What We’re Reading This Month: Retainers, Specs, Marketing, and More!

At WSOL, our team of developers, designers, marketers, and digital experts works hard to share our thought leadership here on our blog, but we’re definitely not the only voice out there. We’re always finding interesting articles and blogs that cover our areas of interest, and we wanted to share some of what we’ve been reading lately:

Bill Casey:

In Defense of the Agency Retainer

I recently read this article on AdAge about development retainers. It’s a couple years old, but I think it’s still very relevant, and it reflects our own philosophy on retainers.

Dennis Kardys:

Why even Lean startups need functional specs

In researching ways to improve our technical documentation, I came across these excellent tips from Rian Van Der Merwe for creating efficient and effective functional requirements.

The Two Minutes It Takes To Read This Will Improve Your Writing Forever

I also really liked this collection of quick, simple tips that people can use to immediately become better writers.

Joe Mayberry:

"We have a module for that": The plug-n-play CMS integration myth

I thought this blog from Epinova about the issues that often arise from using ready-made modules for CMS integrations was pretty instructive. It reminded me of the kind of articles that our own Chris Osterhout regularly contributes to the WSOL blog.

AJ LaPorte:

The Future of Product Design Apprenticeships is Open Source and Practical Application

This is a great article about apprenticeship in UX and Design, and it’s full of helpful information and resources.

Nick Melville:

99 Percent Rebuilt: Design Process, Features & Secrets of the 99pi Website

I thought this article from 99% Invisible was a great look at the design process from the client’s point of view.

Doug Miller:

Publishers turn to video to offset organic reach drop on Facebook

I found this to be a balanced and informative look at the lengths Facebook is going to in order to dominate in the video ecosystem. It also has some great reasons for organizations to focus on Facebook video and livestreaming.  

Sarah Corley:

How Nostalgia Helps Brands Connect with Millennials

This article from Skyword had some interesting stuff to say about how to effectively communicate with members of the Millennial generation. I covered some of this in my series of infographics about marketing to different generations, and I think it’s fascinating to see how marketers are reaching people through platforms like Pokémon Go, which this article also touches on.

Allison Casey:

30+ Marketing Tools for Research, Engagement, Measurement, Workflow, and Visuals

This article from Content Marketing Institute has some great resources that any marketer can use in their digital strategy.

We’re always on the lookout for more interesting reading from around the web, and we’ll continue to share articles that we find valuable. If you want us to include one of your articles in future updates, please let us know in the comments below!