Acro.net – Technology Rants & Raves by Acroplex®

You don’t have to be a walking advertisement in order to be able to plant the seed for business deals everywhere you go.

All you need is a small stack of quality-made business cards that you carry with you.

You go to the mall for coffee and window shopping? Take the business cards with you.

Attending a wedding or visiting your dentist? Take the stack of your biz cards along.

You never know when the opportunity will knock, but here’s an example.

Yesterday I was at Best Buy and while I waited my turn for the employee to finish with another customer, that customer saw me waiting and she commented on my patience.

Little did she know that I was getting ready to leave. But I seized the opportunity and joined the discussion; she was on a quest for a new laptop.

While I focused on giving her computer advice – and essentially, helping out the Best Buy employee who seemed a little worn out by all this - I was able to ask questions about her interests, type of work and subtly pitch my web & graphics development services.

Being a Texan, she flat out asked for my business card, which I gladly produced from my wallet.

So there you go. Print some quality business cards – I recommend 4by6.com – and go out as usual; you never know what will happen that will benefit your business.

When it comes down to changing the corporate image that millions of people are familiar with, a simple change can make or break your brand.

In October, GAP witnessed some serious backlash when their attempt to simplify their logo faced an epic fail.

In the domaining world, Oversee and Moniker debranded themselves and gained new logos that lack character and are not memorable at all.

As of today, coffee giant Starbucks sports a new logo that drops the circle and the name of the brand.

Now that’s some weak java, in my opinion.

Yes, the new logo is larger – which is always better. But the beautifully crafted siren with long hair covering her bosom became too abstract all of a sudden. Incidentally, the original design was apparently lifted from a 15th century book engraving.

The round ring with the words “Starbucks Coffee” is gone. The star-studded siren is now green and in too much solitude.

Unfortunately for Starbucks, their logo isn’t of the Nike caliber!

The Nike swoosh is recognized by billions of people around the world. While a lot of people drink coffee, once the related insignia are removed the green siren becomes just another clipart design – albeit, a beautifully designed one.

The bottom line: a logo that is too abstract must be chosen carefully – even if the company behind it is a giant like Starbucks.