June 26, 2009
eGuiders signs a big deal
by Plank
Well this is pretty cool. eGuiders, the online video portal designed and built by Plank, has signed a syndication partnership with Tribune Media Services, TMS provides entertainment, news and features content that reaches over 100 million consumers worldwide every day, through print, online and on-screen media. This is great news and we look forward to seeing what TMS can do with eGuiders content.
Under the deal, TMS will distribute eGuiders video recommendations to publishers across the online world. eGuiders is a unique concept, in essence an online video curator that takes the best of web videos and aggregates them into one site. But it's not just picking videos - it's who is doing the picking; entertainment industry heavyweights like Damon Lindelof, John Landis, and a whole host of Hollywood insiders.
Congrats to our friend Marc Ostrick, eGuiders co-founder and CEO on signing this amazing deal. The best for eGuiders is yet to come!
May 26, 2009
Warren is going to be on the radio
by Plank
Plank's principal and founder, Warren Wilansky, is going to be on the radio! Now, you would think that he would be going on to talk about the web or something, but no, that's not enough for Warren. He'll be discussing all things politics. For those of you who know Warren, you'll know that's right up his alley. Look for him to take on CJAD host Tommy Schnurmacher - Tommy's about to meet someone who has opinions as strong as his own.
He'll be on around 9 AM tomorrow, probably right after the 9 AM news. You can even listen online if you're out of town or at work. Break a leg Warren!
UPDATE - Warren has just received word that the appearance has been postponed until Monday (June 1st). More time to prepare.
May 6, 2009
Plank is growing again!
by Plank
Plank is trilled to welcome the newest member of the Plank team, CT Jones. We'll give you you a full blog post about him in the coming days, but in the meantime, check out his bio for more information.
Welcome CT!
April 28, 2009
Nancy @ FITC - Day Two
by Nancy
Day two at FITC Toronto has come to an end and I feel inspired after meeting some pretty well-known people in the industry.
Today was the first day there were some presentations given by women, so I didn't miss out on this chance to see some rockin ladies talk about their expertise. The first presentation was given by Carole Guevin of Netdiver magazine. Her style is totally fresh, she talked to the large audience about how to identify and appreciate your own unique talent or skill. In my mind this is a topic rarely touched upon in these conferences, with the assumption being that we already know our own originality & greatness. To say the least, her presentation was original.
I also got the pleasure of meeting Torontonian-turned-New Yorker, Marcos Chin. You may know him from his work as the illustrator for the large-scale campaign by lavalife. He shared with us how he got started, his techniques with pen, paper, & vectors, and talked about the themes in more current work.
Ironically, both presenters prefaced their talks identifying themselves as near-luddites. This being a technology festival, I was pretty surprised to find neither presenter had their expertise in technology, but rather in other fields which led them to using computers & the internet as tools.
Breaking it down at the
FITC Awards Party
Another highlight of the day was the 2009 FITC Awards. There were hilarious video clips, a great MC, and some of the top developers & artists in the industry. I got the chance to meet the flash developer behind the GE Augmented Reality Smartgrid which, in case you've never explored, you really must. I told him about the afternoon all the Planksters crowded around Stevey's desk to watch the cool Flash tricks on the site. I've also had the opportunity to befriend Joe Berkovitz, lead developer of Noteflight, a really cool app to share music writing on the web (please excuse my descriptives here, music language is pretty foreign to me!). Joe took home the award for Technical Excellence in Flash, and as the FITC site says of the prize, "..a can opener encased in Plexiglas along with a year of bragging rights".
Last but not least, I got the chance to meet the man responsible for this festival, Mr. Shawn Pucknell. He's kind, soft-spoken, and is obviously well organized to have put together this seamless conference so well. "I've got a great team" he understated, "I just ask that you spread the word about the FITC".
So now, let me be the first to say not only has this conference brought out talented and semi-famous people in droves, but has inspired & enthralled all attendees. This is my first time at FITC, and I certainly hope it's not my last!
Stay on top of the last day at FITC right here!
April 27, 2009
Follow along with Nancy @ FITC Toronto
by Plank
Plank's own Nancy Beaton is rocking at the FITC Toronto 2009 Conference. And she's already blogging about it.
But we just couldn't wait for Nancy's blog posts every night, so we whipped up a quick app to follow all the happenings at the conference. It tracks all the Tweets that contain fitc, #fitc and other related terms, and puts them all on one page for you, updating itself in real-time. Thanks to Plankster Joël for his hard work programming.
April 26, 2009
Nancy @ FITC - Day One
by Nancy
Nancy & Josh @ FITC
picture by @Sarah0s
Well it's been a really exciting first day here at the "Flash in the Can" festival in Toronto. The day started with a really interesting panel about math and design, fractals & natural patterns being something I'd never really thought much about until now. Second panel covered the possibilities of interactive design in today's marketing world, and the current trends and future possibilities. This panel was actually really intriguing, some of the examples and videos they showed were pretty thrilling.
My favorite panel of all was that of Josh Davis. It almost started off as a comedy routine, which got us in the mood for what was to come in the following hour. What an amazing talent this man has. Not only is he interested in creating his own original work, but it's important to him that he create it using different formulas - a kaleidoscope formula, Bezier effects, as well as randomly generated patterns based using interesting, even architectural shapes. I can only imagine how his mind buzzes.
I was initially interested in checking out Josh's work because Warren had mentioned meeting him at SXSW '05. This encouraged me to go up and introduce me as a Plankster, and Josh was more than welcoming - a truly lovely fellow.
Two more days of panels to go, and I'm HYPED! So many more people to meet & tricks to learn.
À bientôt!
April 1, 2009
Warren's fame continues to grow
by Allen
Plank's own non-boss boss Warren has been profiled in the latest issue of Concordia University Magazine. Warren, a graduate from Concordia's prestigious Communications program in 1996, is quickly becoming one of Concordia's most notable alumni in Montreal. But his humility won't let him admit it. Good thing I'm writing this, not him.
March 17, 2009
Plank @ SXSWi09: Day Four
by Allen
So only the closing party is remaining.
After an incredible four days, the Plank team is soon to be headed home. We really can't believe the panels are done and the conference is coming to an end. It has been an amazing time here in Austin, and we've learned so much and had so much fun, we wish we could stay here forever.
The highlight of today was undoubtedly the Core Conversation ran by yours truly ;-) We had a good crowd show up, and considering lots of people leave SXSW on the last day like toady, that was quite an accomplishment. It went really well, lots of great conversation and discussion about the business of web design. Big thanks to my co-presenter James Archer of Forty Agency for really coming through, even while suffering with the flu!
We'll have all sots of wrap-up posts in the coming days, so check back often. Montreal, we're coming home.
March 16, 2009
Plank @ SXSWi09: Day Three
by Allen
Your Day 3 report goes like this:
Warren has a sunburned (sunburnt?) head, and Bruce Sterling rocked.
Maybe I should have just tweeted that.
March 15, 2009
Plank @ SXSWi09: Day Two
by Allen
And the sunshine has made everything that much better.
