Without intentionally staying silent, these last couple of weeks have slipped by rather quickly. Due to my new job, and the acquisition of two kitties, my life has suddenly become filled with not-free-time. I'm enjoying the change immensely, as I was going a bit stir crazy these past few months, but the time between dinner and sleep seems to go much faster than it did just a few weeks ago.
The kitten's names are Mao (3 month old female, all black) and Mishkin (2 year old male, gray/black/tan tabbyish), and so far they haven't been too much trouble. Besides both having upper respiratory infections when we got them from the shelter, they've been adjusting to our apartment and each other just fine. The only problem we've had, really, is the fact that the apartment has a loft, with a balcony overlooking the living room. Almost immediately upon bringing them home, Mishkin discovered the balcony, and due to the 15 foot drop to the floor, we've had to block off the upstairs from them. While not a big deal, since the upstairs isn't used too frequently, we've ordered an extra-tall baby/large animal gate to solidify the barrier at the top of the stairs (currently consisting of taped-together pieces of cardboard attached to the upstairs bathroom door).
As far as my job goes, I am now the official Writing Intern for Catalyst Studios, an interactive design studio just outside downtown Minneapolis. While my relief at finally getting a job (and a paid one at that!) is certainly substantial, it is compounded by the fact that I'm actually doing something I want to be doing. Being able to express myself creatively through work is a fantastic thing to have, and hopefully my work will impress them during my three month internship and it will become long term. Whether this will be the case has yet to be seen, since the articles and case studies I've written so far are content intended for the upcoming website revamp, and thus don't have any current "value" for the success of the company. Hopefully, once I get more in the swing of things, I'll be able to take part in other writing-related tasks in upcoming projects. There are several in October that I'm really excited to be a part of because of the new way Catalyst is experimenting with in doing projects, but until then, I want to learn and get a hand in as much as I can.
One thing I'm finding is that I don't have the breadth (yet) that the other guys have. This is mainly due to having just graduated, and I'm reserving as many books as I can on the subjects of web usability, content strategy, and information architecture from the library in order to broaden my understanding of all the aspects that go into a project. Ultimately I'd like to gain some familiarity in programming language(s), but I'll have to see what I can glean from library books and what I'll have to get from actual courses.
Hopefully in the next few weeks, my life will settle into its new routine, and I'll be able to feel like I have more free time for reading, writing, posting, and anything else that makes it onto my "hobbies" list in the near future.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Problem With People
For those of you who don't know, Dan Maes is a republican and tea party supporter running in Colorado's gubernatorial elections. While I don't know a lot about him as a politician, I did happen to come across this article which I'm hoping doesn't sum up his character and ideology. While I am all for people presenting their own beliefs, especially on the internet (after all, that's one of the main reasons it is so popular) I can't believe the way in which some people do it. If you didn't click on the link, I'll summarize the article for you. Basically, Maes is blaming Denver's mayor for promoting a community bicycle program because it is "converting Denver into a United Nations community." Let that sink in. My first reaction was, logically, one of doubt. But, there have been strange and unlikely things said before now that turn out to be true, so I decided to give Dan the benefit of the doubt and admit that it could be possible that the mayor of Denver, John Hickenlooper, is secretly working to allow the U.N. to infiltrate local American governments.
As with any allegation of this kind, I, along with any reader, will need said statement proven to me. After starting an article like that, I was eager to read on and find out what proof Maes had for this rather outlandish statement. So, read on I did. If you have read the article, you will no doubt be just as disappointed as I was when I discovered that there was no real evidence for the allegation, but rather vague statements like "These aren't just warm, fuzzy ideas from the mayor. These are very specific strategies that are dictated to us by this United Nations program that mayors have signed on to."
Yes Dan, but what program are you talking about? The U.N. Bicycle collective that will somehow coerce the American people through environmentally friendly initiatives such as this? I'm still not buying it Dan, but again, maybe this article isn't giving all the details. After all, it's not too uncommon for bias to creep its way into journalism. So, after a bit of Googling, I discovered that this wasn't the case, and turned to the ICLEI website to see if I could spot any suspicious agendas. Here is their website, and as far as I can tell, they've got a pretty comprehensive and forward-thinking agenda, but one that doesn't include local government domination.
So, if Maes is so convinced about the validity of his convictions, why doesn't he produce the evidence needed to back up statements like "Some would argue this document that mayors have signed is contradictory to our own Constitution"? After all, calling an international environmental initiative unconstitutional is a hefty allegation. My patience and Dan's credibility wearing thin, I realized what Dan Maes actually is. Perhaps I should have realized it sooner, either due to his party affiliations or just because of the idiocy of the statements he's made, but Dan Maes is a troll. I think that's the long and the short of it. He, and other trolls out there, bank on the fact that once something is published, regardless of the validity of the statement, that a certain percentage of people will assume it is true, or at least become suspicious about the topic at hand. If there is smoke, there has to be a fire, right? Even if the statement is so outlandish no one believes it, a trolls work is done, just because you've spent the time reading what they have to say.
What these unsavory and low-handed people don't realize is the ability most people have in seeing bullshit for what it is. Things like this might have been more believable five or ten years ago when the Internet was a newer thing, and online articles still had (nearly) the same amount of credibility as print media. But, as the web has evolved and more and more people realize how easy it is to post ones opinion on any issue, it has become increasingly easy to spot a poorly thought-out argument.
