Brizzly is a popular third-party Twitter & Facebook interface, built by Thing Labs, that launched in 2009. We caught up with them at the recent Chirp Twitter conference in San Francisco and demoed our Webcam Snapper application - which they loved! (a demo of the Snapper in our Twitbooth website is in the video above)

So without further ado they bought the widget and integrated it straight into Brizzly. So far it has proved to be a hit with the users as well.

This is the second large platform we have integrated Snapper with after White Label Dating in Autumn 2009. We are also talking to the major Twitter photo sharing websites as well so stay posted for more updates soon!

We have just launched a lightweight mobile and smart phone friendly version of our website.

codegent.com/mobile

This is a classic WAP style site that has been designed to work across the broadest range of mobile devices that still dominate the marketplace. Our focus here has been on keeping the code limited and easy to navigate with minimal images to download.

codegent.com/iphone

We have also produced a sexier version that is optimised for the iPhone or any Smartphone running Android (such as the new Nexus) that leverages Webkit and CSS3. Check out the funky finger swiping scroll on our about page and portfolio and if you ever need to find us on your way to a meeting fear not, its all integrated with Google Maps at the touch of a button.

Just go to www.codegent.com on your device and we will automatically take you to the most applicable site.

"Build software for yourself

A great way to build software is to start out by solving your own problems. You'll be the target audience and you'll know what's important and what's not. That gives you a great head start on delivering a breakout product.” Excerpt from Getting Real by 37 Signals

It’s not exactly a tough concept to get your head around but the best businesses are usually born from a problem rather than a brainstorm on “What the World needs now” (is love sweet love?)

At Codegent we have worked with a lot of start-up companies and without fail their first task is to setup email services (we use Google Apps like everyone with a sane mind should), a holding webpage with sign-up form, Blog, Twitter account, Facebook page etc. so that the client can start pimping their hot new idea. Gary Vaynerchuk discusses the need for this in his fantastic book Crush It! 

Recently I had done this work for Tepilo & BIMA and I was moaning to Luke, our technical director, that it takes me ages to do, is a bit fiddly and that surely there should be a faster way of doing it? With all the DNS tweaks, server config & testing it can easily be a day and a half before we are all sorted.

Fast forward a few 4am-ers later and Luke invented DASH – Steamlined Online Business Setup.

What is DASH then?

DASH is a Web Application that facilitates the registration, setup and integration of all the online services you would typically want when launching a new venture. Of course you can choose to use as much or as little of it as you want – one size certainly does not fit all. The process ends with the generation of a basic but fully integrated website (Gallery powered by Flickr, Videos courtesy of YouTube, Subscriptions via Mail Chimp etc.) that you can content manage and manipulate as much as you like.

How long does it take? 10 minutes

Cost? $90

Here is a handy list of (some) initial features in DASH

• Domain Registration (or configuration of existing domain)
• Google Apps Core Services – Email, Calendar, Docs
• Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Rich Media – Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo
• Content Managed Website & Blog – Wordpress, Tumblr, Posterous
• Email Subscription & Mailshots – Mail Chimp, Camapaign Monitor
• Monitoring & Optimisation – Google Analytics, Alerts, Twilert, Feedburner

I could go on telling you about storage, backup, surveys, e-commerce, event management, accounting… but I hope you get the picture.

If you want to be one of the first users to use DASH (we will be giving away some free accounts) then please sign up on getdash.com. I will be launching the product as part of the Digital Mission to SXSWi in Texas this March. Email me if you want to hook up for a coffee, chat and sneak preview.

“When you solve your own problem, you create a tool that you're passionate about. And passion is key. Passion means you'll truly use it and care about it. And that's the best way to get others to feel passionate about it too.” (another one from Getting Real by 37 Signals)

A great effort all round on Movember. Some were a bit more whispy than others but the Mo's on display were certainly distinguished in every way. The blocked plughole in the bathroom sink on 1st December was probably a welcome sight to some of the participant's partners though!

David has sold my beloved fruit machine on e-bay for £10.50 "to make more room in the office" for our new joiners, he might have a point. But! Matt and I nearly killed ourselves carrying that thing up the stairs! And in doing so we bonded with 'fruity' in a special way.

So with a heavy heart I turn to the words of others to express my feelings on this impromptu break-up :(

"And although we might say that we're alright,
it's clear that we've stepped out of time.
There's something quite telling just there at the edge of your smile.

And its not that a heart has been broken.
It's just sad when the flames start to freeze.
And the sparks that we had can no longer light up our debris.

It's just part of us all growing older.
Facing things that we don't want to see.
Like a heart is a thing ever changing.
And love, is a thing that will come and go with the breeze."

'Debris' available for purchase here

Someone described us as a “boutique agency” the other day. I’m not sure I’m 100% happy with that description because boutique sounds like something that’s small and expensive. But the concept of working with a digital-only agency versus one that does a variety of marketing disciplines is one that people talk about a lot.

I’m going to be biased in favour of our own set-up, but my view is based on my own real experiences over many years. There are a few myths that are banded around about the benefits of one approach over the other. These are a few of them:

Going to a one-stop shop ensures joined-up thinking

I’m not saying this is the case for every agency, but what I have observed is that each agency within a so-called  'integrated' group will have its own P&L and its own interest in not sharing the love around. If one part has a budget for the year from one of their clients, they are really loathed to give it away to anyone, even if they are all part of the same group. Your DM agency is unlikely to recommend that this year you divert a larger part of your marketing budget to digital – because it will reflect badly on their own business unit’s P&L.  How do you think the excuse that you missed your targets this year is because you were bolstering the Group elsewhere going to go down?

Bigger is better

Imagine, all those experienced directors from all those marketing disciplines all thinking about my business? Er... no. I worked for a large agency where everyone tended to operate in silos. OK they were big and some of the people there were bright, but the client might have one person fresh out of University really thinking about their business. He or she may get a share of a designer and a developer, but again, experience and expertise was a real lottery. Unless you had a lot of money to spend. But please don’t ever think that in a large agency the CEO sits down on a Monday and applies his or her enormous brain to each and every one of the campaigns going out that week.

Multi-disciplined means multi-expertise

Again, not always so. A lot of agencies will offer digital because they see an opportunity to cross-sell to their existing clients. I’m talking here more of agencies whose real expertise lies in something else. This may work for a bit of an HTML newsletter here or there, or a flash microsite, but ask them about database-driven content or video delivery and watch them reach for the “I’ll get back to you on that one” excuse.  I tend to think of it like asking your plumber to build you a shelving unit. Yeah – it all kind of falls under the same broad umbrella, but really wouldn’t it be better to get a carpenter to do that?

So, if being a boutique means that we are digital specialists, that we are small enough that the senior people are able to really care about each and every one of our clients, then I guess we are that. And if a boutique means that we have some soul and passion, where the department stores recycle the same old shit just to make the figures work, then I’m happy to be a boutique agency every day of the week.