Yes, the sun came out about 4 PM today and the temperature went up about 10 degrees, turning Austin into the city we all know and love. We're pretty soon heading out to dinner, but I wanted to quickly check in to just recap some highlights since the last post.
So last night was the opening party. Outstanding. It was so large, people were waiting 20 minutes to go to the bathroom! Afterwards, the great guys at Happy Cog organized an amazing karaoke party, and it did not disappoint. Costumes and fantastic stage performances were not expected, but the performers really delivered.
Today's highlight was again the keynote speaker, Nate Silver of Five Thirty Eight. As a fan of both baseball and politics, it was just great to hear what he had to say.
We're coming up on the halfway point. We'll be back in th office before you know it.
March 14, 2009
Plank @ SXSWi09: Day One
by Plank
Greetings from the frozen... South?
Yes, with daytime highs of 8 degrees and lows getting close to the freezing point, Austin weather is about the only thing to complain about right now. Plank has arrived in Austin TX for SXSW Interactive and the results have been fantastic. We've just gotten through our first day of panels and got some really interesting stuff under our belts.
We started out last night in grand style. While the official "opening" party for SXSW hadn't happened yet (it's tonight), the Plankers still partied and schmoozed their way down 6th Street. We ended up at a really cool "Pastries and Pasties" party at Emos, one of my favourite Austin bars. Despite the chills and rain, we still had an awesome time talking to people and getting into the SXSW spirit.
The day of panels was highlighted by a couple of great talks. First, we all got a lesson on "how to talk to programmers" (hint: learn to speak geek! ;)). But undoubtedly the highlight of the day was the keynote address, by Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com. Their unique corporate culture and customer service philosophy have made them a true success story, and it was great to hear that story straight from the CEO himself.
We're currently taking a five-minute break (that's all we have time for!) as we prepare for the big opening party tonight. Check back for more from Austin very soon!
March 11, 2009
Plank @ SXSWi09: -2 days
by Allen
On Friday morning, Planksters Warren, Sarah, Geoff and yours truly will be boarding planes to head down to Austin for the SXSW Interactive Festival. As I pause to quietly reflect on what SXSW has meant to me over the last couple of years, and calmly consider how much this year's Plank team will rock in Austin, I can only come to one reserved, simple conclusion - WE ARE TOTALLY F-ING STOKED TO GO!!!!!
Seriously, as always, it will be amazing. And the Plank team that will be down there is a solid mix this year. We've got the grizzled old veteran (me), the noob (Sarah), the guy who hasn't been in 5 years and is going to freak out at how big SXSWi has become (Warren), and Geoff the party machine.
But hang on, Geoff! We're not only there to party. We're going to learn, we're going to network, we're going to meet our peers, and do so much more. As I've said on this blog in the past, what's amazing at SXSW is the "gathering of the tribes" so to speak. You know so many people, but you only know them by username. Getting the face time with all these amazing people from around the Web around the world - that's what makes SXSWi special.
Oh, did I forget to mention that yours truly will once again be leading a Core Conversation (as I did last year)? This year I'm teaming up with the awesome James Archer of the equally-awesome Forty Agency. So if you are around Austin next Tuesday at 3:30 P.M. be sure to come by Room 5C!
This post is just the start of the Plank coverage from SXSWi. We hope to have all sorts of blog posts, and we're cooking up some amazing podcast and videocast ideas. You can always follow Plank on the Twitters, and my own account too. It's like you'll be there - 140 characters at a time.
For those who will be in Austin - let's get ready to rock.
March 9, 2009
PHPQuébec 2009 Wrap-Up
by Joel
From March 4th-5th 2009, I was lucky enough to attend the annual PHPQuébec conference, right here in Montréal.
To say that the conference was a a lot of fun would be an understatement. I had the pleasure of meeting (read: drinking with) Jeff Loiselle (@phishy), Andrei Zmievski (@a), Chris Shiflett (@shiflett), Chris Hartjes (@chartjes) and Sean Coates (@coates), as well as a few others throughout the duration of the 3-day conference. It was nice to finally be able to associate names with Twitter/IRC handles.
For those of you that could not attend, the slides from (nearly) all the talks are available from the PHPQuébec Conference website; I would suggest the PHP 5.3 slides (if you haven’t already read the related RFCs for closures, lambdas and traits) for a quick run-through of the new features being introduced in PHP 5.3. If you dislike Magento or Wordpress and would like to see how Sebastian Bergmann tears them apart for sub-par code & pattern choices, PHP Code Review is for you. Sebastian didn’t publish any of his comments, but the code on the slides should speak for itself.
If you’ve got some C chops, the PHP Extension Writing slides by Marcus Börger might be of interest, if you can make it all the way through without crying for mercy from the C gods. However, everyone at the conference recommended the Extending and Embedding PHP book by Sara Golemon, which seems to be the definitive guide for writing PHP extensions at this time. I’ve already ordered my copy, so where’s yours?
In addition to the slides posted, I would suggest looking over Andrei’s Regex Clinic for some real PCRE gems, and his VIM for (PHP) Programmers to understand why Real Programmers™ use Vim
All in all, #phpquebec was a blast. I’ll be attending next year, even if I have to pay the ticket price myself. It’s worth every penny, especially if the registration form for 2010 is as hackable as it was for 2009 ;-).
Note: This has been cross-posted on Nerderati, my personal blog.
March 4, 2009
Plank @ PHPQuebec: Mini-app to follow on Twitter
by Steve
Plank has sent our own Joël Perras to the PHP Québec Confernece taking place this week. He's whipped up this fun little app to track Tweets about the conference.
The mini-application searches the twitter api for the keywords "phpquebec,phpqc,phpquebec2009" every 5 seconds, and dynamically updates the page. No refresh required.
Find it here: http://www.plankdesign.com/phpqc/
March 4, 2009
Plank @ PHPQuebec
by Joël
With a great keynote address by Zeev Suraski on “Why PHP Wins”, this year’s PHPQuebec conference is off to a promising start, and it looks like it will only get better. With some of the most recognizable names in the industry, including Chris Shiflett, Andrei Zmievski and Sebastian Bergmann, combined with what seems to be a top-notch schedule, I honestly don’t know where to begin.
Check back here later for some more #phpqc09 updates.
February 12, 2009
Warren is the best non-boss boss ever!
by Plank
The Plank family does what it does best - talk and drink
Last night, all of Plank and some close Plank friends showed up to Else's to celebrate Warren and all he's done. Else's is Warren's home away from home away from Plank so it was the perfect location. It was a surprise, and he totally was:
The evening was just perfect. A fun, relaxing atmosphere that mirrored the fun, relaxing atmosphere Warren has created at Plank. Allen made a speech which is reprinted below. It pretty much sums up why we were there.
As you may or may not know, Warren lives and dies by one thing (well, besides Plank) - burgers. So kudos to Sarah who baked the most amazing cupcakes ever:
They were so realistic-looking, you kept thinking it would taste like burger, not cake!
We heart you, Warren Wilansky.
