Where I've Been Today

I follow a few people's blogs who post a summary of where they've been around the web each day. I probably won't post every day (or even on the day I found the places) but thought I would add this to my schedule. Not only to do you get to check out some (possibly) interesting links but I get to store them somewhere I can refer back to later.

So here we go:

artinmycoffee.com - this was a fun little gallery site that users can upload pics they take of cool latte art. Some pretty impressive works can be found here.

TeuxDeux - I actually stumbled on this site last week from a recommendation on Twitter. TeuxDeux is a very simple web application for making and organizing daily to-do lists. So far I've found it really helpful and easy to use. Oh, and the minimalist site design is brilliant. It so fits the designer in me.
Vesper Font - found this great font today. Looks great for setting lots of small type (i.e. a book or pamphlet).


Le Grand Content video - a humorous video I found on YouTube presenting seemingly random items of life through infographics (charts, tables and other means of comparison). Brilliant.

Volcano Choir - I love Bon Iver and just about anything else Justin Vernon is—or has been—involved in so it follows that I should love Volcano Choir, one of his side projects from this last year. And I do love it. A lot. Which only means that you too should check it out since I have such wicked taste in music.


What Matters Now (Free PDF) - the brilliance of Seth Godin never ceases to amaze me so when I see he has a download-able PDF on his site I can't help but snag it. Especially when it takes Twitter by storm this morning. It was good (though not great). Essentially he's collected brief snippets on various topics from almost 80 thinkers, bloggers, writers, and do-ers who have recently or are releasing soon books that he supports. It's worth at least a skim through. However, this all makes me wonder if he gets any kick-back for making such a huge PR storm for these people's books.

What great web places did you discover today?

"I'm a Night Owl Calvinist" and The Charting of Random Persona Facts

Based on a public conversation I had online through Twitter last night with @iamchanelle, @BenJammin noted that both of us were late-night people and Calvinists—or at least he assumed we were since we both go to churches that hold to Reformed doctrine.

(By the way, for all you non-Twitter users, the "@" symbol simply denotes a user name. For instance my username on Twitter is @jerrythepunkrat and so when people converse with me through Twitter they use that name for me. But I digress. That's another post for another time..."What's Twitter? or How to Waste Your Life.")

Anyways, back to the story. Ben's response got me thinking about how I might chart these two random persona characteristics: that I prefer to stay up late (and not get up early) and that I believe in much of the Reformed doctrine promoted by John Calvin.

So I charted two axes, one for sleeping preference (Early Bird vs. Night Owl) and one for theological doctrine (Jacobus Arminius vs. John Calvin).

Here's the result:

Clever? Maybe. Useful? Not really. Regardless I think I may try to do more of these charts looking at the intersection of seemingly random characteristics and personae.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas for my next chart. I'd love to hear from you!

The Internet Is Not the Economy You Though It Was

Everybody knows it. Nobody admits it (okay maybe a few marketing spammers admit it).

The internet is an economy.

But it's probably not the economy you think it is. It's not the economy of Target.com or Amazon.com or Etsy.com or any other online retailer. Yeah, it includes those guys (and all the little one-person shops littered across the web landscape) but they're becoming only a slice of the growing internet economy pie.

The ever-correct and all-knowing Wikipedia defines "Internet Economy" this way:

The Internet Economy refers to conducting business through markets whose infrastructure is based on the Internet and World-Wide Web. An Internet economy differs from a traditional economy in a number of ways, including: communication, market segmentation, distribution costs, and price.

But Wikipedia is wrong. This is the old internet economy, where transactions were still made with money (virtual now but money non-the-less). The old internet economy was just like the IRL traditional economy but with a new infrastructure of sending and receiving money and marketing your wares. With the advent of blogs, social networks, and social communication tools like Twitter the internet has changed forever.

Why? The currency changed.

We're all on the internet and most of us individually don't really spend all that much online. (We only spend what we have or can borrow and that isn't any different than before we bought everything online). Or do we?

We sure do spend a lot of time online. I know I do. And we all have a profile of sorts, don't we? We all have an image we maintain (to some degree or another). And we all have a network, right? C'mon, I'm punk 25-year-old and I've got over 300 'followers' each on Facebook and Twitter. And every time you give someone else some of your time, some of your attention online you're building their profile. We all have the ability with an internet-connected globe to get our profile in front of literally millions of people which means every hit counts.

But then you have something besides just attention to trade with one another, don't you? You've got the ability to promote others. You can post a link.

It used to be that to post a link in order to share with the world at large you had to have a website. And websites were always a hassle to setup, maintain, and get people to find.

And then there were blogs.

Yay! Blog sites made it really easy to post stuff and maintain your blog. But you still had to get people to show up at your blog and actually read it. Ugh.

And now social networks and Twitter have shown up.

Holy crap, YAY! The internet gods made not only posting info and links really easy but but they've made connecting your profile with others and pushing your content to them so ridiculously easy you can do it on a tiny 2" square screen.

