VO’s are centralized containers of business data. VO’s offer storage and retrieval of it’s own data through Getters/Setters. They are easily accessible, passed around and portable, updated and bindable. All of these factors have increased production and ease of programming on this large scale project, and attributed to the ease of use in the project.

The custom VO classes we use have lighten the load of developing a complex project through their storage of simple, and on occasion more complex, data types. VO’s are a timer saver in that one call can be made to have all the data stored and ready to use versus making multiple calls whenever a piece of data is needed, which is something you’d probably never want to do in the first place.

One more thing that makes VO’s so valuable is the ability to POST and GET VO’s in their entirety which leads to matching data in, matching data out and through this we have consistency in our data.

The value of Value Objects is immeasurable in terms of making your life easier when it comes to developing projects of any size. Just the amount of time you will end up saving makes VO’s a must in your development war chest.

Additional Resources

If you are just getting into the concept of using Value Objects in your own projects, here are some additional resources and comments on the subject:

DDD – Entities and Value Objects

Start Using More Value Objects

Domain Driven Design Community: Value Objects

Here’s a Value Object Generator worth checking out that can take a lot of the repetition out creating your own AS3 value objects.

The 8-bit PNG is an ideal format for Flash. Because they are small in file size, your Flash will be lighter and your website will download faster. Lighter file size also means graphics will move smoother and will be easier on the computer. You will get more wow from Flash.

Besides the size and gain in performance, the core feature of the 8-bit, is its alpha transparency. This is the only format that supports this type of transparency while also keeping a small file size. With this support, you can create visuals that would otherwise not be possible with an opaque image. For example, with the 8-bit version, you can have blurred drop-shadows multiplied over top other graphics.

How to Create the 8-bit PNG

Step 1: In Photoshop, make your alpha transparent 24-bit PNG.

Step 2: Bring your 24-bit into Fireworks, and now in the optimize panel set the optimization to 8-bit, with an alpha transparency.

Step 3: Import into Flash.

Things to Watch

Once you have the 8-bit, you should check its resolution. Depending on the version of the creative suite, and the platform you work on, there may be slight shifts in resolution. Check this in Fireworks, because once saved out as 8-bit, you will NOT be able to open the file in Photoshop.

The true success of our projects are measured in their ability to engage users, communicate effectively, and solve key business challenges for our clients and their audiences. That being said, we’d be lying if we didn’t say that we were excited to be recognized in this way for the hard work, problem solving, and dedication given to this project.

A Brand New Way received the Gold award under the category of Restaurant Website. We also received the Silver for Website Homepage Design and another for Website Visual Appeal. We’d like to send a big thanks to folks at the International Academy of the Visual Arts for this recognition.

About W3 Awards

The W3 Awards honors creative excellence on the Web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning Websites, Web Video and Online Marketing programs.

The itemRenderer object is available in different flavors, and depending on what you would like to accomplish, there is a flavor for you. The Drop-In, the Inline and the Custom itemRenderer are three possible solutions for adding rich content and components, and can give your project a greater level of sophistication. In this example I use the DataGrid as my list-based component.

Drop-In Item Renderers

The simplest of the itemRenderers is the Drop-In. It is written directly in the MXML so even though the Drop-In can get your project to higher levels of usability, the additional effort may not make it the first choice for more complex objectives. However if you would simply like to add a component, you need only reference that component as the value of the itemRenderer property for the list-based control.

The data can be located in the MXML itself as part of the DataGrid, located in the outerDocument or as an external file. The DataGrid in this first example has the dataProvider wrapped inside the DataGrid, so there is no need to identify it as the dataProvider for the DataGrid. However, if the data to be used is outside the DataGrid control, the DataGrid would need to be made aware of the data through it’s dataProvider property.