More photos at Steve's Flickr set, and an outstanding burger cupcake close-up from Nancy
Text of the speech given by Allen (excuse the in-jokes, and it loses something being written...):
"Good evening everyone. I’m ALLEN MENDELSOHN
Normally, I wouldn’t so embrace a moniker that is clearly making fun of me. Normally I would never tolerate being emotionally abused by my boss. But I think it speaks to the qualities of our BOSS, yes, BOSS, that I put up with that kind of shit. Not only put up with it, but embrace it.
And that speaks to what kind of boss he is. For all of the abuse I take, for all the inappropriate humour that comes out of his mouth, we all put up with it. Why? Because he is the greatest boss ever. I have had many bosses in my life, and there is no question about two facts – he has the most unique management style I have ever seen, and everyone and their mother wants to work for Plank.
Now, because this evening is all about ALLEN MENDELSOHN, I want to point out something else. All you have to do is look at my C.V. to see that I never stay in a job more than 2 years. Never. In a couple of months, I’ll celebrate my 4 year anniversary at Plank. That says a lot about Plank, but that says even more about Warren. He is the ultimate boss to work for, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I hope this speech, and this whole evening, has embarrassed the hell out of him. So join me in a toast. To Warren – the best non-boss boss the world has ever seen!"
February 5, 2009
The U.S. gets a little snow and Canadians benefit - Webby deadline extended
by Allen
Pretty cool time lapse photography of a snow storm in Boston
So last week I screamed at you that it was the absolutely last week to get your Webby entry in. At the time, I swear I was telling the truth! But thanks to a little snow in the States, the Webbys have extended the deadline by one week. So you have until tomorrow to enter your website, online video or advertising in numerous categories.
So if you think you made a mistake by not entering last week, you have been given a reprieve! Don't make the same mistake! Go enter now!!!
January 30, 2009
This is the last day for your Webby entries
by Allen
Yours truly hobnobs with Arianna Huffington at the 2008 Webby Awards
Do you want to meet celebrities and drink with them like me? Then enter your website, web video or online advertising in the Webby Awards. But do it today! This is the absolute last day you will be able to enter, and your last chance to get invited to the coolest ceremony around.
The Webbys are "the internet's highest honour" according to the New York Times. Do you want to get in on that action? Of course you do. So go enter! DO IT NOW!!!
January 26, 2009
Just five more days to get your Webby Awards entry in!
by Allen
My favourite photo from the holidays - the Webby Awards team poses for an old-school holiday card
The Webby Awards, the "ineternet's highest honor" according to the New York Times, has extended the deadline for entries until January 30. You can enter your website, internet video, online ad or mobile project in numerous categories. Fame and glory throughout the internet can be yours!
So what are you waiting for? Go enter. Do it now!!!
January 21, 2009
Plank goes to the Inauguration!
by Plank
Plank's own Geoffrey Weeks was our man in Washington yesterday for the historic inauguration of President Obama. He will be along with a full blog post soon, but for now, enjoy these selected pics, courtesy of the DC office.
January 5, 2009
Happy New Year
by Allen
The beauty of a Montreal winter can be found anywhere, with a good eye. Photo courtesy Plank's own ncbeets, photographer / designer / integrator extraordinaire.
We just wanted to wish all of our friends a very Happy and Healthy 2009. While we are sure you saw our holiday card by now, it's never too late to wish you all the best in 2009!
Plank has a huge year ahead. We've got our 10th Anniversary celebrations coming up this Winter / Spring, and a whole slew of new sites we've been working on to show you. We've got another huge gang headed to SXSW, and yours truly will once again be speaking. See you in Austin!
We hope you'll stay part of our family throughout the year, and that you have a great 2009.
December 19, 2008
Last day to get your Webby entries in!
by Allen
Just a funny little clip that premiered at the Webby Awards last year, thanks to The Onion.
Wanted to pop in to tell you TODAY is the deadline to get in your Webby Award entry. You know it's the most important web award, you know how much you want to be in New York to give a five-word speech, you know you'd like to meet Plank, your Canadian Webby Ambassador at the Awards show, so what are you waiting for? Go enter. NOW!!!
December 11, 2008
Webby submission time is running out - with video!
by Allen
So as I'm sure you all know by now, Plank is the Canadian Ambassador to the Webby Awards. It is now our duty to remind you that time is running out to get your entries in. The deadline is next Friday, December 19th. Go enter. Do it now!
But why have a nobody like me remind you? This year, the Webbys have gathered some of the most popular stars of the internet to make PSA-type videos to remind you about the date. The video above is from Collegehumour.com's Jake and Amir who always bring teh funneh. You can check out all the videos on the Webbys Tumblr page.
Dammit why are you watching videos? Go enter. Now! And then we'll see you at the Webbys. Here's my highlight from last year...
December 4, 2008
I, Robot
by Plank
We are going to do a full feature on this soon, but we are just so excited about this site launch we had to blog about it.
WowWee is a leading designer, developer, marketer and distributor of innovative hi-tech consumer robotic and entertainment products. And now they have an all new website, designed and built by Plank. We'll discuss everything that's cool about it soon, but for now, just check it out!
October 30, 2008
Last chance for cheap Webby entries!
by Plank
Tomorrow is the final day for special pricing on entries for the 13th Annual Webby Awards. In recognition of the Internet's growing ranks of talent, performers and personalites, this year's awards include new categories for Best Individual Performance and Best Host of a Reality/Variety Series. The full list of categories is here.
This is your last chance to enter your work at the significanlty reduced rate. Do it now!
October 16, 2008
Plank has some fun with U.S. Politics
by Plank
Defending the Bridge to Nowhere...
We like to have a little fun at Plank every now and then. In that spirit, Plank has developed Sarah Palin Spin Command. A fun online game built with Flash, the game plays like the vintage classic Missile Command. Have some fun defending Sarah from the invading media hordes who want her to answer questions. Why should a political figure have to answer silly questions?
The principal game designer, Plank's Interactive Director Geoffrey Weeks, will be along soon to give some insights into the game's development. In the meantime, have some fun with Sarah!
October 8, 2008
The Plank Way Back Machine
by Allen
So the other day in the office we were having some fun with Google's 2001 search engine. It's pretty cool - the index actually dates to January 2001. Try Googling "Sarah Palin". That gave us a good laugh.
ANYWAY, while we we were cruising through the past, we couldn't help ourselves and checked the Plank website from 2003 (WARNING: do not view in IE7. Yeesh). It's really not too bad! Sure, it's only one page. Sure, the background looks like a 1970's rec room wall. But I think it's pretty cool. And what I really like about it is how some things haven't changed - Michael Moore, Fantasia, and SXSW are all prominently featured, just as they are today.
This little trip through time also reminds me that this December, Plank will be celebrating 10 years in the business. Wow. That's an eternity in web years. We'll hit the Wayback Machine a few more times between now and then, so be sure to check back to see what we dig up.
September 24, 2008
It's Webby Award time
by Plank
Once agan, Plank is proud to serve as the Canadian Ambassador to the Webby Awards. Last year with your help, we set a record for Canadian entries. And we won a bunch too! So we are sure this year we can do even better.
