MortMort - A Life Out Loud

Chicago at Night

Christine — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:36:31 +0000

Just doing a little mid-summer cleaning around the laptop and came across this little photo I picked up somewhere from National Geographic. Bet this makes for a great desktop background. I <3 Chicago.

Enjoy!

The Tenets of Digital Strategy (via Mike Arauz – The Blog)

Christine — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:36:22 +0000

Couldn’t agree more on the iterative and integrated points on the process. Strategy should be alive, breathing, ever changing; not-one and-done. Successful strategies need to be fed in order to be sustained.

(click for full-size image) I’ve been kicking these around for a little while. Would love to hear what you think. Process should be… Integrated – an ongoing part of the design process, not just the beginning and Iterative – continually tested and readjusted based on observed interaction Experiences should be… Self-sustaining – powered by the interaction and social engagement they create, not by paid advertising and PR and Mutually Beneficial … Read More

via Mike Arauz – The Blog

Personal Branding: My Logo Redesign

Christine — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:24:18 +0000

For those of you who know me personally, you likely know me by both Christine and Morty which is short for my last name. This is actually where mortmort.com stems from with a little help from the Sweedish Chef from days of yore…

But I digress…

For myself and countless others, personal branding proves to be a huge hurdle. I’m not sure why other than I think I’m just too close to the subject matter since I have little to no problem whipping up a look and feel for others and the corporations they work for.

But since it’s been years since I’ve seriously tackled my own identity, below are my first attempts for what will be seen on my personal blog. Aside from my personal branding, I think it’s time to separate my personal blogging (about running, volleyball, and random life events/observations) from my professional blogging (Social media marketing, Visual design, Trends, etc.).

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Don’t be shy.

Daily Find: Smart, Witty, and Brilliant Campaign

Christine — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:37:15 +0000

Aquent Campaign Creative

Found today while reading an article on Mashable was the single most simple and brilliantly done banner campaign I have come across in quite a while (without going to bannerblog or the like). I try not to throw out such high remarks very often because well let’s face it…we see a lot of ishh out there everyday. (fyi…”ishh is SnoopDogg-speak for sh*t. Now you know what your kids are saying at dinner.)

The banner ad starts out with your standard square simply inviting you to play a game, but right away you know something is off. Upon rollover it expands with additional instructions on how to play this game. Pay attention to the copy in the screen shots that follow. I’d go into more detail but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Ad in context

Banner frame 1

Banner frame 2

Banner frame 3

Banner frame 4

Banner frame 5

Landing Page

Landing Page- Product Rollover

Landing Page- Logo Rollover

Landing Page- Search Rollover

See. Smart, witty, and brilliant. Mainly because it’s such a simple idea that’s fairly well executed (except for that HUGE OBNOXIOUS drop shadow!), I think this campaign works. Aquent clearly knows their audiences. I think my favorite part is the blinking “OMG Flash Banner” at the top of the page and “Encouraging words!!!” in frame 5 after you’ve “played the game”. I literally LOL’d when I saw that and when an ad can do that believe me, I take note.

If you’d like to poke around the site yourself take look…

http://www.internetonlinewebsite.com/

Recent Work: Firm58- Site Redesign

Christine — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:56:09 +0000

Like the cobbler’s children who go without shoes, I’ve always been the Designer without a proper portfolio site. There’s a few reason’s for that.

One is having the time to put the design and code together.
Two is being able to come up with the right look and feel for myself. (It’s difficult to see the forest through the trees)
Third is the hard part of sticking to that look and feel long enough for the site to make it to the web. You should see all the site designs I have for myself!

So, until I can resolve the above I’m going to start mixing in screen captures of the things I’m working on (when I’m not on Twitter that is )

Below is some sample work for Firm58, a Financial Management Software company. We’ve been working with them to not only completely redesign their website but also develop the story that they tell to the market about how they can make a difference in the post-trade process. To compliment both of these efforts we’ve additionally created email campaigns and banner ads with more efforts planned. They’re really poised to change the trading industry with the software they’ve developed and we’re making sure that people in this industry realize just how much they need the solutions Firm58 offers.

