You’ve probably seen the video by now, as it’s been making the rounds in pretty much ever social network.

It’s pretty funny, and well written. Having a guy play the part of the girl is pretty ingenious and the whole thing is put together skillfully, with its repetition and quick cuts. It has a lot of what makes pop songs catchy, just in video form.

What really interests me about the video, though, is how it’s transformed into a meme that has become increasingly granular. In fact, I wasn’t aware of the video until I saw one of the take-off on it. Several of my friends posted a link to the video, “Shit New Yorkers Say,” which was somewhat funny to me (as a Bostonian). I couldn’t totally relate to it though, as I’m not a New Yorker. I’ve been there many times, but I don’t know it as intimately as my friends. I understood some of the jokes, but not all of them, so I watched the video and then moved on to the next thing.

The following day, another group of friends posted a link to this video:

This I could relate to and here’s where it gets interesting. I’ve been a passionate mountain biker for the past three years, and it’s a subculture which I’ve immersed myself in. I’ve probably said a bunch of lines from that video, and so for me there’s a lot of truth in it. That authenticity is where the power in these videos is, combined with the sense of community they create. If you’re not a mountain biker, you probably didn’t relate to that last video, but that’s what makes it great.  The tribe of mountain bikers is so small that it has developed specialized language to accompany the central activity of the group. In essence, the language is one of the main defining aspects of the subculture.

We humans have always sought to form groups of like-minded individuals, and in the modern connected area, this is easier than ever. We’re no longer limited by spacial boundaries, but we still seek out ways to make these connections. Language is one of them, and so are these sort of cultural artifacts that we create. They are a means to bring together members of a subculture from far-flung reaches of the globe and create things to talk about and share common experiences. We all seek these things out, and therein lies their power.

The Implications for Branding

Of course, professionals in the Branding spheres have known this for a long time. Logos are artifacts, so are modes of fashion and pieces of media. Just as a lot of the videos in this meme were created out of a passion for their culture, I’ve seen quite a few that were created by more corporate entities. From my point of view, not a single one of them has rung true. They have that whole stink of cashing in on the zeitgeist, for money and profit.

Smart folks in Branding know that you can’t create these memes, and most of the time you can’t piggy back off of them either. People can smell inauthenticity from a mile away, especially in such niche subcultures as mountain bikers (or fixed gear riders, or knitters, or organic gardeners, etc.). The risk of coming off as fake is always a consideration when you’re creating branding, but if you’re just recycling someone else’s idea, you’re chances of attaining an honest connection are pretty small. Your best hope is to already have enough brand equity in the viewer to overlook the face that you’re just taking wholesale from an original idea. There hasn’t really been a lack of corporations doing this historically, but I would suggest that this is the root of some of the corporate disillusionment in our society.

Strive for Authenticity

When we create branding, it’s imperative that we understand our audience. It’s not about riding the latest wave, it’s about making connections. To do that, you really have to get to know who the audience is. One of the first things to realize is that you don’t dictate branding. You can help to guide it, and provide input, but brands—whether they be corporate or non-profit or individual—are always about conversation. The hard reality that most organizations struggle with is that brands are not dictated, but are shaped by people just as much as they are created by designers, strategists and marketers.

It’s been a month of rather intense change for me. The biggest change has been a decision to quit my current full-time job and begin freelancing full-time. This hasn’t been an easy decision for me—as you might imagine—with the job market being pretty poor and a lot of people still out of work. There are a few reasons why I decided to make a move, but I’ll only get into a few of them here.

A Rolling Stone…

…gathers no moss, or so they say. It became abundantly clear to me, especially over the past 9–12 months, that I wasn’t growing. I felt like my skillset was stagnating, and I could read articles and self-educate all I wanted, but the types of projects that I wanted to work on just weren’t coming in. I wanted to work on a project that would challenge me and really push the limits of what I felt comfortable doing creatively. I wanted to think big and I wanted to get crazy. None of these things would happen at my previous job.

