Author Archives: Quintin Parrish

When Micro-Blogging Met Mobile: Twitter Turns 6 Years Old

Posted on by Quintin Parrish

Micro-blogging service Twitter turned 6 years old this week (though the service was actually launched to the public four months later).

Many people, myself included, were “Twitter naysayers” when the service first rolled out. With a majority of users at the time employing Twitter as a public diary of banal topics, and with the only access to the platform via a desktop web browser, it was difficult to imagine Twitter ever being more than just a niche social network.

But in six short years, Twitter has become a staple in many people’s lives, having become the locus of their communications—socializing, newsgathering and vetting, and general information sharing. Today, Twitter has 140 million users and delivers 340 million tweets per day, up 40% from just six months ago.

Instantaneous interconnectedness is what Twitter serves its users, and in turn, the world. And perhaps one of the biggest reasons for this success was the massive and unrelenting rise of mobile technology.

Twitter truly was born for mobile, before there was a mobile web world. It’s easy to forget, but Twitter was launched almost a year before the very first iPhone, before mobile apps, and before the “mobile technology” culture that has grown exponentially over the past few years. It is highly likely that Twitter could never have become the valued property it is today without mobile integration.

As a result of Twitter going mobile, the service can be accessed anywhere at any time, meaning fresh news and sharing can happen almost instantaneously. In fact, big news often breaks first on Twitter now, before it could ever be reported via radio, television, or even mainstream news websites.

So, happy birthday, Twitter. You’ve changed the world for the better, improved communication between individuals and groups, and even aided revolutions that overthrew oppressive regimes. Not bad for a six-year-old.

The How and the Why

Posted on by Quintin Parrish

Practice makes perfect. But practice can also lull us to sleep on our feet.

We can become so focused on the process, on completing the task, on how we’re getting it done, that we often forget why we’re doing it in the first place—and as a result, we may sacrifice innovation, threaten quality, and risk failure.

In every business, in every industry, this trap awaits those who believe that processes can be perfected once and forever, as well as those who fail to ask at every turn, “why?”

—Why are we doing it this way?

—Why is this a better choice?

—Why will the end-user, customer, client, or consumer act?

—Why will people do this, want this, discuss this, buy this?

In short, why will it work?

Before you know how, you must know why. Otherwise, “how” may just be a roadmap to nowhere. Relying on “how” creates assumptions, leads teams astray from targets, and can make even the most sensible people throw logic and common sense out the window.

Why aren’t more companies focused on the “why?” Because it’s hard work. Because the “why” constantly changes. Because the “why” is not technology, but human nature. And because, sometimes, we must admit that there is no “why” and start all over.

At NDG Communications, the “how” is the method by which we carry out and create our work, but the “why” is the reason the work actually works. Because we always ask “why,” we know our work has a much better opportunity to create success for our clients.

Now Hiring at NDG: Art Director

Posted on by Quintin Parrish

Quintin Parrish,
NDG Creative Director

Finally had enough of working too late, making too little, and going nowhere?

If you’ve worked in advertising before, you may have worked at one of those agencies—you know, the kind where everybody is miserable, overworked, underpaid, and nobody stays for very long.

Well, we don’t roll that way. NDG Communications is an advertising and digital marketing agency located just outside Washington, D.C. in La Plata, Maryland. NDG offers a work environment where creatives are truly respected and appreciated, where schedules are reasonable, where compensation is competitive, where the office is usually empty after 6pm, and where your career can grow as fast and far as you can.

  • COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION
  • GENEROUS BENEFITS PACKAGES
  • WORK WITH A TEAM YOU’LL LOVE
  • WORK WHERE YOU’LL TRULY BE APPRECIATED
  • FAMILY ATMOSPHERE & LIFE-WORK BALANCE
  • TAKE YOUR CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL

What’s it like to work at NDG? Click here for some insights.

NOW HIRING: Full-time position

ART DIRECTOR

We’re looking for someone with strong and tested skills who wants to take their career even further, learn more, achieve more, and create truly great work with a great team.

  • Lead designer for all assigned projects
  • Collaborate with creative director, art directors, copywriters, designers, and programmers
  • Mentor junior designers and help ensure quality and consistency
  • Strong Adobe Creative Suite skills / Mac OS platform
  • Portfolio of advertising agency or similar work
  • Minimum 5 years professional design work experience
  • Mastery of communication, conceptualization, and visualization skills
  • Focus on the details, efficient time management

TO APPLY PLEASE INCLUDE cover letter, resume, required salary range, and URL link to samples or include a brief PDF portfolio in order to be considered.

LEARN MORE and apply online at our website:

www.NDGCommunications.com

No calls or recruiters, thank you.