Reflecting Time

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Buying Advice: Computers

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:18:00 +0000

It's one of the most frequently asked questions I get. "What computer should I get?"

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FIRST:

As everyone should know by now - any computer you buy TODAY, right now, is instantly out of date. Technology flows at a pace much faster than the market and consumers can absorb -- which makes it very difficult for companies to attain any market leverage for any significant period of time. That's partly the reason why there is significant parity among computer companies these days.

There's a couple of things you need to know about any computer you're going to get. If you get more than 5 YEARS out of it - you've done good. For laptops, if you get 2-3 YEARS out of it - you've done really good. (more on laptops later) Why only 5 years? Because we're not buying a durable good like a refrigerator or a stove or a TV here that's supposed to get some decent life out of it. Computers are pretty fragile devices - and susceptible to heat, movements and power fluctuations. Even if you take really good care of your computer stuff -- anything over 5 years is really good.

So what do you look for first?

Actually - the question falls back on you: "What are you going to do with the computer?"

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OVER 80% OF USERS OUT THERE NEED JUST THE BASICS.

Some word processing, ability to check email, download pictures, maybe do some video work and surf the web. Clearly you don't need the top of the line, but in order to reach that 5 year target, we need a computer that can at least last that long. One of the guides I use are the prices of the computers across the spectrum.

There is no compelling reason WHY anyone should get a top of the line computer system. (period) Even for gaming because most games are optimized for older computers anyway. You'd be better off spending that money on a souped up graphics card or more memory.

That's why I promote the "middle of the road" way of computer purchasing. With top of the line out of the question, you also don't want to purchase a bottom priced computer because (spec wise) they won't last 5 years like we want it to. Where you want to focus your attention is in the middle of the road computer prices as they represent your typical 5-year computer system. More than not, these computers will do nicely for most users that want to extend the life of their computers as much as they can.

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WHAT SPECIFICATIONS AM I LOOKING FOR

Gigahertz, megahertz, dual core, quad core -- holy heck!! Don't get bogged down with the verbiage. Don't get bogged down in the chipset. Keep an eye on the price tag - remember the middle of the road advice up above? The same is true here. But there are only a couple of things you should look out for: memory and hard drive space.

Ideally you want as much memory and as much hard drive space as you can get. But look at how much you're paying for the extra memory and space. If it's a small amount (under $150) it'll be a good deal. Upgrading your memory doesn't cost that much and installation is generally straight forward. You can have your computer memory installed for cheap. At bear minimum - you should seek 2GB of memory.

Hard drive space is a little different. Upgrading a hard drive also requires the re-installation of your operating system - which take more time and hence, more money. In the alternative you can get an external hard drive and use that for your data, photos and video. There's some draw backs to using external hard drives, but that's for another blog entry. If possible, try to get at least a 200GB hard drive with your system.

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THE OPERATING SYSTEM MESS

When it comes to the basic software that runs our computers, the operating system -- everyone is stuck with Microsoft Vista unless you're lucky enough to be in the mac crowd or geeky enough to venture into Linux. When it comes to Microsoft, in my honest professional opinion - I wish they would've stayed with Windows XP. It was a great operating system that worked with every piece of hardware you could've had.

But with the advent of Vista - and the cataclysmic amount of problems it towed with it -- it lost its luster very quickly. One would expect that with a new operating system you could expect the same performance, if not better. In the testing I conducted with a myriad of programs - I actually found my performance significantly decreased to the point where these programs are so bloated when they run the computer is bogged down.

Unfortunately - there's no much choice.

Windows 7 is due out in the next year or two - but users will remain cautious not to jump the gun like so many did with Vista. These operating systems are substantial memory hogs -- which is why it's essential for you to consider starting off with no less than 2GB of memory.

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WHAT ABOUT MACINTOSH COMPUTERS?

Before I made the switch to Windows, I was an avid Macintosh user. I started using them back in 1989 in college and loved them. Really great solid computer systems and very easy to learn. So why did I move over to Windows? It became a question of applications. The availability of programs has always been a problem because software companies would have to dedicate two sets of programmers for both operating systems.

