introducing…grayson roberts
Budding web developer, circa 1982
Meet Grayson, the newest member of the Foerstel Team, “beamed up” to the City of Trees from the Lone Star state. Web Developer, Family Man, Comedian, Poet, Photographer? The jury is still out on which one is his true calling, but they all come in handy at Foerstel.
Where did you work prior to landing here?
I was the IT Director for a small city in hot, humid, deep South Texas.
Did you always know you wanted to be a web developer?
Umm… who said I wanted to be a web developer?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I’d like to try being unemployed. I hear it can be quite relaxing.
What keeps you inspired and coming into work every day?
My wife and kids keep me going. They get kind of cranky when they haven’t eaten for a while.
What is one of the first creative lessons you learned?
Let go. Though I still haven’t mastered that one yet.
What is on your iPod?
“My” iPod has been MIA since the first week I had it in my hand. My wife knows the answer to this question.
Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?
Playing on the floor with my kids in our PJ’s.
What is your favorite quote?
Just one? There are so many! Here is one I like (can this apply to the Internet?)
“You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.” – Albert Einstein
Name one random thing about yourself that we probably don’t know?
I sometimes dream in code. Seriously.
Do you have any adventures planned?
I never plan them, but with three kids I expect another one will be just around the corner.
What is your favorite thing about Boise?
I have yet to see a cockroach.
What was your last creative pursuit (outside of work)?
Photography.
grayson roberts, poet or geek?
Foerstel is happy to welcome our new web developer, Grayson Roberts, to the group. He has brought unique qualities: added height (he’s about 7 feet tall!), a very quiet and humorous poetic touch, and admirable web experience and abilities. Enjoy Grayson’s intimidatingly accurate account of his first day at Foerstel!
’Twas my first day at Foerstel, as I crossed the welcome mat,
I was greeted with smiling faces (and Ralphie the cat).
With a whiteboard in the lobby, great care had been taken,
Made clear that I must like cats, ping-pong and bacon.
Shiny Apple computers on desks so clean
Visions of brilliant work danced on their screens.
And everyone dressed up in their clothes looking hip,
I needed to chill out after my cross-country trip.
When from out on the patio came a mouth-watering scent,
Into the fresh Boise air, sipping coffee, I went.
From the organic garden to the hot BBQ grill,
I knew that the crew at Foerstel had true skill.
The juice on the breast of the nearly grilled chicken
Gave me pause that my South Texas waistline might thicken,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a bucket full of salsa, and sausage with no beer!
And just when I thought that my fears might be valid,
I saw a bowlful of fruit and a healthy potato salad.
Comfortably we ate, the August day like a dream,
I’m thrilled to have been welcomed by the whole Foerstel team.
—
As my geek flag is at about half mast, I’ve pretty much reached down to the depths of my creative writing abilities to pull out the above text. The punishment to the reader will end here.
Sincerely, all the folks here at Foerstel have gone out of their way to be friendly and welcoming. I only hope that I will be able to reciprocate in a way that does justice to the team.
I was spoiled by a great welcome on my first day, sharing delicious food, an outdoor BBQ, beautiful weather and meeting new friends.
I am looking forward to sharing my abilities with a talented team to continue an obvious tradition of producing quality work.
Grayson
New hand on {the web} deck
how to make phone-lovers love your brand
Mobile marketing via a Quick Response Code (QR Code) may have had a slow start in the US, but in the last two years they’ve gone gangbusters. A recent study by comScore reported that, in June alone, 14 million mobile device users in the U.S. scanned a QR code. Packaging came in as the second highest scanned medium, while newspapers and magazines were first. There is no doubt that these funny looking little codes are an incredible marketing tool.
Curious about how to make phone lovers love your brand? If Lady Gaga and Starbucks can team up for a QR Code scavenger hunt, well then…we could say the opportunities for you are boundless! A QR code on your package or POS display is a visual hyper-link that engages your customer and instantly directs them wherever you want.
The key to success here is content. Make it worthwhile for the consumer–if you want to build brand loyalty, drive them to a loyalty program or discounts that will promote repeat purchase. If you want to show transparency, drive them to information that shows where your ingredients are sourced or farmed, or information that shows how your company is meeting sustainability goals. If you want the consumer to see how fresh your produce is, let them track when and where it was harvested and how many days it took to arrive at the store.
In addition to its promotional and brand-building aspects, QR Code technology can provide valuable analytics and tracking offline sources, along with capturing sales leads.
You can easily generate a free QR code online or use one of the many other vendors that provide alternatives to the typical QR code–YottaMark provides a more complex tracking system, and SpyderLynk, provides a code called a SnapTag that can utilize your brand logo as the code centerpiece, and can also be scanned with a simple camera phone.
Use a QR code to make that special consumer connection, and let the brand-lovin’ begin!
