A Response to “10 Steps to Better Blogging” by Dan Frommer

http://www.splatf.com/2011/12/better-blogging/

This article by Dan Frommer seems to have 2 main overarching ideas. Firstly, make sure that you blog is accurate and factual. If you post incorrect, redundant, or contradictory information, you lose credibility, and thus, lose readers. The second thing he mentions is to be interesting. He lists a couple of different methods, such as being opinionated, being a jerk only when it’s funny, be critical, and be original. People want to read something that not only informs them, but entertains them. He also mentions that the format of your posts should not remain ridged. It is ok to go outside your usual posting length, or even your posting content. He mentions such things as charts, data, images, and essays.

All in all, this article is a useful tool for those who want to get into blogging, as well as those already blogging.

A Response to “Make Every Word Count” by Steve Butry

http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/make-every-word-count-tips-for-polishing-and-tightening-copy/

The article by Steve Butry raised a couple of interesting ideas. One of the main things he keeps making reference to is to make the article tight and interesting. If it is a boring read, then no one will read it, end of story. He suggests a couple of ways to do this, such as writing without your notes, and trying not to let the writing drag on longer than it needs to. A short but tight argument is better than a long but broad argument.

Another important point he makes is about rewriting. Giving yourself the time to get a clear head so you can sit down and read your article with fresh eyes is very important. Few things are perfect on the first try, and even the best authors go back and reedit their works. Reediting is as important to the completion of the article as the first draft itself.

A Response to “On Getting Paid” by Jessica Hische

http://www.jessicahische.is/obsessedwiththeinternet/category/andhelpingyougetpaid

The first thing I have to say about this article is that the writing style is excellent. The way that the writer of this article is speaking to the readers makes the article actually entertaining, and I found myself reading it a second time after the first.

I found the section talking about hourly pricing versus fixed amount pricing to be incredibly useful. It paints a pretty clear picture about what to do with pricing certain types of jobs, but more specifically, how to price when you first start freelancing. Having just started up a freelancing company of my own, thus making me a prime example of the target audience, I can say for certain that this information is valuable to any new comer to the business.

When Hische discusses licensing and rights management, I was left with a couple of different thoughts. One of these thoughts was simply intrigue, as I had never heard of this existing in the design world. I think some of her points are valid, but not all. I think her idea of charging for a company to use their logo for a limited time is sort of a silly concept, considering all the money the company would have to spend to get a new logo and change their image. I do agree with charging them more for the unlimited use rights, it’s just that I would include that in the price with no mention of other options. I thought that pricing for presentation was interesting, and also completely valid. If you are spending the time to give them a mock-up of some work, you deserve to be paid for those hours.

Overall, I thoughts the article was both interesting and informative. I would, without a doubt, suggest it to anyone that wants to get into the freelance design business.

Collective Conscious: A Thoughts Database

http://thoughtsdatabase.combinedesignonline.com/

Collective Conscious is an interactive web database in which participants will use a simple upload tool to submit thoughts to a visualised database. Inspired by the mental conversations I have when falling asleep, this piece is about the pool of human thoughts, both as a problem solving method and as a birthing place for new ideas. In essence, the piece is about the collection of ideas and thoughts from a social space, and the storage of thoughts and ideas into an accessible database. Since the user of the installation only has control over uploading a thought or hearing a thought, it creates a communal knowledge base which is accessible to all participants.

When the user loads the website, they will see a short and simple description of the purpose of the interaction. When they interact with the floating balls that represent the different thoughts, they are now looking through a window to another person’s perspective. The user is then faced with one of two choices, to either record a thought of their own, or to continue to hear the thoughts of others. The recordings they hear will come from one of four categories: Human thought process, philosophy, thoughts while falling asleep, and societal structure. After hearing the recording, the user will be faced with the choice of either contributing to the knowledge pool or playing the role of the information consumer. Information is never removed from the database, and thus, its knowledge pool can only grow in size.

I have a deep interest in the human thought process, so by putting the user in a personal environment via their home computer, it allows me to gather information from everyone, even those generally too timid to share ideas and thoughts face to face. The experience has been constructed so that the knowledge base communal, like a web forum, as opposed to singular, like a book. It is assembled in this way because I firmly believe that the collective pooling and discussion of information is far more effective than the traditional method of simply consuming information. This installation is a web based piece, because that way a far greater number of participants can interact with the database. Society is currently in the information age, and as such, it is important that people understand and actively engage in the generation of new thoughts and ideas. Thus, this database allows people to engage in content generation, without having to leave the safety of their own mind.

Vacuity (cover)

This cover of the Gojira song, Vacuity, was created by Mitchell Smith (http://www.youtube.com/user/farawayrock) and myself. Drum enhancements done by Sehwan Lee (http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimusVolatilis)

Reflections Through Fire (cover)

This cover of the Sylosis song Reflections Through Fire was created by Sehwan Lee (http://www.youtube.com/user/AnimusVolatilis) and myself.

A Thousand Faces (Documentation)

A Thousand Faces is a cooperative drawing project that combines user-generated drawings to create surprising images. The piece mirrors the Exquisite Corpse project in terms of spontaneity and collaborative spirit. Since users only contribute a part to the whole, they must abandon ownership of the piece. The end result has a life of its own. The collaborative aspect encourages people to work together and benefit from the surprising joint creation. The piece emphasizes the idea that the sum is greater than the parts and complements the decentralized network system by utilizing every person’s contribution with equal weight to the end creation.

The piece is a composed of input and output components. Contributors are presented with a tablet and a designated space to draw in. Above that space are instructions; “draw a mouth,” “draw eyes,” “draw a nose,” “ draw ears,” or “draw eyebrows.” The user must draw their interpretation of the instructions before receiving a new instruction. Processing creates a two-way network and is constantly checking and sending out signals looking for each submission of instructions. After a user draws one of the following instructions, such as a nose, he must press the ‘submit button’ and a new instruction will appear. The images drawn are sent through the network and displayed on several different bodies on a large screen for the public to see.  Some examples of the images are: a business man, a pirate, an old lady, etc.  The characters have small bodies with large heads to draw more attention to the face, however each face starts as a blank canvas. Once a user presses the submit button the drawn image will transfer to one of the blank faces on the screen in the appropriate spot. The accumulated drawings will create the face. The users are unaware of which face they are drawing, so mix-matching facial features will occur, like a mustache on a woman or an angry face on a grandmother. This challenges the expectations of the public. The secondary user, who has a passive role, will be watching the faces appear on the screen. In general, people tend to form an opinion about physical appearances based on dress. A Thousand Faces challenges this stereotype by placing unlikely faces on familiar character’s bodies and thus changing our perception of the person.

        The piece highlights how simple input data can have deceivingly complex outputs. Protocols are an important part of how the data is managed and presented in a coherent way. The benefit of user-generated data is that no two drawings will be the same and there is no telling what the compiled images will look like. A Thousand Faces is a movement away from stereotypes and embraces diversity in addition to reflecting the unexpectedness found in reality.