PixelMEDIA Inc.

“A Buzz” has started about PixelMEDIA’s new mobile application “Bzzy”.  With the recent release of the product on April 8th, we’ve seen a fantastic response so far!  Read more about how Bzzy came to be in this recent article published by the Portsmouth Herald.

Now through the end of April, download Bzzy for free during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Distracted driving has been called a “deadly epidemic” by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

According to the Department of Transportation, 5,500 people in the United States were killed and another half a million were injured in accidents related to distracted driving in 2009.

“It only takes a moment of distraction to cause a tragedy,” said Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. “No text or call is worth a life.”

Now a Portsmouth, N.H.-based company has launched a mobile phone application that will let others know when someone is unavailable to text.

Download at www.bzzyapp.com

“Bzzy” is being offered as a free download in April during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Bzzy automatically responds to texts using either a pre-set or customized message.

Activate the application and incoming texters will be sent a response: “I am driving,” “I am viewing (a movie)” or a custom message.  All texts received are still available on the phone once the person is ready to respond.

“It’s about staying focused, on whatever you are doing, but especially on driving when your life and others on the road are at risk,” said Erik Dodier, CEO of PixelMEDIA. “Bzzy will remove the urgency we feel to reply back right away, and instead let those who are trying to reach us know we are unavailable.”

The goal is to allow people to focus on what they’re doing, whether it’s driving or even watching a movie or playing with their kids, without being distracted by texts.

“There’s something about a text that seems so instantaneous,” Dodier said. “But we all know there are times we should just let others know we’re temporarily unavailable.”

Dodier said 10 percent of any future proceeds from the product will be donated to efforts aimed at increasing the awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.

Bzzy is currently available on Android phones only, however, PixelMEDIA  is looking at offering Bzzy for iPhones in the future.

“Take a step toward driving safer, download Bzzy for free through April 30^th at www.Bzzyapp.com,” Dodier said. “It will allow a driver’s focus to stay where it should be, on the road.”

Top from left: Bryan, Brendan, Terence, Cris. Bottom: Matt, Erik, Josh. Not shown is Rachel.

On May 7^th, a group of PixelMEDIA employees as well as our CEO’s wife, Rachel, will be taking on the elements and obstacles setup on Mt. Snow in Vermont for the Tough Mudder competition.  Our team has pledged their support of The Friends Project by pledging $1 per a mile.  Show your support of The Friends Project as well as PixelMEDIA team “PixelMUDDIER” by pledging what you can.  Donations are accepted directly through The Friends Project via PayPal and credit card.

They call them Mud Runs and everyone thought I was nuts to even be considering participation in an athletic event that sets the last mile of the race on fire, expecting you – the participant – to run through this in order to complete the course. I’d bring it up in conversation and whoever I was talking to would express interest but then go to check out the website and come back to me with this look on their face that said, “You can’t be serious,” – but I am.

Of all the mud runs out there in the world, Tough Mudder makes the claim that it’s the hardest in the world. Your average mud run is 5k in length, 10k on the high end, and between the start and finish line there are numerous obstacles, like walls or cargo nets to climb, pits of mud to run through and tires to traverse like some kind of football movie training montage, minus the Eye of the Tiger soundtrack. Tough Mudder takes this format and triples the length and number of obstacles. The obstacles in each course were designed by members of the British Special Air Service, the UK’s equivalent of US Navy SEALs. The Tough Mudder organization describes it as Iron Man meets Burning Man, an aggro test of strength, endurance and all-around toughness, implying that a certain mental preparedness is necessary to finish. And let me tell you something: I cannot wait!

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There is a small but dedicated crew here at PixelMEDIA that works behind the scenes supporting the rest of us. In the military they say it takes 7 support personnel for every one soldier at the front. Imagine then 4 supporting 50+. It’s impressive and they do it with a smile.

It’s like they are tireless, constantly going about bettering our lives, and making it easier for us and our clients. They help solve our problems from HR to making sure we look great at client meetings with the perfect setups to unbelievable spreads of homemade food that puts a smile on everybody’s face.

With every event or seminar we do, there they are, first to setup, last to leave. The food is great, the drinks are cold, and once again everybody is happy. It’s not easy.

They are also the mesh that keeps the projects flowing smoothly through the building and I have yet to see a request they couldn’t or wouldn’t do to make sure our clients and the rest of us had a better time.

So here’s to you Cindy, Anna, Janice, and Gayle. Thanks for what you do every day, all day.

We really appreciate it.

In today’s workplace, it is easy to get stressed by numbers, budgets, delivery schedules and deadlines.  Let’s face it — any word that starts out with “dead” can’t make you feel good about the workday.

We spend so much of our lives at work and away from our families, so why not work in an environment that cultivates fun.  One of the driving factors that led me to PixelMEDIA and the web design world was the inherent foundational make up to be fun and creative.

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PixelMEDIA is a finalist in the Consumer Goods category for Boston Beer Company’s new Samuel Adams website for the 15th Annual MITX Interactive Awards. Held annually by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, the MITX Awards recognize excellence in the creation of web innovations designed, produced or developed in New England.

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If you’re UNH, you find an anchor donor. If your name is Peter T. Paul, you offer to put up $25 million as a challenge – to the entire state of New Hampshire, far-flung alumnae and friends – to come up with the other half. Then you call PixelMEDIA to promote the goal: an advanced new facility devoted to advanced ideas in business and economics education that will become a national model for new ways to teach and learn.

The new building will enable new approaches to education centered around contextual problem-solving. For example, break-out rooms provide the space to allow large classes to divide into smaller discussion groups, then reform to share ideas and solutions. The building’s integration of advanced technology will further enable teaching and learning in the age of video, computer networking and the Internet. Read More…

Everyone here at PixelMEDIA understands the frustration felt by people who could not get through to the Great Appliance Exchange website yesterday, April 22. The fact that the program’s funds were exhausted within hours illustrates the excitement and demand that this program generated in so short a time.

At this point, we know that a very attractive offer, a limited window of opportunity, and a first-come, first-served model created a concentrated and intense online queue that quickly overwhelmed the primary website as well as the backup website and phone systems.

PixelMEDIA is working with all involved parties to improve the communication and timing of these attractive offers to implement added measures that will support the peak traffic demands that are generated.