Ice Breaker
While those of us in Seattle are grumbling over a disappointing week of rainy weather leading up to Memorial Day weekend, residents in Alaska have been experiencing an unseasonably long winter. However, today it seems that spring is on its way, the ice is breaking.
For over 90 years the residents of Nenana, AK have taken bets on when the ice will break on the Tanana River. This has become known as the Nenana Ice Classic.
A “tripod”, which actually has four supports, is planted on the river ice between the highway and railroad bridges in Nenana, 300 feet from the shore. The tripod is connected to a clock which stops as the ice goes out, moving the tripod with it.
Every year beginning on February 1st individuals can pay $2.50 per chance to guess the exact time and date the Tanana River ice goes out. This year was the latest breakup in the 97-year history of the Ice Classic when the flow broke today at 2:41pm.
Kicking off Summer
For most Seattleites summer would not be complete without the summer celebration, Seafair.
“It’s Seattle’s traditional summer festival. A month-long, region-wide event, that brings an entire community together in celebration. For over 60 years Seafair has been about community events, parades, Miss Seafair, the Navy and Coast Guard, amateur athletics, airplanes and of course, boat racing. But most of all, Seafair has been about people and it continues to be.” -Seafair Website
ProMotion has been involved with Seafair community for many years. Not only is our CEO, Steve Crandall, a member of the Board of Directors but our video production division, ProMotion Arts, has been on-hand during Seafair weekend capturing the event. We are looking forward to another great summer and hope to see you all there!
Past Seafair Posts
A Viral Video
Why do things catch on? The author Jonah Berger outlines six reasons why things catch in his book Contagious. Viral Video
- Social Currency
- Triggers
- Emotions
- Public
- Practical Value
- Stories
These traits can apply to viral videos.
Think of a viral video that you have recently watched on YouTube or online. Chances are that you recommended that video to a friend, shared or liked it. Now, how many of these attributes did that video have?
Here’s an example: Embrace Life, created by Alexander Commercials was launched in 2011 and currently has over 16 million view on YouTube. While watching the video one notices that it has several of the traits listed above: Triggers, Social Currency, Emotions, Stories – it’s almost safe to say that it has all of them.
Even with this list, it remains a challenge to pinpoint exactly what makes a video launch into the viral universe. Thus, when beginning the process to create a video it is essential to outline what the true goal of the video is and who it’s trying to reach. With this clearly outlined the video has a true chance of success.
Structural Engineers Association of Washington
To mark the 50-year reunion of the World’s Fair in Seattle, The Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) wanted to capture the historic moments of engineering in preparing for the world’s fair. We utilized video to capture interviews with prominent engineers who discussed the engineering technology of the time and what it took to create the cityscape for the world’s fair. From these interviews and footage our team worked with SEAW to create a documentary that would accurately portray the building of Seattle for the wold’s fair. Last night, the documentary was debuted.
Neil and Drew in the booth right before showtime. Everything has been set and we are excited for SEAW to premier their documentary that has been in production since fall of 2012.
We are live!
Amazon and Accessibility
We are always interested in what other company’s are doing to increase accessibility. While browsing the Puget Sound Business Journal this morning we learned that Amazon announced new features for the Kindle reading app.
According to Dorothy Nicholls, vice president, Amazon Kindle, Amazon is “…excited to introduce these new features to our Kindle for iOS app, making it easier than ever for our blind and visually impaired customers to access the vast selection of over 1.8 million books in the Kindle Store on their iPhone or iPad.”
At ProMotion Holdings, our vision is that accessibility is a fundamental right. We are pleased that Amazon is working to increase accessibility for the benefit of their customer’s experience.
For more information on ProMotion Holdings accessibility solutions visit our website.
Seafair Mariners
Yesterday, Steve had the opportunity to tour the USS Alabama and the Trident Training Facility. Pictured here is Steve along with Seafair President and CEO Beth Knox and several other board members enjoying their visit! It was amazing to see the innovation and thinking that goes into the technology of our military equipment and resources.
Premier Realtime Flashback: April
This was our April Issue: Premier Realtime
The above photo is from a calendar that was created for our client’s back in 2009, “Men of Premier.” Each month had a great photo with a slight legal twist. We thought these photos were worth sharing so check back each month for our flashback posts.
Flashback: March
Flashback: February
Flashback: January
TechCon Presentation
This past weekend our CEO, Steve Crandall, presented at several sessions for the NCRA TechCon conference. TechCon brings together legal professionals from different segments of the industry. The event provides unique approaches to conference learning, tailored specifically for court reporters, legal videographers, and trial presenters.
The event was highly centered around technology and included over 20 legal tech labs over the weekend event. These sessions featured topics ranging from emerging trends and gadgets, mobile technology for the industry , and international depositions.
Steve’s Ignite session is featured below. The topic: Perfectionism The Task: 20 slides that auto advance for a 5minute presentation GO!
Earth Day
Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day. This day was first observed in 1970, and is recognized as the beginning of the modern environmental movement. During this period in our history the country was deeply involved in Vietnam. The American public was focused on the anti-war protests occurring nationwide, but under the radar was a growing awareness of environmental pollution.
The first ripple of public awareness for the environment became evident with the publication of Silent Spring in 1962. This New York Times Bestseller brought to light the watershed movement. It was purchased worldwide and over half a million copies were sold in the U.S. However, it wasn’t until 1969 with the tragedy of the Santa Barbra, CA oil spill for the wave of environmental outcry to manifest.
Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, recognized that the time for change was ripening. He was inspired by the energy that motivated the student anti-war movement. That energy, coupled with growing public awareness for pollution was the recipe necessary to put environmental protection in the forefront of the American political agenda.
Mr. Nelson was able to utilize his resources, and a national team was assembled with the task of organizing a rally on April 22nd, 1970. Thousands of Americans joined the cause and small groups that had been previously fighting for environmental change joined as the voice of the people was heard nationwide. This was the first Earth Day. It was a tremendous success, and a launching point for change in environmental practices.
Now, over 40 years later, the fight continues for a cleaner environment. Everyone can make a difference, how are you celebrating Earth Day?
To learn more about how we are making a positive contribution to our environment visit Environmental Sustainability
Tablets and Business
Tablets are taking over. With their sleek design businesses are moving away from large cash registers and paper transactions.
This trend can be seen in many places around Seattle. A Kirkland-based company, Viableware, had developed a new payment system for restaurants. The “RAIL” system can be used in place of the bill folder that is given to customers. It is a small electronic device with an encrypted credit card reader that can split the total, calculate tip, and even email the receipt to themselves. There is also an option to pay cash.
The devise is currently being used in several Seattle restaurants including Bar Cotto and Rione XIII. It has also been rolled out in several chains including P.F. Chang’s and Restaurants Unlimited. Not only is the gadget appealing consumers but it its believed that the devise will save time for both servers and customer.
Cash registers are also getting a makeover. iPads have become a substitute for the traditional cash registers and are being incorporated into the store’s design. 
Designers are using creative materials for iPad enclosures that make it easy for the register to swivel around to customers or even be removed from the counter so that the sales associate can be more mobile.
Seattle based Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream have incorporated the iPad-based cash register at their store int the Capital Hill neighborhood. They have six Apple iPads that sit on handcrafted plywood pedestals engraved with the store’s logo. No longer is a bulky cash register between the customer and associate, it makes the experience just a little more seamless.