Some designers, especially these days, take this opportunity to create their own projects. This is great, and some amazing stuff has come of these kinds of ventures. For me, at this point in my life, I find the external stimulus far more motivating than self-defined projects. I’m not great at defining constraints for myself, so I find client work more rewarding.

One More Time, With More Focus

Some of the clarity that I’ve gained over the past 18 months relates to the type of work that I want to do. I realized that at some point, I got away from what I want to be doing. My first passion in design is Branding. The thrill of connecting with people and (positively) impacting their lives through my work is exciting. Branding is one of the things that I do best, but I want to do more of it, in a different way and bigger.

I’m also really excited with Interaction design. I’ve always loved technology, but I think that we’re getting to a point where the technology is starting to disappear. By this, I mean that designers (and engineers, programmers, etc.) are creating systems that people can interact with on a complex level with minimal interference. This dove-tails with wanting to relate to people through my work, as well as engage them in a shared experience. All exciting stuff that I want to do more of.

In Which a Garden Analogy is Used

Even though I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really great folks over the past nine years, I realize now that I’ve hoed a pretty narrow row. I have worked primarily in small firms for much of my career, and so the type of work that I’ve done has been small firm work. That’s not to say that there are benefits to the small firm environment. The relationships with clients, the accessibility to your boss, the ability to have some say in the direction of the company; these are all great things. For my immediate future, however, it’s not what I want. I want bigger and I want different.

As a freelancer/sole-proprietor, I want to work as part of a large campaign or bring my services to a company that might not be able to use them otherwise. I want to do important work and meet a bunch of different people. All-in-all, I just want to get out there and see what’s available to me.

So What Now?

Well, I’m not entirely sure. I suppose that I will more or less figure that out as I go along. What I do know is that I will feel a lot more in-control than I have in a while, and it’s exhilarating. Sure, there is the possibility for failure. I know it’s a risky move, but part of this move is having enough faith in myself that I can do it.

Of course, if you have any suggestions, words of wisdom or even a project that you might be interested in working with me on, feel free to drop a line. I’d love to chat more.

Just like last year, I decided to do a wrap-up of the music that I’ve really loved from the past 12 months. And also like last year, I’m not limiting myself to albums that came out last year. The reason is that even though new music can be very much “of a moment,” I really feel that new artists or albums can relate to something that you’re going through that might really strike a chord at a particular time in your life. Subsequently, I think it’s fun to talk about those records too because readers may have missed them the first time around too.

Gang of Four — Content

I am a die-hard Gang of Four fan. When I hear that this album was coming out, I battled with equal parts excitement and apprehension. It seems like Punk is becoming more like the new Classic Rock with every passing day, but I was hoping the these guys hadn’t lost their touch. Fortunately, I wasn’t let down. Content sounds both like old GO4, and like something new. With so many bands influenced by GO4 out there these days, it’s nice to know that they still have some lessons to teach.

The Kills — Blood Pressures

I’m not totally sure why, but this album really clicks for me. It probably has something to due with the minimal approach and electro-guitar sound combined with the drum loops. Allison Mossheart’s pained wailing of considered lyrics can’t hurt either. The total effect is a record that is fun to tap your foot to, but also stands up to deeper scrutiny.

The Thermals — Personal Life

Ok, here’s where I go off the rails and start in with albums that I didn’t get around to until this year. I’ve liked The Thermals’ previous releases, but this one really stuck with me. It’s definitely a bit more chill than previous albums, with the track that I’m including below being the fastest and most hard-hitting of the bunch. Taken as a whole, the album has a great arc however. It’s more dynamic, and at the same time this me a feeling of greater emotional range than their previous albums.