But times have changed for Mac users. While there are still inherent differences between the programming of both operating systems, there are better programs that attempt to bridge the Windows world over to the Macintosh experience. Overall, these programs do a pretty decent job at it. It's important to note that some of the more robust programs that require a great deal of resources (games, video and graphic applications) may have some difficulty running in the cross platform using VMWare or parallels. There's no easy way around that - which is why I can't make a total switch to macintosh unless I'm willing to sacrifice all of the applications and programs I currently employ. That's a hefty investment on top of a new computer system.

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PORTS, ADD-ONS AND OTHER STUFF

You can obsess about the number of USB ports are available or the number of Firewire ports if you want. The 80% of folks out there will want at least 3-4 USB ports and maybe a firewire. USB ports are good for hard drives, cameras, scanners, printers and some video cameras. Firewire ports are good for video cameras and some hard drives. You can get some computers that have a spattering of different reader cards for digital cameras - if that works for you.

Something to keep an eye on - is whether or not the computer comes with a monitor. You're likely to get a flat panel LCD screen with most computers these days and they start around $150-200 if you were to buy it solo. You're probably not going to find one cheaper -- so if it comes with an LCD screen -- get it. Do you need anything larger than 17 inches? In most cases - probably not, but if you're looking at a small differential in price with similar specs on your computer system -- get the upgraded monitor.

But stay away from package deals with ink jet printers. For more information as to why I stay away from ink jets -- see my other blog entry on buying advice for printers. Ink simply isn't worth it.

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LAPTOPS...

Ahhh, the convenience. The ability to do our computing on the road, in our job, in our house -- having all of our files right there with us when we want them -- all sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately the problem goes back to issue I raised at the start - where these computers are generally very fragile. Even if you baby them -- they're still prone to problems as they age. Hard drives can fail, the LCD monitor screen can suddenly quit, they can overheat -- etc.

My rule of thumb when it comes to laptops: NEVER use them as your primary computer. As fragile as they are -- you'd need to adhere to a consistent and reliable backup process. I employ my laptops to be an extension of my computer work - so that I can eventually come back to "home base" with it and sync up my data later. This is where thumb drives and external hard drives come in particularly handy.

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WHAT ABOUT ANTI-VIRUS AND SPYWARE PROGRAMS?

There are a number of options out there and some of the applications aren't worth their weight in gold. It's important not to get deceived by the likes of Norton and McAfee anymore. They've become incredibly bloated and can bog down your system in no time. They try to tack on so much garbage that it makes your computer run very slow. There are some free options out there in the form of AVG, Avast for anti-virus and Spybot Search and Destroy for spyware. These free options do pretty well, but there's the golden rule of computing:

"Most users are wholly responsible for the viruses they get..."

Viruses land on our machines for the following reasons:
- Your computer doesn't have all of the necessary updates (Windows, anti-virus, etc)
- You visited sites that installed malicious stuff behind the scenes
- You opened emails that you shouldn't have
- Exploits that are contained in other programs that haven't been patched by you or by the companies that designed the software

The best way on how to avoid a virus and other malware is to practice safe computing. With all of the scams and phishing crud out there -- it's important to stay up on warnings from other users to make sure you don't get scammed or damage your computer.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

It's important to accept the fact that we're all going to have to invest in new computers and applications every 5 years. We simply can't avoid it. If you're still running on Windows XP, you'll probably have to buy a new printer and other hardware. As frustrating these computer companies have become, the reality is - the industry will keep turning over new products and programs as fast as the market can handle. So - aim for the middle, get the deals you can and practice safe computing!

Announcing the launch of our broadcast site

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:06:00 +0000

We're proud to announce the launch of our broadcast site has been very successful at broadcast.reflectingtime.com. Over the last several months we've been busy conducting numerous broadcasts to participants statewide and beyond. Our setup allows us to come to your venue or location - and as long as your meet our broadcast requirements, we can webcast your presentation, your wedding, you class, your meeting, your public forum to a world wide web audience.

Rates vary according to setup and audience size, so inquire within.

Some exciting news from Reflecting Time Productions

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:21:00 +0000

It's been a very busy summer for us here at Reflecting Time Productions as we've been spending a lot of time working on various video, web and graphic design projects from all over the state and beyond. We've also started branching out into an emerging field that has some incredible potential.

