Chrome is Google’s new web browser.

Google is launching a new web browser, available now in Beta version, known as “Chrome“.   While in my line of work, my web browser is by far the most commonly used tool in my repertoire, I am curious to see how Chrome compares to Firefox. I already use just about all of Google’s products. A browser is a smart move for them, giving them total control of the software in which all of their apps are viewed, rather than relying on Firefox or IE to adhere to standards. This way, they can dictate the standards, and tailor their apps accordingly.

Read the Official Google Blog here

At Google, we have a saying: “launch early and iterate.” While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit “send” a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries.

So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.

All of us at Google spend much of our time working inside a browser. We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends — all using a browser. Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there. We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that’s what we set out to build.

Classic Insulation & Pest Control Website Launched by WorldLight Media

Mount Vernon, WA - Classic Insulation & Pest Control has hired WorldLight Media to produce it’s new Branding Identity. The centerpiece of this Brand Strategy is their new website: www.ClassicInsulation.com. But they also have completely updated their corporate image with a new logo, business cards, yellow page ads, and brochures. “Everything about the way this company looks has been enhanced” said Nathan Solla, Creative Director of the campaign and Owner of WorldLight Media. “Classic Services already has a solid reputation of quality service in the community, but their current branding didn’t do a good enough job of showcasing that quality.  Now every time they engage in marketing activity, everything their customer sees is saturated with an image of high quality professionalism that truly reflects their commitment to excellence.”

While Classic Insulation & Pest Control offers many valuable services, it was difficult to come up with a new identity for the logo that was simple, yet easy to remember and pronounce. “‘Classic Services’ is the name they may mention while answering the phones, but it does not say really anything about what they do,” Solla said, “Plus, the domain name was already taken!”

After conducting an analysis of the industry and target market, the domain name “classicinsulation.com” was selected. “Eventually, other domain names, like ‘classicpestcontrol.com’ and ‘classicservices.com’ will become available,” predicted Solla, “and we can help them acquire those domains to further their brand strategy.”

For now, check out the new website: Classic Insulation & Pest Control

Custom Top-Level-Domains in Spring 2009… For $100k+

Did you ever want your own TLD (Top Level Domain)? Instead of having a website with a standard TLD like .COM or .NET, why not .BOB or .Dude or .News or .Honda? Well, today the ICANN voted to proceed with plans to make custom TLDs available.

“This is a historic resolution,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of Icann’s board. “It’s going to make a big difference to how the Internet looks and works.”

ICANN officials said some technical issues for the new system must still be worked out, but it could be reviewing the first applications for new TLDs as early as next spring. The application fee is expected to cost more than $100,000.

Under the new system, individuals, companies or groups could apply to have any string of letters established as a domain name. It could be a vanity name, for example — .smith — or a category name like .sports or .perfume. A company could also change its domain to reflect its brand, so Apple.com could become Apple.mac, for instance.

(source: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2635186520080626)

Did Firefox 3 Pull the Old Bait and Switch Routine?

We all know about Firefox 2’s ghastly fallbacks. The memory hogging, CPU sucking days were supposed to be over with the release of the new Firefox 3 browser, right? Or so they said…

I’ll be the first to admit, (or rather, the 409,718th to admit) that the RC1 and RC2 “pre-release” versions of the Firefox 3 browser were in fact much faster, much more memory efficient, and, in general, offered a more enjoyable browsing experience than their predecessors.

However, today Mozilla launched the “Official” release of the Firefox 3 browser, which I downloaded and installed about 2 hours ago.  And, as you may have guessed, the browser is once again up to it’s old shenanigans! So, slow, so, so slow. So much RAM being wasted! (On what?)

In sales, they call this “bait and switch”. They “bait” you with one product whilst boasting it’s extravagant features, then, once you’re hooked, they “switch” it with an inferior product. In most countries, the practice is completely ILLEGAL! Companies found guilty would have to pay back the consumers. However, we did not have to purchase this browser, it was free. But that doesn’t mean it comes with out a hefty price: Your Time (and your electricity to push your now severely overworked CPU).

