The sunshine outside our window is telling us that spring is officially here. To encourage April showers that are sure to bring May flowers, update your computer or mobile device with our latest background wallpaper.

From the creative minds of our design team to your screen, April’s desktop wallpaper brings the outdoor scenery into your home or to your phone. This rainy background is available with or without a calendar.



We also have a mobile version of the wallpaper available.

April wallpaper with a calendar
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April wallpaper without a calendar
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April wallpaper – mobile version

It's always bad to start off by pointing out the negatives.

Let's start over.

It's generally good practice to open communication in a positive manner. Whether you're writing ad copy, drafting website content, developing your brand messaging or talking to a client or co-worker, you should always be constructive, direct and authentic.

Positive speak fosters positive emotions. Think about it this way: Someone comes up to you and says, "I have the greatest news for you," and you could be prepared for something uplifting. Oh man, dollar taco night just got extended to two nights a week! The same person opens the conversation with, "I've got some bad news," and your stomach is likely to sink as you dread the next words. Taylor Swift and a plane full of puppies just went down in the Atlantic.

 Extreme examples, but the idea's there. The point is to choose your words carefully because people are hanging on them. Read More...

If you’re a fan of entrepreneurship or enjoy helping youth, consider attending E CITY’s Ninth Annual Awareness Breakfast on Tuesday, April 13 for an opportunity to learn about E CITY and hear success stories from its students.

This year’s breakfast is at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at 777 St. Clair Ave. NE in Cleveland, and Tuesday, April 6 is the deadline to register. The featured speaker is Deborah D. Hoover, president of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, and products from E CITY students will be available to purchase.

Since 2002, thunder::tech has been a supporter of E CITY, which is a nonprofit that represents Entrepreneurship: Connecting, Inspiring and Teaching Youth. E CITY delivers a program that teaches students entrepreneurial, business and life skills to enable economic independence. The program is offered to greater Cleveland and Akron youth through in-school, after school and summer BizCamp formats.

We have been a pro bono marketing partner with E CITY for several years because of our belief in the organization’s mission. At this year’s breakfast, take a look at the posters and programs created by the thunder::tech team.

Our staff has witnessed firsthand the difference that this program has made in the lives of hundreds of inner city students. E CITY staff recently conducted a survey and found that 84 percent of their alumni have entered or already completed their college education!

E CITY makes a difference and thunder::tech is proud to be a part of their efforts. Register today and you can be a part of it too.

Graphic Designer Connie Baltitas interviews Web Developer Jerry Sen in our new get::ting answers to learn about his typical day, his tips on updating your site and more.

Connie: So Jerry, you're a developer at thunder::tech—can you explain a little bit about what your day-to-day life is like around here?
Jerry: Well my day begins around 8:55 a.m. After catching my breath from running up the stairs, I boot up my laptop and shuffle to the kitchen to get my daily caffeine fix.

I spend most of my day writing code, providing tech support and writing chat::ter posts. With all of that going on, I try hard to keep all of my projects straight and meet deadlines.

Read More...

As we continue to feel the effects of the recession and have moved into 2010 looking for recovery, we’ve been discussing innovation more and more both internally and with our clients.

thunder::tech would like you to accept an open invitation, an innovation invitation.

We’ve embraced the idea of innovation this year and look to continue it through 2010. Already we’ve used innovation in a new website design, to update our e-mail newsletter for a friendly look and rethought our monthly marketing video series, “Good Morning Marketers.” We encourage you to bring innovation to your business.

Peter Drucker, the father of business consulting, said:

"Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business."

As Drucker points out, innovation paired with an excellent marketing strategy will grow your business. The importance of innovation in all business and aspects of our lives is critical right now. Innovation takes many forms and can be defined as simply doing something different than the method you have used before.
Read More...