cascade Adds a New Team Member

Last week we added a new member to the cascade team. Nick Woolsey is joining us this summer as an intern before heading to Japan to work abroad. Nick just received his MBA from Willamette University and has extensive experience working/studying overseas, specifically in Japan. I ran Nick through the gauntlet of rookie questions, and here is what he had to say:


First job - Swamper at Polehn Farms. Not for the faint of heart. I worked in a cherry orchard riding around in a tractor, picking up 25lb buckets of cherries, and pouring those cherries into bins. 104 degree heat, 10-12 hours a day, those buckets get heavy pretty fast!

Last movie you saw in the theater - Sadly...Hangover 2. It was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.

Dream aspirations as a kid - I wanted to be a geologist!

If you could be any superhero, who and why - Man, I am going to have to geek out...Goku from Dragonball Z. He can teleport to anywhere in the universe, fly, harness the power of the universe in a huge bomb, and his power level is OVER 9000!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtpyeLxVkI)

Free trip to anywhere in the world, where and why - Absolutely Mongolia! My college roommate was from Mongolia, and it sounds awesome! Not a very hospitable place in terms of climate, but it has a very rich culture. I taught myself to throat sing too!

Ever been in a fight, if so, who started it - Well, through middle school I'd be in schoolyard fights all the time. It was all mostly for fun though, we were all into WWF at the time. Oh man, we would imitate all the moves from Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, the Undertaker, D-Generation X. Probably a bad idea hahahaha.

Favorite restaurant in Portland - Al-Amir, the oldest Lebanese restaurant in Portland. Went there for the first time last week for my Moroccan friend's birthday. Big family style meal with all sorts of delectable dishes. It was LEGIT.

Biggest fear - Mosquitoes. Hate those bugs. My uncle took me to Yosemite National Park when I was like 6, forgot the bug spray, and there were so many mosquitoes that I couldn't breathe with out filling my nose and mouth with them. Yea. Hate mosquitoes.

Nickname you had growing up - Nickelodeon. The theme song was "Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick, Nickelodeon," so I heard that quite a few times hahaha.

What attracted you to working at cascade - I'm interested in starting my own new venture using streaming video technology, so learning from Fritz and Ben about how they have developed brandlive was a big plus.

Career goals - I'd like to get into social entrepreneurship. Either starting my own venture, or working with a company that is able to take a social idea and scale it from community based to a model that is effective globally.

brandlive Now Lives on the Web

You've heard us mention brandlive since last October when Nordica helped cascade launch our newest web solution. After living within cascade's online environment, brandlive now has it's own web presence.

Cascade recently launched yourbrandlive.com as the home of the live communication tool. The site features client testimonial videos, an internal blog with support topics and details on how companies can make their brands live around the world. It also includes a list of brandlive's current clients and describes how they're using the tool to improve their business processes and enhance marketing efforts. A brandlive Facebook page was also created. (Be sure to "Like" our page)

Brandlive is a live video broadcast tool that allows companies to communicate with clients, employees and end consumers. Viewers of the live broadcast can interact with the presenter via chat creating an unscripted experience that mimicks a face-to-face interaction one would have in a retail store, meeting, event, etc. The brandlive environment is designed to match the clients brand by incorporating brand design elements. We took this a step further by literally replacing the word "brand" in brandlive with the clients brand.

For more information on this truly innovative and unique communication experience, please visit yourbrandlive.com.

Cascade Brand Announcement

We recently announced the launch of our new brand, logo and website. Here is an excerpt from our new story regarding our make-over. For the full story with more about how our company has evolved, check out our news page.



Cascade Web Development is quickly breaking free of our web development tag and transforming into engineers of industry leading online solutions. With the introduction of brandlive by Ben and Fritz Brumder, a Cascade Web Development veteran, more and more national and local companies are beginning to adopt these technologies. The Portland Developmental Commission (PDC) saw this potential and recently awarded the Portland based company with a working capital loan.

To culminate our rapid growth and better explain our brand structure, we realized we needed a new identity; One that provides stronger brand recognition and does not limit our abilities in consumer's eyes. In a similar situation to companies like Apple and Google, we decided to establish an umbrella brand which houses our current solutions. With that said, we would like to introduce a new look and ideology behind our family of brands.

Cascade was chosen as the name for the parent brand using web//development as a secondary title. Cascade appropriately represents the company in a strong and memorable manner yet personifies a more modern feel than Cascade Web Development was able to accomplish. The logo specifically expresses our strengths as a web services provider and our ability to develop custom solutions to meet our client's needs.