Now we can all share with each other every bit of info and link we stumble on. And here in lies the rub. We don't transact in cash or credit any more on the web. We trade in links and PR. We give each other virtual handshakes and hi-fives in front of hundreds, thousands and even millions with the simple push of a link out to our network.

We all have a profile and network. We've all got something to hype. That's internet economy.

The album is almost here!

It's finally (almost) here—the album I and the rest of Sunday Morning Drive have been writing, recording, mixing and producing for the last 2 years. And we want to share the moment with you.

We are hosting two very different events this coming weekend to celebrate the release of the album and to thank our friends and fans for all of their support over the years.

The first event is on Friday, December 4th starting at 7pm at Roosevelt Community Church in downtown Phoenix, in conjunction with First Fridays Artwalk. This event is a casual affair with the chance to hang out with other fans, hear the CD for the first time, enjoy some live improv via Blackbox Improv! and, of course, live music by SMD—with a twist. We'll be taking requests from our album and back-catalog of original songs as well as create and improvise new music on the spot! This free event is one you won't want to miss. For directions and all the details check out the event page on Facebook.

The second event will be a doozy! The real deal. A real kick-in-the-pants. It will be a real rock-fest with blazing guitar licks, soaring vocals, and some wicked drum beats. We'll be playing a rocking 2-hour set at Bogey's in Tempe on Saturday, December 5th at 7:30pm. Be sure to bring your ear-plugs and of course your singing voice so you can rock along with us! All the details are on the event page on Facebook. Be sure to RSVP! (And the show is free—you know we treat you right!)

Of course, both events will have the new album available for sale as well as t-shirts. If you can make it to either show we would love to have you celebrate, rock-out and just generally hang with us as we put up our rock fists for our greatest achievement yet!

End of Days Photo Project

Every day I leave work and usually catch some portion of an amazing Arizona sunset and I've been struck with the coincidence the timing of this event. These sunsets have begun to mark the end of a large portion of my day and I wanted to do something with it. So I've begun a small photography project.

Basically for the last week or so I've been taking a few photos of the sky and maybe some portion of the surrounding scenery as I leave the office each day. And I've begun posting these photographs to a small Tumblr blog called At the End of Days. Essentially I've placed two rules on this project: post one photo per work day and the shot must be taken at whatever time I leave the office - no weekends, no lunch shots, no sunrises. Just beautiful Arizona sunset skies.

So if you want to keep up with this project of mine and catch a small glimpse of what I see every day, feel free to follow me at AtTheEndOfDays.Tumblr.com. I don't know how long this will last though the plan right now is to keep it going for a while. Feel free to let me know what you think and what you feel might make it better. Hope you enjoy!

JetPack Radio

I'm all for learning and doing things smarter, faster, and more effectively so when I ran across a new series of pod- and vidcasts about making your business and life more successful I got excited. And not only does it seem like some great content but they're local too! Go AZ!

JetPack Radio is the brain child of several local entrepreneurs and professionals who want to share their experience and expertise with others through new media. I've watched a couple of their new JetPack Radio episodes and thought it would definitely be worth sharing. They plan to give advice and experience tips on a wide variety of subjects but mostly revolving around producing, publishing and promoting/marketing online media.

They're only a few shows into the genesis of this project so they've still got plenty to prove but it looks like they might be worth checking out.

I've posted here their intro video explaining what JetPack Radio is all about.

Blogging Tips: RSS Feeds

I've been thinking a lot about the art and science behind blogging over the last year or so. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing with this blog and also how to help others who blog think through their own blog strategies and practices.

One item of note that has come up is the topic of RSS feeds. I want to think through some of the implications of having an easily accessible RSS feed on your blog and how feeds can become instrumental in developing a tribe around what you care about (which is hopefully what you write about).

What is RSS?

For starters, let's define RSS. You can check out the full Wikipedia entry on RSS feeds, but without getting into all the technical mumbo jumbo RSS is Really Simple Syndication. This is a web technology that publishes content you post on your site and allows various web and desktop applications to retrieve this new content. For example, I have an RSS feed for this site and if you were to click the link at the top of the sidebar that says "Subscribe via RSS reader," you can use a variety of web tools (like Google Reader or NetVibes) to get each of my posts fed directly to you. I personally use Google Reader to keep up with a number of blogs and sites from around the web. This means I don't have to remember to go check these sites every day; instead, I get an update in my Reader that tells me they've posted new content. In most cases, I can actually read all or part of that post right there in the reader. If you find yourself going frequently to the same blogs, I would highly recommend Google Reader or some other reader application. It definitely makes following blogs much easier.

But this post is about the importance of an RSS feed for your own blog.

So What's the Point?

RSS feeds are a double-edged sword for the blogger since they benefit not only you but your readers as well.

The Benefit to Your Readers

Your readers (especially those who are already avid blog readers) will love that you have an RSS feed! This allows them to get updates in almost real-time of your latest posts and content. They no longer have to remember to check back to find out if you posted something new and they won't have to worry about missing that life-changing post you snuck in at 1am on a Sunday—it'll be waiting for them in their readers when they have time to read. RSS feeds make reading blogs incredibly more enjoyable for your readers. And happy readers make for a happy blogger!

