Do you remember that term from back in the days; ‘What you see is what you get’? From the beginning of the 90’s, computer programs started to use this term. This meant that programs immediately showed users how their text or picture would look like in print. Later on, website builders like Angelfire and Lycos offered their version of WYSIWYG. Buttons, frames, text and pictures could be dropped and clicked into a website template that would be their WYSIWYG version of a self made website. With these kind of services even the less talented designers and internet users could build a website. But it all didn’t look that fabulous.

The last few years services to build your own website or blog multiplied. But still we haven’t found that one great WYSIWYG concept. Bloggers and amateur website builders still needed to know about coding. You could have the best design ideas for your website but coding was essential, untill now because there is BaseKit. This is a great concept for code-free website design.

BaseKit is the new way for bloggers, amateur website owners, designers and developers to create a rich and dynamic website directly from Photoshop. You bring your idea to life in photoshop and upload it. BaseKit will transform your photoshop file into standards-compliant HTML and CSS. BaseKit also offers a selection of pre-built site packs and is a fully-featured content management system. Everything is possible without the trouble of HTML, JAVA and that kind of jibberish.

So, what you see in your photoshop image – that’s what you get!

For many companies their creative efforts amount to the work of committees: toned done, middle of the road, generally unremarkable. It’s the creative equivalent of stock photography. Full of clichés and very polished. There are no rough edges, no surprises.

It’s safe because no unusual risks are taken, so no one is going to lose their job over the result.

The alternative is being outspoken. You will not end up please everybody, but at least you’ll stand a chance to please some people.

So actually your chances of success have increased. The risk is less, not more.

Take a look at this great video showing Terry Richardson at work. Terry is not an average photographer. Many people are taken aback by his work, but those who do like it really like it. These people may actually respond the way you want them to.

The Making of the 2010 Pirelli Calendar by Terry Richardson from Rafael Rubira fashion4fun.com.br on Vimeo.

Go ahead and take the road less traveled.

Both Robbert-Jan and I have been highly enthusiastic of Alex Osterwalder’s book Business Model Generation, the idea of which we discussed a few times before.

In case you’re interested in seeing the method of BMG at work, Mr. Osterwalder has made a nice little case study here:

About a week ago the company Bloom Energy has come out of ‘stealth mode‘ – they have officially announced a new kind of fuel cell they’ve been secretly developing for years. And while most of us know fuel cells as something to power electric cars with (although I recently met with the CEO of myFC who are turning them into personal devices – amazing stuff), Bloom are building them into boxes large enough to provide basic power needs to an urban home (of 2 for every home if you happen to be a US citizen).

In fact, their cells are, along the lines of typical Silicon Valley marketing practice, called Bloom Boxes.

I could go on and on about how cool this is (or be a pessimist and list the obvious downsides), and about the amazing implications this concept could have for us as a technology-centric society, but here’s a video of a recent 60 minutes piece so you can see for yourself:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The basic premise here is that you can make your own power from a resource that’s non-polluting and available abundantly (although surely 100 years from now beachgoers will complain) and cheaply.

This is in stark contrast with that other big future vision: the smart grid. (By the way, read this equally inspiring article about the wired city of the future, how cool is THAT?).

What do you think is the platform for the future: networked efficiencies of scale or low-impact micro-plants? Hit the comments.

Related articles by Zemanta

• On Over-Hyped Bloom Energy Story (seekingalpha.com)
• Bloom Box: Best Product or Simply First Mover? (businesspundit.com)
• Energy Breakthrough? Power Plant in a Box: No More Power Lines or Emissions (grantlawrence.blogspot.com)

One of the industries in which the fight between the ‘old world’ and the new is the most apparent, is the music industry. While record labels are suing the pants off of filesharing sites and iTunes isn’t making a ton of money even though everyone and their grannie have an iPod, some clever folks have been calling for the new model to emerge for years: artists will make money from their tours, and the recorded music merely is a marketing vehicle for the live performance.

Case in point: David Levine had a quick look at Metallica’s revenues and concluded that 55 live shows brought in US$22.8mm, while 694.000 albums sold brought in US$1.6mm.

Ouch.

Which also serves to bring forward another painful corollary of this shift: how quickly the recording industry is becoming obsolete. Artists can make more money doing what they (arguably) love, playing music for fans, than they can leveraging that to the masses with the help of an overhead-heavy industry. It’s like 1950 all over again.

As I write this I remember reading an article in Fastcompany a few years ago that already profiled a music marketing company that specialized in generating revenue for bands through live performance merchandise. Will try my best and dig that up for you. [Update: Here it is.]

Be direct! Skip the nonsense.

It’s often wise to be direct and blunt when something needs to be stated that otherwise cannot be expected to be known. See, for instance, this well designed sign at the 3rd anniversary party for the magazine MONOCLE, the day before yesterday. Congratulations!

Made me look.

CAPITAL LOCATIONS is a fully client focused housing agency for expats, based in Amsterdam. The agency has recently been nominated for the EXPAT SERVICE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2010.

To win this ambitious title and be able to carry out the credentials, Capital Location was asked to submit a promotional video of max 3 minutes. Although the video’s main purpose would be attract more VOTES to win the title, the secondary purpose is to provide Capital Location with a promotional video which it can be used for a longer period of time.

As a client of mine, the aim here was to position Capital Locations according to its unique ‘personal’ approach. Different from its ‘Power House Style’ competitors, who are more concerned with numbers and amounts to score big, Capital Locations focus totally on its clients and is willing to work around the clock 24/7 till success is reached – real customer intimacy!

Credibility was one of the main things we had to tackle, therefore we made use of testimonials of real tenants, whom already experienced the superior service of Capital Locations. Sure, Capital Locations is here to run a business, but they don’t necessarily have to be all ‘business-like’ to win the hearts of their clients. Facts and rationality aren’t always the answer – while emotion, real people, real demands, hence: real superior service are things we all can relate to.

Sit back and let me tell you the Capital Locations story.

Alfredo Silva is a freelance marketing & communications consultant, also the founder of Klatergoud.com.
Don’t hesitate – let’s talk!

It’s nice to see that even GOOGLE finds it relevant to spend money on advertising. The world’s nr #1 search engine doesn’t have to let people know what they do – or do they? I’ve stumble upon this ad, which was first broadcasted during superbowl. The ad is a nice manifestation on how Google managed to be a very important adviser in our lifes.

Here the Parisian Love affair ad:

There you have it: the yellow pages for iPhone software developers. Looking for someone to code your app?
Check out TheyMakeApps.com. I’ve also loved the website design, especially the feature ‘love your keyboard’!

Bing?

Isn’t that the Google killer from Microsoft?

Yes, but before you click away, be inspired by their demo of augmented reality maps. Think of Google Maps, but then with added functionality. Pretty amazing stuff to see how reality and images blur, enabling you to travel through time.

And just like when you first saw Google map, but were not able to put it in the right context, this will inspire some great functionalities / apps / etc. Will you think of ‘m?

And maybe even more important, will you do anything with ‘m?