Battle House — Some Sleep

This one’s the first up from the somewhat obscure local releases. From my perspective, Boston has a bit of a sleeper scene right now. For every Passion Pit, there are a dozen bands around here that are just fantastic and subversive but put on a great show. I would put Battle House on the top of that heap, with their hard-to-categorize sound and general weirdness. I’m not sure how much widespread appeal that they have, but I’d nominate them to be our Rock Ambassadors anyday. Download the album for free here.

tUnE-yArDs — W H O K I L L

I don’t normally take to music endorsements from NPR as a rule. I couldn’t help but an exception in the case of this record, which I heard about on Studio 360. It’s a little tough to describe this release, what with each song being primarily composed of electronic loops, percussion, ukulele, bass, a couple saxophones and vocals. I guess the best way to sum it up is Paul Simon’s Graceland through a post-punk lense. Great stuff.

Jeff the Brotherhood — We Are The Champions

I started to come into my own—personally and musically—in the mid-‘90s. Looking back, it seems like a rather odd time in music, with Rock ’n’ Roll really looking purpose, Hip-Hop coming into it’s own, and MTV really going through its transition to not playing music. I definitely fell into the Grunge thing fairly hard, especially on the heavier end of the spectrum, so that may be why I have a soft spot for this album. We Are The Champions sounds like something that could’ve come out during Grunge’s heyday, but the suburban angst is swapped out for a generally chill vibe and songs about girls and partying. Basically, making it much more fun and less mope-y.

Olde Growth — s/t

Back to local releases, and this case probably the heaviest slab on this list. I’ve been checking out more and more metal these days, and Olde Growth plays exactly the kind of stuff I like. It’s dripping with sludge, and pretty heavy at times, but the tempo still gets rolling and the variety of the tracks keeps things interesting. I’m pretty sure that these guys aren’t really breaking any new ground, but I really like this album and I think it deserves attention from a wider audience for sure. Oh yeah: and there are Tolkien references. Check them out.

Various - Drive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Didn’t see that one coming, right? When Drive came out in the theaters, I went to see it and generally enjoyed it. Good, but not awesome. For the week afterwards, the music kept haunting me though. It fit the mood of the movie really well, but it also seemed like it might stand on its own pretty well too. I grabbed the soundtrack, and it turned out to be quite good. In a way, it’s two albums: five tracks by various electro/dance groups, and then 15 electronic and highly atmospheric instrumental pieces (by Cliff Martinez, no less). As with any compilation, there are a couple duds, but I think these tracks have longevity because they don’t have that “soundtracky” feel that you often associate with glitzy Hollywood productions.

Iceage — New Brigade

12 tracks in 24 minutes. I’m not sure if there’s a better indicator of quality in a record, but if you need one then this album probably isn’t for you. It’s fast, raw and refreshing. It could’ve been a Class of ’76 release, and I think it still would’ve stood out with the best of the Buzzcocks and 999.

Cold Cave — Love Comes Close

My other exception for the 2011 stricture. I bought Cherish the Light Years when it came out this year, and it was my introduction to Cold Cave. I really liked it, and the only reason that it’s not on this list is that I went out and got Love Comes Close shortly after and liked it even more. I fully realize that this album sounds a lot like the ’80s recycled some thirty years later, but it still sounds great to me. I wasn’t really aware of the early 1980s New Wave music when it first came around, so I can appreciate it much more now. As more of an oddity in 2011, it’s easier to appreciate that it’s just enjoyable music to listen to.

Generally, I think it was a pretty good year for music. It’s a great time to be a music fan, since groups are pulling from so many different time periods and stylistic influences. Especially in small, local scenes (like Boston), artists are exploring and pushing some interesting boundaries.

So what do you think? Did you guys enjoy any of these albums too or did I shine the light on some stuff that you might’ve missed the first time around?

The past year saw a lot of quite high-profile rebrands that received a very cold, if not hostile reception. Generally, this isn’t something that is particularly unusual—at least among the design community at any rate. What is of note is the degree to which the average observed from outside of the design world had something to say about these rebrands.

Ask almost any designer, and they will have an opinion about any given logo. Even if branding is not part of their expertise, it’s something the designers tend to be very opinionated about. They will go on and on about the merits of the FedEx logo or the timeless qualities of Paul Rand’s IBM logo, but it has only been recently that non-designers have been particularly vocal when a logo that they share an emotional connection changes.

