Category: 2011

Notes on Google+

I’m trying not to get too excited about Google+.

I remember when Google Buzz launched about a year ago. I was all jacked up, and within a few weeks I felt pretty silly for contributing to the over-hype of what has turned out to be a dud thus far.

And as genuine as my efforts for objectivity are, I can’t deny that I’m a Google fanboy and am cheering for them to succeed in the social space.

So, yes, I am excited about Google+ and here are some of my notes on the new platform.

I hope they help your exploration of Google+ in one way or another. At the very least it’ll be fun to look back on this in a year and measure the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of my assessments and predictions.

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Social media breakdown: 3 sentences on the channels I use and their value

Bejeweled spider webs: Bristol is so frosty this morning.

I’ve seen others break down their methodology on various social channels and thought it would be interesting to evaluate what I’m using, how I’m using it and the value therein.

I hope this gives you some ideas for new ways to use these networks, and I encourage you to share your own breakdown in the comments.

Also, I plan to do a post like this every year to see how the industry, and my participation, is progressing.

And to keep me from getting too long-winded or granular in my evaluations, I restricted myself to three sentences on each topic (inspired by a great creative writing blog called Six Sentences that you should subscribe to).

Continue reading Social media breakdown: 3 sentences on the channels I use and their value

Something Baked Cookie Collage

C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me!

Samples from a tasty shoot for my cousin’s cookie business: Something Baked. The photos will be used on her website, and were featured in a recent review on a local food blog: Phoenix Bites – Get Baked.

Notes from the shoot:

  • I still haven’t perfected the white balance settings when using the light tent. I used a gray card this time to help, but still found myself adjusting lighting and tone in photoshop afterwards. It was an improvement, and required less editing time than my first attempt, but still stands to be streamlined.
  • Arranging the collage also took some trial and error and getting the borders even remains tedious. I think if I used the stroke effect on the layers more effectively I’d save myself a lot of time and the borders would be more aligned and proportionate.
  • Otherwise, I’m generally pleased with this final product. And as good as they look, they tasted even better!

Goodbye

Alternative titles:

  • Inception 2: Sweet Dreams
  • Toki-Doki‘s last treat
  • Goodbye sweet world
  • Death’s favorite cookie
  • Fatal attraction

Photo details:

  • Exposure: 0.6
  • Aperture: f/25.0
  • Lens: 100 mm f/2.8 macro
  • External flash
  • Light tent with two external lamps

8 social media FAQ, answered in haiku

Last week at work, I showed some nonprofit organizations a few best practices and tips for social media.

Most of the discussion focused on how an organization would best operate Twitter or a Facebook page, but some of the takeaways can be applied to personal use as well.

For this blog post, instead of hammering out a long-winded explanation of the social media tips that were imparted at the workshop, I responded in haiku to some of the most frequently asked questions from the workshop and other recent, related conversations.

Granted, I could say a lot more than 17 syllables in responding to these questions, but my goal with the haiku format is to cut the fat and give you a quick, easy and cadenced look at the most important tips. Here they are:

Continue reading 8 social media FAQ, answered in haiku