Soon we'll be unveiling a very exciting addition to our current repertoire of services in the form of affordable live streaming video. This incredible upgrade will allow us to conduct remote setups anywhere in the state or the nation and be able to stream live content via the Internet to a captive audience. This isn't a $40 webcam camera that you can get from Best Buy. Using our professional video and audio gear we are able to provide enriched streaming content that can be delivered to a target audience, a church group, or even to collaborators across the United States or around the world.

The possibilities thereafter are endless.

- In addition to providing live webcasting, we will be able to offer recorded rebroadcasts of your event to be shared by anyone of your choosing.

- We can also provide numerous different file formats for your audience to download onto their systems of your event ranging from your iPod to providing it available to your website for people to download at their convenience.

- Because we're recording it with our video and audio equipment -- we can provide high quality DVDs of your event for you to distribute for your corporation, your business, your wedding, your seminar, your class, your church function.

The possibilities are endless what can be done.

We'll be announcing this new addition in the coming weeks -- so check back for more information!

Domain/Trademark Scams

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:29:00 +0000

This morning I opened my email to my art site and there was an email that - at first glance - looked like a scam, but as I kept studying it further it looked more and more legitimate. It had phone numbers, contact information, and had the feel of a "real" website. Real in quotes because it looked real and many times these scams end up re-directing you to a fake / phony site asking for login information (trying to get your login/password). Although my hunch told me this was a scam, it looked very professional and I was thinking that we usually look at these types of emails several times a day -- but this one could've really tricked people into thinking it was real.

But this was a domain scam where a "company" claims to be a domain registrar then warns you that someone is trying to register one of your trademarks/domains overseas. They say they are willing to give you the opportunity to make sure that doesn't happen. If you respond to their email, the "company" will then register your domain in other available web extensions such as .cn for China or .de for Germany or .eu for Europe and possibly .us for the United States. They will then try to sell you that domain or they will just tell you they charge a fee to secure it. Avoid these types of scams - don't click on their hyperlinks, don't reply to them, just send them to the trash or report them as spam. If you are worried about your domain being bought up in those extensions then go back to the place where you registered the domain from - or you can go someplace like GoDaddy.com, Register.com or any others that are ICANN certified and register them if you're worried.

Just so you know what to look out for, here is the text of the email I received:
Dear manager:
We are [insert various company names] in China, which is a domain registration agent authorised by Chinese Industrial and Commercial Department.We professionally engage in chinese and international domain names registration as well as trademark registration service.We also offer English and Chinese web design. We received an application from a chinese company asking to register "insert your domain" as their internet keyword and domain name and trademark. However,We find that it will conflict with your trademark via our confirmation.It is our duty to inform you of this issue according to the regulations of CNNIC. You are the owner of this trademark,so you have the preferential right to register and protect it by yourself.Of course,if you do not have any disagreement on this issue or you intend to give up the registration,any individual has the right to register those domains and internet keyword,which is legal.Then we will take the formal registration for that applicant.If you oppose other company to register your trademark and domains and internet keyword,even you want to protect your trademark completely,please contact us asap.We will protect your domains firstly.

Looking forward to your reply.

Sincerely yours,
[name and contact info]

So how do you know what's a scam and what's not? If you perform a simple Google text search for the name of the company - and add keywords like "scam" after it or "email scam" then this is where the internet is most helpful. Other people report spam and scams like this all the time - so it's better to be informed, do a little research before even being tempted.

And even when you are tempted - it's much better to go the route of addressing a notable registrar directly like GoDaddy.com or Register.com, etc. When in doubt - always, Always, ALWAYS assume it's a scam of some kind. It's always better to be safe than end up being sorry.

Why We're So Critical of Web Design

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:20:00 +0000

We have a simple approach to web designing:

"design something that's practical, that's attractive, that's customizable, that fits the clients needs and something the client can update on their own."

Just like a painter who stares at a stark white piece of canvas for the first time, designing and developing a website from scratch takes time. We're both artists in our own endeavors and we continually draw in our inspirations from a multitude of different places, but ultimately each design is unique in and of itself.

Why is this so important?

Because we want our client's footprint on the internet to be unique and while it would be easy to use and recycle the same over and over, it goes against the basic principle of what goes into a unique footprint on the world wide web. Therefore, we avoid some of the more "enticing" options currently out on the internet because we don't want your site to be "like the next guy."