If you enter before October 30, you'll even get substantial savings from the normal entry fee. Enter your work in any number of categories in websites, interactive advertsing, mobile, or online film & video. There is no doubt the best online work comes from Canada, so let's show them how we do things north of the 49th.
Enter now, enter often!
September 17, 2008
Plank welcomes a new family member - and he's 7 pounds!
by Plank
Plank is thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Plank family, the newborn son of Creative Director GW Brazier and his partner Sarah. Everyone is doing well, and rumour has it the baby was born asking for a copy of Adobe CS3.
Still no name yet, though the Plank gang is strongly suggesting "Laser."
A huge Mazel Tov to GW and Sarah. We can't wait to see what little Laser can design.
September 15, 2008
We need help! Again!
by Plank
Plank is actively looking to add to our Montreal-based team. Are you young and eager and looking for experience? We are looking for a junior production person with basic knowledge of internet / digital design, programming, and integration. We need someone who can complement our team and is interested in working on exciting projects, generally in the fields of entertainment, technology and social action.
Your tasks will include:
- Simple graphic production;
- Building website templates;
- Website maintenance.
Our Expectations
We’re looking for someone fun! But seriously, you should have the following:
- 0-2 years of related experience;
- Willingness to work locally in our Montreal office;
- Proficiency with Photoshop & Illustrator;
- Knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP;
- Be passionate about all things digital.
We are a close knit team that continues to grow, and we’d love to meet you to see if we can squeeze you in. We want you to be part of our team for a long time to come. We offer a competitive salary, normal business hours, a comprehensive health and dental plan, and a great work environment. Act now! While there’s room.
If you think you would like to be part of the team, please email your CV, portfolio and cover letter to warren@plankdesign.com. If you would like to learn more about us, please surf around our site.
We hope you’ll join us!
September 11, 2008
Plank gets some new windows
by Steve
The building has replaced our old back windows (which had character but were a bit cold in the winter) with spiffy new double-thick glass hung in huge sheets. The effect is dramatic when you're looking out the office to the back.
September 2, 2008
Canada New Media Fund is toast
by Allen
The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Conservative government has eliminated the Canada New Media Fund, a $14.5 million annual program that was funded by the Department of National Heritage but administered by Telefilm Canada. There is still no official word from Telefilm, and in fact the CNMF website is still online with nary a mention of this.
While we at Plank have had questions about the way the Fund has been run over the years*, it was still a very important program that did a decent job supporting our industry. It is possible the Tories are going to replace it with some other program of their own invention, or perhaps it is just part of their overall cost-cutting, especially in fields of culture and the arts.
We'll wait to hear the official announcement, but for now, it doesn't look like we can count on the government supporting our industry for the near future.
*we had issues long before we were rejected for funding this year! ;)
August 11, 2008
A new Plank sign
by Steve
We finally got a sign for the company. We’ve always had some kind so small signage but nothing of substance.
With the help of my father, we ran some nice wood through a CNC machine to cut out our logo. We then carefully stained and mounted it up with plexiglass, hardware and chains. A great “down-home-hand-made” group effort. It came out better than any of us you have ever expected. Just in time for our 10th anniversary!
Matches the website fairly well. See more photos here in the Plank Flickr Pool.
July 30, 2008
Take the Web design survey
by Plank
Hey there! Are you a web professional checking out Plank? First off, welcome! Now, get to work.
A List Apart is the pre-eminent online magazine for web professionals. It explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices. For the second year in a row, they are undertaking a survey of all web professionals - designers, developers, copywriters, marketers, managers, bascially everyone! You can check out the 2007 results, they are really interesting. But the web moves fast, the industry changes every day, so we need to do it again.
So please take the survey and help all of us get a better picture of what our industry looks like. Thanks.
July 4, 2008
The 2008 Fantasia Festival is rolling
by Plank
There are hardcore Festival-goers in theatres and clamoring for tickets as we write this. The Fantasia Festival has begun, and Plank has delivered a kick-ass website to support it. Again.
Wow. Back in 2003 we had no idea we'd still be at it, year after year, turning out some great work for the Fantasia website each and every summer. The Festival keeps getting bigger, the websites keep getting bigger, but Plank is always there to deliver the goods in a high pressure Festival time frame. And we've done it again!
As the Festival keeps growing, Plank has needed to adapt the site to the bigger program. The older layout has been simplified and cleaned up this year, and we have updated the technology to fully valid XHTML and CSS. The result is much faster load times. While the design itself may have been simplified, the home page has been expanded to have more information right up front, including a neat little news marquee.
Another new feature this year is a nice little Flash touch where multiple still photos for a film can rotate through with a cool transition effect. This gives the film pages a feeling that's more vibrant and alive. Here's a great example, with Yunjim Kim for you Lost fans!
Once again, praise should be heaped on Black Eye Design, creators of the Fantasia printed program and the visual identity of the Festival. While Plank's talented designers did a fantastic job adapting the look to the web, it was Black Eye who set the look in the first place.
So check out the Festival site, and check out the Festival. We'll see you in the theatres!
June 10, 2008
Checking in from the Webby Awards
by Allen
Greetings from New York City! Yours truly is currently sweating through a heat wave to bring you all the news about the Webby Awards. It's been a whirlwind so far, but your Canadian Webby Ambassador is doing Canada proud.
On Sunday evening, Planker Geoff and I enjoyed the opening cocktail party at a great terrasse at the Maritime Hotel. Really nice, and it was fun to meet some really cool web professionals from around the globe.
Last night was the Webby Film and Video Awards. Hosted by Judah Friedlander (who yours truly had a nice chat with at the after party), the best of web videos were honoured. The highlight of the night was the lifetime achievement given to SNL kingpin Lorne Michaels, which included a montage of all the best SNL digital shorts. My favourite five word speech of the night was "Together, we'll make reading obsolete" from the Onion News Network rep. Excellent.
The after party proved to be even more fun, a phenomenal location at the Angel Orensanz Foundation Center, an arts and party space that was once a synagogue. My evening's highlight was a nice chat I had with Tay Zonday, a.k.a. the Chocolate Rain guy. Very friendly, and he seems a little overwhelmed by it all. His voice really is deep and low.
Tonight is the big finale, the actual Web Awards. Really looking forward to seeing Stephen Colbert get the Person of the Year. If I survive another after party, I'll fill you in tomorrow. Now would someone please turn up the A/C?
June 6, 2008
Warren is attending the SEED3 conference in Chicago
by Plank
Our fearless leader is off today in Chicago attending the 3rd SEED CONFERENCE.
We're eager to hear what happens, and knowing Warren, he'll pull a year's worth of inspiration from this excellent event.
June 6, 2008
PHP/MySQL Developer needed - AGAIN!
by Plank
Want to work in our growing Web agency with great people, great clients, and a great working environment? Of course you do! Plank is actively looking to add to our Montreal-based team. Whether you're completely self-taught or have multiple degrees in Computer Science, we're only concerned that you have the skills needed to perform the job. We need someone who is interested in working on exciting Web projects, generally in the fields of entertainment, technology and social action.
