South by Southwest: SXSW Interactive March 12 – 16

Newcomm Forum 2010 April 20 -23

I’ve been AWOL for a bit ’cause I’ve been swamped with work, lazy and now have new perspective and focus on what I want this blog, my business, Poles Apart Design, and my career to be all about: social media. Social media seems like a buzzword, but really it’s not. Like any set of similar interconnected technologies, it’s a word that encompasses the entirety of a new trend with lasting powering. Specifically, social media simply means what it implies, socializing the way we interact on multiple electronic – for lack of a better word – platforms. [Read more →]

I didn’t get a cell phone until I was in my mid twenties. I refused to. I was definitely not anti-technology, just anti-reach-me-anywhere-anytime! Now of course, three phones later, I love my iPhone and can’t seem to leave it at home without feeling I’m missing an index finger. A ghost limb, if you will. Or perhaps I just like shiny objects (ha ha). Seriously though, since having my iPhone now strapped to my hip, I’ve found so many actually useful iPhone apps ’cause as much as I love new shiny things, I hate excess and prefer practical additions to my life, not glossy ones with no purpose. [Read more →]

I have a client who would very much like to choose which WordPress posts they publish to be sent to their facebook and Twitter accounts with a click of a button or checkbox. You’d think woth the onlaught and frenzy of Tweeting and spuerpoking, their would be a buffet of WordPress plugins to post blogs to facebook and Twitter to choose from. And there are, and none of them seem to work right. The closest I got to getting a plugin to do what I needed was using the “supr by StumbleUpon” plugin which allows you to post a a blog post to both facebook and Twitter.  It works for facebook, though a bit buggy. But the Twitter function doesn’t work at all. I found this all quite frustrating so I created a quick work around without having to create my own bloody plugin!
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‘Tis the Season for all the family mania. Who’s doing what, when, where and how. Thanksgiving is fast approaching and Christmas will be just around the corner, then New Year’s. Many of you are in the midst of planning where you’ll be spending the Holidays and with whom and for how long. Phone calls, email lists, letters, cards, yadda, yadda. Why not step into this new generation of online communication. Blogs, Forums and Social Networks are ideal for staying in touch, planning and updating family members and friends from across the globe, especially during the Holidays.

Think about it: events happen all the time; times and places are always changing; you often live in different cities, states, countries and continents; and when it comes to keeping in touch, we’re all a bit lazy and avoiding phone calls is a staple of being a part of any family (blood or non-blood related). Not to mention, your phone bills may decrease dramatically. You can love talking on the phone, but there are those certain friends and family members who simply do not. Enter the Internet. Emails are great, but they can get unruly when trying to plan trips, events and so forth. Enter, blogs, forums and networks. [Read more →]