COOKIE CUTTER SITES:
Cookie cutter websites have but one purpose: getting content on the web as quickly as possible on the cheap." Which for some people - it's the way to go because they don't really care about their website design is shared with the same template that created "Acme Plumbing and Heating." The main reason why we don't like cookie cutter sites is because they have no unique expression, no life and you're ultimately limited by your ability to expand and cannot add some of the many powerful enhancements to your site. Cookie cutter sites limit your design opportunities because of how the template has been created. Cookie cutters are logo here, text here, insert picture here... programing and don't allow you to make the website unique to YOU.

These are two types of cookie cutter sites: ones designed by you, and ones designed by a web designer. There are "all-in-one" type places where you can purchase your domain name, the web host and they have an online process where you can "construct" your website from scratch. This sounds like the most ideal, cheap approach to web design, doesn't it? There are severe limitations to these sites however:

- You're typically limited to the templates they employ on their site. Customization is very limited to the confines of the structure they provide.

- Extras may cost extra and beyond. If it's even offered -- things like an online gallery, shopping carts, and forums might come with a hefty price tag attached it. Be sure to read what you're getting for that low cost..

- If there's a glitch in the website coding, unless the website offers extremely helpful, timely and effective customer support - you may be out of luck.

*MAJOR WARNING: Make sure you read the fine print. Some of these cookie cutter "all-in-one" sites offer a simple monthly payment arrangement, but in turn they ultimately own the domain name and in some arrangements, they claim the right to use your material. (We have an upcoming article that will outline the difficulties of protecting your media for another blog entry.) But for now, we want to make certain that you own your domain name if you decide to move to another hosting company. Many of these sites claim ownership of your domain and if you ever have a problem or decide you want to move -- making certain that your domain name comes with you .... maybe extremely problematic..

If you're trying out the web for the first time and you want to see how to create a website from scratch, a cookie cutter is going to work for you. But eventually you're going to discover the limitations to the design and template -- and you're going to find yourself ready to take your website to the next level.

"WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET (WYSIWYG or Wizzy-Wig)"
WYSIWYG editors are computer applications like Adobe GoLive, Dreamweaver and Fusion. Other WYSIWYG editors like Microsoft's failed "Frontpage" is thankfully no longer in circulation. These editors have come a long way over the years, but they're all far from perfect. They work on the premise not unlike PowerPoint or MS Word where you can "drag-and-drop" your content and arrange your layout to your liking. These editors interpret when you click drag and move your logo to the upper left hand corner of the layout, and then these WYSIWYG editors attempt to decipher each placement and translates that into the HTML code that goes into your website.

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

But in order to make that happen successfully the computer doesn't think like a designer -- it thinks like a computer. The result is a very mish-mash, hodge podge assortment of coding which adds a great deal of "programming fluff" and makes it look great in the preview, but literally impossible to troubleshoot. The additional "fluff" can also add bulk to your website which means for slower load times. (while the number of high speed internet folks is increasing, there's still a good number of folks still on dial-up.) Also, if there's any glitches anywhere in the coding and you want to change it... good luck. Your WYSIWYG editor will be limited by the level of troubleshooting it can provide. Keep in mind that because the WYSIWYG editor is designing the code in a very verbose manner -- it's going to be incredibly difficult to troubleshoot it without the editor. It most situations, the editors will only compound the problem and make the problem worse.

HAND CODING:
Just like a brush in hand that comes in contact with the canvas, a web designer who hand-codes a website and has complete control of each stroke, each line of code and the designer knows how to tune each piece of code into something definitive for the website. Hand coding is therefore much different because good designers won't hobble hobble your website like a WYSIWYG editing software program can do. Good coding can allow YOU, the user to make changes to your own website with a little bit of instruction. Good coding can allow you to make your own revisions as needed without needing to constantly employ a programmer or the designer to make those changes.

Someone who hand-codes a website so that any editor (even Notepad) can be used to make changes to your website. Also, someone who hand-codes websites understands the intricate nature of website design and can troubleshoot problems at a coding level. A WYSIWYG editor merely interprets what the site is reporting, but it has an impossible time trying to troubleshoot the issue it finds.