Your tasks will include:
1. Development of website back-ends and interesting Web applications;
2. Building on and working with our existing code base.
Our Expectations
We’re looking for someone fun! But seriously, you should have the following:
1. 2+ years of related experience;
2. Strong background in PHP and MySQL;
3. Experience in AJAX, DHTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, will be an asset;
4. Knowledge of CMS’s such as Drupal, Expression Engine and WordPress will be an asset;
5. Knowledge of open-source PHP frameworks such as CodeIgniter will be an asset;
6. Willingness to work locally in our Montreal office.
We are a close-knit company that continues to grow, and we need your skills. We want you to be part of our team for a long time to come. We offer a competitive salary, normal business hours, a comprehensive health and dental plan, and a great work environment.
If you think you would like to be part of the Plank team, please email your CV and cover letter to warren@plankdesign.com. If you would like to learn more about us, please surf around our site.
We hope you’ll join us.
Please note only those candidates we have selected to interview will be contacted.
May 14, 2008
The Webby Winners Have been Named
by Plank
And the winner is...
Who hates sitting through four and half hour award shows to hear the winners? We do! That's why we love that the Webbys annunce the winners in advance. You should check out the interactive winners gallery.
Plank had another great year as Canadian Ambassador to the Webbys. We're so proud to represent the Webbys in Canada. We'll see you in New York City for the big event!
May 7, 2008
Plank wants you to be satisfied
by Plank
Plank has taken the next step in social media, joining Get Satisfaction.
So what is Get Satisfaction? From their site:
Get Satisfaction is a place where people can get the most from the products they use, and where companies are encouraged to get real with their customers. Customers, employees, and companies are all welcome. Nothing is hidden, and no one is censored. Join the conversation!
So check us out on GS and tell us what you really think of us. Don't be shy, we can take it.
April 30, 2008
One day left to vote for the Webby Awards
by Allen
As you probably know by now, Plank is proud to serve as the Canadian Ambassador to The Webby Awards. We are so proud that this year, we helped get a record number of Canadian companies to enter (up more than 40% from last year!) which turned into a record number of nominees as well.
And you can help them win! Voting is open for the People's Voice Webbys. All you have to do is head over to the People's Voice site and vote for your favourite websites, mobile sites, online advertising and online film and video.
But do it now, because you only have today and tomorrow to do it!
April 20, 2008
Lang's little gems
by Mitch
I was pretty new to javascript when I started using the YUI. For a long time, YAHOO was just that file I had to make sure to include. It was a few months after using the YUI (and was more comfortable with js in general) that I happened to peek at the YAHOO.lang API. It doesn’t get much attention, but it’s got a few useful functions you may not realize are along for the ride (since about version 2.3) - functionality you may be duplicating.
April 15, 2008
Plank joins the Twitter revolution
by Plank
Many of our employees were there already, and we've admittedly all become fans of Twitter.
Twitter is a micro-publishing platform (posts limited to 140 characters) which combines blogs, instant messaging and a social network. It's been kept purposefully simple, but has grown rapidly through offering a popular API allowing people to build upon the network and technology.
We're keeping it relaxed and friendly, sign up and follow along. You can find us @ http://twitter.com/plankdesign.
March 11, 2008
SXSW Day Something-or-other
by Allen
Panels, parties, panels, parties. It's sort of becoming a blur, and we're exhausted. But the Plank gang couldn't come home without checking in one last time.
Everything has been great. We are having an amazing time, learning so much, and meeting so many great people. It's just incredible how big SXSW has become, even since last year. The conference rooms are bigger, there is just more going on, and the beer lines are longer. Tells you something about our industry, that's for sure.
From a business perspective, I think the message has been "be honest." Transparency goes a long way. From a tech perspective, everyone hates Microsoft, and they hope Silverlight fails. But I guess that's not really news.
Well the panels are starting up again in about 20 minutes so I've got to run. Steve has all sorts of great coverage over at his blog, and be sure to check out Nancy's awesome photos. We'll have some real thoughts on this whole thing when we're back and have had a chance to let it all sink in. Later, y'all!
March 8, 2008
SXSW Day One
by Allen
Well Austin goes swimmingly! After having nightmares about the Core Conversation, it turned out fantastic. Over 100 people showed up when I expected 10. Steve has a report, with a nice photo.
We'll report more as the Conference goes on. Now, it's time to go out to party!
February 29, 2008
Plank: Behind the Scenes
by Nancy
Before joining the team at Plank, all I knew of this company was what you’re all exposed to: Incredible designs, fancy programming footwork, and a stunning portfolio that includes numerous nifty clients.
Now being a part of it, I get to witness first-hand the great talent these people possess individually, as well as the lighthearted & thoroughly enjoyable work environment they maintain as a group.
In fact, so much fun stuff happens here that I created the latest edition to Plank’s online presence: the Plank Flickr group. Now you can all see what really goes on behind the scenes including the elastic band fights, the Friday afternoon cocktail hour, desk ornaments, and (of course) the stunning sun-soaked office.
I can’t understand why this hasn’t been created before, because it sure isn’t for lack of photographic talent. We have Allen’s portfolio with his muddy cameraphone lens, Stevey’s macro desk shots & infinite uploads, and Geoffrey’s sparse yet masterful photos.
With all this talent, silliness, and all-round fun, it didn’t seem fair to keep it all to ourselves. Enjoy!
February 25, 2008
Getting psyched for SXSW
by Allen
Steve, Gary, Nancy and myself comprise the largest group Plank has ever sent to the SXSW Interactive Festival. Plank is always looking to keep on top of all the latest developments in web development and design, and the SXSW Festival is absolutely the best way to do that.
Taking place in Austin, Texas, this year from March 7th to the 11th, the Interactive Festival is an offshoot of the more famous SXSW Music Festival. Last year, over 6000 web professionals from around the world attended, and this year is expected to be even bigger.
As an added bonus, yours truly is hosting a Core Conversation this year. I'm really excited to share knowledge with all my fellow web professionals, and to learn from them as well. That's the real beauty of SXSW; it's not just a conference in the traditional sense, the information flows both ways.
Stay tuned to this blog for lots more from all four of us throughout the next three weeks. We'll bring you what we think about SXSW before, during and after the festival. Oh, what to pack...
January 24, 2008
Webby Awards entries - 2 days left!!!
by Plank
In one of our last acts as Webby Ambassadors for Canada, we've got to tell you that tomorrow is the deadline to enter your website, interactive ad, web video or mobile site into the 12th Webby Awards. GO DO IT NOW!!!!
The Webbys are the best, most important web awards on the planet. You want to get in on the action. Here's a recap of last years awards to get you psyched up:
We'll see you in New York City June 1-3! You haven't entered yet??? What's wrong with you? GO!!!
January 23, 2008
Our office is nice!
by Allen
We love our office at Plank. Apparently, others do too. Jose over at Office Snapshots has featured the Plank office as part of their look at the nicest and coolest web / tech offices. To be in the same discussion with big boys like Google and Flickr is alright by us.