You'll also notice a different visual expression of our three solutions: evergreen, whitepass and brandlive. Each brand features a similar style and color pattern yet individually elicit a unique and distinguishable brand image. We hope these logos will become commonplace in our industry and personify each solution's features and functions at first glance.

As always, we thank you for your commitment to cascade and will continue to support your business with innovative solutions and tools to help you evolve.

Just Do It

The term made world famous by Nike seemed a fitting title when I discovered the success story of fashion brand Burberry's use of live video to sell product. "Just do it" is most perfectly used for the moment before the leap of faith that a person or a brand makes when trying something new.

To be an early adopter takes guts and in business deep pockets. The inevitable course corrections take skill, insight and an ability to sustain. However, the moment the path has been charted by a select few is the moment to Just do it.

For the launch of it's fall 2010 line, Burberry used live video (in 3D) to broadcast the exclusive runway show to thousands of buyers that could not be there in person. During the broadcast, viewers could ask questions and chat with each other and Burberry staff. For the 72 hours following the show, viewers could buy the exclusive merchandise, sight unseen, before it hit retail stores. Burberry will continue their use of live video for Spring/Summer by broadcasting the show direct on their website. Read more on the Mashable website.

Supporting Your Audience on brandlive

A lot of technologies are built with hundreds of bells and whistles that 90% of users never know exist, let alone need. For brandlive, we purposely left out all those unnecessary features making it simple for you to implement and even easier for your viewers to operate.

Given it's ease of use, it is extremely rare for a viewer to experience a technological issue with brandlive. Regardless, we still want you to be prepared for those rare circumstances.

Below you'll find a short list of troubleshooting topics to refer to when an audience member encounters a problem. Follow these steps when you are hosting a brandlive session to ensure you and your customers get the most out of broadcast:

1. If customers are having problems seeing the live video, ask them to refresh their browser OR click the "arrow circle" in the lower left corner of the video player.
   
2. If the video keeps 'buffering" (meaning they get a little spinning wheel), remind your viewers that video plays best when only a few web pages and computer applications are open.
   
3. No audio? First try the volume button and make sure you have speakers. If they do not work, suggest headphones for the next live session.
4. If your customer reports not seeing a video screen at all, only a puzzle piece in it's place, they will need to install adobe flash (http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/).

That should be it! We've worked out the kinks saving you the troubleshooting headaches. Brandlive is easy to use and should not require much support. If you do encounter a problem not listed above, please contact us.

Brandlive: What camera should I use?

When broadcasting live video, what is the best camera to use:

1. BUILT IN CAMERA: Your first and easiest option is to use the built in camera on your computer. Typically these cameras are about 2-4 megepixels on the newest modules. PRO: is is easy to use, requires little set up and works without fail 99.9% of the time. CON: They do not handle light changes very well so if you are moving around the camera will re-focus and change aperture and it is only good picture quality, not great.
   
2. Logitech USB WEB CAM: These cameras create a really nice image. They are getting better and better every day. Some even come in HD. However, it is important to note that mac/apple don't always work with USB web cameras. Be sure to read if the camera is mac compatible. PRO: really nice picture quality, easy to use, you can get them in wide angle, they often come with a mic built in and you can control zoom with a PC. CON: predictability on a mac, great but not the best possible picture, ability to zoom easily while broadcasting and lack of tri-pod connections.
   
3. CAMCORDER: The highest end option in terms of features and video quality, camcorders provide a number of benefits but there are some things you need to know. 1. the camera must be a mini DV camera with firewire and your computer must have firewire. 2. settings on the camera must be adjusted right for light, exposure and sleep settings. PRO: ability to zoom, ability to record a local copy of the video, tri-pod hook ups, wide angle attachments and picture quality. CON: More options means more can go wrong, firewire is not available on all computers and it requires more set up and lighting.
   

We hope this helps you make the right choice. All options will provide a high quality brandlive video experience, so pick the one that seems right for you.


Web Cameras:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/webcam_communications/webcams/




Camcorders:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electronics/Cameras-Camcorders/abcat0403001.c?id=abcat0403001

Getting the Most Out of Your brandlive Sessions

Below you'll find several ideas on how to add value through your brandlive sessions:

1. USE IT and do so often. Make it a practice to frequently broadcast sessions with customers and employees so they're accustom to using it and recognize it as part of your business process.
2. Perfect your pitch. As with any speech and presentation, you want your points to be concise and direct.
3. Place yourself in the viewers shoes. What are the best methods to engaging the viewer and enhancing their experience?
4. Be personable. Talk to the audience as if you were face to face. This is were you add the most value. Joke around, make conversation, don't be stale--just be yourself!
   
