Today marks the 13th anniversary of our fearless leader Ed Schipul taking the dive into entrepreneurial world with Schipul – The Web Marketing Company.

It’s been an adventure – from Web design to search engine marketing to software products to Social Media…  ups and downs, laughter and tears, Flash and HTML5, conferences and webinars.  We wouldn’t have it any other way.

But by far our biggest gift has been the Schipul tribe that we have been surrounded by over the years.

Our clients mean everything to us, they challenge us to grow and push us to innovate and stay smart.  We love interacting, visiting and partnering with them.  Such a blessing, every one.

Our friends and community keep us quirky and creative – hosting great events, sharing and training with us and being there for us through thick and thin.

And finally, our employees bring everything together for us on a daily basis.  Their hard work, constant personal development and passion for serving our tribe is the difference between trudging into the office for another blah work day and truly loving the work that we are privileged to do.

Happy birthday Schipul — and congratulations to all!  We wouldn’t be here without you.

Photo thanks to Flickr user brunkforbraun

-adjective
1. exemplifies a unique quality; awesome; incredible
2.  An expression from the mid 1950s, which fell from favor by the early 1960s….until now…

What does August mean to you? If you said football season, well I’d say you just earned yourself a gold star. Simply put, the world is  a better place when you spend 10 consecutive  hours, every Sunday, watching the gridiron madness.

This year more than ever, we have the ability to be a part of the game via Twitter- witnessing a player’s thoughts pre-huddle, during the 60 and after the stadium has cleared. We are not just following bloggers who love the sport; we are following the guys down on the grass, feeling the pressure in the red zone. You will find that some players will inspire, others will talk trash and the majority will misspell common words…but collectively, their micro blogs Twitter streams are most definitely boss.

C Pemby’s Top NFL Players on Twitter

Craig Terrill – @TerrillMusic Team: Seattle Seahawks Position: Defensive Tackle Terrill is the Defensive Tackle for the Seattle Seahawks…and let’s not kid ourselves, he’s a whole lotta’ man. While he is not on the football field, he plays in a band surprisingly called, The Craig Terrill Band. Seahawk bowling day. I am on track for a perfect 300 right now. Pounds…that is. If Sanchez doesn’t pull this game out he always has ‘Entourage’ to fall back on.

Ryan Grant - @RyanGrant25 Team: Greenbay Packers Position: Running Back While he consistently over uses the acronym, “lol”, you can always count on Ryan Grant to provide entertaining banter with his teammates. Everyone needs to know that @AaronRodgers12 accuracy in practice with a football is phenomenal, but with a water balloon, questionable And honestly, anyone that can laugh out loud this much are what we call, good people. Ive been asked twice this week by fans if I’m playing again this year lol……come on now..lol NOTHING’s CHANGED…Im coming to work lol

Jared Allen –@JaredAllen69 Team: Minnesota Vikings Position: Defensive End Jared Allen’s twitpics speak for themselves… Again, it was only a trim. It was starting to get a little out of control.

Chad Ochocinco – @OGOchoCinco Team: Cincinnati Bengals Position: Wide Receiver If you loved him on Dancing with the Stars then you will most certainly love following Ochocinco – a lover, fighter and designer shoe connoisseur. While I commend his efforts, there will never come a day where I will take a man seriously with a reality show called, “The Ultimate Catch.” Get it? He’s a running back and he catches the ball…you’re so clever Chad. New Christian Louboutin Rollerboy Spike Flats yes or no http://twitpic.com/2jtu00

Brian Cushing- @briancushing56Team: Houston Texans Position: Linebacker If you are living in Houston and want to literally follow a local player – Brian Cushing is your man. He will keep you up-to-date on exactly where he is at all times which leads me to believe he is unaware of his 10,777 followers . Come on Cushing, we all know there is only one bowling alley in Bellaire (Palace Lanes). Bowling w/ the team over in Bellaire.

Ok, your turn – tell me about an NFL player that keeps you entertained via Twitter!

I guess the emergence is only part of natural selection. It was very Darwinian to watch the mutation of a professional grade SLR to include HD video. Then I watched as professionals and peers gravitated to the results.

Below is one of the first videos that introduced me to the power of the 5D (I would love to give credit to whoever sent this too me, but I have forgotten you. I know, heartless). The video is from Donald Kilgore and was filmed in Houston.

Paper Flowers & A Little Patience from Donald Kilgore on Vimeo.

So, Donald’s video is pretty. But, is quality really even that necessary for web video? Web video viewership is increasing and there is a tremendous amount of crap video…. Do you need a 5D?

