Interesting bit of backlash effect? "Google declined to comment."

Websites Are Wary of Facebook Tracking Software

"Some Businesses Block Sharing of Data, Fearing Social Network's Increased Clout"

Content is King. 

So, what exactly makes it compelling? This article from Fast COmpany is riveting. Really.

Photo from the article by Flickr user Andrew Morrell

Your Brain, Crack, Phantom Itches, Narcissism, and More.  Oh My.

5 Crazy Ways Social Media is Changing Your Brain Right Now.

Ready. Set. Go.

https://www.facebook.com/KFergusonDesign

It's go time. I am feeling like a fish out of water, which is great. I have to use my noggin and figure out how this whole Facebook as a promotional tool thing works. Perfect timing, by the way. I graduate this semester, which means playtime is over.

So far the plan is to wing it until I figure it out. Just keep swinging 'til I get some hits.

I know a picture is worth a thousand words. I will post snippets of work every week. I can already tell there are optimal times for posting.  I know there are many more tricks and tips for promoting on Social Media—I will learn as I go.

I think I will have to develop a website for my business sooner rather than later. While I love the idea of being scooped up by the mother ship of all employers, I also know I may have to paddle my own canoe for a stretch. I am grateful this class showed up on my horizon at just the right moment. I can't see the rapids yet, but I can definitely hear them.

I like this idea. Think of the possibilities for ecommerce…

It’s what you say, and how you say it. 

By nature, I am a visual thinker. I like taking my clients identity and business ideas to a level that adds professional credibility to their brand. I believe any business can profit from good visual communication.

Here are three potential client profiles:

Jane is a young, talented jewelry designer that specializes in “geek” design. She sells her math and science based earrings, necklaces, rings, tie bars, and other accessories at venues associated with geek and nerd culture. This year, she is attending Comic Con in San Diego. She needs advertising materials that conform to the specifications set by SDCC, and she needs to stand out in the sea of vendors attending. She needs to be found.

Shane is a yoga instructor starting his own small studio in a medium-size city. He needs a brand that sets him apart and will appeal to his particular target client. He needs not just a logo, but help with designing the studio located in an old warehouse, a website and Facebook page,  and print collateral (business cards, letterhead, brochure, postcards, t-shirts, totes). He needs his entire image to be coordinated and clear.

Happy Valley is a small community next to a major National Park. They are starting to hold more events to entice the huge flow of tourists that drive by on the way to camping into stopping and spending their vacation dollars in town. They need banners to hang over the main thoroughfare announcing different annual events, which can be re-used each year. They also need posters for the annual music festival and Fourth of July celebration, which will be custom designed each year.

You have been targeted…

Yes, you. I am thinking about my target audience, and while I have many profiles in mind, one keeps knocking at my door. It's you.

Tell me what your passion is. Tell me you have a focused idea. Tell me you need my (limited, not everlasting) help.

Here's the deal:

A classmate that truly needs graphics help (ie: I have no idea what "Adobe" refers to), and wants it, will be my sample case. I will help you do what it takes to represent your passion visually. I can help you create a logo, a facebook banner, fix a photo—whatever you need—for free.* We can walk downstairs to the VT lab and get it done. Let's brainstorm.

Yes, there is a catch. You have to pay it forward, in some way, THIS SEMESTER, to someone else IN THIS CLASS. Any way you choose. For instance, I would love to have my kid go fishing with a guy (it's a thing). I would love to have him throw a football around with a DSU player (he's a geek). I would love to have someone sell my junk on an online yard sale site. I would k̶i̶l̶l̶ love to go to see petroglyphs anywhere. If any of you bake, oh yeah.

But—that's part of the catch. You have to pay it forward—but to someone else.
Hit me up.



*Buying me coffee would not be out of line.

September 10th is the "Internet Slowdown"

In the Firelight

I had to listen to the pod cast of the Diane Rehm show more than once, because it brought so many thoughts to mind for me. There is no question that social media has changed everything. 

Talking about the loss of middle circle relationships, I think of how I grew up. I was a teen during the Vietnam war, and everything changed then, too. In my generation, our only media was radio, newsprint, and TV, but it also had a huge impact. For the first time, we were watching war live on a screen in our living rooms. It was horrifying. It is why we got involved in protests, which all happened through word of mouth. We were not anti-military, but anti-war. There is a difference. We all lost loved ones—or knew someone that did—and even the ones that did come home were never the same. We had strength in numbers, and that felt powerful. If we had not had that visual input, the Vietnam war might have gone on for many more years. 

Please don't get me wrong. Both my father and my husband were Army Rangers. I respect and support our military. It's the people with financial interest in backing wars I have issues with. I am glad we see somewhat more of what is happening around the world now. Social media drives that, and can affect politics in ways we never dreamed of in the 70's.

I know social media can be used for so much more good. I now belong to Facebook groups I value as sources for information, and support. My son is autistic, and just being able to connect with other parents of kids on the spectrum is so valuable to me. When he was little, there was very little help in southern Utah for us. Now, we have banded together and are making huge strides in services for kids here. He also wants to help other kids, and is starting to use social media to form peer tutoring and support groups. He also likes playing video games on line, as he is very good at it, and the stigmas attached to his ASD diagnosis are not so present on line.

All in all, I feel social media is a positive thing. Still, I miss having those connections that come from face-to-face relationships. People need to experience things together. A long time ago, I worked in the Grand Canyon as a guide on river trips lasting anywhere from a “daily” motor trip to eighteen day rowing trips.  Most of our guests were wealthy, professional, well-educated people from all over the world with very different backgrounds, who did not know each other at the start. It took up to three days for all that to fall away—for makeup to get forgotten, the bank account to matter less, for skin to brown, for stress to leave, and for real, personal, meaningful relationships to happen. That was the best thing about being a boatman, besides the wonderful work and place itself. 

Around a campfire, everyone is equal and welcome. The circle can expand or contract as needed, to keep everyone warm. Social media allows us to see strobe light snippets of each other, often not in context, and so full meaning and intention often have to be guessed at. 

In the firelight, faces light up with laughter and thoughts are easy to read. As the fire dwindles, people fade away to rest, and by the embers, souls are united. I miss the fire.