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Most online shoppers spend a lot of time with different shopping carts. Not to mention the ones actually at the store, a lot of our time online is spent interacting with e-commerce software. I don’t think I’m alone that when somebody says the phrase “shopping cart,” I generally think of a Web-based cart, not the ones in queue at New Seasons.

That being said, check out this great cart. It requires Macromedia’s Flash Player™.

Why is this so funny? Thirteen years ago this might have been slightly funny, probably a bit cute. However, after more than a decade of working on and using “shopping carts” that are actually nothing more than grids of pictures of products, I sat entranced when I watched this, giggling all the while. So did my wife, who forwarded the link to me.

The trick of this joke is to set up a code of conduct, then to suddenly break it in an outrageous way. A classic example of this is Monty Python’s fish-slapping dance:

Note that this is funny in other contexts, too:

So what’s my point? We’ve been setting ourselves up for this e-commerce fish-slapping dance punchline for more than a decade.

The e-commerce shopping cart as we know it has created its own version of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. These expected norms are now so strong that violating them is extremely amusing. These norms also limit what we’re willing to design for fear of being laughed at. There are definite rules about what you can and can’t do. Not only does this “shopping cart” metaphor limit us, but it’s no longer really a metaphor: the phrase is actually just a pair of two homonyms with related meanings. It’s rather boring, and I think we’re getting close to stagnation.

And stagnation is just an opportunity to do something different that suddenly makes sense to everybody. New ideas, anyone?

By the way, the image of the shopping cart is used under the Creative Commons License.

A friend recently showed me a local site called “Urban Edibles” that bills itself as “a community database of wild food sources in Portland, OR.” It’s a fantastic combination of ideology and technical functionality where you can easily find free fruit, vegetables, herbs, berries and so on. The site is equally geared towards people looking for food and those posting sources of edibles, making it easy to submit and search, either by category or location. The authors have taken care not to encourage people to abuse the information and you will find warning notes all over the site like “The status of this source is unknown. Ask before you pick!”

Currently the database is not extensive, it is in the process of being built, but it is clearly a fun project for those involved. Urban Edibles employs a variety of technologies including a very active wiki with recipes, resources and information on identifying plants, and discovering what is in season. Perhaps most impressive is the “Browse by Category” section which uses some nice Ajax and javascript animation effects (using the Prototype Library), and then ties into a link to Google Maps.

This is not the sort of website that will see huge traffic but will likely see some repeat visitors who completely fall in love with it. Sites like this make me glad to be a Web developer in Portland, Oregon. There are great ideas everywhere with folks willing to make them real.

KGW ran a story on Urban Edibles as well:

It’s no small secret that Oregonians love beer. More specifically, it’s no small secret that employees of Respond2 love beer. So imagine my excitement about learning that a Deschutes Brewpub is going to be opening up just down the street from us in a few short months.

I mean, I’m an Oregonian. I work for Respond2. I like beer. It all adds up.

But what really interested me about the impending opening was a quote from one of the architects, Stuart Emmons, as stated in the recent Portland Business Journal article:

“When people come in from out of town, we want them to know they’re in Oregon.”

Deschutes plans on doing this by incorporating a “blend of Northwest elements, like exposed timber beams, with dark Scottish colors and walls peppered with whimsical items.” The even used salvaged timber from a neighboring construction project to build a 27-foot bar. How Portland.

But what it got me thinking about was how we can incorporate this simple quote into R2C. I want people to know when they come in from out of town—or even just walk into our building—that they are at Respond2 Communications. And I want them to know what that means. I want them to know that means they will have a staff that understands and anticipates their needs, as well as genuinely cares about the success of their company.

There are many new and exciting changes ahead for R2C, but I know that I am not alone in fiercely guarding what has always been one of our strengths: that we are an agency that has interest for our clients. This is something that will never change, even as R2C continues to grow and evolve.

Like Deschutes Brewery, we want R2C clients to understand where they are, and where we can take them. Welcome to Respond2 Communications.

If you’re a YouTube aficionado like myself, you’ve probably been nettled by pre-roll advertisements which began popping up over some of your favorite Web videos. Well, the annoyance doesn’t stop at YouTube, as Google recently announced the introduction of video ads to its content network, AdSense.

What does this mean? Aside from more revenue for the online advertising juggernaut, text advertisements will be placed over Web videos containing content related to the respective product/service being advertised. Obnoxious? Possibly! However, Google promises this new initiative is non-intrusive and won’t interrupt the user’s experience. That said, in my opinion, this beats the pants off of the time-sucking :30 spots some websites force you to watch before all content.

Google’s Video AdSense is in beta right now with just 20 popular websites signed on, though I don’t imagine it will be long before it goes mainstream. In the end, there’s a lot of opportunity here for advertisers and content providers alike; greater audience reach and more revenue just to name a few. Given Google’s stellar track record of always doing things right, I don’t foresee any issues.

In the ongoing crusade to find new band names inspired by concepts related to information technology here at Respond2, let’s talk about Systems Administrators.

There’s a reason why systems administrators have the reputation of being hard-nosed, inflexible jerks who control your company’s information infrastructure. There’s a reason why the cover of O’Reilly’s “Essential System Administration” book has a picture of a well-armored armadillo on it. There’s even a reason for the plethora of amazingly satisfying fiction written about the weird, rage-filled escapades of systems administrators.