What do I have to say about this? Well, in the case of Dan Maes, and I suppose it goes for anyone putting their opinion on the internet, I say: get your facts straight. It is very easy for people to research what you're talking about and find out just how much fact there is behind anything you say. Realize that your audience isn't filled with gullible idiots who will believe anything that comes out of a politicians' mouth. While I'm sure there are some people who lap this shit up, they are in no way the majority. I ask that you think about what you want to say before saying it, and above all, attempt to grasp the repercussions of what you say might have. Because for Maes, all his blathering has done for me (and I'm sure quite a few other people) is show how deluded politicians can be; both in their convictions, and in their belief that others will automatically assume they speak the truth.
As with any allegation of this kind, I, along with any reader, will need said statement proven to me. After starting an article like that, I was eager to read on and find out what proof Maes had for this rather outlandish statement. So, read on I did. If you have read the article, you will no doubt be just as disappointed as I was when I discovered that there was no real evidence for the allegation, but rather vague statements like "These aren't just warm, fuzzy ideas from the mayor. These are very specific strategies that are dictated to us by this United Nations program that mayors have signed on to."
Yes Dan, but what program are you talking about? The U.N. Bicycle collective that will somehow coerce the American people through environmentally friendly initiatives such as this? I'm still not buying it Dan, but again, maybe this article isn't giving all the details. After all, it's not too uncommon for bias to creep its way into journalism. So, after a bit of Googling, I discovered that this wasn't the case, and turned to the ICLEI website to see if I could spot any suspicious agendas. Here is their website, and as far as I can tell, they've got a pretty comprehensive and forward-thinking agenda, but one that doesn't include local government domination.
So, if Maes is so convinced about the validity of his convictions, why doesn't he produce the evidence needed to back up statements like "Some would argue this document that mayors have signed is contradictory to our own Constitution"? After all, calling an international environmental initiative unconstitutional is a hefty allegation. My patience and Dan's credibility wearing thin, I realized what Dan Maes actually is. Perhaps I should have realized it sooner, either due to his party affiliations or just because of the idiocy of the statements he's made, but Dan Maes is a troll. I think that's the long and the short of it. He, and other trolls out there, bank on the fact that once something is published, regardless of the validity of the statement, that a certain percentage of people will assume it is true, or at least become suspicious about the topic at hand. If there is smoke, there has to be a fire, right? Even if the statement is so outlandish no one believes it, a trolls work is done, just because you've spent the time reading what they have to say.
What these unsavory and low-handed people don't realize is the ability most people have in seeing bullshit for what it is. Things like this might have been more believable five or ten years ago when the Internet was a newer thing, and online articles still had (nearly) the same amount of credibility as print media. But, as the web has evolved and more and more people realize how easy it is to post ones opinion on any issue, it has become increasingly easy to spot a poorly thought-out argument.
What do I have to say about this? Well, in the case of Dan Maes, and I suppose it goes for anyone putting their opinion on the internet, I say: get your facts straight. It is very easy for people to research what you're talking about and find out just how much fact there is behind anything you say. Realize that your audience isn't filled with gullible idiots who will believe anything that comes out of a politicians' mouth. While I'm sure there are some people who lap this shit up, they are in no way the majority. I ask that you think about what you want to say before saying it, and above all, attempt to grasp the repercussions of what you say might have. Because for Maes, all his blathering has done for me (and I'm sure quite a few other people) is show how deluded politicians can be; both in their convictions, and in their belief that others will automatically assume they speak the truth.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Catalyst Studios Interview
How do you pin down and define innovation? Is it possible to look at an idea and measure how creative or how useful it will be in a specific instance? How do you accurately show the tinkering required to fine-tune a finished product? Can it be done so the inevitable setbacks or complications don’t take the focus off the fantastic results? These are all questions that were posed during my interview with Jason Rysavy, founder of Catalyst Studios.
The answer for some of these may seem like a tall order, and with good reason. Creativity is a tricky thing, and if it could be boxed up and sold in bulk, places like Catalyst would be out of work. Luckily this isn’t the case, and businesses with poorly executed websites and mountains of drab content rely on creative minds to reshape, rethink, or re-envision their company’s image in order to create the desired effect for consumers.
Going into the interview, I had practically no idea of what to expect from the head of a content creation and design studio. Once Jason and I got talking though, things began to get exciting. He made it pretty clear that an in-house writer had been on the wish list of the office for a long time, but due to lack of funding wasn’t an option. When asked what my ideal position would be, my first thought was to be that writer—it doesn’t matter what about—just let me flex my creative fingers! After all, that’s what an intern is for, right? The only problem with that is, what would I write about?
This was when our questions came into play. How could I take the daily goings-on of a company like Catalyst Studios and come up with something that accurately portrays the process involved with creating a product? Can such a thing be done in a way that shows potential clients why they should choose one company over another? Certainly each company’s portfolio will display quality work that proved successful for the client, but what happens if depth is added to that portfolio by showing the creative process behind it all?
Do you run the risk of turning clients off with employee’s quirks and downfalls during a project? Maybe. But does that added level of transparency allow clients the chance to see the unique way in which you create? Definitely. While capturing and documenting the creativity and innovation of the guys and gals at Catalyst Studios may be a tall order, it gets my fingers tingling and synapses firing just thinking about it.
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