Notes and news, insights and inspiration from the autonomous collective mind of GS.

Wille G Davidson: Honoring a Legend

Chris Krasovich by on May 17, 2012

Thanks Willie!We’re always thrilled to be asked to work on the interesting projects that come to us from long-time client Harley-Davidson, but when a project is also an opportunity to pay tribute to a man of legendary status who has inspired legions and changed lives – even lives right here at GS – the project becomes something even bigger.

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The Ability to Make A Difference

Amie Abendroth by on April 26, 2012

My very first blog post, I suppose it’s appropriate that it marks a significant point in my career. For the past six months or so I’ve had the pleasure of working on a project that has been truly fulfilling. I’m pretty passionate about my projects in general. I consider myself a “dedicated” project manager – but this, this project was different. I felt like I was doing something for the greater good. And I know that my fellow GS team members felt the same way.

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Congratulations! You’re an Expert.

Chris Krasovich by on June 2, 2011

ex·pert/ˈekspərt/

Noun: A person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.

In discussing the social media content-generation process, the subject of expertise frequently arises. It seems that many are uncomfortable with the idea that authoring a post on a topic gives the impression that they’re “experts” in a field or area.

What is it about claiming expertise that gives so many of us pause?

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2

Thou Shalt Steal

by Paul Bartlett on April 7, 2011

When I began my career in advertising and design I was obsessed with the idea of being original. I would second-guess any logo or ad I did because it would remind me of something else. “Yeah, but Target has red circles.” “Yeah, but iPod uses silhouettes.” “Yeah, but Miller did a commercial with a Sasquatch.” It happened on every project, and it was paralyzing.

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5

Inspiration is Overrated

Chris Krasovich by on February 4, 2011

I recently found a bit of wisdom on the Drawn blog that I'd like to share because I found it chock full of truthy goodness. In a nutshell, the post asserts that good old-fashioned work trumps inspiration every time. And I have to say I concur. I admit that technically I was “inspired” to write this post after reading the paragraph below, but research is part and parcel of the work involved to keep a blog current and relevant. So that means my work on this blog led to the inspiration for this post.

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Stuck? Try Thinking Like a 7-Year-Old

Steve Radtke by on January 26, 2011

One of the challenges we face as creative problem solvers is dropping our challenge-focused baggage and opening our minds to unique solutions. We all know the rules of a good brainstorm:

  • Lots of ideas – quantity, not quality
  • No judging!
  • Odd, weird, unrealistic ideas welcome
  • Combining ideas into new ideas also handy

Sounds easy, but often our creativity is held back by an all-too-adult awareness of the cold, hard reality our projects live in. The answer? Think like a kid.

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Storytelling Gets Ever More Novel

Jay Sanders by on December 20, 2010

Now you can read gripping narrative for free on Amazon.com. Not with Amazon’s annoying “Look Inside the Book” feature, but right there in the customer reviews. Encountering ridiculous product listings, everyday Amazonians are responding in non-everyday ways, morphing their reviews into creative short fiction.

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20 Things I Learned about Browsers and the Web

Steve Schrab by on November 19, 2010

The Google Chrome Team has authored an online book addressing some common topics on the Internet. It not only offers awesome examples of what you can do with HTML5/CSS3/JS, but is also a good book about the Internet in general.

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