Google, the constantly growing, multi-million dollar company, has yet again wowed the world. Since the creation of their famous search engine, they have been putting out amazing products, such as Gmail and Google Earth, by the dozens. Their latest and greatest product is called the Google Glass, or Project Glass.

If you’re wondering what Google Glass is, you’re not alone. Simply put, Google Glass is a set of glasses that have a small computer built in so that you can “Record what you see. Hands-free. Even share what you see. Live.” Google says.

By Antonio Zugaldia (http://www.flickr.com/photos/azugaldia/7457645618) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The biggest and most prominent issues with the glasses are privacy and safety. Businesses in Las Vegas have already begun banning them due to the privacy of their guests.

"As personal technology becomes increasingly nimble and invisible, Glass is prompting questions of whether it will distract drivers, upend relationships and strip people of what little privacy they still have in public.

A pair of lens-less frames with a tiny computer attached to the right earpiece, Glass is promoted by Google as “seamless and empowering.” It will have the ability to capture any chance encounter, from a celebrity sighting to a grumpy salesclerk, and broadcast it to millions in seconds. “We are all now going to be both the paparazzi and the paparazzi’s target,” said Karen L. Stevenson, a lawyer with Buchalter Nemer in Los Angeles."

If you're still unclear as to what the Google Glass does, check out this video. It demos some of the basic and advanced features offered by the glasses.

I love the growth of technology but I'm afraid these glasses might cause more harm than good. What do you think? Join in the discussion and comment below.

Hi! My name is Austin Bollinger and I’m the newest member to the Element 74 team. I started the new year like most people, new goals, new resolutions but I also started with a new job as a Project Manager. At the end of 2012 I had no idea 2013 would be bringing so many fantastic changes right off the bat.

For those of you who don’t already know, Project Managers are responsible for many things at Element 74. We are the liaisons between the clients, designers and developers. I have a diverse background of skills that I’ve picked over the years but I never expected a job to require all of them at the same time.

I attended Southeast Missouri State University with the intention of becoming a graphic designer but graduated in 2010 with a passion for video editing. That led me to work at Creative Edge in Jackson, Missouri where I learned an incredible amount about video production.

It was in 2011 that graphic design would come knocking on my door again. A spot had opened up at the university in the department of Extended and Continuing Education. It was an offer that I simply couldn’t pass up. I started working there and instantly had to start digging through the cobwebs for all of my old graphic design knowledge. I was surprised to see it all come back so quickly and like Creative Edge, the on-the-job training taught me a ton.

In 2012 I started Videogize, LLC, a local video production business with the goal of helping small businesses obtain an online video presence. I continued working at the university and produced video on the side. It was while working on video that I came to know so many great people in and around Cape Girardeau.

Enter Element 74 stage left. Chris Edmonds heard about me through a recent client of mine and gave me a call.

After a long and competitive interview process I now sit here typing this story. I am very thankful for my new position and am extremely excited to put my skills to work for all of our fantastic clients, both old and new.

I’ve stopped accepting new clients with Videogize, but we plan to jump start a video production unit here at Element 74 in the future. So if you need to update your current site, build a new site or add a video or any creative graphics to your online presence, give us a call. We would be glad to sit down with a cup of coffee and talk about your goals.

If there’s anything I can do for you, please shoot me an email or give me a call; austin@element74.com or (573) 332-7474 ext. 286.

We're all very proud to announce that our leader and company president, Chris Edmonds was honored on Friday with the Friend of the Arts Award. This is a high honor given by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri to an individual who has made a significant impact on the organization over the past year.

Chris very graciously donated the development of a new website for the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. The Arts Council came to Chris in need of a new website last year, and after learning about how the updated site could benefit the Arts Council he decided to donate the work and site. You can view the fruits of this labor at www.capearts.org.

We're so proud that Chris is the 2012 Friend of the Arts! You can read more about the award, and Chris' contributions to our community in a nice write-up published yesterday in the Southeast Missourian. Click here to be re-directed to the article.

And congrats once again to Chris!

It's time for another exciting giveaway from Element 74!

This time, we're asking you to reach deep inside your creative brains and come up with a way to effectively use the Utili-Key.

