Author Archive
AdLeads Delivers The Artisinal Lead
As anyone who pays any attention to trends knows, Brooklyn is headquarters for the artisanal movement. Long before Dominos featured artisan style pizza and Dunkin Donuts added artisan bagels, shops and flea markets were featuring products from artisan cheeses to vodka made by college graduates who look like civil war infantrymen.
NY Magazine recently featured Brooklyn businesses at the forefront of this trend. As I was reading this I thought Pontiflex is also a part of of olde time Breuckelen here in the old wire factories of DUMBO. And not just because of the plaid and scruffy chin whiskers sported by some of the team here. Born out of an ethos to make the lead business respectable and make ads that “don’t suck”, each lead we deliver to our advertiser customers is consciously sourced and hand crafted. No, we don’t hand print the labels on our leads with paper we made ourselves from recycled rice husks but each lead is the result of an ad that runs for one customer and that lead results from that customer electing to develop and one-to-one relationship with the advertiser. However, the analogy does fall apart on price. We utilize technology to keep the cost of leads low. No $9.00 candy bars here. (Though I guess the technology is hand-made!)
Recently, we have also made the move to mass market. No longer is our ad platform available only to big brands. You can join the DIY Movement through our new AdLeads self serve offering. Create an account and complete a few simple forms and whether you operate locally or nationally you’ll be adding new customers to your email list or offer opportunities. Just like a booth at the state fair!
So, now as I sit on the new ferry between the country (Brooklyn) and the big city (Manhattan) I can feel like I am part of a movement to bring Brooklyn’s personal touch to businesses around the world. Now, if only the ferries were wind-powered made using hand-forged tools out of local iron ore in the 200+ year old Brooklyn Navy Yard from certified recycled wood. Maybe that can be my next project!
Visit Us By Water
The other day I was thinking that of all of NYC’s transportation methods past and present I can’t recall reading any odes to the ferry. But before the bridges and tunnels connecting the metro area ferries would have been the only way to get around. NY Waterways recently started a ferry service on the East River connecting Dumbo, Wall Street, Williamsburg and Long Island City. For certain commutes, it’s now possible to avoid the subways and experience New York like a 19th century commuter, minus things like oars and sails.
I have been taking the boat when possible from East 34th Street on Manhattan to Pontiflex World Headquarters in DUMBO. It somehow seems so much more civilized than the hot summer subways and you can avoid changing trains at the congested rabbit warren of the rebuilding Fulton Street stop. For some of the new buildings on the east side of the river, the ferry must be a huge amenity when getting to midtown or Wall Street. Big crowds get off at 34th Street coming north and lots of people get on at the clump of new high-rises at North Williamsburg bound for Wall Street.
At the same time, it’s also a bit of olde-tyme New York. With the regular schedule, you get to know the personality of the different boat crews and get familiar with your fellow commuters in a way you don’t on the subways or busses. There’s head phone guy, the girl with the whaling tattoo, Brit-wannabe, the guy who is always late and runs to the stop, the other guy who’s always late but refuses to run, plus a rolling cast of tourists. You also get to see some areas where things seem “on hold”. There’re a few boat landings along the route that seem less than official. And you can also wonder about what a bustling place the waterfront must have been back in the day. There’s the abandoned factories like the Domino Sugar factory and the huge Brooklyn Navy Yard site where they used to build aircraft carriers and other U.S. Navy ships now used for startup businesses and cement delivery barges. On the nature front, there are plenty of terns, ducks, geese and herons to see. They seems to be finding plenty of fish to eat. And there are fishermen out in boats, though I have yet to see anyone reel in one of the legendary East River migrating bass.
This service was an experiment by the city but I hope it becomes permanent. If this becomes entrenched it could alter commuting and development patterns and makes areas with limited subway service much more accessible. If you need to visit us, we are a short walk from the DUMBO stop so give it a try!
Arun Krishnan
Jason Penta
zlasker
Roshan Bangera
Jordan Cohen
eadlman
Geoff Grauer
Jerrie Gullick
Jon Beardsley
Nick Herman
Stacy Huggins
Tiffany Sumner
Avantika Banerjee
Daniel Egan
Lisa Khan
tgeisenheimer
pontiflexrob
Ganesh Prabhu
