A couple of strong drinks has often been the inspiration for new, off-beat ideas. More times than not, those ideas get left at the bar, next an empty drink glass. Turning that notion on it’s head, Ratchet’s own Matt Krebs recently launched ShotShakr, an app that suggest shots, provides recipes and allows the user to socialize the experience via Twitter. Users can even upload their own recipes via the Web at www.shotshakr.com

Disclaimer: while Ratchet has been known to hold our end of the happy hour bargain from time to time, ShotShakr is not a Ratchet product. Rather, it’s another example of the sort of creative technology work the Ratchet team does on their own time. In this case the development was done by Matt Krebs and Robb Akerson handled the design as their curiosity about Android development and tasty cocktails collided.

Just released last week, the ShotShakr app surpassed 200 downloads in it’s first 48 hours of availability in the Android Market, and reviews to date have been positive. We’re thrilled to see how creative inspiration leads to new products and ideas, and we’ll be closely tracking how ShotShakr grows and evolves over time. Next iterations are likely to include Facebok integration and location aware features. No word yet on when Call Me a Cab and Prepare Greasy Breakfast releases will be roadmapped.

Great Job Matt and Robb!

This article appeared in the May 2010 edition of Twin Cities Business Magazine. The article, originally written by former Ratcheteer Mark Hines, appeared in the 2010 TechNO Expo series, which posed a question aaround how companies and their partners are justifying technology expenditures in today’s tight economy.

More and more marketers are looking to take advantage of mobile and social functionality. But across our roster, it’s not the tactics that are most common; it’s that our clients can only afford to invest in their top priorities.

Most of Ratchet’s customers continue to execute projects that have a direct impact on their key metrics. Which metrics warrant investment varies greatly from client to client.

For instance, one of our retail apparel clients has invested in new asset management technology that will reduce operating costs of their Web properties and improve the image quality for online shoppers. Another client in the B2B space has invested in a customer-facing application that offers easier online ordering, tracking, and service and support.

We have seen an increase in activity around foundational projects that set the stage for flexibility and efficiency in the future. We haven’t seen many projects lately that are driven by an interface redesign. Our clients are mostly looking to upgrade the technology that runs their site and add features that impact their primary site metrics. A redesign is typically a by-product of those larger efforts.

Throughout organizations, there is greater visibility into the decisions marketers make, especially the technology choices. The upper-most levels of management demand visibility into the process and the outcomes.

The chief management officer at a client of ours, a publicly traded company, regularly gets updated in great detail about the features and functionality of the projects we work on. The entire executive team wants to know why certain features are valuable and others aren’t, and they push the interactive marketing team to justify their decisions.

We help our clients analyze the stages of their customer lifecycle and understand the online and offline customer touch points in the process. Does a digital project make those touch points more valuable to the customer and the corporation? Raving (and commenting, tweeting, and posting) fans turn into the most valuable touch point for those that aren’t yet doing business with you.

We’re a pretty serious bunch around Ratchet, what with all the high-stakes development work going on here. There are times, however, when the uniquely creative qualities of the Ratchet team come out. Most recently creativity has appeared in the form of fascinating creations carved (bent rather) out of the unique clips found on our business cards. Perhaps you’ll recall George Hilal’s musings about “Technical Elegance & Paper Clips” from a few weeks back? Interesting, quirky and creative stuff to be sure…but who knew it would inspire a rash of artistry rarely seen from technologists?

Over the course of the last few weeks, a Clip Art sub-culture has taken root inside Ratchet, and the results are pretty incredible. Ratchet clips have turned into motorcycles, snowboarders, poolside accessories and even a cape for Gumby. It’s amazing what you can do with a paper clip…and a little creative inspiration from some very technical minds.

One of the systems we develop around at Ratchet is the Vignette CMS. Vignette is a complex piece of software designed to handle a multitude of needs. But it also has a steep learning curve and can be difficult to utilize to its full potential. Over the past several years at Ratchet, we’ve been proud to tackle understanding and utilizing Vignette. As a Vignette developer, part of my goal is to take this complex system and turn it into a simple, useful tool for clients.

