BlackOut donated its services to promote a good cause, producing an invitation postcard for the Voluntary Action Center’s Run for the Roses at The Kentucky Derby event.

Run for the Roses will be held Saturday, May 3, at 3 p.m. at the Waverly Country Club, 903 South Abington Road, Clarks Summit, PA. Patrons get to take a chance on a real horse race, while supporting the causes administered by The Voluntary Action Center. The Voluntary Action Center is a non-profit umbrella organization that provides direct and indirect services to community organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Christmas Holiday Bureau and Free Information and Referral (FIRST – 24 hour Hot Line).

Admission price of $50 includes an authentic Derby Dinner, complete with mint juleps and open bar. Wear your Derby attire. For more information, contact VAC at 347-5616.

Jack Reager, MBA, President of BlackOut Design, Inc., was recently selected to receive the Award of Excellence in Creative Arts and Management from the Marywood University Alumni Association.

Reager, a Woodbridge, N.J., native, completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Marywood University, earning his undergraduate degree in Computer Information Systems and his MBA in Management Information Systems.

The Award of Excellence in Creative Arts and Management recognizes excellence in achievement in professional life, service to the local and national community and leadership qualities, serving as a role model for current and future students and alumni of Marywood.

Along with this most recent award, Reager is a member of the Workforce Investment Board for Lackawanna County.

Reager will be officially recognized during Marywood’s Reunion Weekend ’08 scheduled for May 16-18.

One Point, the 2006 Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year, took advantage of BlackOut Design’s services recently to generate a new website and optimize their position in the online marketplace.

Northeastern Pennsylvania’s leader in office supplies, printing and furniture with more than 100 years of experience, One Point needed a site that allowed customers and clients to shop quickly and easily through its catalog of products.

Through the BlackOut-designed site, One Point customers can keep their offices well-stocked and productive with just the click of a mouse.

Companies count on One Point to keep their offices working smoothly and One Point counts on BlackOut when bringing its reputation for exceptional quality, service and selection to the web.

BlackOut Design continued its commitment to fostering the cultural growth of the Greater Scranton area, producing a postcard to announce the latest exhibition at the Melberger Arts Center (MAC), 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton.

The exhibit of works by Erin Miele titled “Oil & Encaustic” begins April 4 and runs through May 9. Working with the MAC Gallery, BlackOut generated full-color postcards featuring striking examples of Miele’s art.

If you’d like to view the exhibit, the MAC Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Weekend hours are available by appointment. For more information, call 570-239-2459, 570-343-2300 ext. 0 or visit www.melbergerartscenter.com.

Hemmler & Camayd Architects came to BlackOut Design looking for a website design as unique, innovative and bold as their own approach to architecture.

The nationally recognized Hemmler & Camayd, out of Scranton, Pa., needed a website that reflected the breadth of services they offer and that showcased the award-winning work they produce.

With enhanced navigation and vivid photos of Hemmler & Camayd’s architectural designs, the BlackOut-generated site creates an immersive experience for potential clients.

View the results of BlackOut’s work at www.hc-architects.com.

When Leadership Lackawanna, the Greater Scranton area’s premier community education/leadership development program, needed a facelift, they turned to the team at BlackOut Design.

BlackOut designed a website that highlights the economic and cultural impact Leadership Lackawanna has had on Northeastern Pennsylvania since the group was created by the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce in 1982.

The redesigned site offers a wealth of information on the program and its initiatives to better serve the more than 900 local community leaders that have graduated from Leadership Lackawanna and to give interested applicants the tools they need to make a difference in the Greater Scranton area.

View the results of BlackOut’s work at www.leadershiplackawanna.com.

Wikis are the new trend in corporate infrastructure and for good reason. Not only can a wiki act as an external product/service FAQ, but it can also act as an internal corporate portal facilitating knowledge management and collaboration across all functional activities of the organization. From HR to Marketing/Sales this easy to edit technology is a sure way to enhance the sharing of knowledge, and increase your organizations effectiveness.

Google was at it again over the weekend adjusting the page rank algorithm. This seemingly quarterly change has once again altered current page ranks, thankfully not as much as October’s change. Beware and monitor your site’s rank. You may have to make alterations to your organic SEO strategy.

Pew Internet has reported that

48% of internet users have been to video-sharing sites such as YouTube and the daily traffic to such sites on a typical day has doubled in the past year. The basic findings in a national phone survey that ended in December show:

thereby further demonstrating the viral potential for online video, whether it be a advertisement, or educational in nature. In any case videos are reaching people, and those companies who choose to enter, and use wisely, this form of communication will maintain a competitive advantage over those that do not.

So I am going to be interested to see what type of traction Facebook picks up in the next quarter after their belly-flop onto prime time television via their sponsorship of the presidential debates. The various juries are still debating the degree of success, if any, that the interaction between Facebook users and the CNN news crew had in the past week. As an innocent bystander watching the evening I could only imagine how many times the question “What is Facebook?” echoed through middle America. I will give them one thing, they got their brand out there for sure, now the question becomes “How exactly can they capitalize on a bunch of confused middle-aged news watchers?” Time will tell, until then I am going to shine up my new Pownce profile because I am super cool (I actually think they sent a rater large number of invites out).