There are three examples that really stick out as examples of this over the past year: the GAP logo, the BIG10 logo and the Comedy Central logo. All three rebrands released in the past year were immediately met with intense, often vitriolic response. Consumers called for the return to the old logo, with frequent comments questioning whether the logo had been created by a child, or other rude critiques. What they are really saying, however, is that the design is bad.

The problem with online criticism

It is, of course, an individual’s right to publicly question and critique anything. As the most frequently reproduced and most publicly facing representative for a company (or organization or a cause), a logo should never be immune to this discourse. However, the value of most online discussions of logos is rarely conducted in a thoughtful way. How could any critic have been a fly on the wall at all the meetings, all the brainstorming sessions, all the long hours of working that resulted in the final identity. As designers, we are only slightly more equipped to provide informed criticism. We can relate to the process, but we still weren’t there when it happened.

Quality of criticism is another issue. What value does the comment, “meh” really bring to the table? What’s the point in saying merely, “I liked the old logo” if you don’t substantiate it with a “why” or provide some suggestions? The issue is that criticism is so easy, while logo design/branding is so difficult. In the online space, nobody asks you to provide evidence for your beliefs. Nobody asks you your credentials. Nobody knows your name, your background or your identity and the internet give you a listening audience.

What’s at stake

If these scathing remarks were fired off into the ether, with no impact on the external world, then this scenario would be acceptable. The reality, unfortunately, is that people’s reactions to these rebrands have caused companies to waffle and change their position. Instead of sticking with the decisions that have been made, they scrap everything and wind the clock back to the original identity, as if none of this had ever happened. Go about your purchasing, it was all just a bad dream.

Let’s ignore, for a moment, that this would be a prime example of the excesses of American corporations. Let’s look past the time and effort committed to the project by all the stakeholders. What message does this send to people about the value of design? It says that design is a frivolous pastime not to be taken seriously. It says that design can be discarded if there are a few vocal detractors.

That’s not to say that customers should be ignored, or that their opinions don’t matter. It certainly doesn’t mean that bad design shouldn’t be singled out and lobbied against. What it does mean is that the level of discourse that commonly happens via e-mail, on message boards, through social networks rarely adds something of value. Most often its off-handed comments and flame-war bait.

Worst case scenario

If this trend continues—and it certainly shows now signs of abating—it certainly has some rather grim implications. These rebrands have all taken place at large corporations, and to call these entities risk-adverse would be a rather severe understatement. It’s not difficult to point out examples of large companies choosing the safe and easy path when it comes to their visual identity. While history has favored those willing to take risks, it’s a difficult job to pitch challenging work to The Boardroom.

Sometimes the best design solution runs contrary to the research and the focus groups. It seems increasing unlikely that challenging work could make it past the decision makers without somebody bringing up, “Oh hey, that won’t work. Reminds me too much of that whole GAP debacle. We don’t need that.”

For the record…

…I really hate that proposed GAP logo, but I have my reasons.

A quick scan of my last.fm page reveals that I have—shall we say—distinguished taste. I don’t kid my self though. I’m very aware that I cast a pretty narrow net where music is concerned, and I’m pretty opinionated about other music. The reason that I’m doing this list, however, is that music is really important to me. I listen to a lot of music when I’m working and walking and driving and….

This time of year, tons of people do “Best Albums of The Year” lists, featuring their favorite releases of the past year. I’ve done those before, and they’re fun. The only problem with that—for me—is that I buy maybe twelve new albums a year. Maybe. I just prefer older music more.

Since this is my blogfolio and I’m running the show the way I want, I’m doing my own type of list. These are the best albums that I’ve acquired this year—some old, some new.