Check out the feature, and see photos like this:
January 21, 2008
I get things done, digitally at least
by Warren
I was recently at a meeting where I was going over a project with a client / friend (that seems to happen to us, how about you?) and at one point she opened up her Outlook on the projector to try and find an email from someone. Sort, scan, scroll and a few minutes later, no trace of the email (which was sent only a few days ago). As I was waiting my eyes drifted down to the lower left corner of her screen and went bug eyed. The number of emails in her inbox? Over 10 000.
It wasn’t the number that was all that strange to me (since I usually send over 15 000 emails every year), it was that they were in her inbox. It was a prescient moment given that after a few months of discussing the idea with Steve, that week I had started reading Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Some people will joke with me about (depending if you want to be nice or not) my ability to multitask on many things at once, or my Attention Deficit Disorder. All kidding aside, while I may jump from thought to thought to thought, I have always prided myself on my ability to keep a lot of information well organized and easy to find. I rarely have an “uh-oh I completely forgot about that” moment.
In reading through the book and wrapping my head around the theories of GTD, it was clear that it wasn’t something that was foreign to me. I already had a series of systems in place that were pretty robust and that keep me on track.
- I have a 10 inbox / 10 drafts email rule (inbox = still to be done but not a high priority / drafts = get these done as quickly as possible). I make sure to file away all emails so that by the end of the day I am never over 10 emails in either box;
- I don’t move anything out of my inbox until I know that it has been dealt with, scheduled or has no action item;
- Any appointment, event, birthday or anniversary is in my calendar with reminders so that I am always pinged about the items at least one day in advance;
- I make sure to transcribe all notes from all meetings and either drop them in Basecamp or file them somewhere relevant if they are just for me;
- I take a few hours every Sunday night to think about and organize myself for the coming week;
- And in fact because of the GTD theory I have now gotten rid of my notebook full of lists, and moved to a fully digital task manager, OmniFocus.
But if you look at the list above, you’ll notice that everything I’m describing is digital organization. It’s all about email, calendar reminders and notes. So, you may ask, what about my non-digital efforts.
That’s where the problem is.
My desk at the office? Full of papers that I should have looked at or filed a few weeks ago. There are trinkets everywhere. There is a “junkyard” of broken equipment that needs to be either fixed, thrown out or recycled sitting behind my desk.
My home? I have a room full of boxes that need to be unpacked from my move 6 months ago. I have boxes full of documents that need to be organized. On my cell phone I have 5 messages that I haven’t listened to from over a week ago. There may also be a container with some unidentifiable foodstuff sitting in the back of my fridge.
While it’s working well and I would suggest exploring the GTD system for anyone, sounds like I have a 10 000 email problem outside of that MacBook Pro.
I guess it’s time to start to applying GTD to my real world.
January 17, 2008
Nancy rocks in photo contest
by Plank
We all know that Plank production specialist Nancy is a great photographer. Now we have proof!
In their "Montreal Matters" photo contest, the NFB asked Montrealers to show "the wastelands and hidden corners where industry, development or simple human neglect are taking their toll. Or, to show us where eco-initiatives and sound green principles reign."
So Nancy, always with a sunny disposition, chose the second part of the contest. And she was rewarded with a runner-up prize for the photo below. Congratulations Nancy!
January 9, 2008
Warren's Resolution
by Warren
Well, seems our Mr. Mendelsohn has outed me on one of my strange hang ups; hatred at having to say Happy New Year deep into the new year. For me, one week of good cheer is more than enough but I know some people who need to be jolly all the way into February. I’m not naming names.
At least Allen gave me a good opportunity to drop by and get in a post before all the cheer is drained out of me.
The beginning of the year is always an interesting time of reflection, refreshment and resolution. After some time off work, spent with family and friends making a pig of yourself, you can’t help but look at your gut, smile, frown and then realize you have to do something about it. And I, for the first time in years, have one very important resolution. Unfortunately for now, it has nothing to do with my gut.
While I’m really proud of what all of us at Plank have accomplished over the past 9 years, I worry that we seriously suffer from one big bad fault: modesty. So, you must be asking yourself how can someone so proud be so modest? It may be the bass player in me but I’ve always felt like if we just plod along and try to do the best work possible everyone will just figure it out. They’ll get it and need to work with us.
Obviously we have had some attention over the years thanks to some high-profile clients but I / we have never actively sought attention or a public profile. Over all these years I think we offhandedly sent out two press releases and emailed a few design portals as an experiment. It worked but we all quickly burrowed back into our work. We got back into the habit of letting people discover us when they manage to.
I guess I’ve had a change of heart.
2008 is the year we will come out of our cocoon and be the butterfly we know we are. This comes back to my personal resolution, which is, you will hear a lot more from me Dear Internets. I have made a personal commitment to blog regularly here and at my personal website. I will also be participating more in the Internet world at large and will actively tell you a lot more about Plank and myself.
Sit back, enjoy, and may 2008 be as exciting for you as I see it for Plank. Of course, in December if I have completely defaulted on my intentions, please come to our 10th anniversary party and give my nose a wee tweak.
January 7, 2008
Happy New Year!
by Allen
Warren has a thing about New Year's. He doesn't like anyone wishing anyone else "Happy New Year" after a week has expired in the New Year. Today's the 7th, so we're just under the wire!
There is so much excitement around Plank for 2008. We have all sorts of great new sites in development that we look forward to introducing you to very soon. Plank continues to grow, and we need more developers! Stand by for details on that. We've got a big gang headed to SXSW this year, and yours truly will be speaking at the conference about... how big Plank has gotten!
On the design and technology front, Plank will be keeping up with all the latest trends and hopefully ahead of them. We see a focus in 2008 on mobile and Twitter, scalable designs and fluid layouts, and the continuation of all sorts of interactivity. Of course there is always a place for the best usability, some cool AJAX, and an easy to use CMS.
Stick around with Plank in 2008. The best is yet to come.
December 20, 2007
Happy Holidays from Plank!
by Plank
Wow. What a year. We've seen the arrival of some great new staff. We've launched a bunch of great sites large and small. We've made our mark at SXSW and The Webby Awards. Thanks to all our clients, old and new, we've kept tremendously busy!
With all that work, now we need a nap. We're closing up shop for the holidays to recharge our batteries. We look forward to making 2008 even better than 2007.
So Happy Holidays everyone! And don't forget to check out our holiday card. See you in 2008!
December 13, 2007
Time is really running out for your Webby Awards entry
by Plank
The Webby Awards are the leading international awards honouring excellence on the Internet. Canada has some amazing web talent and we need to show it off.
And Plank is here to remind you you HAVE ONE DAY LEFT TO DO IT. Yes, the deadline is tomorrow!!! Enter in numerous categories in four types - Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile.
Stop reading this! Go do it! NOW!!!!!
December 5, 2007
Congrats Stephane!
by Allen
So do you use WordPress but don't always have access to your computer? Would you like to blog through your mobile phone or any other handheld device? Thanks to Stephane Daury, Plank's Technology Director, and the WPhone plug-in, you can do it easily.
