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2010 New Year Resolutions

Robert Gaafar — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:56:48 +0000

Carrot Blog

It’s a new year and new decade for Carrot Creative, and we’re excited for what the future holds. At the beginning of every new year, we like to put together our new year resolutions for you to enjoy. It seems like every year there are more names and failed attempts at humor on this list. Without further ado, here they are!

Robert Gaafar

Attend more tech events/meetups
Blog it out more
Try to figure out how to get work done while I’m sleeping
Build a padded room office for Mike Germano to run around in

Mike Germano

Start NYC Digital District
Spend even more of my life working
Drink more

Chris Petescia

Get out for more events, tweetups, meetups
Catch 2-3 live shows /month
Create a solid hub/stream of personal webs
Put off planning of 2010 wedding until 2011

Katy Kelley

Learn the lyrics to Blackalicious’s “Alphabet Aerobics”
Greet at least three new followers on Twitter daily
Set aside time to write better and more engaging content on the Carrot Blog
Narrow it down to only one Chipotle burrito a month (this is a very lofty goal)

Kyle MacDonald

Practice my Ruby 5x a week
Attend more tech meetups
Attend more concerts
Go to the doctor when I need to
Not light a match

Steve Badowski

Become a Javascript Wizard
Finish my portfolio website
Hike part of the Appalachian trail

Maury Postal

Travel more
Learn to cook (edible food)
Publish a book
Meet Phil Collins

Jeff Brunelle

Rule the office in NBA Jam
Replicate my mom’s strawberry jello salad (best thing on earth) and eat healthy everyday
Learn Yoga and Tai Chi
Wear more flannel

Kaitlin Villanova

Keep it fun & healthy
Continue to learn about the elements of design to make my job as liaison between client and Carrot designers more efficient.
Eat a cinnabon with Colin and Lebron James
A.B.C.

Antonelli Briceno

Learn to write and contribute the blog with tech updates
Finish one of my personal/portfolio sites
Finish one of my Flash/iPhone games
Find a movie buff to see all the new movies with

Jacob Cass

Make a new year’s resolution.
Adhere to the resolution.
Complete new year’s resolution.
S***, now what?

Colin Murphy

Have a cinnabon with Lebron James
Loose the gut (which may or may not be directly related to eating Mama Badowski’s cookies)
Become a better designer (Kyle, Chris, Steve, Tony and Jacob I’m always down for a lesson)
Earn a permanent spot on the Carrot team

I’m sure by now you are either laughing or asking for that three minutes of your life back that you spent reading this. Anyways, now to the serious stuff. It’s been extremely rewarding to work with all of these talented people and to watch them help Carrot grow over the past five years. It’s going to be a great year and we look forward to sharing with you all of the exciting work that we have lined up for 2010!

My name is Maury, and I’m a Brandaholic

Maury Postal — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:52:32 +0000

Carrot Blog

Branding is a critical component of any product’s or organization’s public perception. As the new brand manager for Carrot Creative I, Maury Postal, do hereby solemnly swear to do everything in my power to develop and maintain the most strategic, dynamic, and memorable brands in the world.

As a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with degrees in Graphic Design and Marketing, I bring to Carrot the diverse background required to elevate every brand in our portfolio to superstar status. Stay tuned to this space in the coming weeks for some exciting developments in Carrot’s new strategic branding platform.

Carrot and Onion: Vegetable Companies Unite!

Andrew Kortina — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:00:29 +0000

Carrot Blog

@mikegermano and I visited the Onion offices today to speak with them about some pretty cool new stuff they’re working on. It’s always a pleasure speaking with people who just get it.

After our meeting, we headed to a great lunch in Soho and enjoyed a little afternoon sunlight. (I’m sure Mike will be recording his thoughts on lunch via his newest social media outlet, yelp.)

Anyway, we’re eagerly anticipating the release of some new stuff from the Onion and we’ll be sure to throw some links up once it’s live.

Earth Day!

Chris Petescia — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:18:52 +0000

Carrot Blog

Happy Earth Day from everyone at Carrot Creative. We plan to use this day as a reminder of how we are all responsible for contributing to better environmental practices and “greener” lifestyles, on a daily basis… every little bit helps, and we intend to continue looking for new ways to reduce our impact as both a company, and as individuals.

On that note, we’d like to share a few of our favorite products and some of our daily green reads!

Products
Klean Kanteen (via AMZ): We rock the 27oz loop caps ourselves. More info on why these are a much better alternative to plastics @ Klean Kanteen

Wegmans ReUsable Shopping bag: Most food stores now sell these for a dollar or two- they offer a great alternative to non-biodegradable, one-use plastic bags, and function beyond groceries. If you ever catch me on my way into the Carrot HQ, chances are you’ll notice me ladden with them carry everything from my lunch to books and whatever else I can overburden myself with that day.

USBCELL AA Rechargable Batteries (via AMZ): A great option for rechargeable batteries, these conveniently charge via USB port! On sale this morning at AMZ’s Goldbox too!

Solar Panel Backpack (via AMZ) & SolarRolls power alternative: While pricey up front, these undoubtedly pay for themselves in sheer convenience and energy reduction, over time. These are on my personal wishlist for my birthday… in case any fiancés or family are reading this!