"What in the world is a Utili-Key," you ask? Well, let me tell you!

•Self-locking to any key ring
•Snaps at 90 degrees or fully extended for choice of functions
•Semi-serrated knife blade
•Micro Flat or Phillips screwdriver
•Eyeglass screwdriver
•Bottle opener
•Lifetime warranty
•Size: 2 3/4" x 3/4" x 1/8"
•Weight: .5 oz.
•420 solid stainless steel

This unassuming little gem of stainless steel is a 6 in 1 tool that can help you conquer many a task with ease. I can think of a ton of uses, but I won't tell you any. Why? Because that's the root of the contest, friends!

We want you to come up with a way to use the Utili-Key in a practical application, and post that as a comment on our Facebook post. We'll take everyone who posts and enter their names in a drawing, and one will win their very own Utili-Key!

And we're no strangers to it's many uses. Our very own Tim Bleichroth carries one on his keys. And he's a paramedic, folks. Take note.

So hit the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/element74web) and post your comment on our picture. It's that easy!

Thanks for visiting; keep that Great Thinking going!

Want to help people find your business? Embedding a Google Map on your website is quick and painless. Just follow the steps below.

Creating Your Custom Map:

1. Go to maps.google.com. 
2. Sign in to Google. If you don't have an account you can sign up here.
3. On the left hand side of your screen click on My places.
4. Click on Create Map. Give your map a Title and Description, and make sure to leave your map listed as Public. I'm going to title my map Element 74 Headquarters and give it a description of Birthplace of Great Thinking Websites.
5. Up in the search bar type the Address of the place that you want to add to the map and then press Search.





6. On the left hand side of the search in the description area cilck Save to map and then choose the map you wish to save this address to from the drop down.





7. Click My places to go back to your maps, and select the map you just created.
8. Click on the hyperlink chain and then copy the code under Paste HTML to embed in website.
9. Now, if you don't like the way your map looks you have some custom options. I think ours is zoomed in too close, so I am going to click on Customize and preview embedded map. A new window pops up where I have the ability to change the size of the map, positioning and zoom level. I just want to zoom out some more on this map, so I zoom out until I am happy with the view. And then I copy the code from the box beneath Copy and paste this HTML to embed in your website.





10. So if you were happy with your map in step 8 you could have skipped step 9. Either way you will need the HTML code from either step 8 or step 9 on your clipboard for the next process of embedding the map on your website.

Embedding Your Map Using EasyPost:

1. Login to your EasyPost
2. Click on Site Editor and click Edit on the page that you want to add the Google map to.
3. Click on HTML to go to the html view of the page.
4. Paste your code where you want the map to appear. I placed mine beneath the title of the page and the description of the page.*
5. Flip back to the Design view and viola! You should now see your Google map.
6. Click Update to save the page.

*Note - If you're adding the map in the middle of content, make sure to add the map code before or after other strings of code.

At its core concept, Pinterest is an online version of the good old fashioned dream board in which woman reads magazine, woman cuts out outfits and projects she wants to try and then tacks the clippings to a bulletin board.

So imagine the World Wide Web is your magazine and Pinterest is your dream board.

But wait, Pinterest is so much more because:

1. You can have as many boards as you want and categorize them for different interests.
   • Style
   • Hair
   • Recipes
   • DIY Projects
   • Quotes
   • Etc. 
2. You can search pins from other users for inspiration, and if you really like them you can re-pin them onto one of your own boards for safe keeping.
3. You can follow your favorite pinners to see their pins on your feed when you log in.

How do you pin?

1. You can Pin images directly from websites.
2. You can re-pin other users' pins.
3. Or you can actually upload your own images as pins. 

With the first two options the url that the pin came from is attached to the image and therefore allows users to follow the image to it's original location online for any supplemental reading which is always necessary for DIY projects and Recipes.

Pinterest for Business

Now that you have a basic understanding of Pinterest it's time to get creative and think of ways that you can take advantage of this tool for your business! Here's a great infographic, Pinterest for Business, that should get you thinking in the right direction. Basically if you want to sell something to women -- Pinterest is something you should consider embracing.

In the coming weeks I'll be asking several ladies how they use Pinterest and why they love it. (And a couple of men if I can hunt any down!) So stay tuned! 