5. Be prepared for questions. You never know what you'll be asked.
6. Be creative. Use brandlive where ever you see potential. Set up sessions at events. Use it as a social media tool. Make company announcement via brandlive. We don't limit you on how you can use it so why limit yourself?
7. Evolve. None of our solutions at Cascade are out-of-the-box tools. Brandlive is no exception. If you have an idea on how to improve it, lets talk about it. We're always open to new ideas.
   

Cascade is Proud to Introduce: The Hello Foundation

At first visit, the new Hello Foundation website evokes feelings of childhood, construction paper and big crayons (or maybe thats just me?). This wasn't done by accident.

The design is driven by storytelling, imagination, and artistic expression and genuinely portrays the ideology behind The Hello Foundation:

Everyone has a story to tell, but it's how you tell it that sets you apart. It's more than combining words and sentences. It's being connected to a language and articulating ideas. It's feeling empowered enough to say hello.

The Hello Foundation (formerly SLP Services) is a industry leader in SLP, OT and School Psychologist Services across the country. They embrace innovation with open arms and are looked to as a thought leader with their progressive approach.

Don't believe me?!? Check it out for yourself:

• Art of Hello - encourages verbally challenged students to express their story through art
• Ask a Specialist - integrates Cascade's brandlive into their site providing students, parents, etc. with a personal resource to call upon for help and answers to sensitive questions

If you can't tell, all of us at Cascade are very proud of how this site turned out. Kudos must go out to Frank Creative for working closely with the Hello Foundation team and for creating such an amazing website design and brand strategy.

We thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and hope you enjoy the site as well.

www.thehellofoundation.com

Live From Portland Vol 1: The Cascade Live Sessions

If you missed out on our brandlive sessions over the past few weeks, too bad.

Okay, just kidding. Hopefully, you'll be able to join our next live broadcast. Or, if you'd like us to set up a demo for you, just let me know.

brandlive is easy to set up and even easier to use. The brandlive videos below are obviously missing from their normal exterior skin. Here is a sample of the new Cascade Live environment (which we refer to in the videos).


Each of these presentations were directed towards different audiences as you will see from our session location and message. So check them both out and let us know what you think. We love feedback.

4/23 Product Demo
(Video begins after a moment of set-up w/ a cameo from yours truly)

4/27 Professional Services Demo
(2nd of 2 sessions)

Please feel free to send any brandlive questions or inquiries to us at the Cascade site.

Brand Live Comes Alive

Without further ado, I give you...Brand Live.

(If I could insert bright flashing lights around this I would. For now, just use your imagination.)

Ahem...Brand Live is Cascade Web Development's latest brain-child. Initially launched with "Nordica Live" in October last year, Brand Live has been generating a lot of buzz in the industry. At its core, Brand Live allows product demos, employee training sessions, sales rep clinics, live event showcases, and e-commerce presentations to be streamed via a secure URL and live video feed. Invited viewers can interact with the presenter by posting messages via text providing an unscripted, live presentation mimicking the experience you would receive with a face-to-face interaction.

Here are just a few benefits Brand Live offers:

• Cost Effective - eliminating the need to travel for events or sales rep presentations
  
• Operated through a secure URL and can require login
  
• Does not require any program installation or additional hardware
  
• Live video and chat feature mimics a live shopping experience. Presenter reacts to user questions and comments in real time (sessions can be archived and recorded as well)
  
• Marketing and branding tool as the "Brand Live" identity is masked with your Brand
  
• Allows product intricacies to be showcased with live video
  
• Fully customizable allowing you to manipulate site features, appearance and added applications
  
• Sessions can be 1-to-1 (currently in development but soon to come) or 1-to-many

We first envisioned Brand Live would be great for the high-end, outdoor sporting industry, and it'd make a lot of noise in that market. However, as we've casually spread the word about Brand Live we've seen it evolve into a multi purpose tool reaching across vastly different industries. For example, Brand Live is either currently being utilized or developed for clients in Skiing, Footwear, Bikes, Financial Services, Specialty Retail, and Wine industries.

So what do you think? We're pretty into it, and our clients seem to be as well. We'd love to hear your comments on our Facebook page.