Always on the hunt for resources we can share with our Minnov8 readership, I thought I’d offer you something I received via email today from a PR firm for the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, a global intellectual property firm. While good, whoever sent this out doesn’t “get” the fact that we’re in a new world of content delivery, sharing and consumption.

I found the content very intriguing and that’s why it’s being shared with you. From articles on how patents are used in hot markets for competitive advantage to one on stock buybacks to the big one on getting ready for the recovery, they’re short but intriguing enough to spark interest in knowing more.

While that content within this Spring/Summer issue of their “magazine” (PDF) is good, as we all know design and user interface makes content either easy to consume or presents barriers to its use.

I’m embarrassed FOR them that it’s a TECH publication that is a PDF, and not a very well executed one at that! Not only is this less accessible than alternatives (like good HTML) but they go from single pages to a “spread” layout that, on their PDF page 22, has three pages and ONE OF THEM IS BLANK! You’d be doing a lot of pinchin’ and zoomin’ if reading on an iPad or “+” to make it bigger if in a browser on a PC.

So while the content is kinda, sorta worth the effort to consume, it could be so much better. Thinking that their website might offer up a better experience and easier access to this content, I went there. They bounce from white to black pages, navigation that isn’t consistent and, for example, under “Resources” I selected the search “Publications” and couldn’t find this magazine. I found myself shaking my head and chuckling over how their website was worse as I searched “MoFo Tech” in the searchbox, and found, a bunch of magazine covers linked to PDFs just like this issue.

My intent with this post is not to rain on Morrison & Foerster’s parade, but rather point out a fabulous resource and to share the lesson I took from my experience reading this publication: Any of us who have tremendous content value to deliver—like MoFo definitely does as a major IP law firm—but don’t focus on making it as easy as possible for our audience, completely miss the entire value proposition and its potential impact. Whether you’re delivering a how-to video for your company, an email newsletter, or (God forbid) a newsletter in a not-very-well-executed PDF, make damn sure you make your viewer/readers experience a good one.

During our podcast from Minnebar with Code 42‘s CEO Matthew Dornquast a few weeks back we talked at length about the coming together of Code 42 and Recursive Awesome. Well it’s official.

While the press release indicates both an acquisition and a merger, Recursive Awesome co-founder, Justin Grammens (and, in the interest of full disclosure, partner with yours truly on projects including Mobile March) addressed the deal simply, “This isn’t about one company acquiring the assets and client list of another company. It’s about two very talented teams, coming together to build awesome products.” Code 42’s Dornquast echoed that sentiment by saying, “It became obvious we had familial business DNA – products, customers, values – all nearly identical.”

In conversations with Grammens, who along with RA Co-founder Sam , the goal was always to develop products. He noted “You can spend years working to get your own products off of the ground, or you can partner with a successful product company”.

According to the company, “The entire Recursive Awesome team will join Code 42 Software in their newly expanded headquarters at 1 Main St in Northeast Minneapolis.”

The goals of two companies met, jobs all around, and an exciting future ahead for all. In a word…Awesome!

After 24 hours of meeting, planning coding, creating, and general all around geeky fun, TST Media was selected as the winner of the Nerdery’s annual Overnight Website Challenge. Built on their NGIN platform, currently finding great success with organizations big and small, the Bloomington United for Youth (BUY) site is already live.

We’re also happy to report that our very own Tim Elliott and his band of WordPress fanatics on the Full Court WordPress team brought in a site that made it to the final four. The site for Project 515 should be live later this week.

The judges for the event, represented by their obvious well-rested appearance in a see of sleepy, were Christine Durand, communication director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, Christian Erickson, principal, Zeus Jones, Dan Grigsby, founder, Drivetrain, and Dana Nelson, executive director, GiveMN.org

As noted by the Nerdery, “No team lost anything but sleep while 18 nonprofit organizations won free websites that will better carry their mission forward.” We’re sure that none of the teams in the multiple rooms that house the now ginormous Challenge, would disagree.

The Dorsey Whitney law firm hosted a meet and greet to welcome incoming Minnesota High Tech Association President and CEO Margaret Anderson Kelliher. If attendees were looking for specifics on how her leadership will impact the organization in the future, they were disappointed…and probably expecting too much.  This was clearly more of a get acquainted gathering.

While chatting in the receiving line she told me that, like many stepping into a new role, the first order of business was strategic planning for the organization, something that hadn’t been seriously undertaken in quite some time.

Noting the inclusion of innovation and building for the future in President Obama’s State of the Union address, Ms Kelliher talked briefly about the MHTA’s dedication to creating high tech jobs and the association’s STEM Education Initiatives.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb8tLk_94tk