2 announcements to spice up a slow Friday in August

I mentioned in a previous post (still on the office fridge no doubt) that we here at the RAF have a new-found focus: strengthening our creative communications community through programs and events that educate and inspire great work. With that in mind, 2 announcements:

“20 minutes and a Beer”
Not what you think. It’s a monthly event where we’ll ask a local expert to opine on a topic briefly, then we have a drink. Simple as that. We have one planned:
When: Tuesday, September 22; 5:30
Where: Tap and Mallet
What: Jon Brown from P&N will give a practical tour through Social Media

Why only one planned? We want to test the idea and get feedback before we blow out a schedule. So join us and share your thoughts.

A Bigger, Badder Blog Team.
3 stars have joined the ranks, perhaps lured by our comprehensive health insurance program:

Chris Lyons, who describes himself this way: above average jump shooter, lousy putter, pretty good Illustrator, devoted Teacher.

Jennifer Wolfe, Principal + Designer for Jennifer Wolfe Design and Adjunct Professor at RIT.

Whit Thompson, ACD at Roberts Communication. Whit has been an outstanding addition to the Rochester ad ranks and promises no shortage of opinion. Decent tennis player too I hear.

As Buffalo Bill and fellow RAF member Terrell Owens would say, “get your popcorn ready”.

Matt Jones

New Yahoo! Site is Mega Helpful

I first heard the term mega drop-down from usability expert, Jakob Nielsen. Not sure it’s a technical term, but it refers to hover-over, drop-down navigation extraordinaire that has categories, columns, links and more. It’s super helpful, and it’s a key component of Yahoo!’s new interface.

Mega drop-downs fly out from shortcuts sidebar

Mega drop-downs fly out from shortcuts sidebar

The new Yahoo! homepage sports a “favorites” bar along the left hand side. Icon/links for key areas of interest like sports, finance, facebook, eBay and a dozen or so other topics are included. Here’s the mega part: when you hover over any of the icons, a mega drop-down pops out, with a few key piece of info — stuff you’re most likely to want to see (or at least that’s what the designers are banking on). For example, a quick hover gives you the state of the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P. Place your mouse over eBay, and you’ll see the most-watched items, and a search box. Facebook gives you direct access to your login. True to its original intent, Yahoo! has once again made itself a reason to be your portal.

This is also a brilliant move for advertising, as each of the mega drop-downs has room for an ad… which of course, is targeted to the area of interest. Nice job of combining user benefits with money-making options for the site.

— Andrea Zuegel