It was great to see companies pushing the limit of the web and testing the bounds of that which is Real-Time. It was great to think of how we might be able to help solve the new challenges in user interface design and user experience that the Real-Time Web produces.

Nailing down true characteristics of this thing called Real-Time was difficult, and finding two people who agreed completely was equally as trying. Here are a few observations I've made:

The Real-Time web is:

• Undefined
  It seems to mean different things to different people. Some relate it to push technologies, others relate it to online collaboration, photo streams, news streams, etc. It was discussed at the conference that there exists a spectrum where at one end we find person to person interactions and at the other end: machine to machine. In between it transitions from machine to person and vice versa. Most existing web applications seem to fall somewhere within this spectrum.
• Untamed
  The stream of content that comes with real-time is a bear that prompts one to ask the question, who can possibly digest this much content? I believe it becomes a user experience problem at this point. We must, as interface designers, decide the best way for users to consume this content. We must also figure out a way to filter the content appropriately. This, of course, means quickly learning about the users preferences and serving that content. It also means teaching the user to teach the application and all within a transparent process that is usable and engaging. The real-time web seems to be only limited by the speed of the contributing humans involved.
• Untapped
  Real-time technology has the potential to change the way we do everything in the same way Television did, the internet originally, and other paradigm-shifting technologies. I was involved in an interesting discussion about the possibilities with mobile devices utilizing real-time geo-location and augmented reality technologies. Bits and pieces of the technology is already in existence. It'll be exciting to watch where it goes in the next couple years.

Overall, the real-time web opens an entire new set of challenges in design and development. We at Elevate are excited to meet them head on.

Monergism.com is one of the most useful resources for anyone interested in puritan writings and reformed theology. It is used by people across the globe including seminarians, pastors, teachers, preachers and parishoners. Even though they provided a steadily updated stream of content for their audience, the look of it all had become dated and had grown hard to use.

Monergism enlisted Elevate to come up with a new logo, a new site design as well as design some usability improvements. We created a new logo that wasn't a complete departure, but allowed them to get a way from the dreaded 'papyrus' font. The new site design looks like it's straight out of an old puritan leather-bound book, which beautifully reflects the type of content that is featured on the site.

We improved usability by better organizing the enormous amount of content featured on the site. Newer information was better highlighted and gives the site a fresher feel. We allowed more content to climb higher on the page so the user knew all that was available on each page. Previously, certain content had been buried at the bottom of each page.

Overall, we are very happy with the result of the site. We look forward to being able to help rework the backend content management system of the website to allow for even better usability and even more functionality.

It was fantastic getting to pick the minds of some big names surrounding Ubercart and Drupal including Mike O'Connor (@mjoconno), Tim Hill and Mr. Ubercart himself, Ryan Szrama (@mr_ubercart). We had a great time getting to know these guys and making new acquaintances.

We're looking forward to taking advantage of the scalability and flexibility that Ubercart and Drupal offer for sites with the need for e-commerce. And with a whole community of developers behind both technologies, there's nowhere to go but up.

If you ever find yourself in downtown Chicago I strongly suggest you stop by both Giordano's Pizzeria and Portillo's Hot Dogs Inc. 

Elevate was pleased to attend the first annual Big Omaha conference held at the KANEKO in Omaha, NE. Forward thinking creators, entrepreneurs, and innovators came from all over the country to synergize and exchange business ideas & solutions.

Nebraska Christian (NC) has been going through a transformation over the past few years including a redesigning of internal structure, mission and methods. Amidst all the changes, a proper web site was no where to be found. Elevate was happy to be a part of the solution.

NebraskaChristian.org features a custom content management system (CMS) that allows Nebraska Christian to update items on their web site and keep the content fresh. It features a flash video player that allows them to deliver fresh video content to parents and prospective students.

The people at Nebraska Christian Schools were a pleasure to work with and we thank them for establishing solid Christian education in the mid-west.

In this website you'll find we've tried to simplify things a bit. The website has been redesigned over a dozen times before coming to this version. We were always trying to make it do too much. When we finally took a step back, we realized that we just needed to simply communicate.

You will everything you need to know about us, our work, how we serve you, and how to get ahold of us.

If you are part of an ad agency or a marketing professional, you may find this interesting.

We hope you enjoy the new Elevate website which we plan to keep current throughout this year (no promises for next year though).

MyBridgeRadio.net features a custom content management system(CMS) that allows them complete control over the content on the site. We created a custom Event management system that consists of user-submitted events, approval processes and event highlights that can all be managed through the Content Management System.

The following are a few other highlights:

• We also created search engine optimization(SEO) features that allow them to update keywords, titles and descriptions for each page of the website.
• Custom database-driven flash elements for tasteful delivery of content as well as add a little movement to the site.
• Integration of a live data feed to show songs playing currently on the radio.

It was a pleasure to work with the thorough team over at Mission Nebraska. Stay tuned for upcoming projects that we'll be working together on.

The website features a new look that actually fits their location and a content management system that gives them the control they need to update content on the fly. We integrated various existing technologies including a Word-press blog and a Google calndar without sacrificing usability or design consistency.

Other web design features and development highlights include:

• Audio Sermon Repository & Podcast
• Video Sermon Archive & Video Podcast
• Members Directory
• Blog RSS Feeds
• Email newsletter integration

Also, stay tuned for the upcoming spanish version of the website.