The Zone!

So this week I started working on the Hippo blog area called the Zone. This is really my first introduction to creating blogs and even using them at all for that matter. I can see how people can get sucked into them. I have already met some great people online and made some business connections. One more of those things I suppose that once you use it you wonder how you could ever live without it.

While the Zone still needs more work I do have to move onto some of the other areas on the Hippo site. "Have to stick to the Plan!" So now that I have the Zone up and going at least I will keep up on it and continue to work toward having 25 individuals blogs up by the end of the year. I am still working on getting some of the little things working like the AdSense and such but hopefully people will start to recognize the usefulness of the Zone.

I am moving onto another chapter in the Go Google book and looking into Google Base. I have someone interested in placing up some unpublished material regarding business marketing and such.

Boulder Ignite

Some friends and I went to the Boulder Ignite meeting last night at CU. I had no idea what to expect - I half way expected a room full of stuffy business people talking about financial stuff. Boy was I in for a surprise! This group, probably 100 or so people, were young and funny as all get out. Granted, most of what they talked about went right over my head. I don't know how many times the entire group busted out laughing, including my friend Craig sitting next to me, and I would just sit there and have no idea what just happened.

One thing I can say is that this group was able to take a subject that for the most part makes my eyes fog over and make it fun and entertaining. I am very new to the language and everything surrounding the Internet but am learning. Perhaps next time I visit this group not so much of the humor will fly over my head.

Ignite Boulder Event

Vendor Hippo will be attending this event. For more info check out the site at http://igniteboulder-invitefriends.eventbrite.com/.

See you there!

No markets today

Well, I woke up today to a beautiful Colorado morning. Today the sun is shining, its warm, and I thought "hey, it would be a great day to go to a farmers market" but then discovered that most, if not all the markets in my area stopped at the end of September. Bummer! That's too bad not only for me, the consumer, but also for the vendors who could be out there pushing holiday stuff. Now, besides the weather which I agree can be questionable this time of year, why on earth wouldn't you keep your market open till at least the end of October? Hmmmm?

Google good or bad?

Well, the good news is that after installing some of the new Google components onto my computer I just gleemed with pride and finally had the feeling I was getting in touch with my 'inner geek' as my friend Craig calls me. The bad news is that now my computer is struggling just to keep up with what is running my desktop applications! It seems all the Google stuff takes up a LOT of RAM!

In fact, it takes up so much memory on my little PC that I may have to remove the new Google stuff. It makes me sad to think that I once again will have to let my 'inner geek' go but until I can upgrade to a new computer I guess I will.

On a side note: a new friend suggested I take a look at Google Reader for some of the work I have been doing. It looks great and I am excited to get more into it. Thanks Ryan!

Google

So, today I am uploading igoogle and google desktop on my computer. Its pretty cool stuff. My intension is that it will aid the Hippo in keeping contact with the numerous blogs we maintain across the country. Our goal is to maintain around 25 blogs from CA to NY. If anyone knows of any particular blogs that are supportive of farmers markets please let us know. We will gladly share our information with you also.

The Reluctant Eater - dispelling the myth

Ryan Wanger, Boulder's own Reluctant Eater, on his blog has done one of my favorite things - busted a common myth! It turns out, that despite what some commercials on television suggest, research is showing links between diabetes and obesity with the intake of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) especially among children. To read more check out Ryan's blog at thereluctanteater.com.

On a side note: Ryan points out another very interesting fact - that Google and its search engine stats are an accurate indicator of public interest in a given subject in the media. Ryan says "when people are interested in something, they google it."

So I guess it is once again proven that just because the Boob Tube speaks it, it doesn't make it true. Thanks Ryan!

Hippo Review in the U.S.!

We are very excited! We are getting many positive responses from folks all over the U.S. about becoming Hippo Reviewers. Basically, folks around the country will be visiting their local farmers markets and doing a Hippo Review which consists of a little creative writing, taking some photos or video, and over-all just having fun with it. It is a great way to boost an individual market but also to boost the industry regarding local economies, environment, etc.

Thanks to everyone who is replying. If you are interested in more information go the www.vendorhippo.com and check out the Hippo Review area.

New Farmers Market Discussion Board

Check out the new tab on the front page of www.vendorhippo.com or just click here. We have created a discussion group which will provide access to fellow market members all across the U.S. You can simply visit the site and see what people are talking about or you can subscribe and join in the conversation. Drop us a line and let us know what you think!

Thank you!

New logo

The folks over at Kendall Media Group are awesome! Creative, fun, and smart. Because we had some issues with our previous logo regarding its construction as so forth we started looking at some variations. The new logo that you see at the top of the page is terrific - reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons for some reason.

I tell you - if you are a new business out there or even if you are an 'old' business who just wants to update and step-up your look, you should give these guys a call. KMG (Kendall Media Group) are really up to date and the best part is how easy they are to work with. I have worked with a number of graphic designers and so forth and the folks over at KMG are by far the best to deal with - and the quality of their work just speaks for itself. If you want more info check out http://www.kendallmediagroup.com/.

Miller Farm, Colorado

This past week my family visited Miller Farm just north of Denver, CO. The Miller family and their staff are always great hosts and I have to say that my son had the best time! If you have young kids, Miller Farm is a wonderful place to let them run around, play their little hearts out, and just get dirty!

This picture is of my son on one of the Millers pedal cars - they must have 40 of these things out there and the kids really dig them. Except for sitting on my lap in the truck I believe this is Choppers first driving experience.


Look out! Here comes Chopper!

It looks good!

So I think the website for vendorhippo.com is almost finished. We have been generating interest from all over Colorado and even as far as Californina. Now that the site is pretty much set the way it is as far as look and feel we will focus on marketing and advertising. We will also be adding a couple of new programs along the way such as areas for education pruposes and furthering our 'community' areas.

For now I think the site has finally achieved its "look". It has been a long road but I think the Hippo is ready to be set free...let's see how she flys!

New Search Engine

We added a new page to the top menu today. It's very cool! It is a search engine designed just for our site by which you can seach just VendorHippo.com. It will be exciting once we upload all of our members from the old site. Remember, we have almost 2,000 members! So now, when you search something like "organic soap" up will pop all of the vendors on our site that provide such a product. Very cool. This means that when you enter text regarding your company or product you will definately benefit from this new search engine.

There are a couple bugs at the moment but hopefully those will get fixed in the next day or so.

It's 3 am....

Remember that song from Golden Earing back in the 80's? "It's 3 am and the fear is gone..." Well, it's 3 am and here I am working again. I don't have an issue with the working at 3 am part, the issue I have is that I can't get that song out of my head and all I can remember is that one single verse!

It's 3 am...
It's 3 am...
It's 3 am...
It's 3 am...

Maybe I should just call it a night. Have been working on the 'Business Solutions' section of the site. Take a look and let me know how you think it is looking.

New look for Vendor Hippo

Whew! For the last year I have been playing with different ideas for the "look" of the Hippo website. It's funny how the more you mess with something, trying to add all the latest gadgets, trying to make something more useful, the more 'un-useful' it can get.

The new look is clear and simple and I hope as useful as it is simple. Let us know what you think.