That said, some design will have to go through a web designer due to the complexities of the menu structure and your technological skill level. Some menu structures and effects are derived with the help of programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady. Other menu structures are created using programming languages like CSS and javascript, so depending on your technical prowess you may be able to make these changes to your website on your own.

The last really great trait about hand-coders is their ability to keep things nice and neat. Most computer programmers love to keep their coding nice and neat because if there are any problems, they can go straight to the area in question and make the necessary changes. Good web designers who operate in the same manner will have nice clean coding so that anyone can come along and see exactly what's a website doing and make any changes to it. WYSIWYG programs and do-it-yourself template construction don't care if the coding is clean or not - and oftentimes makes it incredibly tedious to work with sorting through it all -- it often is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

WEB DESIGN AS AN ART FORM:
Like an artist touching a brush to canvas and making art, the web designer creates elaborate pages with a combination 1's and 0's is a bit of an art form. Good web designers use wide range of brushes with a critical eye to the design of your website. Your website should have character, form and a style that makes it unique and different from other sites.

If you're a painter, why put your artwork in something that you will limit you. Your internet presence should be a unique as you and your artwork.

Living Virus Free

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 16:09:00 +0000

Our computers have become our mainstay in our normal every day lives. We've also come very reliant on our virus programs and other anti-spyware applications to help protect us from the nasty things on the world wide web. So much so, that in many ways users have become complacent and naive about the protection they provide. In this article, we're going to delve into some of the basic things one can do to help keep their computers virus free.

First off - you're probably wondering: "why do these guys do this?" Originally, hackers, crackers, and other spiffy computer geeks saw the propagation of viruses and other nasty stuff as a way to gain notoriety in the geek community. So "fame" was one motivation. In today's terms, virus and malware writers are generally hired guns to help propagate their malicious code and viruses through websites, emails and attachments. The trend is not likely to go away anytime soon, so what can we do about it?

The first line of defense when it comes to protecting yourself against viruses is YOU. A computer sitting alone in the corner does not generally pick up a virus just by sitting there. The majority of viruses are spread by our internet habits: if you have bad internet habits, you're running the risk of catching a virus, a trojan or host of spyware and adware designed to cripple your system.

1.) Develop a smart policy for using the internet. If you stop and think about how human viruses are spread, we get tired, we hang out with people who have colds, and we don't take the precautions to keep from getting sick. So, if your kids are doing any sort of file sharing or downloading music, movies or games from the internet your chances of getting something nasty has just increased. You want to go to sites you trust and stay away from known places that can download viruses to your computer.

What are known places?? File sharing applications like Kazaa, Limewire, any other peer to peer applications, some IRC (Internet Relay Chat) rooms also spread nefarious viruses and bugs, porn sites, sites that deal with hacking, cracking or freaking, etc.. etc.. etc..

PLEASE NOTE: It's important to realize that even legitimate sites can be attacked. Hackers will find a way into any site if they really want to get in. It's up to system administrators and cite owners to help keep this kind of propagation from happening, but it does happen.

2.) Don't open attachments unless you are sure it is a safe. If you open the attachments, you run the risk of becoming a carrier for the virus. In most cases, viruses will seek out your address book and send out it's malicious coding to all your friends and family masquerading as YOU. (that doesn't seem very fair, does it?) So then when your family and friends get your email, they will think it's legitimate and open it too. Now THEY are now infected.

3.) Don't be tricked by copycat emails. A copycat email is an email sent to you to make it look like it came from your bank, amazon.com, or paypal. Upon a casual glance, these forged sites can look completely legitimate, but they aren't. These sites have but one function: trick you into believing you're logging into your account, when in fact you're providing some remote server critical account access information. If you get an email from one of your accounts, then open up your web browser and manually type in the address for your bank or for wherever. Verify that they had been trying to get a hold of you and you can address it then.

Most institutions have a policy where they will never notify you via email except to have you manually open up a new browser window and to go to their site that way. Never click on the link provided in the email.

4.) Don't click "OK" when a pop-up happens. Pop-ups are another incredibly frustrating source of these hoaxes and tricks -- because you might get a pop-up that looks like a computer dialog box. Something like: "An error has happened and you need to restart your browser now." If you click "OK," you may inadvertently download something you shouldn't.

