Despite that this site has existed for two years, a startup known as Pinterest has recently exploded into the spotlight of social media with what I like to call an "improved" or "different" way of looking at aggregated links.

I managed to get an invite to look at the site a week ago and initially had mixed reviews, but I do see great opportunities and uses for many out there. Originally I wanted to give this site a month before blogging, but too many are asking me what this site is all about and thus I offer this look.

The day has finally arrived. A day Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been teasing us with for years. He's finally opened up his company to an initial public offering (IPO) where anyone out there can buy stock in Facebook. Before this day, Zuckerberg would only have private stock sales to investors when he needed money. Unless you were a wealthy investor, you were left out.

Facebook's IPO was hearty, thus adding new members to the "1%" the news media talks about. Billions of dollars were collected in sales of stock, but already journalists are asking if this will be a sign of a new tech bubble.

I can't blame them. The last time we really saw tech companies blow up on the stock market was the dotcom era, which ended up in a crash a short period later. I could see why the speculation will happen, but this time I think it's different.

Now that we've defined the new branding of Illusion Bar • Grill • Café, a new logo would be the next order of business. It will also be a first for this business since it's not had a proper logo since opening ten years ago. I'm pretty sure they're not the first business to do that either.

Today I'm going to take you through my own process on how I like to design logos and share my own thought process on the logo I ended up designing for Illusion Bar • Grill • Café. I'm not sure if my process is the right way, but hopefully my experience here will help you grow in how you come up with logos for your clients. I also urge you to share any insight you have in the comments section.

I'm sure the photo above is quite familiar to many out there who own smartphones. You're in the car, on the bus, on the train, or even on foot and you whip out your smartphone of choice to look up something, scan a QR code, check your email, or even look up directions on a map...only to find you don't have service.

This has been my story as of late. Originally I would have spotty data only on Chicago's subway system, and I accepted that mainly because I was underground. However, I'm finding that "Searching" message showing up far more often in places above ground, even in areas where one would not expect it.

The other week, I spent several hours doing a favor for a friend. I was reformatting his laptop and reinstalling Windows as well as his other software. I'm sure some of you Mac and Linux folk are about ready to crack Windows jokes, but the method that caused my friend to put a rather dangerous piece of spyware into his computer is no laughing matter, and not just a Windows issue.

The story goes as follows. He wanted to rip some of his DVD collection and then convert them into video files he could play on his smartphone. In order to do this, he would need DVD-ripping software. So rather than shop around and pay a modest amount of money for a software title, he decided he could be sneaky and download a pirated copy off the internet.

A man in the ad industry that I highly respect once told me that branding is not just a logo. It's the recognition, feeling, and opinion the consumer carries when they hear of your company, product, or service. Think about when one says "Coca-Cola". Of course you'll recognize the name, and you might have a positive or negative opinion.

Branding is the often-misunderstood factor many small businesses overlook. They think a simple name and an "Open" sign is all they need. My own father even understood long ago that how consumers view your business is what will drive them to patronize you. It's why he used "Jason's" as the name of his business, because it sounded more "American" than his native-Greek name.