Top 10 Albums (That I Bought in) 2010

Gorillaz — Plastic Beach I’ve been a fan of Gorillaz since my friends wouldn’t stop playing a cheap CD-R that they got off an Italian street vendor and Clint Eastwood was on MTV all the time. I would say that Plastic Beach has a lot of good songs—and some that are less than good. Mostly, though, I really enjoyed this disc for being similar to the previous ones, but still different from any of their other releases. Going back and listening to their first album, it sounds like a much different affair.

Iggy & the Stooges — Raw Power (Legacy Edition) I’ve been waiting for this remaster for years. Literally. I’ve really liked some of the tracks on this album for a while, and obviously Iggy & the Stooges have a place in the History of Punk Rock. The controversy surrounding the mastering of the album always seemed weird to me. I was so close to purchasing this album several times, but then during the research process, I read that they were creating a definitive master of the songs. So I held out for this release, and it was definitely worth it.

999 — 999 I was hooked on this release from the moment that I heard “Emergency” somewhere. I had to go out and get this album. While no other track stands out quite as much as that one, it’s still a great album as a whole.

Mission of Burma — Signals, Calls and Marches I have to confess that there are at least a couple of reasons that purchased this album. First off, I really love Boston rock ’n’ roll. It has a character all its own, and this city has created some of the best rock bands in history. I also really like to be able to talk knowledgeably about Boston rock bands. Secondly, Burma is legendary around here and the songs that I’ve really enjoyed are on this album. After listening to it, I’ve found it to be one of the most ambitious hardcore albums that I’ve ever listened to.

Black Sabbath — Master of Reality The initial seed of this purchase stemmed from some sessions of playing Brutal Legend. It turned out that at times, the soundtrack was a lot better than the game itself. Children of the Grave is one of the tracks on this one, and as far as I’m concerned, this album could be nine cuts of this one song and it would still be one of my favorite albums. I mean just listen to the intro riff. It runs shivers up my spine.

Six Finger Satellite — A Good Year for Hardness This one caught me on the blind side. I completely expected The Chinese Stars “Heaven on Speed Dial”—which I purchased at the same time—to be the album that really caught my attention. I didn’t know too much about 6FS before this, and reunion albums aren’t really known for being stellar. I enjoyed The Chinese Stars’ album a lot too, but this was the one that really grabbed me. It’s driving and varied, but far more focused than their previous releases. A new era to be sure, but I’m excited for what the future has in store.

Devo — Be Stiff Ok, I’m cheating a bit here. Be Stiff is really and EP, but who cares? This one EP has better songs on it than have been played on the entirety of mainstream radio for the past year. To top it all off, the cover art is just fantastic, and really encapsulates Devo’s off-kilter aesthetic so well.

Liars — Sisterworld For some strange reason, I always lumped this band in with The Killers, who I really have no patience for. Fortunately I caught the video for Scissor on a music blog. I’m glad I figured things out, though, because I really enjoyed listening to this album. It’s one of those releases that really sounds like a cohesive whole. Each song is unique. Each has a really interesting structure, that may or may not really be recognizable as a “song”. From start to finish, this is one great and really challenging album. It’s the perfect obtuse, artsy shit that I really go for.

Crocodiles — Summer of Hate I grabbed this album cause I thought the cover was kind of sweet, in a subdued sort of way. Turns out the music is awesome. For me, the stand-out track is Soft Skulls, which is two and a half minutes of fuzzed out jangliness. This came out in 2009, so that’s pretty close to coming out this year. I’ll chock it up to a victory. Sleep Forever did come out this year, but it lacked some of the edge that really appealed to me, so it’s not my pick for this slot.

Black Keys — Brothers I don’t think that the importance of this album can’t be overstated, both to me and to music as a whole. ’Round the time when my dad was coming up, the whole “Blues meets Rock ’n’ Roll” thing was pretty hot. He loved bands like Zeppelin and Hendrix, as well as Jonny Lee and Muddy. He passed that love on to me, and now thanks to bands like The White Stripes and these two white dudes, we’re seeing somewhat of a revival. Sure, there’s plenty of people who have trod this road before, but these guys own it. Hand down, this is the best album I’ve heard this year, and it’s been a while since I’ve heard anything this good.

