Written by Mihai Dragan on Friday, January 30th, 2009 ( One response )
Tags: interactive, teaser, trailer
We are getting ready to launch something reallinteresting. Stay tuned and meanwhile – watch the trailer.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 ( One response )
Tags: choices, fun, work
I was asked today if I like what I’m doing. I said yes. I love it. I have been doing it for the last 7 years and I see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Of course, not in the same way.
I find the Internet and everything related to it amazing. I consider it a technology that will change the world just as much language itself has. I am glad to be a part of this change.
But doing what you like is not always easy. When I started I was paid so little that my friends thought I was crazy. I was happy, though. I had the chance to do what I loved and also got paid for it.
Regarding my jobs – I always left for a smaller pay. Why? It’s simple. I wasn’t looking for money, fame or others such. I was looking for a dream. I found it in the agency I currently work in and the people working here with me. We’re building the best Interactive Agency in the world.
Dreams, however, especially the ones hard to achieve seem to have some “bugs”. They give you a hard time. They push you. They make you work harder, stress more, play less. They are meant to be hard.
But at the end of the day you realize you’re special. You’re special because you are one of the few that can still go on when times get tough. My Tae Kwon Do teacher (I did this for quite some years) always said that if you can easily walk after a training, you haven’t worked hard enough.
You’re feeling stressed? You feel like it’s too much? You think that maybe you’re not meant for the thing you’re doing? You wanna quit and do something else? This is where you make a choice. Either quit and be just like most people – always in search for the nice and easy – or try harder, hang in there and be the 1 percent everyone admires.
If you think that the law of gravity was invented by Newton when an apple fell on his head you are dead wrong. It took him over 20 years of continuous studies to get to that.
Nothing great comes easy.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: beta, connection, linkedin, new features
I have just received an invitations to test the new LinkedIn Connections beta. As the email states you can:
I gave it a go and it seems to work great. I find it easier to find specific groups, based on my previous relationship with these people, create new groups with tags, search easy and mass message (this might be a small issue as it might help spam).
Written by Mihai Dragan on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 ( 4 responses )
Tags: interactive agency, purpose, services
I am the first to admit there is a lot to discover regarding “interactive”. Right now we are doing something that pushes the boundaries farther and it is something I wouldn’t have thought of a few weeks ago.
However I am aware of some basic things all agencies should do:
I’ve noticed a strange feeling towards the idea of serving a client. But let’s make one thing clear: the agency does not exist without the client. The agency is a service provider and should take full responsibility and pride in this. It can’t evolve if it doesn’t.
The client does not need to understand the agency. The agency needs to understand the client. I have rarely met people that are really interested in the technologies we use, the colors we mix, the way we come up with ideas and others. It’s tough but hey – I’ve got over it.
However – all the clients want you to understand them. I find this absolutely reasonable. How can you market a brand you don’t understand or reach objectives you do not know?
… which brings us to
Weather we’re talking about sales, brand awareness, leads, crisis management your job is to make sure you reach the objectives you have been commissioned to. Sometimes you’ll like it. Sometimes you won’t. This industry is not just sugar and spice. Someone’s gotta do it.
And do it well…
Repeating several online marketing and advertising techniques makes you good at it but good is not enough.
Try to find out more. Find out new ways of doing things. Better ways. Faster ways. Smarter ways.
An interactive agency is powered by technology and fueled by creativity. We as an industry should tell the world there is a better way: our way. We can provide better results in less time to more people. The world should know it.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Friday, January 16th, 2009 ( 4 responses )
Tags: Interactive Advertising, linkedin, research, social media, survey
Using LinkedIn’s new Polls Application I started a survey regarding the Interactive Agency. Here it is. I would be thankful if you would help me with your voted opinion.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Friday, January 9th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: book review, branding, differentiate, Marketing, marty neumeier, the brand gap, zag
“Zag” is probably the book with the best title of the decade. Why? Because it says it all. You don’t need to read the book. Just the title.
I would like to say that Marty Neumeier is a great author (I loved The Brand Gap) but Zag is a book that should not have been written and sold. It’s a pity they had to cut down all these trees so people can read 192 pages of … nothing.
Instead of reading it, here’s the summary: “Differentiate from your competitors”. Doh!
Written by Mihai Dragan on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 ( 4 responses )
Tags: business network, ikonect.ro, launch, online applications, social network
iKonect.ro is a Business Social Network we’ve launched the service yesterday, in Exclusive Beta (we invited only 99 people to the network).
Right now it features personal profiles, groups, photo albums (we have a neat multiple uploader), contacts, reviews and recommendations, likes and dislikes, professional background and many other features.
The users can interact through personal messages, personal relationships, reviews, a public/friends only discussion list and etc.
The innovation comes from focusing on the companies and people in companies. What started as a social network will develop to be a freemium based service, powered by social media and professional – oriented services.
We plan to reach 100 000 users (quite a lot for the Romanian market) by the end of the year.
We developed this application for Rockmedia, one of the most inovative online media companies in Romania.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: list, time, top 10, viral, viral videos
Time gathered the top 10 viral videos in this list.
First place goes to Matt Harding, the game developer that quit his job to go dancing around the world. Legend has it that his dance powered journey started in Hanoi, but he ended up visiting 42 countries.
Written by Mihai Dragan on Monday, January 5th, 2009 ( One response )
Tags: agency, colleagues, future, interactive, new year, offices, team
2009. After an year of hard work I can say I am amazed of what we, at MB Dragan, have accomplished.
We have launched a lot of great projects, effective campaigns, beautiful and usable websites, some mobile applications, we’ve launched a new mobile marketing division and many others.
We have kept our promise to our old clients and gained new ones.
Our team grew 5 times.
We moved in a new, bigger and nicer office.
Our income grew 10 times.
We opened new offices.
We had fun.
We discovered.
We got angry and joyful.
The most important thing, however, is that we’ve met each other. I am glad to have met you guys. I thank you for all your hard work and all the things you have done this year.
Thank you, in no particular order, Razvan, Irina, Alex, Alina, Andrei, Andreea, Victor, Catalin, Spio, Alin, Tudor, Sorin, Daniel, Anca, Adrian, Cristina, Octav, Gabi, Iulian, Irina for your efforts.
Many thanks to our clients who trusted with their brands and businesses.
Last but not least, thanks to all those reading our blog posts, our twitts, reading our press releases, using the sites we’ve launched, playing the games we launch, interacting with our work.
Let 2009 begin 
