Create Matter Blog

Oh, What A Night!

Last night we opened the doors to our new office in Midtown Alley for the St. Louis Creative Industry. We had a great turnout of some of the most talented designers, writers, developers, architects, illustrators, photographers, and creative firm owners in the city.

It’s a real pleasure to be a part of the creative community in St. Louis, and the Midtown Alley neighborhood. Thank you all for coming!

And thanks to Midtown Alley’s own Urban Chestnut for great beer, The Composing Room for printing our Window Clings, and to everyone who brought donations for St. Louis Food Outreach.

P.S. We had so much fun hanging out with everybody, we forgot to take a lot of pictures. So instead we had our Project Manager, Mike Roberts, sketch the event as he remembers. Enjoy!

Update: This just in… Dasha Schultz, from the awesome fstopgear.com, saves the day by sharing her wonderful photos of our Open House with us. Thanks Dasha!

Atomicdust Named Among Best Marketing Firms in St. Louis

This month, Atomicdust was named one of the “Best Marketing Firms in St. Louis” by St. Louis Small Business Monthly.

Not only is it humbling to be recognized next to so many other companies we respect and admire, but more than that, it’s voted on by readers of the magazine. Well, the people have spoken. And they like us! They really like us.

Atomicdust was selected among more than 200 nominations, and just 25 companies made the final list. You can find the entire list of winning companies in the November issue of St. Louis Small Business Monthly, or online at SBMon.com.  

You Asked For It! November Wallpapers from Atomicdust

So... We didn’t plan on posting a new set of wallpapers this month. We’ve been busier than usual with the move to the new office and we honestly thought, ‘Hey, they won’t mind if we skip this month.’

Boy, were we wrong.

You guys emailed us, instant messaged us, tweeted us and posted on our Facebook page. You begged to know when you’d be able to download the new designs. You told us that (though you loved them originally) you were sick of looking at your October background.

So, these wallpapers are for you - Our loyal (and yet, somewhat demanding) fans. You know who you are.

Thanks for keeping us on the ball.
 

New Faces, New Places for Atomicdust

There’s a whole lot of moving going on at Atomicdust, and we’re not just talking about our shiny new location on Locust Street. We’ve also added three new faces: one to make things move, one to keep things moving, and one to move social conversations along.

Show Me The Blog 2012: Tweetable Takeaways

Last Saturday, I got the chance to speak on behalf of St. Louis Women in Media at the 2nd Annual Show Me the Blog Conference. The conference was created by local blogger Danyelle Little (aka The Cubicle Chick) for social media and blogging enthusiasts in the Midwest to network and to share resources and best practices.

Josh Kocurek and I moderated a candid ‘He Said / She Said’ discussion on gender in blogging and social media. Does it make a difference in the way we write? Does it affect what blogs we read or which people we follow? Read more about the conference and see tweetable takeaways from the presentation. 

Join Us on Thursday for the AIGA Annual Meeting

This Thursday, creative minds from all over St. Louis will meet at the Centene Center for the Arts for AIGA St. Louis' Annual Meeting. The event celebrates the best in St. Louis design and honors local creatives that have contributed to our culture. It will include print demos by Work/Play and a presentation on design strategy from Rochelle Seltzer. Best of all, the event is free for members and students, and just $10.80 for non-members. 

QR Codes in Real Life

As a marketer, I know quite a bit about QR codes. I mean, it’s my job to know about the latest marketing trends. But what about everyone else who doesn’t work in marketing? What do they think?

I never really thought much about it until a couple months ago when I was having lunch with some friends. There was a table tent sitting in front of us and it had a QR code on it. One of my friends picked it up and asked everyone what it was. I, of course, knew, but thought it would be interesting to just sit back and see what they had to say. This was better than a focus group. This was an honest, unbiased conversation about one of the biggest trends in marketing right now.  Read more about QR codes in the real world.

Our Newest Addition

It's a boy!! We're excited to announce and welcome a new baby to the Atomicdust family. Weighing in at a healthy 8lbs 4oz, little Jacob William McGowan was born last week to proud parents, Jesse and Carrie. A big congratulations to the happy couple – and to new big brother, Miller! 

October Wallpapers from Atomicdust

Can you believe it's been a full year since we brought you our first set of monthly wallpaper designs? It all started as a way to showcase our stellar design team, and this month is no exception. 

What Do Facebook’s Changes Mean for My Business?

By now, you’ve probably seen or at least heard of the new Facebook Timeline and the other changes coming that were announced last week at their annual f8 Developers Conference. Heck, you may even have already signed up for the new profile layout.

We’ve all seen what happens when Facebook makes changes. People take to their statuses, blogs and Twitter feeds freaking out, complaining about the changes and vowing to quit. 

This? This is my Facebook freak-out post. 

No, I’m not going to go on a rant about how I hate the new ticker or that Facebook is encouraging stalking or that they are violating my privacy. In fact, I don’t really mind the new features. My question is, what does this mean for all the Pages I’ve created? What does this mean for businesses on Facebook? Read more about Facebook's changes and what they mean for your business.