There are also quite a few bugs that I’ve noticed. Such as, when trying to add a bookmark by dragging the favicon into the bookmark bar’s folder, there are some sub menu tiers that cannot be accessed.  And pressing Control-D to bookmark doesn’t remember the last folder you added a bookmark to (unless you added it in one certain way, via the CTRL-D dialogue box).  I even emailed these bugs to Mozilla, but they released the new version without fixing them for some reason.

So, to me, the new version is worthless. The result: I will be re-installing FF2 as soon as I get the chance.

If you haven’t done so yet, please do not bother upgrading to the new browser.

Marketing ROI? Prove it.

Marketing ROI? Prove it.
The gold standard for measuring marketing ROI occurs when you can demonstrate a cold, hard sale as the result of viewing some marketing materials. This kind of hard data is few and far between, but progress is being made. The Microsoft marketing scorecards, for instance, contain data on how many customers spend time on a Web page about Windows Vista. They also reveal how many readers click through to a specific retail partner such as Best Buy to purchase a package.

5 Perfect ‘Spare-Time’ Online Businesses - Entrepreneur.com

5 Perfect ‘Spare-Time’ Online Businesses - Entrepreneur.com

WorldLight Media can help you get started in each of these businesses. The cost? Starting at $5 per month!

Find out how by email us. info@worldlightmedia.com

Top Trends of Web Design that are dumb

Some things catch on. Some things don’t. Who’s to say what will or won’t be cool in the eyes of the masses? I wish it were me. But, it’s not, because if it were up to me, there are about ___ emerging trends that I would not allow to endure. Here’s a wish-list of short lived trends that shouldn’t have been:

1. The wooden panel trend…

Please. It wasn’t cool on your grandma’s station wagon, and it’s certainly not cool enough to be “in” on the latest websites.

http://www.reconstructing-ideas.com, weeatt.com, incg.nl, santa-barbara-wineries.com, andrewbradshaw.com

2. The vector character with fat, ovular features trend…

Is there one artist who is pumping out these vector cartoons? They keep popping up, and there heads keep getting fatter.

http://www.mediadesignmarketing.com/

http://www.unmatchedstyle.com/gallery/bookkeeping-in-a-box.php

So far, two whole items isn’t much of a “list”. But what can I say, I’m a pretty content person.

In the interest of not having a blog post be totally negative and whiny, let me end on a positive note: Stuff I think IS cool…

Cool Emerging Trends:

1. Rainbowish color blend
2. Stuff under Ground

True Built Home chooses WorldLight Media to build website!

For immediate release — Attention: Real Estate, Technology & Business Editors

Tacoma, WA — True Built Home, Inc. has selected WorldLight Media to build its new state-of-the-art website, set to open for public usage in early March. True Built Home, an On Your Lot volume home building company, was founded by Lewis D. Mann, one of the co-founders of competitor Reality Homes. True Built Home, Inc. was recently incorporated, and is opening branches in Tacoma, Burlington, and Centralia. “Our goal is to dominate the On Your Lot Building Industry for all of Western Washington” said Mann.

The website, www.truebuilthome.com, is a key component of their business model. “We are stoked about the new website and everything (WorldLight Media) is doing!” beamed Mann, “We are truly appreciative!” The new website is unlike any other website in the industry. Prospective home buyers will be able to log onto the website, browse through the various floor plans and home styles, and even choose their upgrades right on the website. A live “AJAX” based calculator updates the price as new upgrades are chosen. After they are finished choosing their new homes and customizing their upgrades, users are able to save the plans to their account for later viewing – or they can get started building.

“We are extremely excited about this website as well!” said Nathan Solla, Owner and Creative Director of WorldLight Media, a strategic branding and design company based out of Camano Island, Washington. “This is history in the making. In the future, all new homes will be bought and built in this way,” predicted Solla. “We believe our contribution to True Built Home is going to help give them their best possible chance of success, and that makes us very happy.”