This is Tech

Last night Seattle artisan software developers Jackson Fish Market launched their latest web application, Carbon Grove. Sponsored by Microsoft as a demonstration of Silverlight, the web app allows you to sign up to receive periodic tips on how to become more carbon neutral, and every time you respond to the reminders you cause virtual trees to grow on your page at the Carbon Grove site. The only downside is that it only runs on IE, so firefox users will need to launch Internet Explorer to give it a try.

Last week I saw one of JFM’s founders Hillel Cooperman speak about his company’s business vision, and he was inspiring. Jackson Fish Market is working on simple web applications that focus heavily on design. The result is web applications that are a treat to use. The JFM team is a small three person team, and you can see their passion for the work they are doing in their previous projects, They’re Beautiful, and Invitastic. Unlike most software development shops, they look like they are having fun with their products. For example, on their homepage the graphics change depending on the time of day. At night the street lights come on and the moon comes out.

If you haven’t tried one of Jackson Fish Market’s web apps, next time you are thinking about sending an evite, head to Invitastic instead. I think you will find it refreshing to use software built by developers that pay more attention to the user experience than the number of features they can squeeze in.