News & Views

Avoid Capital Letters in Email Addresses

Using capital letters in email addresses is something I've noticed people doing for a few years now. But it's not a trend that you should consider following since I've seen some of the problems this creates first hand.

For the most part, people aren't concerned with the difference between john.doe@example.com and John.Doe@Example.com for example, but there are some systems and software where that difference is like night and day.

How to Find a Folder in Microsoft Outlook

Recently one of us misplaced a folder in Microsoft Outlook. Messages in that folder could still be found when using Outlook’s search, however we had no idea where the folder had been moved to. We found a way to find the folder though...

Case Study - Eyeclectic Eyewear

The word eclectic is an adverb which essentially means building your ideas from the best of different sources.  Check out how we made sure that philosophy persisted throughout the redesign of eyeclectic.ca in our Eyeclectic Eyewear case study.

Why We Use Bazaar for Version Control / SCM

At Media Dog, we handle some large, high profile, high traffic websites that require many changes. Read about how we integrated source control using Bazaar into our daily workflow.

Case Study - Woody's RV World

Well, you've begged, you've pleaded, you've shouted from the mountain tops, "We MUST know what makes Woody's RV World tick! Online at least. Please we're begging you! The fantastic RV Showcase, the incredible product manager! Throw us a bone here!"

Wait, that wasn't you? I've been dreaming you say? Well, my dreams are about to come true because we've whipped up quite the case study. Follow me as we explore all the nooks and crannies of woodysrv.com, just another one of the latest websites Media Dog has proudly launched over the last few months.

Cufon Javascript Error - "Attribute only valid on v:image"

After having used Flash based text for the web for a couple of years, I stumbled upon a great script which makes implementing raster, rich typography on the web painless and very customizable. The script Cufón is one of my new favourites...

jQuery Superfish Menu Styling

I recently had the opportunity to get my hands dirty with the jQuery based menu - Superfish. If you're not familiar with the menu system, its definitely worth checking out. See either the jQuery plugin page, or the author's website. Why did I choose to test out this nav system? It's free, lightweight (4KB), built by an unordered list - which can help out for SEO purposes, jQuery based, and it works well across many browsers - yes, even IE6.

A Shift From the Address Bar to the Search Box

Before my days at Media Dog, I spent a few years working in Japan, and during my time there I noticed an interesting trend among subway print ads and tv commercials. In a space normally reserved for the companies url, the ads would instead have a mock up of a search box with some keywords. An interesting approach to promote the website and one which I feel speaks much more naturally to a web users browsing habits.

Keyword Research and Space

A mantra often repeated in SEO is that if a keyword is searched for a lot and is not difficult to rank for, then it's a winner.  It's a great generalization to factor into your decisions, but not nearly enough.  Here we share some examples of how to dig deeper in your keyword research efforts.

SWFAddress and Flash

If you're unfamiliar with SWFAddress, its a great library that give you the ability to have unique URLs for every "page" in a flash website or application that can change on the fly, without a page reload. SWFAddress also allows for page bookmarking, browser history, and assists you in utilizing the browser's back and forward buttons within a flash (AS2 & 3) application ....