Wrap It Up

Ok, not too bad, right? 50% of these choices actually came out this year. Hopefully, if you didn’t know about some of these albums before now, you’ll have the impetus to check them out now.

So what did I miss? Any big ones that I should check out?

Happy Day! Today marks the overhaul of the blogfolio. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, but once it gets down to it, I’d rather create new work than tweak the presentation of work that I’ve already done. My aim was to integrate everything that I post, while at the same time maintaining a “portfolio” or at least catalog feel.

A Couple Remarks on The Execution

With the initial version of this site, my emphasis was on creating a whole packaging using some of the CSS tricks that I had up my sleeve, in addition to pushing WordPress a bit past its usual limits. Part of that was to use no images—beyond the content images—and to not use javascript. I especially didn’t want to use sIFR or create images for custom headline type.

I decided this time around to use a few new-ish technologies on the web front (not extremely new or particularly untested, but developed in the past couple years). Beyond using a few supplemental images, I’ve integrate a javascript library, specifically jQuery, as an aid to presentation and functionality. Some of the plug-ins that I use on the site utilize it anyway, so that wasn’t a hug decision. The second major change is saying “F.U.” to IE6, and to some extent IE7 and 8. I’m using some CSS3 rules that haven’t passed final review, but are well supported in Firefox, Safari and Chrome (as well as Opera for the most part). If you’re not using one of those browsers anyway, I would suggest that you do so. I’m also using a method to render searchable type for some of my headers, called cufón. It can be a little funky, but the reality is that I’m quite bored with the web’s typical font options. I’m using a face called Junction that is an open source typeface. It’s a nice modern sans serif with a little bit of style. There is only one weight, unfortunately, but hopefully that will be expanded in the future.

Lastly is something that I’m doing on a trial basis: I’m using Disqus for my comment system. The main reason for doing this is that it really centralizes a lot of discussion and feedback with the posts. If somebody retweets a post on Twitter or likes it on Facebook, then it all shows up here. I really like that idea. Plus, it allows people to log in with a bunch of different credentials, so that you don’t actually have to sign up for a user name.

The Wrap-up

So what does everybody think? Please leave a comment and let me know. I’m sort of fishing…but I also I want to make sure that the new comment system works, so help me put it through its paces.

As an artist, the most difficult obstacle to generating work is the Block. That is to say, figuring out what to do next. It’s a challenge that really separates art from design, and one that defines art as a self-motivated endeavor.

When I was younger—say pre-college—the Block wasn’t such a big deal from me. I would draw a  lot in my sketchbook, and would usually come up with something during that process that would warrant further exploration. This also wasn’t exactly a problem during college either, since there was a constant string of assignments. If the assignments ever ebbed, or I just got bored, then I found something else to do that I had wanted to create for myself.

After college, several big shifts happened for me, both creatively and professionally. Creatively, I began to work almost completely non-representationally. Having just spent four years in college to study illustration, one could imagine how that might be a problem. As my personally work was moving away from a heavily representational approach, my professional direction shifted from trying to make a go of Illustration, to becoming a designer. Both of these changes are certainly connected, and though I wouldn’t say that either shift was a result of the other. They simply happened rather naturally. The end result of these major shifts left me with a new means of personal creative expression, while at the same time grappling with learning new professional skills.

It’s now almost nine years since I graduated from college. What it means to be an artist has changed dramatically since then, and now I’m struggling to figure out what the next thing is. I feel that I’m starting to create a body of work that is relevant to my life and my experience—something that I’m proud of—but I still search for what’s next.

Somewhat at fault is the fact that I’ve been creating art that is, essentially, not about things. It’s more about the process, the experimentation, the lasting impression that I get from the piece when I feel that it’s ultimately complete. Those are important aspects of art, but I’m finding that it’s just not enough for me. What I’m really searching for is inspiration from something around me. Some thing that grabs my attention and won’t let go. I’m not looking for a perfect still life, or a picturesque landscape.