The chart listed below shows the percentage of video content on the web continuing to rise. Of course YouTube is counted as video and not web, and Wired has some questions to answer about the data behind the graphic (see comments).

So, with all the video out there being consumed how and why does something like a 5D matter?

I heard it best explained by Ross, from Zen Films, that the amount of content we are “carpet bombed with” has caused humans to invent mechanisms to block unwanted streams. Like Twisted Sister… We have enough, we’re not going to take it anymore. So Ross said we have to “Pay People For Their Time“.

“Pay People For Their Time“

That’s brilliant. We have to pay people for the time they spend reading and consuming our content… including video. And we pay them by making the “Value” greater than the “Cost“.

The 5D (and 7D for you snobs) that is a step in the right direction of making content better quality and more easily consumed. Quality in the value to cost ratio matters. A 5D could help make your “web video” worth watching.

The Schipul team is honored to sponsor this month’s IABC Houston luncheon featuring the H-E-B corporate communication team.

If you are not familiar with IABC (the International Association of Business Communicators), they are a great networking and teaching organization with chapters all across the United States.  In fact, you may have even seen some of the Schipulites speak there before!

While the luncheon topic and speakers are going to be amazing this month, what has really got us excited is that this month will be IABC’s grand return to Brennan’s of Houston (disclosure: a client) after the tragic fire in 2008.

Talk about the ultimate phoenix story, Brennan’s was closed after standing for generations as one of Houston’s most recognizable culinary landmarks.  After months of re-building, it has returned as lovely, classy and delicious as ever.  We are honored to be a part of a very special day for both IABC Houston and Brennan’s.  Nothing goes together quite like Creole and Communicators, please say hello to one of the Schipul gang if you attend!

As with many organizations during this time, the answers have not been easy to come by. The main conflict is the ages of the respective audiences. The group actively using social media on the internet and their phones is considerably younger than the audiences taking in performances  at Jones Hall and the Wortham. The great fear for some patrons is the degradation of the theater experience like we have seen in our movie theaters. Others find the behavior of these tech happy people abhorrent, and too unsophisticated for the filigreed temples of the arts. Honestly? They’re right. Going to a performance is an experience between you and the artists. It is an intimate relationship that sometimes requires the full attention of the patron.

Imagine yourself locked in a passionate embrace of your significant other. They are holding you in their arms tightly, stroking your hair, nibbling at your ear.  When, all of a sudden, he or she pulls out their phone to send a tweet. That moment is, as they say, spent. Now, with that same scenario, imagine if a stranger interrupted this moment to post your picture on Facebook? We’ll call this phenomenon Theaterus Interruptus.

This is not behavior anyone here at Schipul would be likely to encourage, however, we also see the strong need for a conversation about the use of social media and mobile phones within the construct of a night at the theater. In the coming weeks, I want to open up a dialog with arts patrons and enthusiasts about the use of social media in our performance spaces. I will introduce you to different sites and apps that I feel have great potential, and hopefully develop a set of rules we all can follow to help expand our enjoyment of the theater-going experience.

Imagine you live life with a challenging illness or special needs… you get told “you can’t” a lot.

Imagine a place where they don’t say you can’t do that… only… let’s find a way so you CAN do that.

From giant swings to giant turtles… to canoes… to tree houses… to finding gold… there is a place that is solely focused on helping people learn what they CAN do… for people of all ages and abilities.  Camp For All is a unique, state of the art facility that is totally barrier free, not just accessible.

Camp For All is a unique camping and retreat facility that works in collaboration with other non-profits to provide life changing programs for children and adults with challenging illnesses and special needs.  Campers of all ages and abilities gain self-confidence and independence while having fun, learning new skills and bonding with others who share their challenges in a safe and understanding environment.

Campers learn what they can do at Camp For All, not what they can’t do. For the first time, they are surrounded by others with the same challenges and the feeling of loneliness goes away. Surrounded by understanding and acceptance and immersed in the Camp For All activities and positive environment, they have an opportunity to focus on the joy of life. That feeling of independence and confidence goes home with them. And regardless of how much longer they have to live, they are not just survivors, they have become strong survivors.

This unique barrier-free organization has partnered up with one of our favorite Houston based suppliers of libations, St. Arnold’s Brewery, to throw a party! A party to raise funds to help children and adults with cancer, HIV, epilepsy, spina bifida, sickle cell, burns and so much more have a chance to DISCOVER LIFE!!