So how do you know if something is legitimate from your computer or not? Check the applications that you have open on the bottom of the screen. Traditionally a pop-up is nothing more than another small browser window. You may see more than one internet browser open - and if that is the case the pop-up might be one of them. Simply click the extra internet icon that shows up on the bottom of the screen a couple of times. Did it go away and come back? If so, this is a pop-up. To safely clear the pop-up, right click on that icon you just clicked on -- then select "Close" and the pop-up should disappear.

5.) Don't send e-cards. It's tempting to send a friend a "thinking of you" e-card, or to send a birthday wish to a cousin or a relative. But resist the temptation of sending an e-card because of the hoax I described for you in #3 up above about "copycat emails." It's nearly impossible to determine whether or not an e-card is legitimate because they can be easily spoofed to make it look like it came from your email. An unknowing relative can then click on the link and the damage is done.

6.) Resist the temptation of spreading jokes and stuff. This is the number one way of how our emails can get spoofed. People who forward jokes, images and such via the internet are opening up a big can of worms for people who may not know if they are infected with a virus. If your email address appears on a long list of people who received the joke or the funny email, then your email address can then be used against you. Viruses can then re-direct their "malicious emails" to make it look like a legitimate email came from you.

Also, let's not forget the lesson learned in #2: don't open attachments. When you forward something from your account, it becomes an attachment for those people on your list that you're sending it to. If they practice safe computing and don't open attachments, then whatever you are sending will go un-read and discarded. Even emails that seem completely safe because they have a cute picture of a kitty cat or a cute pup are not immune to spreading nasty things. Most of these images are downloaded from a remote site - and if you're allowing your computer to download the cute kitty cat or the pup dog, then you're also allowing your computer to download whatever other malicious code that could be lurking behind the scenes.

6.) Update update update, scan scan scan Now that you've developed a keen sense of living virus free, you have a couple more things to do: always make sure that your operating system has all of its updates, always make sure that your anti-virus & spyware software is operational, updated, and functioning properly, and make a point to scan your system on a regular basis. You do not need to scan it daily (unless your kids are constantly downloading from a peer to peer or you're practicing unsafe internet habits) -- but traditionally you only need to scan your computer once a month. Your system should let you know if you have a nasty bug or if something isn't right with the computer.

What to do when you get a virus warning DO NOT IGNORE IT. We don't always want to think that we've just stumbled into something really bad, so we tend to blindly ignore that it happened. Obtaining a virus doesn't make you a bad person or a bad surfer, it happens. But the first thing we don't want you to do is panic. When people panic, a lot of bad things can happen. So here is a short list of things you should do:

a.) Unplug your computer from the internet/network. If possible, leave your computer on.
b.) Call your IT person and tell them that you have a virus and that you need their help. Virus removal can be tricky and it can be costly.
c.) If your computer is hooked up to a network, notify other persons on the network that they need to scan their computer to make sure the virus didn't spread to them.
d.) Notify your family and friends via telephone (or from another computer) to let them know that you've obtained a virus and to ignore anything that came from you since you noticed the problem.
e.) Don't touch the computer until your IT person says you can. Oftentimes the tendency is to delete the file in question, but that actually can do more harm because you deleted the branch of a tree, but the trunk and root still remain.
f.) Don't panic, but learn from whatever happened. See what caused it and why, then seek a way to make sure it doesn't get repeated.
g.) Be prepared for the worst. In most cases, your files are okay - and should be backed up immediately thereafter. It's then strongly recommended that after you've backed up your important data - to reformat the hard drive to remove any possible trace of the virus. You can then restore your applications and your data and go from there.

Who can you trust?

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:01:00 +0000

The Internet has a lot of really useful information. Unfortunately it's also filled with a lot of dis-information designed to do but one thing: to get you trust what "they" say as gospel and hopefully persuade you to buy the product or service that they want to steer you towards. Often times these folks are paid to this.

They're paid to write persuasive reviews on behalf of the company, product or person that has hired them.

Doesn't seem very fair does it?

It's not, but you've already come to the first step of thwarting their attempts by being informed about what's out there. So what else can we do to help wade through their words and prose to figure out exactly whether a given brand of equipment is worth it to buy? There's a process that I go through every time someone asks: "hey, is this printer any good?" It starts with the most popular search engine out there: Google!