In a contest sponsored by Matthew Mullenweg, grandaddy of WordPress, Stephane and his team of ZaMoose and Viper007Bond took first prize. The prize? An iPhone / iPod Touch for each of the developers, and fame throughout the world. WPhone is now available in the official WordPress Plugin Directory.
The contest was originally for an iPhone plug-in only, but Steph and his team took it to the next level by making it usable with all mobile devices. The iPhone / iTouch version takes advantage of the CSS and AJAX capabilities of that platform, while a lite version will work on just about any old phone, Windows Mobile, Palm, or other portable device. Damn, if I was a WordPress blogger, I'd want this. How about a Blogger version?
So congratulationss Steph. We knew we hired the right guy!
December 3, 2007
1-800-GOT-JUNK? gets animated
by Plank
At Plank we like to have a little fun every now and then. So we love our clients who like to have a little fun themselves. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? fits the bill to a T. Irreverent and fun, they have built the world's largest junk removal service with that attitude.
So when they came to us asking for a fun way to demonstrate what they do, Plank was quick to jump at the chance to make a web-ready Flash animation that would really show off the fun side of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, while clearly and simply showing what they do. We commissioned illustrations from the ultra-talented Luke Magee, a member of the extended Plank family, and his gang at UOVO. Luke's unique and fun style fit right in with what 1-800-GOT-JUNK? was trying to do. Our talented Flash animators then took over, delivering a fun little vignette with a soundtrack to match.
Fun, but effective. Just like Plank.
November 29, 2007
We'll take the praise, thank you!
by Allen
The Sun has a fanatical following. Their readers are diverse and loyal. When one of them found the new website, they were impressed. Really impressed:
"So maybe two weeks ago I was surfing online and found the magazine's recently updated website. As an IT professional, I am in awe of the design work on the site. It really is perfect and flawless."
Thanks, we knew it was a good one!
November 20, 2007
Welcome Sarah!
by Plank
Plank is excited to welcome Sarah Bagnall as Plank’s first-ever full-time Account Executive. As Plank has grown, we have recognized the need for a full-time contact for our clients. Sarah has extensive client relationship experience, having cut her teeth at Optimum Public Relations, a division of Cossette. We are confident that she will become a valuable and integral member of the Plank team, and will respond to all our client needs quickly and efficiently. Already she has taken the lead on certain projects and she has tackled the challenges with amazing skill.
Sarah also has extensive experience in Communications and PR, having come to us from PUMA Canada where she excelled in that role. Allen is excited to have someone else here who speaks that language!
So welcome Sarah. We already know you belong.
Sarah can be reached at sarah@plankdesign.com or 514-875-0003.
November 14, 2007
Plank rocks out for a good cause
by Allen
On Monday, Warren and I were thrilled to lend our support to the David Suzuki Foundation, as we attended "Up Close and Personal with The Police." An event co-chaired by Garner Bornstein, Stephen Bronfman, and Andy Nulman, the evening was a whirlwind of music, fun, and most importantly, environmental awareness and fundraising for a great cause.
While the whole night was amazing, the first part was the highlight for me as you'll see in a second. After getting to the Bell Centre, the 100 or so attendees were ushered through the backstage area to sit in the front rows to watch the sound check. That was exciting enough, but things were about to get better. Sting says he's got a bit of a cold, so he asks for volunteers to go up on stage and sing! That led to yours truly running like a madman, and here's the evidence:
I know it's pretty small, but that's me third from left clapping. What a thrill! It got even better, as I went back up again for the last song, my personal Police favourite So Lonely. This time, I hogged the mic and belted out lead vocals as best I could. The highlight for me was when Sting gave me a disappointed look when I missed a line! He seemed to be expecting better from me as I had done well up to that point. So cool.
UPDATE - there is now video! You can't see me, but you can hear me...
Before I got off the stage after the song was over, I made a point to shake the hands of Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. As a (bad) guitarist, I was thrilled to meet Andy. And I was quick enough to ask him for a guitar pick, and he handed me the one he had just been playing with! Here it is:
The next part of the evening was a cocktail at Queue de Cheval. This was also a highlight, as Warren and I had the chance to chat with Mr. Suzuki, who was so intelligent and friendly. When he spoke to the whole room during the evening, his passion and eloquence were literally mesmerizing. Both Warren and I were so impressed with him and his message. It's a message everyone needs to take to heart. Please go to his foundation's website and find out what you can do. The cocktail also included an auction, where several bass guitars signed by the band and other Police memorabilia helped raise tens of thousands more dollars for the foundation.
Finally, the concert. It was almost a letdown after the evening so far! But really, we had a great time, rocking to an amazing greatest hits-laden set. Thirty years after they started, all The Police sounded fantastic. Warren and I were both blown away at the musicianship, and Sting's voice, even hindered by his cold, didn't disappoint.
All in all, an evening we will remember for the rest of our lives.
Montreal Gazette story about the event
Just the shots of me on stage!
November 2, 2007
Last chance for early Webbys entry
by Allen
Today is the early entry deadline for The Webby Awards. If you enter your website today you will save considerably on the normal entry fee. Act now! The Webbys are the most prestigious award in our industry. Plank has already entered 2 sites; think you can beat us?
November 1, 2007
Bar Camp Montreal 3 is this weekend!
by Plank
This Saturday, November 3rd, the best and the brightest of Montreal's tech community will gather for BarCampMontreal3. It should be amazing.
Why should you go? A couple of reasons. One, everyone in the Montreal tech community will be there, Two, you can learn more in a day about technology, enttrepreneurship, start-ups, and the Web than you might all year, Finally, it's FREE! What are you waiting for? Sign up!!!
Plank will be represented by our new Technology Director, Stephane. We'll ask him to give a report next week. Hopefully he'll come back with some amazing ideas and knowledge.
October 30, 2007
Welcome Stephane!
by Plank
Plank is thrilled to announce that Stephane Daury has joined us as Director of Technology. We will have an in-depth post about him soon, but we just wanted to say a quick word of welcome to the newest Plankster. He comes to us from McGill University, where he served 5 years as Web System Architect.
At Plank we always pride ourselves on our perfect balance of awesome design and the most modern technology. Stephane is going to put the tech side ahead. Better catch up designers! ;)
Find out all about Stephane by reading his amazing blog. Technophobes beware - it's loaded with great geek humour!
So welcome Stephane; Allen is ready to pour you a welcome cocktail or two.
October 1, 2007
The 2008 Webby Awards are around the corner!
by Allen
Last year, Plank was proud to serve as Webby Ambassador to Canada. In that role, we were assigned the task of raising the profile of the Webbys in Canada, as part of the overall effort of the Webbys to increase their profile worldwide and to make it a truly global event. It was easy, thanks to the support of Webbys staff (shout out to Emily) and the already high profile of the Webbys.
Plank could not have been more thrilled when the Webbys asked us to once again serve as Canadian Ambassador for the 12th Annual Webby Awards. We hope to do even better this year, getting more Canadian companies, agencies and individuals to submit their work. Canada is doing some of the best web work in the world - let's prove it.