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<xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
<mx:DataGrid>
	<mx:columns>
		<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Song #" dataField="songID" />
		<mx:DataGridColumn itemRenderer="mx.controls.Image" headerText="Image" dataField="img" />
	</mx:columns>
	<mx:dataProvider>
		<mx:ArrayCollection>
			<mx:Array>
				<mx:Object img="images/0.jpg" songID="0" />
				<mx:Object img="images/1.jpg" songID="1" />
				<mx:Object img="images/2.jpg" songID="2" />
			</mx:Array>
		</mx:ArrayCollection>
	</mx:dataProvider>
</mx:DataGrid>
</mx:Application>

Inline Item Renderers

Inline itemRenderer’s offer a bit more in terms of flexibility. Inline itemRenderers allow you to set of properties of the components used by the itemRenderer. When using the Inline version the component you wish to use must be wrapped by a Component tag. The Component tag creates a new scope and where there can only be one root node. If you want to call a method or make use of a property defined outside that scope, you can use outerDocument.methodName or outerDocument.propertyName. I find that using parentDocument in place of outerDocument also works as well.

Notice the value for the source property in the Image component. The dataProvider attribute provides the data for the DataGrid:

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
 
<mx:Script>
	<![CDATA[
		import mx.controls.Alert;
		import mx.collections.ArrayCollection;
 
		[Bindable] 
		public var inlineAC:ArrayCollection= new ArrayCollection(
			[
				{songID:"3", img:'3.jpg'},
				{songID:"4", img:'4.jpg'}
			]
		);
 
		public function firedButton():void {
			Alert.show("Button fired!")
		}
	]]>
</mx:Script>
 
<mx:DataGrid rowCount="3" variableRowHeight="true" dataProvider="{inlineAC}">
	<mx:columns>
		<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Song #" dataField="songID" />
		<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Image">
			<mx:itemRenderer>
				<mx:component>
					<mx:VBox horizontalAlign="center" height="100" verticalAlign="middle" width="100%">
						<mx:VBox source="{'images/'+data.img}" />
					</mx:VBox>
				</mx:component>
			</mx:itemRenderer>
		</mx:DataGridColumn>
		<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Various Components">
			<mx:itemRenderer>
				<mx:component>
					<mx:HBox>
						<mx:Button click="{outerDocument.fireButton()}" label="Button" />
						<mx:RadioButton />
					</mx:HBox>
				</mx:component>
			</mx:itemRenderer>
		</mx:DataGridColumn>
	</mx:columns>
</mx:mx:Image>
</mx:Application>

Customer Item Renderers

A custom itemRenderer offers the most in flexibility – both in ease of reuse and in seperation. In the third DataGrid the data source is located in an external xml file and the itemRenderer is in a seperate MXML file. Having the files seperate enables the class to be repurposed and can save significant development time on larger, more robust projects.

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
 
<mx:Script>
	<![CDATA[
		import mx.controls.Alert;
		public function fireButton():void {
			Alert.show("Button fired!");
		}
	]]>
</mx:Script>
 
<mx:Model id="externalXML" source="model/sample.xml" />
 
<mx:DataGrid height="300" dataProvider="{externalXML.album}">
	<mx:columns>
		<mx:DataGrid headerText="Song #" dataField="songID" />
		<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Image">
			<!-- Example Drop-In item renderer -->
			<mx:itemRenderer>
				<mx:component>
					<mx:VBox horizontalAlign="center" height="100" verticalAlign="middle" width="100%">
						<mx:Image source="{data.img}" />
					</mx:VBox>
				</mx:component>
			</mx:itemRenderer>
		</mx:DataGridColumn>
		<!-- Example Custom item renderer -->
		<mx:DataGridColumn itemRenderer="view.customRenderer" headerText="Various Components" />
	</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>
</mx:Application>

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<!-- FILE: view/customRenderer.mxml -->
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:HBox height="300" xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" width="400">
	<mx:Button click="{parentDocument.fireButton()}" label="Button" />
	<mx:RadioButton />
</mx:HBox>

<!-- FILE: model/sample.xml -->
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<externalxml>
    <album>
        <songid>5</songid>
        <img>images/AlbumArt1.jpg</img>
    </album>
    <album>
        <songid>6</songid>
        <img>images/AlbumArt2.jpg</img>
    </album>
</externalxml>

Incorporating itemRenderers into your project adds value and really opens the door for producing significantly more functional and dynamic projects. Hopefully this post makes starting down that path a little less daunting.

We’re not completely there yet, but we’re close enough for users to spend increasingly more time accessing sites directly from their phones. This audience segment is relatively new, and while they are the same folks that were engaging from the desktop their needs are quite different. Below are some items to consider when designing your sites for mobile devices.

