Connecting the Dots / An Agency Blog

Whenever one of the big tech co’s does something even remotely of interest, and even more often when it’s under the radar, the tech blogs light up with speculation and criticism instantly. Even when it’s as insubstantial as the Microsoft Bing.com team’s recent internal use of their new Binged.It URL shortener.

Microsoft seems far less
concerned with an extra
character in their URL
shortener, or even the
prospect of using a truly
short URL than they are
about building a solid and
recognizable brand around
the Bing product.

The service isn’t yet public, and for all we know, it may never be. But with URL shortening becoming commonplace and creating some interesting business opportunities – tracking audience interest for example – it would be surprising if the Google’s, YouTube’s, and Microsoft’s weren’t exploring the space with some level of interest.

Microsoft’s Binged.It URL shortener caught some heat recently on TechCrunch.com, with the blog and most of the commenters jumping all over the fact that Bing’s short URL (Binged.It – 8 characters) is longer than the service’s main URL (Bing.com – 7 characters). Fair point, considering a URL shortener should, er, shorten a URL, right?!

Continue…

The Engine team added some strategic muscle with new hire Lewis Zimmerman who brings to the agency a solid yet diverse skill set covering design, development, and start ups. As he puts it “I’m curious about Art, Technology and Economics. Politically, you’ll find me postmodern.”

Lewis will be filling a new hybrid role, covering both Strategic Planning and Development of interaction and functional applications, both web and mobile, including client work as well as internal platforms that the agency is currently developing for internal use and public release.

Lewis holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance with an elective concentration in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, where he graduated on the Dean’s List with Honours and a 4.15 GPA. Beyond technical planning and development, Lewis also has a long history with user interface design and user interaction.