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General Green News:
Tree Hugger
Gristmill
Eco Friend
Green Daily
Lazy Environmentalist

Green Tech/Industry News:
The Green Geek
Ecotality Life
Gas 2.0

Green Shopping/living:
Etsy: A great way to support artists and find unique gifts, without industrial production and labor or fair trade concerns!
The Green Loop: A centralized resource for green products and companies
Ecolect: Their tag says it all… “[a] Community for Sustainable Design”

—
Anyway, we have many more to share for anyone interested, and please feel free to leave a comment with your own favorite green links!

Baseball Breeds Diversity at Carrot

Christian Shaboo — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:33:46 +0000

Carrot Blog

We at Carrot would like to remind all of our clients, friends and family that diversity and acceptance are at the core of Carrot Creative. Thus, this year we are taking serious strides to further our diversity education by allowing each staff member the opportunity to watch, either live or via TV/webcast, the home opener of their respective baseball team. As we speak, Robert is watching the Mets in the comfort of Shea Stadium working from his iPhone, while Kyle and I take fifteen-minute breaks to catch webcast clips of the Red Sox. Not only are all Carrot Crew members offered this experience, but we have also imposed a no-taunting stipulation effective now until the beginning of September. Condescending remarks of 2-3 season starts will now be replaced with consoling happy-hour specials and congratulatory high-fives.

However, on September 1, all stipulations are void, and booing shall commence (in a competitive yet friendly manner). Until then, Go Sox… I mean, GO BASEBALL!

Remember to Smile!

Christian Shaboo — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:06:48 +0000

Carrot Blog

Remember the days of school pictures? Mom would lay out our best clothes and say, “smile big, but not too big– and no scary faces,” as we headed out the door to have our greatness capture in front of a pastel hue backdrop? Those days may be long gone, but the need to immortalize ourselves through planned photographs has still not left the souls of the Carrot Crew, thus today marked the first annual Staff Picture Day at Carrot Headquarters. Replacing the awesomely 80′s style pastels as a backdrop were the newly painted Green walls and our newest addition to the office…THE BIG ORANGE COUCH! Currently, we are in the process of naming the couch, and would love your assistance in the naming process. Here is what we have so far:

Nick—short for Nickelodeon
The Thing— Only the toughest Superhero there is
Otto—Named after the Syracuse Orangmen Mascot

But, I digress. Check out the Carrot Creative Flickr to get a glimpse as the first annual Staff Picture Day.

Carrot at SXSW

Andrew Kortina — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:27:03 +0000

Carrot Blog

After work today, I’m leaving straight from the DUMBO office for Austin, TX. I’m super excited that Carrot is sending me down to represent at SXSW. I’ve wanted to go now for a number of years, but just haven’t made it yet for some reason.

Anyway, I’ll be down there meeting new people, taking photos, and hopefully learning a lot. Let me know if you’re gonna be down there and want to meet up or if you have any suggestions for events to check out. You can drop me a line at http://twitter.com/kortina

Now, back to work for a few more hours.

NYC Office Opens Today!

Christian Shaboo — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:04:40 +0000

Carrot Blog

On the third day, of the third month, in the year two thousand and eight, Carrot Creative begins its dominance in the greatest city of the modern world—New York City. Today marks the first day that Carrot’s office in Brooklyn’s DUMBO district is open for business. We will be setting up the office all week, but please stop by 55 Washington Street, Suite 329 to see the magnificent view of both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge, overlooking the river to the grandest cityscape, we get to look at every day. Can you tell that we are a little excited about this office? But just because we’ve opened a new office, we have not forgotten our roots in Connecticut as our Hamden office is still open for business.

Love is In the Air

Christian Shaboo — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:59:08 +0000

Carrot Blog

It’s not every day that a man finds a woman, falls in love, and knows he never wants to leave her side. And she, in return, will always tolerate his late nights at the office and quirky blog postings about a cat. Alright, so maybe this did not happen all in one night, but rather the course of a few years, still we are elated to congratulate Chris Petescia on his engagement to his long time girlfriend Lisa. After deciding that it would be in poor taste to offer an engagement ring logo for his proposal, Chris enlisted the help of Mike to assist in the dispensing of his entire life savings for the perfect ring for his special lady. And while he will not give us the full details of the magical night, one thing is for certain… We need to start planning for a huge bachelor party.

Hello Everyone my name is Andrew.

Andrew Kortina — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:22:12 +0000

Carrot Blog

When I was a senior at UPenn some of my friends informed me that people do other things than consulting, i-banking, and graduate school after college. As a philosophy undergrad, I had resigned myself to the last of these, but the entrepreneurship thing sounded much more exciting; I have always been very competitive and–ah–persistent.

After working for a few years on internet startups in Philadelphia, I moved to NYC and got a sweet gig at iminlikewithyou, where I worked as the lead database / application engineer with an awesome team of flash developers to help build a social game site.

Since then, I’ve been doing some interactive advertising applications for clients like Comedy Central and USA, but I just got the opportunity to join Carrot Creative as Chief Development Officer. I’m very excited about some of the stuff we’ll be working on–should be fun!