Camp For All - No Barriers Bash

The No Barriers Bash is coming up on:

• Saturday, September 18, 2010
• At Saint Arnold Brewing Company
• From 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

Photo thanks to Ed Schipul

This weekend marked the very first Wordcamp Houston event at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  As well as being a Community Sponsor, the Schipulites were active participants as coordinators, speakers, volunteers and excitable (what’s new?!) attendees.

Photo thanks to Ed Schipul

Didn’t get to make it this year and wondering what you missed?  Here are some of the highlights of the day at HMNS, in the Schipulites’ own words:

Photo thanks to Brett Morrison

David Stagg (who taught the swell WP 101 class)

I was honored to be given the chance to speak; it was a pleasure leading the WP 101 class, setting up Monica (aka Cosmopolitician) and Chris Everson—two incredibly talented people—for the 102 class. I felt honored to teach some new people from the Houston Zoo, Noah’s Kitchen, Reliant Energy all about how user-friendly WordPress truly is. The class was lively, had some great questions, and was genuinely curious about how to further their WordPress knowledge. Since it was the inaugural WPCamp Houston and it sold out quickly, I can only imagine what it will look like next year!

Albert Hughes

My thoughts:

• Kelsey Ruger is a genius and I heard a lot of people agreeing with that statement.

• There was a WP framework war : genesis vs. thesis

• I saw several people including Matt Mullenweg wearing “toe shoes”

Photo thanks to April Kkyle

April Kyle
I really enjoyed having HMNS at the host. It was such a neat backdrop for us; and as part of being there I personally was exposed to things in the museum I’d never seen before. In the break times and lunch; we got a chance to play around a bit and have some fun – totally cool for breaks as opposed to had we been in just a conference center or hotel. It was just super neat seeing the kids learning, and we played around with the exhibits too. Plus, there was a shark.

Photo thanks to Eloy Zuniga

Eloy Zuniga
My favorite moment was sitting next to Matt Mullenweg during a session simply because I said “I saved you a seat”.  He is ridiculously nice and humble.  I’m glad he’s a Houstonian.

Photo thanks to Ed Truitt

Derek Key (who led a great panel with client Susan Saurage)
My favorite sessions from WordCamp were Kelsey’s “Rebirth of Slick” and Bill Erickson’s “WordPress Beyond Blogging”. Kelsey’s was incredibly fun as always and made me think about websites in general, not necessarily WordPress, and Bill’s was very informative and relatable to what we do for clients.

I think the two biggest takeaways are:

1. Shopify – ecommerce solution for WordPress that can be easily updated graphically to match a site and is easy to manage on the client’s end (from Roby Fitzhenry’s session)
2. Custom post types and custom taxonomies in WordPress (from Bill Erickson’s session). Allows for more than just pages and posts so you can actually call different content different names… very Drupal-esque.

Photo thanks to Ed Schipul

Michael Coppens (from his @urbanhoustonian Twitter account)

Not sure how I didn’t know WordPress founder @photomatt is from Houston. Makes it a perfect home for Urban Houstonian

Photo thanks to Erin Flis!

Chris Minor (our fearless intern and videographer)

My favorite session was Kelsey Ruger’s presentation about design called “Rebirth of Slick”. Kelsey weaved his valuable insight into designing a website with a multimedia experience featuring music like hip-hop and jazz that made his presentation not only enjoyable but relevant and understandable in our society. WordCamp was also the first time I have been exposed to a real-time Twitter conversation. Many times I found myself staring at my twitter feed watching all the participants sharing what they were learning and I gained valuable brain-candy from the many passionate developers and users of WordPress.

Katrina Esco
The major takeaway I got from Wordcamp:  We understand things in story so we should be able to tell a meaningful story about a brand or company.

Christine Portillo

Kelsey Ruger’s preso was a highlight, and in a slide asking audience which of many companies listed had the “cool factor,” Schipul client IKEA was one of the few (along with Virgin Airlines, Zappos, and more). Best PHYSICAL takeaways: nifty, comfy, stylin’ T designed by Ben G and boasting Schipul on the arm and the bounteous bags of M&Ms provided by the blogger track’s “Whose blog is it anyway?” session.

Raising a Corpse Flower is not an easy job – according to the HMNS blog, Corpse Flowers only bloom once they are 7 years old. Luckily, our fledgling came with instructions such as temperature, amount of sunlight, etc.

Congrats to the new proud parents!

More Corpse Flower delivery photos on Facebook

What is that?

Special Delivery!

Baby corpse flower, enjoying her new home.

Steven Thomson, Lois’s personal ghost writer with the new addition

PS – I’m adding Corpse Flower delivery to my resume under “special skills.”

Check out the delivery of the corpse flower!