You can follow Element 74's Pinterest boards at www.pinterest.com/element74. And you can peruse my personal Pinterest board at www.pinterest.com/tonieftink.

Feel free to share your Pinterest url in the comments below!

Undoubtedly you receive many emails from Paypal, Ebay, your credit card company, or your bank. Usually they are privacy or policy update notifications. Sometimes they may wish to alert you to a new feature or service that they are offering. There is certainly nothing wrong with these types of emails, but you have to be cautious AS SOON as any of these are asking for your personal information.

Often they will claim that your account will be suspended if you don't log in and re-provide your password, date of birth, or social security number. Please stop and think when you receive an email like this. Why would the financial institution that you have an account with not already have this information? 

A simple rule to follow is never click any links in any emails that request any sensitive information from you. The links may appear to go to www.paypal.com, but are really going to another site that is just pretending to be Paypal. Instead of following these links if you open your web browser manually and just type in https://www.paypal.com you can be assured you are actually going to their site. Please note the https. The https protocol means the site is secure and they will not be able to easily pretend to be something they are not. If you ever question whether an email is legitimate or not please never reply to it or follow its instructions. Call your financial institution and they can tell you if they sent that email.

One other type of email you may receive is from companies claiming that your domain name is about to expire. While this may actually be a real email, often it is a third party company trying to get you to move your domain registration to them. Please be cautious and keep receipts if you have registered your own domain name. Check to see that the email is coming from the same company, if it is not, contact the company you registered the domain name with to check the status of it.

If you elected to have Element 74 purchase and maintain your domain name then you need not worry. We will automatically renew your domain name and be sure you do not lose it.

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
- Unknown

We're excited to announce that we're giving away a mug that has this awesome quote on it.

If you'd like a chance to win just post your favorite inspirational quote on our Facebook Wall before 5:00 pm on Monday, June 18th. We'll draw for a winner of this Great Thinking mug on Tuesday, June 19th! Good-luck!

It's a well known tidbit that Great Thinkers from the past to present have kept journals, diaries, notebooks and more to collect and reflect.

"Thomas Edison kept a personal notebook which included poetry and personal observations amongst his engineering and scientific notes. In fact he kept 3500 of them."¹

To help you make the dive into journal keeping, we're giving away this totally fun & quizzical journal from Barnes & Noble. There's a question for each day of the year, and a space for a one sentence answer. Best of all it's a 5 year cycle, so you can see what your answers were during a 5 year span to the same question.

We've posted one of our favorite questions from the journal on our Facebook wall. Simply answer the question on our Facebook Post (make something up if you don't want to share personal details) and you'll be entered to win the Q&A a Day, 5 Year Journal. Contest will close Tuesday, June 5th at 5:00 p.m. CST, so make sure to get your answers in before then! We'll draw for a winner first thing on Wednesday, June 6th and announce the winner on Facebook.

For a Q & A quickie take a look at some of the questions included!

1. When was the last time you went swimming?²
2. What can't you forget?²
3. Today were you a wallflower or a social butterfly?²

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¹  http://www.goalsgonesocial.com/ggs2/forms/notetoself.php
² Q&A a Day, 5 Year Journal; Potter Style, Crown Publishing Group

One of our lead developers, Josh Fonseca, has some big news. He's trying out to play in the International Racquetball Federation World Championships.

Josh is originally from Bombay, India, and will try out for the Indian team on May 18th. The top 4 performers will go onto represent India in the IRF World Championships that will take place this August in the Dominican Republic.

Last December the Indian team held preliminary tryouts for the tournament, and Josh placed 4th. It was essentially a practice run, but if Josh performs at the same level he will seal a spot on Team India and will represent his home nation at this prestigious world tournament.

Josh first came to Cape Girardeau from India to study computer science at Southeast MO University in 1999. He got into Racquetball with a few of his buddies, and discovered he was pretty dang good! He loves the competitive edge the game offers, and says it's a great cardio workout.

We are beyond leaps & bounds proud of Josh (who's been with E74 for 8 years now - woot!), and we wish him the best of luck in the official tryouts on May 18th. We've always thought of our people as world class, and we may soon have the proof!

LET'S GO JOSH!!!