Make Advertisements Interesting
I think the easiest way for advertisers to evolve in this attention deficit world of ours is to make ads that people WANT to watch. As a bonus, go a little further, make ads that people will share! Below is an advertisement, but it’s so good, I’m sharing it.
The Gender of a Web Site Footer?
I never thought about it before, but I guess in the process of anthropomorphizing, anything can be imbued with gender. Yesterday on Twitter – a couple of Information Architects stated their opinion on the topic.
Facebook: The Courage to Step Away
Facebook has been a constant struggle for me. I got in early because I worked at Sun Microsystems. They let us in shortly after it was opened up to all campuses. It was kinda fun, really addictive and interesting to watch the progress.
What I didn’t know then, I know now.
Read the Terms of Use.
It’s like a roach motel in there. You can get in but you can’t get out.
The thing is – in the end – they have to make money. They know so much about me already that I wish I could take back. However, I can’t. Every single connection that I confirmed, every photo I’m tagged in, all of it is captured. I just wanted it to stop. It takes people like me standing up and saying that the practices are not OK. So here I go again.
If they open it up, I’ll be back in a flash. They can advertise to me if they share with me the info that they know. Google in contrast does share that info.
I’m not actually up in arms about privacy as much as everyone else. It’s more about the fact that I know what Google knows. That leaves the power in my hands. Where do you want the power to be? You should ask yourself.
Amazing Infographics for Olympics Biathlon Shooting Rounds
If you’ve never seen a biathalon, part of the sport is stopping to shoot at targets. If you miss, you have to do and extra lap. You have to do this each time you miss so there is a strong incentive to hit the target.
Here is a picture of what they did. It’s ingenius, communicative and active interface that communicated to the viewer exactly what was happening.
You can see the country of each athlete, a name, the status of success of shots, how many shots completed/remaining. And it was very active as you can imagine. It updated in real time. A very nice example of visual communication.
On My Birthday This Year
I got to see my photo hanging at a local show. My mother-in-law took this replica picture of me in front of it. 
Musical Recommendations
Today, I saw a couple of the people I follow on twitter discussing music. We had discussed music before and I knew I liked their taste. In fact, @A_Silvers had a stint at one of my favorite record labels. *
So, I asked for their recommendations. It’s old school, but I feel the results were of high quality, so I’m sharing them here for you to benefit too.
Big thanks go out to @A_Silvers and @emenel for helping me generate a list of new music to explore.
*It was Twin/Tone Records in case you were curious.
Up Late Again
In anticipation of a trip to the Virginia/Bethesda region of our country, I’m up late, again. I can’t help it. I get excited when I get the chance to get together with my co-workers. Adventures await, so I’m off to bed now – really – this time. Travel is an adventure indeed. Wish me luck.
Almost There
I’ve had a second job for awhile. It’s a volunteer job. I’m on year two of co-chairing the IA Summit. We almost have the program ready this year. It’s been a long road but I think we’ve pulled together a great event that people are going to get value from. Working at my second job has definitely taken valuable blogging time this year, so I’m glad to see that I’m managing to push both forward at the moment. New habits for a new year, I guess.
So soon, the program will be live with registration, this is the Christmas morning anticipation I missed out on this year.
Inspiration From a Childhood Favorite
Lately, I’ve been seeking sources of inspiration around drawing. I picked up some old Ed Emberley classics again and have been recreating the objects he teaches in my sketchbook. It’s been a very useful and meditative activity.
The drawings pictured to the left are the images I made following the instructions from the book Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book – Make A World.
In Honor of Two Great Men
Two of the most influential educators in my life left this mortal coil in 2009. Professor James Gremmels and Dr. Raymond Lammers. My English and Theater professors at the University of Minnesota, Morris, MN.
I took a class my freshman year of college that the two of them co-taught. It was a critical thinking class topically based on Theater and English.
It was one of the most important and transformative experiences of my life. However, it was not just that class that I have to thank them for the gifts of the educators in our life are vast.
Dr. Lammers always had faith in me. He pushed me. He challenged me. He made me feel that I could be great. I was encouraged to dream but also to work to make that dream come true. He instilled in me a sense of the discipline it takes to truly make your creative vision come true.
Professor Gremmels was important in a different way. I worked with him at the old time letter press. We would spend hours setting type and printing on an old fashioned printer. His patience during those hours and his guidance taught me that life was not always going to go my way. I had to work with it. His teaching was also very important. His classes were filled with his love and energy of the subject. He breathed all kinds of life into old text and his love of Moby Dick gave me a perspective on the work of Melville that came from a scholar who loved his work.
In honor of all the people that make a difference in your life, I am grateful to both of these great men for the gifts they gave to me. I honor them by remembering them.
My Photo Blog
- The Booth On the Left March 7, 2010The effect of the translucent glass captured my eye at breakfast today.
- Willing Spring To Be March 6, 2010This photo was taken in New York in 2004. It was on the cusp of spring then as it is now. Changing seasons, especially when it’s time for spring, is a joy to experience.
- Imagine March 5, 2010I chose this photo because I’ve never displayed it. It was taken around this time of year and it’s something that people can stand to be reminded of…Imagining Peace.
- Power March 4, 2010This photo was taken on March 4th, 2006. It’s 4 years old today. I think it’s interesting to examine the source of something that is so fundamental to our modern life.
- Reflections: buildings as mirrors March 3, 2010
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