Vignette and other complex systems are analogous to the computer mouse – a tool computer users utilize every day without worrying about the complexity. Inside the plastic shell resides hundreds of electrical connections, moving pieces and complex circuitry. All the user has to know: point and click. At Ratchet, our job is to create and utilize complex technology to make websites and web authoring tools that just work.

Every day I use complex systems (like Vignette) to create useful, easy to understand tools for customers. Once mastered, Vignette provides an efficient way of creating powerful websites that can be maintained and updated using simple in-context content editing. Behind the scenes Ratchet works to hide the complexity so that users get to see the results without having to be the mechanics in the system.

Underneath the tools I help build with Vignette, the technology can seem intimidating. Like the computer mouse, my goal is to create a simple, intuitive, point-and-click user experience – for both the website viewers and the content contributors. Developing around Vignette is just one example of Ratchet’s work, but it exemplifies where Ratchet excels. We’re the experts that tackle tough problems and complex systems to create tools that are simple and intuitive for our customers.

On Saturday March 20, 2010, at precisely 9am, a serious event took place in a non-descript U of M building on the St. Paul campus. 16 teams of technologists, designers and project managers started building new Web sites for local charities. They didn’t stop until the job was done, 24 hours later. And when the smoke cleared, Team Ratchet was judged 3rd best overall.

A third annual event, the Nerdery’s Overnight Web Challenge hosts high caliber teams of 10 each, all intent on winning, and all for charity (and, if we’re honest with ourselves, cred. A lot of it is about cred in the local community. Team Ratchet, including design lead Tina from Ideapark, was paired with the Bloomington Chorale, a non-audition public singing group. The Chorale’s old Web site is pictured at right — the new Web site will be deployed in the next few weeks — look for updates here.

When it was all over, the Web site had taken on an entirely new identity, starting with a clean look and feel showcasing the talented singers. Content, audio, video ticket sales and community-building components. The new Web site was built on a flexible, scalable platform and content management system engineered by Ratchet & Ideapark.

The judges came by. They came by again. More 5-Hour-Energy was downed. There were TV Cameras there. Tensions were running high as Luke Bucklin began to introduce the teams. Team Ratchet was the first of four finalists to present, which was an experience in itself after 24 hours of non-stop work, interspersed with eating and thinking. And in the end, it the Overnight Web Challenge was a huge learning experience for all involved…starting with….

…there are a lot of nerds out there, and as much as i hate to admit it, I fit right in.
…90% of the challenge is getting everyone on the same page, while keeping them from stepping on each other.
…pulling an all-nighter was a lot easier in my 20s.
…5-hour energy only really works for 3 and half hours and has little effect after the 5th bottle.
…this is probably the only event where footy pajamas are considered acceptable attire.
…nerds love pizza, and if you aren’t quick you are hungry.
…a Chipotle burrito that has been sitting out for 6 hours still tastes pretty good.
…a large clock counting down on the big screen, and clients in the room are both great motivators.
…sleep is not overrated.
…the Gibson needs to be hacked.
…you need more than a few 5.5″ floppy to hold the garbage file.
…monitors are to Nerds what chrome is to Truckers.
…there are a actually a lot of Mac developers out there, one might say too many.
…some nerds get very loud and annoying after 4:00 am.
…never trust a wireless internet connection.
…candy cigarettes are as good now as they were when I was 8.
…I now know things about Shawn that I REALLY wish I didn’t
…I have yet to find any 80s/90s trivia that TJ does not know.
…the best restrooms are down in the locker-room
…deciding what to take out is definitely more important than deciding what to include.
…coding your way out isn’t always the correct approach.
…it is only a very few times in one’s life are you part of a group that can rally around a singular idea, where the group comes before the individual. This was one of the very few times I have experienced this in my professional career.
…I am very grateful to have been a part of the team.
…given the opportunity I would definitely do this again.

Congrats to Team Ratchet, our great partners and deserving charity. See y’all next year!