor for us to be recognized as one of the best and the brightest and we find ourselves in great company. The companies that are listed in the BackBone Magazine Pick 20 are amongst the best and brightest in the world let alone Canada. This speaks volumes to the fact that you don’t have to be located in Silicon Valley or New York to have an impact on the way people are experiencing the web. You might be able to do it from Sudbury.

Canada is an exciting place with some of the best and hardest working programmers in the world. Here is the top 5 of the pick 20 winners.

The list of judges for the ranking was an impressive list of Canucks.

• Michael Geist www.michaelgeist.ca
• Mitch Joel www.twistimage.com/blog
• Sean Moffitt http://buzzcanuck.typepad.com/agentwildfire
• Michael OConnor Clarke
http://michaelocc.com
• Rick Segal http://ricksegal.typepad.com
• Ron Shuttleworth www.jenningscapital.com
• Kate Trgovac www.mynameiskate.ca

One of the things that I have found different from other rankings is that fact that the commentary from the judges is open and it is honest and real. They certainly didn’t hold back and try to put fluffy comments for each company. Some of them were quite pointed and direct critiques. I haven’t seen the actual print magazine yet. I look forward to getting a copy and checking it out.

Here are some of the comments that we had on ConceptShare:

The ease of use and fluidity of the UI makes this a standout winner for me, OConnor Clarke said, while Trgovac simply said, ConceptShare knocks it out of the park. It’s an exceptional implementation that is solving a real-world problem for designers. The business model totally makes sense and their interface is sweet.

Moffitt liked the revenue model. There is strong revenue potential, given its ability to partner with software companies. I also love the fact they were able to create this out of Sudbury, Ont. Web companies can succeed anywhere.

We appreciate the nod and tip our hats to all of the other winners and the judges for what must have been a difficult job.

Cheers

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

Safari was opening too many windows during my daily web usage. I would finish the day and find out that I had a bunch of windows open even though I had specifically told Safari to only open site in existing windows.

I did a bit of poking and found that even though you have the open links in a new tab checked off (as above) Some applications will over ride this and force a new window to spawn.

I found a great hack that will cure this for you VIA TUAW

This command changes the behaviour such that links that would ordinarily open in a new window now open in a new tab instead. Start by opening up Terminal (located in Applications/Utilities), and paste in the following line:

defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true

Press return, and quit and reopen Safari. Now all links targeted for a new window will open in tabs instead. To change back to the normal settings, use the same command but with false at the end instead:

defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool false

Hope this helps you enjoy Safari more!

Cheers

Scott

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Written by Scott

INC Magazine has a great article that looks at the tools that make your life alot easier.

The following programs are hosted, Web-based applications, meaning there’s nothing to install on your computer or company servers. Most of them are so easy to set up and use that you won’t even be tempted to speed-dial your tech guy. And you can access these services from home, the office, or anywhere you have an Internet connection, which makes it easier for your home office team to travel and for your satellite office employees to stay in the loop and feel part of the team.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080701/ok-everybody-lets-do-this.html

ConceptShare is one of the tools mentioned in the article that is both online and in the July 2008 edition of the magazine. Take a look at the tools that they are talking about and see if they are able to help you. I am sure that there are a few tools there that you will want to look at.

We are excited that we were recognized by the magazine as one of the tools that will help businesses improve their daily life at work. Go check out the article and see if the tools can help you.

Cheers

Scott

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toronto lightscape (and/or) turn off your lights, originally uploaded by scottybrooks99.

Here is a panorama shot i did of the Toronto Skyline while in town for the Flash in the Can (FITC) conference. I had some time to kill so I tried to find a great location to take a picture of the city from.

If you want to check this area out and see what kind of shot you can get from there … I have provided the location on the map. The area is a bit seedy but I think it is pretty safe. (ignorance is bliss perhaps)

View Larger Map

Hope you can get there to check out the site or see what other types of industrial wasteland/docks pictures there are to take.

Cheers
Scott

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 1 Comment
Written by Scott

As a follow up to the posts that I did a year ago I wanted to look at the growth of the Canadian Networks in Facebook. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to see, aside from my gut telling me that there are alot of Canucks on Facebook.

If you weren’t sure if the social web was catching on ….these numbers are going to astound you.  These are very impressive numbers for adoption of anything. I guess if you are in the Canadian market you might want to be looking at this and wondering “is this going to help me or hurt me?” and/or “how can i do something here?” 

So here it is …. 

Here are the numbers. This is a visual so if you want the actual spreadsheet here it is.

So what are you going to do with these numbers ? Reconsider your stance on social media? Look at the money you are spending on a publically funded portal projects? Wonder if you should be on? Figure out how to leverage the networks? Build apps for your Canadian Customers ? Spend your advertising dollars differently ? Something interesting to watch. 

Cheers, 

Scott 

 

 

previous posts 

Canada is all  FaceBook! Big time.

Canada is all about Facebook. Big Time : The redux

The 3 month look at Facebook growth in Canada

4 months of FaceBook growth in Canada

 

 

Posted in Community, ConceptShare ~ 14 Comments
Written by Scott

The word is out on the FROM MASS to GRASS conference being hosted by the Canadian Marketing Association. The event brings together a really cool bunch of speakers to talk with the audience. Sean Moffit the conference chair and social firebug talk about the conference here:

“Nowhere in Canada will you find a more entertaining and remarkable set of speakers dedicated to getting their companies noticed and talked about. Sure, there are other great conferences in Canada -mesh and ICE have their devoted followings, and for good reason. Whereas they deal with various facets of the new online and media environments in great depth, “From Mass to Grass” is designed to tie together these disciplines and shape insights and fully integrated strategies for progressive business people, marketers, entrepreneurs, agency people and media folk alike.”

I will be one of the people talking at this conference. I wish I could give you the exact details but I either don’t know them or I don’t know what has been made public. So I will wait for more official releases from the conference to announce those. 

If you are interested in finding out more information about the CMA or the FROM MASS TO GRASS conference please check out the sites. 

I am excited to be a part of this event and I hope you can make it part of your calender. 

Cheers 

Scott 

 

 

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 2 Comments
Written by Scott

Flash In The Can (FITC) is the premier flash conference series in the world. This was confirmed by a fantastic Conference that wrapped up. I was most impressed by the quality of the people that were there. Everyone that was there was at the top of their game and looking to keep climbing. It was a jam packed event that brought some of the finest flash and interactive specialists to take the rest of us to school.

There was no shortage of great sessions to attend and I over heard several people wishing to be in two sessions at once. That is a great change from some conferences I have been to that you some where you couldn’t find a decent session.  I can’t even begin to list all the great sessions that there were … If you are serious about Flash and how some of the greats are building their interactive experiences this is the place you have to be next year.  

A big shout out to Shawn Pucknell and all the great people that work so hard to put the conference. We only get to see the few days of events but their work continues on year long building a better experience. If I was giving any suggestions they would be very simple. Bigger pipe for internet (word was hilton was limiting connectivity), a place where people could get together and show off the stuff the are doing (show and share room). I have become very fond of Mars center for hosting events, I have been to a few different things there and it is a great venue, very open, bright and lots of the ever important bandwidth.     

Great conference and hope to see everyone I met again next year …or sooner.

Cheers 

Scott

Posted in ConceptShare ~ 2 Comments
Written by Scott