studionashvegas | design and social media

What a crazy week so far… it’s only Tuesday and I can’t wait for the weekend to get here (not just because of the conference, but just to enjoy time… enjoying stuff!) Luke being sick is not helping this.  A toddler with a 99-105 degree fever that fluctuates up and down is sort of scary for anyone.

At any rate, I’ve made it a point to try and blog more, since I really enjoy writing the posts, but my biggest problem always being I never have enough time.  I’ve opted to try and use a task-manager to get me kick-started so I can focus on client work and still have enough time for the things I love.

This weekend is WordCampFayetteville (#wcfay) and I’m flying out on Friday to get there just in time for the speaker’s dinner.  After that we’re heading over to a tweet-up, so it’s a fun-filled night for everyone, for sure.  I’ll be presenting my “How to use WordPress for Dang Near Anything” presentation, and going into great detail to explain just how to set up some of the special offerings WordPress has to offer.  If you want to see the older version (which is similar to the one i’m doing at #wcfay) you can check it out on my slideshare page.

Also, and not just because my dear friend Tammy just redid hers, I may have a new site design on the horizon.  My current site is good, but it needs a little cleanup and the ability to show off more than just pictures.

So, hopefully you’ll make it to #wcfay, because it’s going to be awesome!

I took some time today away from my normal coding duties to go out into Franklin and help with some of the clean-up efforts.  I hooked up with a crew from Rolling Hills Community Church to go out and help people.

I can’t believe just how much devastation is out there. The closer you got to the river, the worse it got.  Videos 4 and 6 have a lot of the major area video, but here are all 5 of the videos I shot.

Just wanted to let you guys know that we raised a total of $253 for Child’s Play.  I took care of the fees that PayPal charged so I could send over the full $253, and it’s heading over the interwebs right now.

Thanks again to all who donated!

Happy Birthday … me!  But, i don’t want you guys to send me presents, or iTunes credits, or XBOX points, or anything… what I want is for you to help out some people who need it more than me – the children in hospitals across the country.  I mean, they’re there, trying to get better with little to nothing to do except, well… sit there.

That’s where Child’s Play comes in:

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 3.5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

Child’s Play takes money it collects (or donations it receives) and gives toys and video games to one of their 40 hospitals worldwide (for you Nashville people, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital is on their list).  And, if you don’t specify, that’s where the donations will go.  If you have a local hospital, then specify and I’ll re-route some funds that way.

The Chip-in meter is open until the 31st, so feel free to give anytime during that time period.  It’s only 3 days, but I want to raise as much as I can.

So, happy birthday to me!  And it’s time to let someone else have a few presents

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children  were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

So, you’ve seen all the buzz about Twitter, WordPress, and all of these other new and exciting things happening on the Internet, but you don’t have a a clue where to start?  Never fear: we’ve all been there, and it took the knowledge of some great minds to get us there.  Here are some great books to get you caught up to speed with what’s going on in today’s tech, PR, and marketing areas:

1. Seth Godin – “Tribes”

Aside from me being on the back inside cover (look in the crook of the E – there I am!), this is a fantastic book explaining how we as consumers are defining the brands we use every day.  As business owners, we can take the buzz generated from these “loyal tribesmen” and fuel our sales and marketing by appealing to the tribal leaders, who will then share this with their circles of influence.  Highly recommended.

2. Garr Reynolds – “Presentation Zen”

I had the opportunity to see Garr present at the Voices That Matter conference here in Nashville last year, and he’s the master for good reason!  His style focuses on “visual” presenting (using as few words as possible with great imagery and super-minimal typography design) and it’s spot on.  If you hate PowerPoint, this is the book you want to pick up!

3. Robert Hoekman, Jr – "Designing the Obvious" and “Designing the Moment”

This book deals mostly with UI design, but it can be adapted to any medium (the tangible arts included!). Robert is the master of clutter elimination, and if you’re looking for a way to clean up your designs, this is the man to look to. I also had an opportunity to meet him at the Voices That Matter conference – and he’s just as smart in person as he is in his books! (I kid, I kid)… He also has a new book out called "Designing the Moment!" which I haven’t gotten a chance to check out, but it’s on my list!

4. Jason Cranford Teague – "Speaking in Styles"

Jason is an amazing mind when it comes to utilizing stylesheets in new and exciting ways. He taught me how to degrade fonts properly, how to utilize download fonts, and how to accept the fact that comps will look different on different computers; it’s just a fact. But his book is an easy read, but one that will benefit any designer looking to leap into code!

5. Brad King – "Dungeons and Dreamers"

OK, so this one’s a bonus, but it’s a great read into how fantasy games made it to the big screen and into our everyday culture. It’s hard to believe that Dungeons and Dragons started as a social game, but that’s what it is in its purest form. The idea of social gaming has been around for a while, but we now have the technology to make those social circles just a little bit smaller.

If anyone wants to add to the fun, feel free to in the comments below.

In the US, we follow twitter to catch up with friends. In Soviet Russia, twitter follows you! And you always get caught

In the US, College students use facebook to find out where parties are. In Soviet Russia, "The Party" can always find you

In the US, we execute searches on Google every day. In Soviet Russia… you’re just executed.

 

Maybe because I stayed up late, then went to the Nashville #GeekBreakfast, these are hilarious to me.

…we’ve come a long way from this:

…to this…

…with a brief stop here…

…and to where we are today!

And how sweet it is!

(thanks to Ozh for a wonderful post – if you aren’t familiar with WordPress, head to his site for a history lesson!)

Normally I’m not one to recycle information on the net (I think that we’ve already become a big enough echo chamber without one other voice being added) but I do like this PDF put out by 14 of the best minds in Social Media.  It’s a great read!

Social Media 2009

WordPress 2.7 is nothing short of amazing.  The WordPress team (and 150 others from the community) went back to the drawing board and redesigned the interface from the ground up.  It’s absolutely beautiful, and a testament to great design and an amazing user interface.  But it’s not just pretty, it’s awesome under the hood!

Never again will you have to update WordPress by hand.  Everything is done inside of WordPress now, whether it’s upgrading the core, the plugins, or even installing new plugins, you’ll never have to leave the WordPress core!

There are tons of other changes, but don’t take my word for it – upgrade now, and get ready to experience the new era of WordPress.