• Interactive cues such as rollovers do not work well on mobile browsers. For example, your users will not even be able to see the effect since it will be covered by their finger when they interactive with your user interface. Allowing your design to rely on the interaction built into the device can keep the experience familiar for the user.
• Design your site to work more like an application or tool than a regular site. Users that visit you from their mobile device are more purposeful about their visit. They are there to accomplish a specific goal and leave.
• Avoid actions that are not user driven such as opening new windows or auto-redirects. These become very annoying when accessing through a mobile device.
• Keep resources to a minimum if you can by only using one CSS file and one JavaScript file associated with your page. Image file also carry a lot of weight so the few the user has to download the better.
• Using Progressive Enhancement is important for your mobile audience. The idea is to provide exactly what they need at the bare minimum, and layout interactive and other presentation elements on top based on device capability.

So you’ve hired your design firm, figured out how to extend your brand to your blog, and are ready to get out there and join in the conversation. Now the work of creating content begins (actually it should have begun while you were in the design process, but that’s another story). There are, of course, a ton of tips out there for effective blogging. So what we did is look over the different pieces of advice that we give our clients, and decided on five core tips that all businesses should follow when moving their company into the world of blogging.

Be the Expert

People hear this one all the time, but really have a hard time figuring out how to go about this. To identify topics for your new blog, you should be able to identify the areas in which you are the experts. We don’t mean the company mission statement that sits in your lobby. These should be tangible topics that people can understand.

You should be able answer the following question: “What are at least 10 things that the people in your company are experts in, and in which your competitors are not?” The best thing to do is sit down for 30 minutes to an hour with your colleagues and workshop this. Start listing all the specific subjects. Don’t over-think it, and don’t think that you have to stop at ten. The more you have the better. If you aren’t able to able to reach ten then you’re topics might have been too general – focus them down a bit more. Once you’ve had a chance to weed through your list, you’ll be off to a great start with some solid expert topics. Now start blogging about them.

Establish a Social Crossroads

Julie Bacon, a long-time partner and friend of A Brand New Way, said it best one time when she mentioned, “A company’s website should become the crossroads of your brand.” This is a excellent way of putting it, and frankly we haven’t found a better way to say it so that’s how we prefer to start our explanation as well (Thanks, Julie!). The point here is that your blog, if done correctly, will become your social crossroads.

Make your content organic and open. Take advantage of the other social tools out there, and bring it all back to the blog. This makes it easier for people to subscribe to you in the way that’s easiest for them.

If your company is good about posting photos then link your Flickr account in the sidebar. Are you planning on carving out some space in Twitter? Feed that into your site as well! There are plenty of plug-ins out there that will make this kind of integration very easy for you, or you can work with your design team to build this out so that it’s styled out to fit your designs.

Make sure that you also push your content to other sources. Some things that you can do is link the news feed to your LinkedIn account, or Facebook news pages. Chances are that if people find your content relevant then they’ll subscribe/follow/friend you in their own way. Make it easy for them to keep tabs on you as they travel to and from your blog.

Don’t Forget Your Archives

Just because content is old doesn’t mean that it’s irrelevant. The problem with most blogs is the older content can end up disappearing into the ether. Find a way to link back to those older posts when creating your new ones. If you’re touching on something that you discussed in an earlier post then make sure to link back to that post. It’s the best way to keep that older content from getting completely ignored. Somebody shouldn’t have to miss out on a post you made in January because they didn’t stumble across the blog until June.

Get Into a Routine

Establish a posting routine for your organization and then stick with it. The fact is that some people simply won’t feed your syndicated content. There are still those that will come back to the blog to browse all the latest content, and if anything holds true, it’s that people love a routine. Will you be posting weekly? Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday? Monthly? Mondays at 9AM Eastern Time? Whatever it is, it’s best to stick to it. This way people can condition themselves to come back when they know the new content will be there.

Let them know if you plan on changing the schedule. If the change is temporary then let them know how long. The point is that you don’t want to lose people for good simply because they think that the blog has died out.

Stand for Something

All of these are important, but this is one that we try to impress on our clients all the time. You’re not in this to become a journalist so the idea of separating yourself from the topic, and remaining unbiased does not fly when it comes to your blog. Make sure that if you’re posting about a topic that you aren’t afraid to take a position.