The Benefit to You

As much as an RSS feed is beneficial to your readers, it has the potential to be of even greater benefit to you, the blogger. As you gain readers to your site who utilize your RSS feed, you develop a deeper connection than you otherwise would have with those who stumble on your site or read only a few posts now and again. Your posts will be fed directly to them as often as you choose to write (probably many times more often than they would get with an email newsletter). In addition, the likelihood of these posts being read is increased as your readers will be able to save them and keep track of them. Your avid readers, utilizing your RSS feed, will likely read most, if not all, of your posts. Through this regular communication a relationship with them will grow.

The Importance of Relationship

This is probably a topic for a whole series of posts, but in a nutshell relationships with your readers are crucial to the continued growth of your blog—and not just growth in numbers. Having consistent and engaged readers allows for conversations regarding the topics you are passionate about, whether these conversations occur on the site in the comments or in direct emails back to you. Engaged readers promote participation in the topics you bring up and discuss and community reflection and thought. Conversation deepens critical thinking about the topics you care about as you discuss, debate, and defend what you write. This can only refine and grow your thoughts and writing, as well as those of your readers. As your passion becomes more defined and informed, your posts will become more refined, making your blog that much better for everyone—for you and your readers, new and old!

Creating Fans and Friends

As your posts become better and readers consume regular content through the use of your RSS feed, you will find them changing from just readers into fans and friends. And fans and friends are really good at spreading the word! These dedicated readers will become your base for getting the word about your blog posts, thus increasing readership. While the content and purpose of your blog should take precedence over gaining readers, having more is never a bad deal. Get enough readers and you might even be able to turn your little corner of the internet into something more than a hobby. Getting paid to blog about what you love and care about? Always a good deal!

Questions in Conclusion

To wrap up, what are your thoughts on RSS feeds? Do you use them on your blog? Do you utilize them for reading others' blogs? How have you found them beneficial, either as a blogger or as a reader? Let me know your thoughts!

Image used courtesy of Heather Weaver under a Creative Commons license

Phoenix Design Week Poster Contest

Thought I'd put in a plug for the recent Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW) poster contest. I highly recommend clicking through and checking out the many sweet designs and voting for your favorites.

I was not able to get any poster designs done before the submission deadline but I was able to do a series of quick promo poster layouts for Phoenix Design Week. You can check them out on my Flickr account. Basically they're just a standard design template (supplied by PHXDW) overlayed on top of my own photography. If you too want to help promote PHXDW you can check out their helpful page with tons of info and tools to help push the word out, including a photoshop template and instructions for designing your own PHXDW promo posters.

By the way, Phoenix Design Week is only like 2 weeks away. Get your tickets now!

Phoenix Design Week 2009

I'm getting truly excited for Phoenix Design Week! Are you?

For those who don't know (yet) Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW) 2009 is 5 days in October devoted to the celebration of the design community in the greater Phoenix area, with multiple events and conference activities throughout those five days. Included are a variety of exhibitions, open houses, workshops, presentations, activities, films and other community-growth oriented events, all centered around design and creativity.

PHXDW was the brainchild of several local creative companies and individuals who desire to see the local design community of Phoenix grow and thrive. The week and it's activities are designed to facilitate unity amongst local creatives, allowing them to interact with and learn from one another, reigniting their passion for both design as well as our local community.

Here's a few details of the week:

When
October 21st to October 25th

Where  

• Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: Terralever, Santy Integrated, The Clarendon 
• Wednesday Night: Terralever
• Thursday Night: Santy Integrated
• Friday Night: Madcap Theaters
• Saturday: Phoenix Convention Center
• Saturday Night: The Clarendon
• Sunday: Phoenix Convention Center

Registration:
This inaugural event comes with one amazing price tag: only $40! Compared to many conferences this a total steal. If you're interested please check out the PHXDW website, www.phxdw.com, for more info and to register for the event. On the website you can get all the details like specifics on events and times, conferences speakers, news, etc. so check it out.

I'd love to see you there!

Link to Article on Web Annoyances

I usually try really hard to not just post links to other articles on my blog. I'm all about creating original content but this article was just too good not to share with everyone.

If you design sites, create content that goes on the web (whether that be words or pictures or whatever), or develop and code sites you need to read this: "The 65 Most Annoying things about the Web Today" from UXByDesign.org blog.


This article lists a number of specific annoyances and issues for just about anyone that surfs the internet and uses website, from a variety of different categories including design, information find-ability, content strategy, forms, technology and functionality.


Some of my top favorites are:

• Splash screens
• Illegible text
• Busy backgrounds
• Contact info (namely the lack of a phone number)
• Unscannable article content
• Spelling and grammar
• Small product images
• Unreadable captchas on forms (I really hate this one)
• Pop-up ads
• Interstitial web-pages
• Internet Explorer 6 (yes, please make it crawl away and die)
• Entire sites built in Flash

There's a lot more in the actual article so I highly recommend you check it out. There's a number that I'm not sure quite deserve to be on this list. But that's just my opinion—go form your own!