It's amazing what we can find in Google with the right keywords. Simply put in the brand and/or the model number including the word "review" at the end. I'm basically searching for sites that I have come to trust. I want to check out certain magazine sites, newspapers that have technology columns, and any other computer online resources that do thoughtful reviews on products, software and services. Basically, I'm looking for an honest assessment and not someone paid to say all the right things. If I'm looking for printer reviews, I want to check out places like CNet and PC Magazine to see if they have reviewed them or not.

"All I have to do is trust the brand name"
We don't always know if a reviewer has a bias against one company or another. It's like the whole "Ford vs. Chevy" grand debate. You can have people that drive Chevy trucks their hole life and refuse to even consider a Ford merely based on principle alone. In computer terms, this happens all the time in the ongoing battle between PC or Mac. Both are very capable platforms but are uniquely designed for different purposes. But you'll have the naysayers from one side or the other trashing the other platform without really giving a viable technological reason why they don't like it.

Another example of this though is blindly trusting the brand name for everything they produce. Here's an example: Hewlett Packard makes really good printers, but their desktop computers are okay, but not great. Now based on that assessment, we can see that HP makes good printers, but when it comes to purchasing a new computer, we may want to find a different company. It's this kind of review that proves more beneficial because we're not going to rubber stamp every product HP makes even though they maybe exceptionally good in one area.

"Customers can be trusted"
Sometimes this is true in some cases, but you need to be even more critical when a customer leaves a review because someone may be really upset by the way Dell handled their customer service from years before. Some people will continue to carry out a "vendetta-style" review that may not have anything to do with the product or their experience. It'll be a lie, a fabrication.

Others will get increasingly frustrated with a product because they didn't read the instructions or couldn't diagnose the product successfully. They condemn the product despite the fact it was likely cause by their own problem.

We then have the "I'm an I.T. expert" reviewer. Which basically is a desperate attempt to win you over that somehow their "expertise" somehow weighs more than the casual review. Be weary of the self-professed "I.T. experts" and their opinions because anyone who has to advertise their I.T. experience is a bit problematic. It's almost like saying: "hey, I know what I'm talking about, listen to what I have to say." I read reviews to be informed, not to be impressed.

The last group of customer reviewers are also "paid-for-reviewers" which will be focused on "product A" -- give them glowing reviews from several different accounts while trashing "product B", a similar product, but a competitor. The reviewer's jaded view on the product is predicated on getting payment from their contractor.

That doesn't seem very fair either.

Look for the middle
That's why when I'm looking into the background of a given product or service, I'm checking the good, the bad and the ugly. I want to know the worst case scenario and see how it matches up against the positively glowing reviews. When you read a cluster of reviews you want to look in the middle. You want to hone in on performance issues and reports of customer service. But when it comes to customer service, we need to watch out because most of those jobs were outsourced to another country and there's a pronounced language barrier. Folks get frustrated when they can't communicate -- so you need to temper the customer service score a little bit or at least take that into consideration when you are making your purchase.

Sometimes if you can't find your exact model, do a search for other similar models by the same company. More than naught, models have been discontinued for a newer model and thus have become obsolete. Sometimes these units are replaced by better, more capable products and may be more cost effective solution. Sometimes a particular run of products can have defects in them and it would be prudent to steer clear of them for a cycle or two.

Bottom Line
With careful consideration, weighing the pros and cons with an objective point of view, you can discern a practical perspective of the item you're considering. It's important to get as many different opinions of the product you're considering as well. Just because one person trashes your computer while another one thinks it walks on water -- the truth is somewhere in between. Don't be afraid to do a lot of digging and find more information before you make your decision. It's not unreasonable to dedicate some time in researching your product -- the trick is to know where to trust and how far to trust them.

Web Design Tips: Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:08:00 +0000

I have designed quite a few websites ranging from businesses to artists and one of the things people look to do is find ways on how to generate a little extra income to help offset the cost of maintaining their website. There is a growing trend among website owners to put ads on their website or blog. As tempting as this might be, most of the time it is not a very good idea.

Reasons:

You wouuldn't put someone else’s advertisements on your business cards or your stationary so why would you put it on your website? The main goal of a website it to market YOUR art, YOUR product or YOUR service. Your goal is not to be marketing something or someone else. Your website is a marketing tool and think of it as such. You want it to be the BEST representation of you.

