Happy Birthday Travis!

Today is our developer Travis's 26th birthday!

Be sure to drop him a note, or embarrass him as necessary.

Flash and 3D online Environments

A colleague recently asked on LinkedIn :
Is SecondLife going to grow -- or will a newer, improved environment take center stage?A number of answers surrounded the use of Second Life and Google's product Lively.

As an interactive house, we fully support use of these technologies in the business environment (obviously).

However, I responded with the following, that takes online Flash and 3D environment gaming to a whole new level. We've developed interactive architectural and engineereed product environments for clients, and believe that online Flash 3D has a LOT to offer (particularly in a B2B marketing environment) in the very near future. Just wait till we hook it up to a Wii controller!

A completely different alternative is one that is a custom-built 3D environment using Flash-based engines, such as the open-source Away 3D... see more (PaperVision, as well) and the *really* interesting Alternativa (honestly, check out the demo).

Both elevate the online Flash environment to the level of 3D gaming, which is an incredible leap forward possible through Actionscript 3. We're exploring the real-world applications of these for some clients, which are similar to just what you suggest. It does mandate more detailed attention to actually building the environments, but then, you do have full control over access, function and design.

I think we can see online gaming using Flash coming...and it might be interesting to use SL as a pre-viz tool for a more customized game experience.

_bill

Hug a Developer

Today is the day to truly appreciate the web developers.

Have you Hugged a Developer today?

To our web developers--Travis and Tim--thank you for what you do every day!


-Tiff P.
Media Project Manager

Interactive Technology Futures: 08 Creative Transitions Conference

In mid-August, I had the privilege of representing Finn Digital by moderating the keynote panel discussion for C2 Graphics Productivity's 2008 Creative Transitions Conference. Some pretty heavy hitters on the panel:

• Michael Kanfer, Digital Production Evangleist from Adobe, who won an Academy Award for his work on the movie Titanic (yes, that Titanic)
• Chris Ippolite, a well-respected software app developer from LA
• Brett Derricott, president of AgencyFusion, a great development house with a wickedly on-target sense of humor

We talked about the future of technology for Adobe creative applications (SoundBooth in particular), Flash for mobile devices and the iPhone, Adobe Air apps, and the future of content delivery.  REALLY interesting panel, and the podcast is here for your edification - enjoy! Finn Digital thanks C2 for the opportunity to help the Milwaukee interactive, Flash and design community!

Get the podcast here.

BMA-Milwaukee Website Launches!

Today, the Business Marketing Association of Milwaukee re-launched its website, bma-milwaukee.org!

Tim Grove, Chair of the BMA website committee and developer here in the Finn Digital offices, spearheaded the design, technical specifications and information management required to complete this significant achievement.

Congratulations Tim, on the hard work you and the committee have devoted to this initiative!

Needless to say, Finn Digital believes in the professional education opportunities BMA-Milwaukee offers, and we encourage all our colleagues to join as members! Our participation over the last 8 years has been extraordinarily valuable from several perspectives.

Plaid Tuba Interactive Mural Video

As part of Gallery Night in July of 2008, Finn Digital participated in videotaping the creation of an interactive art mural produced by the community.

Sponsored by the Plaid Tuba Project, local artist Reggie Baylor along with ArtMail Milwaukee members and the public worked hand-in-hand to complete this unique wall mural using colored pencils. The piece was donated to the Catch a Rising Star Foundation to draw attention to the work they do in supporting and sustaining the Milwaukee High School of the Arts.

Check out the video:


Bill and I (along with our production techs Dan R. and Laura S.) got to not only capture this event for posterity in video (through both video production and editing) but also took part in the art! If you watch carefully, there are two quick shots us in the video.

It was great being able to support the local arts community and be a part of a great interactive project.

-Tiff P.
Media Project Manager

The Importance of Social Networks for Business

The idea of using social media networks to build brand equity can be a foreign concept for many business. However, the sheer impact of the Internet and the word-of-mouth generated from these networks can be more effective that traditional advertising.

Who else thinks so? Check out this article from Business Week. A corollary article is available here.

Getting involved in social networking can build a new generation of brand-loyal--and more importantly, brand-aware--consumers of a company's products and services.

-Tiff P.
Media Project Manager