Google has just put out a great resource point for local businesses with this awesome video:

So, how can you incorporate locality-based marketing into your blogging? For one, working out deals with local businesses and venues offers some great potential for advertising revenue. Blogging about your favorite burger-joint downtown and including a link to the Google Maps location also helps to increase accessibility and overall functionality.

But what if you’re not in a major metropolis? Well, I say cities such as New York and Boston have hogged all of the advantages of locality-based blogging for far too long. It’s time to start a series on your blog detailing all of the amazing restaurants and attractions you visited during your trip throughout the French countryside. Or even detailing your favorite camping spots in the middle of nowheresville. There is a niche for anything locality-based, and I say: let’s get this ball rolling!

It’s just about that time of year: the time for fresh new beginnings, baby animals being born (ohhh, how cuuuute), and our favorite: spring cleaning!

1. I’ve been sweeping up around Google, and finding link backs (even from way, way back) for BWD. Here are some of the very kind awards and features we’ve been given.
What I enjoy most are not just the features themselves, but the other sites BWD is placed next to. Thank you very much!

• An award for “Best Web Visual Design” at WebHostingSearch.com in Feburary 2009
• 38 Unmistakable Vector Illustrated Characters from Design Reviver in May 2008
• 31 Creative Examples Of Mascots To Grab Your Attention from virology.tv in November 2008
• “Featured Site” award badge on css based
• “Featured Shot” on BrowserShots Excellent tool, by the way!
• Part of the inspiration - websites collection from Bart-Jan Verhoef
• Part of this lovely Flickr set titled “Interaction Design”
• 70+ Very Impressing Website Header Graphics from httpartist in January 2009
• 20 Sites with Beautiful Character Illustrations - v2 from deziner folio in March 2009 (Who has an awesome tag cloud display!)

2. Blog What? Design will be acquired by a new company in the coming months. I have decided to go ahead with a few members of my team here at BWD and create a new media company to act as an umbrella for all sorts of ventures. BWD will still continue to run in its existing form… but will be slightly revamped in terms of its design and business structure. Look forward for some exciting new ventures and projects from Media Plate Studios!

Also: around five new projects long overdue to be in the portfolio section!

After all these accolades… is the red carpet next?!

Just came across Six Revisions who featured Blog What? Design in their ”40 Excellent Blog Designs” post last month. We are extremely honored to sit next to such lovely and beautiful designs. Thank you Six Revisions! We couldn’t be happier!

So… I’ll be perfectly honest! WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane” does mean less profit for us in terms of client upgrade opportunities… but we couldn’t be happier that our clients get to have more personal control over their content and their blogs! Confused? This new version of WordPress allows for future one-click upgrading for any future version of WordPress. How about them apples?

That isn’t the only great feature about this new version though. Check out this great video from WordPress.org for more:

Blog What? Design was recently featured on Smashing Apps under ”31 Creative Examples Of Mascots To Grab Your Attention” and Web Designer Depot under ”100 Websites With Outstanding Artistic Design.” If you have come to us through one of these great websites, we would love to know!

In other news, Happy Holidays!