Ultimately, what I’m searching for is a concept.

I can’t imagine a more difficult problem for an artist. It is truly the most basic, existential question an artist can grapple with and it’s becoming a real struggle. I’m not sure what my next steps will be, but all I can really do right now is soldier on while trying to be receptive to the ideas floating the ether.

I know the blogfolio has a pretty limited reach, but what do you guys do? With nobody telling you what to do, how do you find the next big idea, the next thing?

Some Thoughts on 21st Century Communication

As social networks proliferate, there are more and more outlets for people to express themselves. Between Facebook and Twitter, as well as the second and third tier players, we constantly update our statuses to anybody who will listen. Blogs have matured, and become less of a publicly aired journal. Then there are the sites which are merely related to your life, such as LinkedIn or Flickr, that showcase one aspect of your life.

Taken all together, all of these sites can provide a thorough portrait of somebody’s life. They can give an represent your activities, likes and dislikes, interests, how you make a living or how your express yourself. As a whole, this is a vastly different way of relating to people. In the not-too-distant past, this intimate insight into people’s lives often took years or decades to fully investigate. Now we can learn almost everything about somebody in fifteen minutes.

Still there persists a certain disconnect. While some people project out through many social channels, the people who receive the message so often see such a narrow view. We may follow a friend on Twitter, but not on Facebook and Flickr. Or possibly we subscribe to a certain blog’s RSS feed, but we ignore what the author posts on MySpace. The frequently conflicting nature of so many of these sites, combined with their proprietary networks, creates a sort of walled ecosystem around each site. Though people project a certain image of themselves, not everybody receives it.

This is not to say that it is any worse than communication in the past, just different. Communication is easier and cheaper today than it’s ever been. And it will only get easier and cheaper from here on. Global competition has lowered the price of everything, and only for the better. We can see what our friends are doing in another city, another country or across the world. We can meet and interact with people who we never would have encountered just ten years ago.

In my personal life, the biggest disconnect is between the people “who get it” and those don’t. Essentially, the people who are active with social networks communicate with each other, while those who choose not to have a more limited sphere. I feel more connected to friends who are participate in social networks than those who don’t. I wouldn’t argue that it’s not a sort of one-directional connection a lot of the time, but it does let me know what a lot of my friends are up to without having to initiate a conversation myself.

All of this is not to single out a problem, or to suggest a solution. It’s merely to try to identify some trends. Being alive at this moment is exciting, since everything around us is changing. It’s good to step back and take a look at the bigger picture sometimes.

UPDATE: I’ve closed the comments since I’ve been getting a world of spam on this post. Feel free to drop me a line with your thoughts, if you feel so inclined.

I attended the inaugural WordCamp Boston this weekend. I wasn’t completely sure what to expect with the event, but it ended up being very worth-while.

As you may or may not know, this site runs on WordPress. It’s the second site that I built around the platform, and it’s generally my testing ground for ideas that I have. Before this iteration of the site, I had been hard-coding HTML pages. They were a drag to update, and—due to my extremely limited ability to write code—their functionality was quite limited. They we very basic, and not really a lot of fun to update.

When I discovered WordPress, it took me a while to wrap my head around the concept of how the software functioned, and even longer to figure out how I could bend it to my will. I have found that despite its roots as a blogging platform, it is an excellent content management system. It is used for an extremely diverse variety of sites that have little or no relationship to a blog. What I really love about it—above of its other attributes—is that it democratizes the web.

On wordpress.com (a hosted service, not to be confused with the .org domain) anybody can create a site. The platform there is much more blogger-centric, but the fact remains that anybody and everybody can have a voice there. In this environment, anybody can put their voice out there. Sure, it’s not easy to find an audience, but nobody could say that they weren’t allowed to speak. That’s really why I got into learning how to create web pages, and it’s amazing to me now how easy it is.

With all that said, I’d like to highlight a few of the stand-outs from the weekend.