Below is a snippet of that story and the homepage designs I created this week. The idea behind the design and copy is to be direct, yet powerful. The main section was designed with the intention to tell the visitor ONE amazing thing about Firm 58– what it does, what it can do–in just a matter of moments, and without having them click to another page.

With the exception of perhaps Charels Schwabb, financial industry work tends to be dry, heavy and generally uninteresting from a visual standpoint. What I wanted to do here was give them a fresh, bright and open interface that allows the message(s) to take the stage. By leveraging iconography throughout the secondary pages we bring attention to the most important points without over complicating the design. I’m a huge fan of the idea that less is more and especially when you’re talking about something as complex as the post-trade precess that mantra is relevant more than ever. This is still a work in progress at this point but work that I’m quite happy with and wanted to share. Perhaps later I can show some earlier iterations to show more of the process we’ve gone through to get to this point.

What’s the problem?
The problem is that the pre-trade world is evolving rapidly, the post-trade world isn’t evolving. The giant (and seemingly overnight) leap from analog to digital trading coupled with the explosion of high-velocity electronic order and execution systems has resulted in a higher degree of speed and efficiency within the pre-trade process resulting in reduced transaction costs, greater liquidity, increased transparency, and greater global competitions. Good for the front office, not so good for the back. These seismic changes have, literally, fractured the financial supply chain, and created a dynamic imbalance between these two worlds. Think about it: it takes only seconds to place an order. And yet, it can take 30 days to process it. Maybe longer. That creates a log-jam, which, over time, could be detrimental to the entire financial enterprise.

The spread sheet is an easy target, and is commonly labeled ‘the enemy;’ but it’s not really the enemy. The cumbersome, often times manual process that (brokerages, trading firms, FCMs) use to manage and service the post-trade business are at the root of the problem. It’s a problem Firm58 has identified and remains committed to solving for its partners to increase revenue, efficiency and overall customer satisfaction.

How bad is it?
Well, it’s pretty bad. It’s a pervasive condition, and affects all parts of the industry’s system. Unprecedented advancements in the pre-trade world have introduced a level of complexity and volume that legacy post-trade systems simply cannot handle or manage. Additionally, in-house systems are notoriously inflexible and wildly expensive to maintain, requiring ongoing investments and resources dedicated to activities that may not be core to your business. Remarkably, many of the processes used to manage and service the post-trade (billing, expense, compensation, soft dollars) are, again, still handled manually, which promotes delays and increases the margin of error. And together, that spells doom for anybody attempting to compete in the whizz-bang era of 24/7 trading, where speed, accuracy and daily visibility are the only things that count.

As margin pressure increases, and threats of compliance requirements continue to rise, the demands on an already taxed back office continue to mount. And when the back office fails, the front office fails. (Kill the body, and the head dies.) That’s a situation where everybody loses. It’s not surprising, then, that post-trade innovations are top of mind in the marketplace, and are poised to be a key value driver for the capital markets industry. Firm58 is in a unique position to help its partners capitalize on this heightened focus on post-trade activities, pulling focus on solutions; and sharing our wealth of experience and insight to, simply put, help you manage your business better.

What are we doing about it?
We’re fighting the good fight, every day, for our partners and our industry. Because, it’s not enough to comment on a problem and walk away. Anybody can do that. From the moment we were founded in 2005, we have worked tirelessly to identify and solve complex problems in our industry that, truth be told, are only going to get more complex; to mend a painful fracture that runs from the front office to the back office; and to create efficiencies that make our partners more profitable. In less than five years, we have made quite an impact.

We are changing the way people think about the post-trade process, by developing new ways to think about the post-trade process; we have placed a very high premium on the commodity of time, the one resource nobody every seems to have enough of, and figured out how to get it to work for not against you; and we develop revolutionary products that are extensions of who we are, what we believe. And… that work as hard as we work (if not harder!)

