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Team Bios (4)
Technology Guru (1)
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Trend Watch (2)
The Future of the Interactive Web with HTML 5 and CSS3
Jan 5, 2012
By eric

For years, the Adobe Flash plug-in was the primary means by which to deliver highly interactive, visually engaging, media-rich content to website visitors. Over the years, alternatives surfaced in the form of Javascript and CSS2, which provided expanded capabilities to websites, but was far behind the powerful capabilities of Flash.

Now, the advent and widespread adoption of mobile and tablet devices as many users' primary way to browse the web has created a void that leaves many users unable to experience the web as they would on a desktop because many of the handheld devices do not run Adobe Flash. Now, HTML 5 and CSS3 are at the forefront of the "Open Web Movement" which advocates creating media and content accessible to every user, regardless of platform and without the need for third party plug-ins.

The majority of web interactivity in the past was limited to the capabilities of Adobe Flash -- a proprietary, closed-system, commercial application, managed and...

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Twenty Years at IK
Dec 15, 2011
By tim

It’s the end of the year and as good a time as any for reflection on the past. I have been running the show at Interactive Knowledge for twenty years. It’s been an unbelievable ride and I look forward to another twenty years of success. Of course, I could not predict what my job would look like today when we started up in 1991. I’m sure that will be true going forward. Who thinks they know what 2031 is going to look like?

While there has been nothing but change and transition from one technology to the next one since 1991, we have persisted because we are not a technology firm. If you look closely at the websites and online applications we launched this year, you can find a thread that leads all the way back to our first CD-ROM products from the early 90s. We focus on content and great design. We understand how people will interact with their electronic devices – no matter how big the screen might be. That has been a constant throughout the life of Interactive Knowledge. We...

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Is the Mobile App Really Going the Way of the CD-ROM: To the Dustbin of History?
Dec 8, 2011
By khris

That is a headline that jumps out at you. It certainly got my attention - having worked on a CD-ROM or two at the beginning of my career.

In an interview with Venture Beat recently, Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s Vice President of Products,
made the case against building native apps, partly because of the cost and the number of different apps that have to be developed, but mainly because HTML5 now makes it possible to use a browser to deploy content across mobile platforms. Sullivan argues that it is no longer required that one build a native application to get software onto a mobile phone.

Our experience is that clients want to be on mobile devices but don't realize that to reach the masses means, as Sullivan correctly points out, developing different apps each requiring a different skill set and a separate development (and creative) process to produce - at a cost for each. It gets expensive really quickly. And without a solid, clear strategy for mobile - is it worth...

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How to Never Lose Your TO-DO-LIST Again
Nov 21, 2011
By allison

Raise your hand if you have ever written yourself a to-do-list or jolted down notes from a meeting only to not be able to find it when you need it. Well, no more - Evernote is here. (You can put your hand down now.) As their website says - Remember Everything, Capture Anything, Access Anywhere and find Anything Fast.

People - gone are the days of writing notes on scraps of paper - now just open Evernote and type it in - it will be there forever in your own personal Evernote Notebook. If you love to organize create separate notebooks for all your projects. Evernote can do it all. It is the Superhero for clearing the path to a perfect memory.

A bonus feature is that it works just as if you were working in word except it automatically saves your work. Yeah - no more lost work from software crashes or forgetting to save. It will always be there. And it is FREE!

The next time you lose...

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My Story: IK’s New Executive Producer Khris Kline
Nov 15, 2011
By khris

In the summer of 2011 I found a truism in my life in the form of a quote from Ernest Hemingway, “Never confuse movement with action.”

It was a chance meeting at the Webby Awards in NYC that brought me to the doorstep of Interactive Knowledge. At a cocktail reception I happened to talk to a man from Charlotte, North Carolina. We immediately struck up a string of conversations that ranged from the city of Charlotte to our views on the state of the world. I quickly noticed that this Southern man was a person who knew precisely what he wanted, had a streamlined focus on his business, and was a man of action (a direct contrast to many people in the City these days, all chock full of words, promises and movement- but no action to support it). That man was Tim Songer. And this is the story of my journey.

I graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in Political Science, but rather than attend law school, I thankfully found myself...

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Top 10 Reasons to Choose Interactive Knowledge
Nov 8, 2011
By Team

10. Work with really great, cool, caring people

9. Our developers love to talk to clients and can talk “people talk” in addition to “technical talk”

8. We’re very specialized in the non-profit sector

7. 96% guarantee IK’s team will never be out for a snow day

6. Work with gifted folks who are passionate about your project

5. Know your website is gonna shine with the “cool factor”

4. Increase your chance of being nominated for a Webby Award

3. Integrate cutting edge technologies into your project

2. Our designers like to step outside the box

1. 20+ years in the digital interactive business. We must be...

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My Story: IK's Senior Web Developer Eric Veal
Oct 25, 2011
By eric

 

I am a native Charlottean (a rare find around here) and hold a degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. I began my professional career in my hometown of Charlotte with a large commercial printer who, in partnership with a local advertising agency, produced websites and web applications for local and national clients such as the Charlotte Bobcats, Charlotte Motor Speedway and General Motors. 2009 proved to be a very hard time for the local economy, and my company closed their doors. For every door that closes, another ones opens, and in my search for a local development firm, I happened upon Interactive Knowledge. I was interested immediately because of their location in a historic neighborhood outside of uptown, just three miles from my home.
 
After getting to know the organization better, I discovered the caliber, creativity, beauty and intrigue behind their work, and knew...
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Top 10 Reasons to Work at Interactive Knowledge
Oct 6, 2011
By Team

 

10. Work in a beautiful, modern, sustainable workspace

9. Win Webby Awards

8. Celebrate diversity

7. Showcase creativity

6. Face and conquer challenges everyday

5. Work with talented leaders in the technology world

4. Retain your independence and not feel like a robot in a cubicle

3. Contribute to the Greater Good in society

2. Feel connected and passionate about your work

1. Wear a Scottish kilt to work and not feel out of place

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My Story: IK’s Web Designer & Producer Allison Wolf Wright
Oct 5, 2011
By allison

 

Growing up I thought I was a pretty normal kid. Messy room, complained about chores, threw house parties when mom was out of town. I liked art but was too practical to think I could ever make a living from it, so I decided to become a doctor.

On my journey to the top every decision was deliberately made, as my future medical school application loomed in my mind. In fact, in 4th grade I ran for (and was elected) the first female Vice President of my Elementary school because I thought it would better my chances for getting into med school. Keeping to my narrow path, I took Latin for eight years, volunteered as a Candy Striper, and even earned the highest award in Girl Scouts - the Gold Award. Did I mention I am ambitious and maybe an overachiever at times?

In 1992 I set off to North Carolina State University (NCSU) as a Thomas Jefferson Scholar, taking on a double major in Pre-Med, Zoology, and Interdisciplinary...

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How To Land Your Dream Job
Oct 4, 2011
By andi

People always get excited when I tell them what I do for a living. I get to build cool websites for organizations that work for the greater good. They see how passionate I am about my work and a single question crops up without fail, "How can someone land a job they love so much?”

Though I can't promise you'll be as happy at work as I am, I can walk you through the steps I took to get here and hopefully help you land your dream job.

1. Know what you want.

First off, you have to know what you want to do. For me, picking a field was easy, as I always knew I would be working with computers. By the age of six I had discovered I loved both creating things from nothing and learning. My dad had one of the first versions of a personal home computer released in the United Kingdom, a ZX-Spectrum, and a subscription to early computing magazines (complete with code snippets which I copied and used).

...
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