To get you warmed up for the 2008 Webbys, take a look at the awesome highlight reel from the 2007 Awards. I was lucky enough to be there in person, and the highlights really capture the excitement!
Once you've watched that, why don't you submit your work? The call for entries is already open. And by submitting before November 2nd, you'll get a substantial discount form the normal entry fee. Don't delay! Do it! NOW!!!
Plenty of Canadians were honoured at the Webbys last year, including Montreal-based Wikitravel which was named best travel site. Does your site measure up? Submit and find out.
September 24, 2007
Chat with the Governor-General!
by Plank
This Thursday, September 27th, Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean will be chatting with the Canadian public via her Plank-built website, Citizen Voices. Plank is proud of our relationship with Her Excellency over the last year and the site and tools we've built. A head of state uses a Plank system! We still can't believe it.
On Thursday, Her Excellency will be chatting on the subject of "What Drives You to Act?"; it should be a stimulating discussion about change and working for change in Canadian Society. Be sure to particpate on Citizen Voices!
August 23, 2007
Plank's plans for SXSW Interactive 2008
by Plank
Plank has a long history at the SXSW Interactive Festival. Our fearless leader was a speaker there in 2003, talking about our experience building film websites (we had done Bowling for Columbine for Michael Moore amongst our numerous projects for him).
For as long as we can remember, Plank has gone to SXSW. It is a great source of inspiration for us, to be able to learn so much and interact with everyone in person instead of via our computer screens.
This year, Plank is once again going (of course) and we are hoping to speak at a panel again. And you can help! We have submitted two great ideas for panels, which you can vote on. All the votes will help determine which panels are picked by SXSW, and every vote counts. This is truly democratic. So here's what you do.
Go here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/, where you will need to sign up for an account (just your email address) to be able to vote. Sorry it’s a pain, but they need to watch voter irregularities. No Florida 2000 here!
Once you have an account, you can search for “Plank” to see our two panels, or you can just go straight to these two URL's:
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/191
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/471
Thanks for all your 5-star votes, and we look forward to seeing you March 7, 2008 in Austin!
August 6, 2007
Intermediate PHP/MySQL Developer needed
by Plank
Plank is actively looking to add to our Montreal-based team. Whether you're completely self-taught or have multiple degrees in Computer Science, we're only concerned that you have the skills needed to perform the job. We need someone who can complement our programming team and is interested in working on exciting Web projects, generally in the fields of entertainment, technology and social action.
Your tasks will include:
1. Development of website back-ends and interesting Web applications;
2. Building on and managing our existing code base.
Our Expectations
We’re looking for someone fun! But seriously, you should have the following:
1. 3+ years of related experience;
2. Strong background in PHP 4/5;
3. Strong background in MySQL;
4. Experience in AJAX, DHTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, XML, Rails will be an asset;
5. Knowledge of other development environments an asset;
6. Willingness to work locally in our Montreal office.
We are a close-knit company that continues to grow, and we need your skills. We want you to be part of our team for a long time to come. We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, normal business hours and a great work environment.
If you think you would like to be part of the Plank team, please email your CV and cover letter to warren@plankdesign.com. If you would like to learn more about us, please surf around our site.
We hope you’ll join us.
UPDATE - thanks to all those who have applied, but this position has been filled.
July 16, 2007
Michael Moore knows what he's doing
by Allen
We don't normally trumpet our clients around here, we let their work speak for itself. But when a venerable, respected magazine like Variety claims that one of our clients is the best at something, and that something is internet marketing, we figured we should at least point it out.
From Variety:
"No one has mastered the art of Internet marketing more than Michael Moore, who has ceaselessly alerted those on his lists to every media appearance for his healthcare call to action, "Sicko." (He claims his emails reach some 5 million people.) The week before the movie opened, in a video posted on his YouTube page, Moore asked visitors to post their own health horror stories; he plans to send a DVD compilation to Congress. One man, Clayton Redfield from Flint, Michigan, Moore's home town, responded with a report about Cigna not paying $66,000 in medical costs. Suddenly, the insurer told him that he owed only a $500 co-pay. "Michael Moore, you saved my home," he told a local TV interviewer.
If you missed Moore on Larry King Live, the Huffington Post or blasting Wolf Blitzer live on CNN's "The Situation Room," you'll find clips of Moore's myriad TV appearances on YouTube posted by his own team under the member name "mmflint." When Moore disparaged CNN's coverage of "Sicko," he told Blitzer: "I'm going to put the real facts up on my website. People can go to my website and find out the facts about (CNN medical correspondent) Sanjya Gupta."
Crazy like a Fox. The day after the Blitz, Moore's web stats for July 10th, 2007 alone posted more than 800,000 page views, better than 320,000 visits and almost 300,000 absolute unique visitors. In the month from June 10 to July 10, when Moore was in the mainstream media in some form or another almost every day, MichaelMoore.com registered almost 5 million page views, more than 1.5 million visits and better than 1 million absolute unique visitors."
We don't take credit for his marketing skills. We'll just take a bit of the credit for giving him some of the tools that help him.
June 26, 2007
Fantasia Festival 2007 site is now live!
by Plank
The Fantasia Festival continues to grow year after year. It is now the best-attended film festival in Montreal. From the little Festival that could, it has gone big time. And Plank has been right there with them.
Plank has developed every Fantasia site since 2003. Working from the common program and poster artwork, Plank develops designs that share the look and feel of the other Festival materials, to ensure consistent branding.
There are very few festival sites on the Web that are used as much as the Festival site. Festival-goers use it to plan their trips before the Festival starts, and as a place for film info and showtimes once the Festival is up and running. But no matter how much traffic it gets, a Plank-built site can handle it!
So check it out. We'll see you again in 2008.
June 19, 2007
Welcome Nancy!
by Plank
We'll give Nancy Beaton the full Plank welcome blog post sooner or later (it only took me about 9 months to give Mitch his welcome ;)), but for now I just wanted to give her the semi-official, it's-published-on-the-internet-so-it's-real welcome.
Nancy has taken the office by storm with her good-natured spirit and willingness to do the production tasks that are part of any web company. She is undoubtedly the best junior production person we've ever had.
We know Nancy is a great photographer and as soon as we learn more about her, we'll give you the full bio she deserves. In the meantime, enjoy one of her many awesome photos, and welcome Nancy.
June 18, 2007
Plank needs a project manager
by Plank
Our company is growing so fast that our old workflow process no longer works and we need your help! Traditionally our executives have acted as project managers. But as our client list gets bigger and bigger, that is no longer possible. So we need you!
And thanks to our good friends at Standout Jobs, we even made our own little recruiting video. Check it out:
But we are not just looking for any old project manager. We need one to be the face of Plank. A friendly face. You are going to be our main client contact for several important clients. And at Plank we pride ourselves on our client service. You have to be able to be friendly, helpful, and supportive; and to be able to get things done. To us these are just as important, if not more so, as any technical knowledge or project management expertise.
We will list some qualifications for you, but in reality we are flexible. If you have an interesting background and that friendly face we are looking for, we will certainly consider an “alternative” C.V.
Qualifications
- 2+ years of project management experience, preferably in high