Infographic: 15 Things You Should Know About Caffeine

Christine — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:51:16 +0000

Via: Homeowners Insurance

Discovered via Guy Kawasaki on Twitter

Article Research: Social Listening & Engagement Tools

Christine — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:43:31 +0000

Dear Friends,

Since November of ’09 I have been on the look out for social listening and engagement platforms (or tools/data gatherers/workflow managers, etc.) in order to create a comprehensive article comparing them to each other. Below is the list of tools I’ve either used extensively, used briefly, or am planning to try out in the very near future so that I keep abreast on the latest features available, make sound recommendations to clients, and perhaps most importantly make sure I’m getting the most holistic view of relevant customer data/conversations in order to make those sound recommendations.

If there is something you’ve seen or used that you think I should cover please leave a comment below and I’ll likely add it to the list.

If you notice however, I’ve shied away from channel-specific tools such as Klout, Google Analytics and the like (for now at least). While these are great tools that I personally use all of the time, right now I’m looking at more robust and cross-channel reporting tools.

Many thanks!
<3 Mort

Radian 6- currently the most versed in and using for our client base
Techrigy SM2 (Alterian)
Objective Marketer
Scout Labs
Trendrr
Neilsen Buzz Gain
Buzz Metrics
Bizz 360Attensity
Viral Heat
General Sentiment
Social Mention- also using to round out research
OpenMic by Overtone
Social Insight by Crowd Factory
PostRank
Social Radar
Visible Technologies- truCast
Factiva?
Critical Mention
Hootsuite?
Clear Force?
Swix- also using to round out research

PLATFORMS

Gigya
Jive
Igloo-Online Communities

Fitness Challenge: Update Week 1

Christine — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:35:01 +0000

So now that it’s been an official week since the start of the Xsport 2010 Fitness Challenge and I have to say that it feels great to be this active again. I’m constantly tired but it’s not the kind of uhg-I-don’t-want-to-even-want-to-think tired I’m used to. Instead it’s a wow-i-feel-great-but-can’t-physically-exert-myself-anymore-where’s-my-laptop kind of tired.

I was overloaded at the office at the beginning of the week so I really couldn’t start out doing much more than being extra mindful of what I was eating. I think I did pretty well…

Thursday
Personal Training session with Ian (1hr)

Friday
Rode my bike to work (10.3 miles one way, took the L home)

Saturday
Ran 8 miles by the lake (hot and humid!)
Circuit training at the gym (1 hr.)

Sunday
Played volleybal on/off from 9am-4pm (3 hours of solid play)

Monday
Ran 5k on treadmill
Circuit training at the gym (30 min)

Sweet! That’s 5 days straight of working out. Here’s hoping that I can ride my bike tomorrow at least one direction. The rain may have other plans.

Below is the spreadsheet I started so that I can better keep track of my progress. At first, I wasn’t going to publish this because I didn’t want you to know my weight but screw it…I’m not planning on being this weight much longer so what does it matter ? :0)

As you can see, I believe that I’m at 3 points already! I wonder what the average is/should be per week? Also, now that I’m looking at this as a spreadsheet the 12 weeks doesn’t seem quite as long as they did before. It’ll be here before we know it so I better get back to work!

If you have any advice or thoughts, I’m all ears! If/when I win, Fogo de Chao is going to be my first stop for celebration!

So far so good? I think so.

Free at Last, Debt Free at Last

Christine — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:03:17 +0000

As of today (Monday June 14, 2010) I, Christine “Morty” Mortensen, will officially be debt free for the first time since college!

Aside from a pesky student loan I’m almost done repaying I can actually start saving again. Oh how sweet it feels!

Considering that the U.S. average credit card debt per household is a staggering $15,519 I feel very fortunate. Thanks mom! Just about everything I learned about my personal finances I learned from you.

Woo-Hoo!

A Leaner Meaner Me

Christine — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:07:46 +0000

It’s been a long, loooooooong winter folks. And I took full advantage of this season in which most Chicagoans choose to hibernate. FULL advantage.