Aside from this, system administrators are here to stay. They are our only bridge between our imaginary world of business and the imaginary world of computer engineering. We couldn’t do what we do without them and the incredibly complex sets of systems they maintain. After all, somebody needs to start twitching uncontrollably whenever there’s a hint of a power outage.

To be a good systems administrator, one really does have to resemble something of an armadillo. It takes a very special person to fend off well-intentioned, disastrous suggestions from people in power who don’t have the time to understand the details of their server farm. An iron will is required to patiently explain to the boss what can and can’t be done with limited budgets. A person has to be made of pretty stern, flexible stuff to fight off the misconceptions spread by marketers while seriously considering genuinely new ideas as they come along. Metaphorical plated armor is a must, which means a good system administrator makes a dinosaur-like impression on people who are expecting exciting, neon-lit, techno-geek gadgetry from cool, googley-eyed IT staff.

In honor of all the hard-nosed, inflexible, well-armored, weird, rage-filled, twitchy people who proudly call themselves sysadmins, the band name of the day is The Armadillos.

This last week I was asked to participate in a panel at my old college. The topic was “Meet the Professionals,” which caused me to wonder, “am I really a professional?” Yes, I technically work in a profession; one where I go into an office, have a desk, computer, phone with my own extension, we have a receptionist, and I get a weekly status report that I adhere to as my overlord law (not like speeding, more like murder).

Does that make me a professional? How does a professional dress, act and speak? So, I put on my Thursday’s best and went to the panel to pretend that I had something interesting to say. A few of the other panelists prepared their statements. I never felt more under-prepared than I did right then. However, I decided to be honest, no dirty little secrets like “you’ll burn out by 27″ or “you’ll hate every client with the burning rage of getting cut off in traffic,” but more of what a real day of being a “worker” is like.

Granted, it wasn’t well-crafted or overly-theorized, but it was a true account of my day. Do I wake up every single day as a “professional” and ponder the intricacies of an ever-growing interactive age? Do I spend my day worried about the marketplace and how the war is going to effect inflation, thus creating a rebound effect of international scope that will make it possible to send direct mail to the little children of Peru? No, I start my day wondering if yesterday’s coffee cup really needs washing, or if it is ready for a fresh brew of heaven-inspired, golden, crushed bean stew in it.

I was real, and my answers were full of truth, because sooner or later these students will know the drag and glory of end of day deadlines. They will know which battles are worth sticking your flag into the ground, and which ones aren’t valuable enough to utter another “F-U.” They’ll know the exuberance of seeing one of your spots on television or making a splash page for the Web, and the dismay of someone flipping to another channel.

My life as a professional is not as gloomy as this entry is making it sound. It’s actually quite hands-down, thumbs-up kickin’—or as the young kids say—SWEET. I get to work with an eclectic group of people that are great at their jobs and funny as hell. My company is growing and we’re at an exciting time in the industry, one where direct response is no longer the ugly step-child of advertising, but has become the beacon of hope where accountability is king.

I get to make a difference, not in the world, but for the success of our clients. Every day is different and I never get stuck with the monotony of a number-cruncher (eight credits shy, and it’ll always stay that way). And as long as I get my morning sludge, the rest is all gravy.

The Proofreader’s Bible

“Should there be a comma in this sentence? Or should we just go with the way it is?” I spent 10 minutes yesterday pondering this question. And I’m still thinking about it today. As a Quality Assurance Coordinator (fancy-schmancy title for “proofreader”) part of my responsibilities is to make sure that we build websites that are free of grammar errors, misspellings and broken links. My job here is to be the stickler, the crank, the paranoid proofreader who brandishes a red pen. In short, I make sure a website is clean. It’s not a sexy job, but there is a certain thrill that comes with the hunt for an incomplete sentence.

I find being a paranoid proofreader isn’t easy, especially if it doesn’t come naturally, which it certainly does not for me. Here are a few tips that I’ve found help me become a detail-oriented person who can zone in on the sentence fragment or misplaced period.

1. The pressure of a looming deadline: A little adrenaline pumping through the veins creates excitement—as much excitement as you can have while hunting for sentence fragments.

2. Caffeine. A dark acidic cup of coffee does wonders. It sharpens the senses, increases the paranoia and keeps your eyes from glazing over while you’re on the lookout for mistakes. I’ve also heard that caffeine is good for your health and helps endurance athletes recover more quickly. So enjoy the double benefit of coffee.

3. Proofing in a vacuum: It’s helpful to create an environment that allows you to concentrate only on the task at hand. Although I’d like to be able to click constantly between the error-filled site, my inbox and Facebook, I know I’ll miss something. Close all other windows. Print out the pages that need corrections, put some soulful classical music on your playlist and concentrate.

4. Use a ruler or a piece of paper. Cover up the rest of the page so you are forced to only read one line at a time.

5. Use a pencil and point to every single word on the page. Read the sentence backwards and forward. Click on every link from right to left and then left to right. Go on to another page and come back. Checking multiple times is the only way you’ll catch everything.

6. Finally, in the best of scenarios, keep checking for at least an hour past the moment you found the last error. I’m constantly surprised at how many things I can miss, even when I’m being being the best paranoid proofreader I know how to be.