If you take a side then your readers are more likely to comment on your post – both for and against your position. If you don’t stand for something, then you’re choosing to stand for nothing. It doesn’t get blander than that. There is nothing wrong with being a bit polarizing here. Sure you might turn some away, but the readers you do have will become more than your “target audience.” They’ll become your fans.

There is a great speaker line-up this year including Geoff Livingston, Debbie Weil, Scott Monty, and many others. The event is sold out, but we’ll certainly be posting back with news from this knowledge-packed event. For more information on this event, and to make sure you don’t miss the boat when it comes back around, check out BlogPotomac.com.

You can also follow them @blogpotomac on Twitter.

If you’re going to be there, then we can’t wait to see you there this Friday!

We at A Brand New Way have been using Twitter for quite some time as individuals and recently began working it into our own corporate culture. With millions of people using this social tool, and the increase in noise seeming exponential we thought we’d share five of the things that can help you and your companies should you decide to do the same. So let’s get started!

TIP 1: Follow, Follow, Follow!

Twitter really is a community. It may at first seem like it’s just a large ticker of random thoughts, but it really is a pool of thousands of conversations happening daily. You can’t just create an account, and start posting away in the hopes that you’ll magically receive a whole slew of followers. You have to let people know that you’re there, and you’re not just there to talk but also to listen.

Don’t just start traversing through the Twittersphere mashing your mouse button on every follow button that you see. There is something to be said about being deliberate with your follows. Make sure they share similar interests, or they look like somebody that you can benefit from and vise versa.

When you follow others you are showing them that you find them relevant. It’s a big compliment, and may in turn yield a returned follow.

TIP 2: Thank Your Followers

When you begin practicing the first tip, you’ll begin to see your following numbers rise. Some will have something set to automatically follow anyone that follows them, but others will actually check out your twitter page and make the decision to follow you directly. As mentioned above, following somebody is a compliment so take the time to thank them.

There are bots out there that can do the direct message reply to new followers for you, but we prefer not to take that route. Instead we’ve set up a rule in our email service that will flag any emails coming in and alerts us of the new follower. Then in the morning, we’ll take about 15 minutes of the day to go through those emails, and send a direct message to each of them thanking them for the follow.

Doing this helps make those followers stick, instead of dropping us a day or two later. Valuing your followers shows them that they aren’t just following a media engine, but connecting with somebody behind the wheel on the other end – that’s important.

TIP 3: Be Active, Reward with Value

So now you have followers, and you’ve let them know that you are there. So be there. Make sure that you stay active and post often, but remember to give your followers something that they want to follow. If you are an expert at something share some advice.

Point to a relevant article that you read; link to a tutorial post that you or somebody else created; share an interesting thought, or an an eye-opening quote; link to something inspiring; or simply give them an entertaining break with a link to a feel good picture or video.

The point is be the industry expert, or the source of a great deal or event; also make sure you add variety to your posts without losing the common thread that makes the posts pieces of your identity.

TIP 4: Engage the Community and Contribute to the Conversation

Make sure that you’re not just doing all the talking with one way statements. Engage your followers and other Twitter users as well. “Retweet” a post that another user makes if you find it interesting. Retweeting a post is a way of crediting the post to the original poster. This is usually done by starting your post with “RT @usersname” where the username is the Twitter handle of the user that you’re reposting.

Also make sure to incorporate other mentions and replies. Both are done using the “@” and the username. This creates a link to the user on Twitter, and also lets them know you’re mentioning them or talking to them.

Another method is to attach your posts to topic threads. You can do this by prefixing the hash mark (#) to keywords in your post. It doesn’t look like it at first glance, but there are a slew of topics out there that are being discussed at large by the Twitter community. Threading your post into the larger conversation is a great way to get involved in the dialog.

TIP 5: Be Authentic

This last one isn’t about any specific action that you can take, but is more about your underlying approach to being on Twitter: join in the conversation and value the other side. The companies that I see missing this point are the ones that are still stuck in the old age of traditional advertising. Every piece of communication is one-way and has to be about them – about something that they said, about a blog post they made, or about something they did. It never goes further than that. It doesn’t go into the external forces that influence them, or about what makes their business tick.

You don’t have to be the center of every post that you make, nor should you be. Your goal should be to become part of the larger discussion, and engage others to respond. Otherwise you’re just another annoying advertising billboard that will get lost in the noise.