Well, as most of you non-under-a-rock dwellers know, summer is now in full swing and the thought of wearing most of my bikinis for volleyball thoroughly scares the BaJeebuz out of me!

Just before I was about to wallow in self-pity and help myself to yet another serving of ice cream, wouldn’t you know…as luck would have it my gym was about to start their 2010 Fitness Challenge!

Of course, this is a marketing program to get members to purchase personal training sessions and supplements— but I don’t mind. I already had enough training sessions left over from my marathon training last year. Not to mention it won’t be a big deal to get more especially since I’m going to win the $10,000 grand prize! I also realize, of course, that this is what they want me to think. I bet it was even in the damn creative brief.

Winning will not be easy…but it never is; is it? I’ve gained quite a bit of weight but I’m by no means “The Biggest Loser” material, so my work is cut out for me.

[cue evil laugh]
“Yes! Just the way I like it!”

The rules state that I get a point for every pound of weight lost. It’s not however a weight loss competition. It’s a fitness challenge. That said, I also get 2 points for every pound of lean muscle mass gained. On top of that I have to write a 500 word essay about my goals and how my gym and specifically my trainer were a huge impact on my progress. Of course, another marketing ploy but I get it. I’d want something to publish too if were going to give you $10,000. Lastly there’s the before and after photos! I took mine right after playing beach volleyball all day so THAT’S going to be one awesomely horrible before shot.

The body changes throughout the challenge are all calculated with a hand held fat loss monitor and looking at body fat percentage as opposed to BMI, which can be misleading. Full disclosure, I was the Design Lead on the Omron site redesign but these are also the exact monitors my gym uses…no real relation there but just making sure I’m being transparent.

Along with working with my awesome trainer, Ian, once a week I’ve also decided that I will not be drinking in June. So far I went 5 days straight and then the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup and while I by no means went overboard, I did have a couple Coronas. BUT so far with just the one training session, really watching what I eat and not drinking I’ve already lost 3 pounds since last Sunday’s weight-in! Only 5 days in, nice!

The challenge runs from June 7 until the end of August. Right now I just want to lose as much fat as possible and gain as much muscle as I can but it’d be great to get back around to 125lbs. I haven’t seen that number since high school though so with more muscle I’d be happy as long as I stop feeling like a slug (oh, and if I could fit in my jeans again. I refuse to go up another size)!

I think one of the main keys to this will be to watch my food intake. I’ve been using an online tool called The Daily Plate for quite some time now (on and off since 2007 actually) and it’s now a part of the Livestrong website. It’s very robust and couldn’t be more easy to use. It tracks both you nutritional intake as well as your fitness activities, weight goals and more. You can also export the data so your trainer can keep you honest.

MyPlate on Livestrong— According to my weight loss goals that I input into MyPlate and my base level of activity I should be consuming 1130 calories. In this example i somehow missed breakfast and then trained later in the day which kicked my butt and I was actually calorie deficient for the day!? This is not good at all. That kind of extreme is not good for the metabolism. I should be consistently aiming for the red line like I did on the 7th & 8th. Had I not been using this tool, I'd have no idea that I actually needed to eat more yesterday.

Other activities I’m weaving into this workout mix include:

Biking to work as much as weather and work permits. It’s an 11 mile trek one way and when I was more vigilant about this last year it was supplementing quite a bit of my weekday marathon training runs.
Volleyball on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am-4pm every week through VballNetwork
Running. Not sure how often or when yet but I’d imagine that my more normal routine of Monday, Wednesday, and long run Saturday would be best even though I’m not running the Chicago marathon this year
I miss the yoga classes I used to go to at my gym so I’ll try to hit those up when I can
I’m also thinking of adding the P90x routine into my mix but that I know would be overkill on top of all of the above. I’m still curious about it and think I may check it out to sprinkle in some at home workouts if I’m ever bored (bored? what’s that?!)

Looking at all of the above I’m now realizing that I pretty much signed myself up for a second (or third) job. This will not be easy…but again…winning never is.