The Loop

After Mitcho’s talk about the Loop, I was left feeling that manipulating the Loop was both easier and far more complex than I had imagined. I got some good ideas and tips from the talk, but he really operates on a level that I’ll never able to attain.

jQuery

jQuery is one of the things that I want to learn more about. Jim broke down the basics, and answered some of the burning questions that I had. His talk really inspired, and made you want to write (less) code. His site: jimdoran.net

After the Deadline

Raphael’s demo of After the Deadline was the only “wow” moment that I had during the conference. I hadn’t really thought about spell checking and proofreading in the past, yet installing the After the Deadline plug-in was the first thing I did after logging in today. It’s an amazing piece of software that helps you write better via contextual clues.

Parent/Child themes

Parent/child themes have seemed like an interesting concept to me, but it’s like learning a new piece of software. Especially since most of the theme frameworks out there aren’t that well documented. Daisy from wpmama.com really helped to break it down. It makes a lot of sense, and I’m strongly considering using a parent theme on my next site.

WP Security

Site security is something that I know that I should spend more time on, but it’s just difficult to focus on. Brad laid it out in a very clear way, with some concrete advise and things to get me started.

In addition to the technical info, I met some interesting people and generally had a good time. It’s something that I’m looking forward to next year, and I suggest that anybody interested should attend.

I really like technology. It’s a pretty awesome thing, as a whole. I am not, however, and early adopter. Possibly it’s a commitment issue, but the thing is that I just don’t want to get burned. I suppose this would be fine, if I wasn’t so concerned with also being somewhat of a Luddite.

So in the spirit of embracing all things new, I’ve decided to start Twittering. I’ve also integrated my Last.fm profile in this blogfolio, so check those out in the footer.

Here are links to my profiles, both on Twitter and Last.fm:

Twitter
Last.fm

Definitely follow/add me and it’ll be fun. Maybe I’ll be able to keep up with this whole 21st century thing.

Fair warning: this will be my first official tangent. I don’t pretend to be an expert on any subject, and certainly not what I’ll write about on this site. I can rarely put together a meaningful string of words in person, so I’m looking at this space as my opportunity to collect my thoughts.

I saw some designers talk tonight about their work. The format was fairly typical in that they showed a series of slides, talking briefly about each. One idea that a couple of them mentioned was that they aren’t artists. My gut reaction to this idea was to categorically deny it.

Since college, I’ve had a different view of what falls into the classification of Art. I read a book in college that was a series of interviews with artists. In it, one artist defined art simply as the act of making special, and this concept has always stuck with me. It covers every media you could possibly imagine, and really embodies the spirit of the creative process. The most important part of this definition—and this may be just the way I interpret it—is that art becomes Art merely by being identified as such. An artist can call it Art, and if she is the only one there, it’s still Art. If somebody performs an act, if somebody is there to watch it, they can call it Art. It’s a definition completely free of form, technical limitations or outside justification.

So when I’m in a museum, on the street, listening to somebody talk, I hear the phrase, “That’s not Art.” Every single time, it frustrates me. I may not really like the art. I may not think the art is even worth my time, but I’ll never argue that it isn’t Art.

I sincerely wish that more people could just forget the question of what is Art and what isn’t. Admittedly, the Art establishment has created some of these barriers itself, but life is just more worthwhile when Art could be around any corner, waiting to surprise you.

Hey Everybody. Well, maybe not everybody. One or two people? Maybe…
Either way, this is the new format for my portfolio. It’s based on WordPress, and hopefully it will be a lot easier to update. I am nothing if not lazy about updating my portfolio.

The idea is somewhat different this time around. It will be less of a “what I’ve done” and more of a “what’s going on.” I don’t mean this in a strictly blogy sense, but I suppose it will be a blog of some sort. Mostly, it’ll be some insights into what I’m working on.

Of course, I’ll break off into tangents with some regularity, but hopefully they won’t stray too far off of the path…. Hopefully.