If you put someone else’s advertisement on your website, you’re only inviting them to leave your site and go else where. Why have a website if you’re only going to be a thorough-fare to someone else’s site?

By placing animated, blinking, moving graphic advertisements on your site, it’s going to be distracting the attention away from the real reason why you want them coming to your site in the first place and thus taking them away from your website, artwork, service or product.

You want your site to be clean and ads are often blinking or moving so distracting. One of the chief complaints from people viewing is annoying ads make it an unpleasant browsing experience. There is an 8-second rule that designers use because it is typically in that length of time a visitor will view your website before they decide if they are going to stay. And if there is an ad that is distracting and annoying them they might not even give it a few seconds before moving on.

Always remember that first impressions count and often people view ads negatively so they would view your website negatively because you have ads on them. We don’t want your website to become a distraction to the point people move on. We want them to keep coming back for more and to tell others about what you’re doing on the web. There are ways to enhance your site with effective animation that keeps the design subtle and not overpowering. That will be a tip for another day.

Debunking web-myths

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:04:00 +0000

"If you build it, they will come."

It's a quote from the fantastic Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams. The premise of the movie is not unlike the desire so many folks have about building a website and hoping to improve their business. But like the Ray Kinsella character in the movie -- with a tremendous amount of hard work and a steadfast dedication, creating a web design to attract potential customers.

But where it's okay to be idealistic and thinking that all you need to do is to build a website - and the world will flock to you --- the reality is: it doesn't happen like it does in the movies. There are, however, some strategic steps that you can take to improve your standing online.

Surrounding yourself with smart people and developing a keen strategy.

It's a long standing belief that if you surround yourself with smart folks who can give you really great advice -- then they can optimize your business in a way that won't cost you a hefty sum of money. Web Designers can be hired to evaluate your potential footprint on the web and to help construct a viable strategy to optimize your online presence. We stay up on trends and news about the internet and how to employ the best options available to our clients.

It's all about the content.

Websites are tagged according to your content, who links to you, and whether or not you're a "real website." Keeping your content concise, non-repetitive and descriptive will improve your standing in the majority of search engines like Google and Yahoo! Avoid those "offers" that say they can promote your business so you can get more hits Oftentimes, these "optimizer" deals are nothing more than link farms. And if you agree to put your site on a link farm, then you're destined to be black listed. And if you're black listed - then no one will find your site from Google and Yahoo!

Patience little snowflake

The moment your website goes live, it's natural to want the visitor to come to your website within the first hour it's up. Unless you're publicizing the launch of your website on lists across the internet, spanning several hundreds of people, the traffic to your site will start out slow. This is natural and it happens because just like "word of mouth" it takes time to generate a buzz for people to come to your site.

It's not the "end all, be all" for your marketing strategy

And that ties in with what your marketing strategy is about your website. I regularly caution our clients who think of their website as the heart of their marketing process when in reality, your website is an extension to your overall strategy. You simply don't stop your marketing process after you've created business cards, right? Business cards are a tool, much like the internet, or your yellow page ad, or your listing in a magazine, or your posters for your upcoming show. Having an online presence is essential in today's businesses because people want a wealth of information and they want to get to know you and your company. The more "established" you appear, the greater that someone is going to be interested in hiring you or purchasing what you're selling.

It used to be that as long as you had a glitzy storefront with an interesting window display, that people would want to visit your store. In today's informational age, customers want to know more about the store, the artist, or the business person before they decide they want to conduct business with you.

Once my website is up - it's on auto-pilot

When you're sitting at your breakfast table and you're sipping your coffee, what if your morning newspaper happened to be the exact same newspaper as yesterday?? You might think that was an error on the news carrier's part - or you might even think it was a foul up somewhere in the process. If you called up your newspaper and they told you: "no, it was no mistake, we just don't have anything new to report today." A newspaper that isn't new each day?

Websites work along the same lines in a way. Bottom line: it depends on the function of the website and how it works along side with your marketing strategy. If you want repeating customers or visitors that will keep coming back - you have to give them a reason to come back. A fresh website accomplishes this task. This means keeping things updated and new whether you're selling artwork or whether you're informing a select group of people about an industry, group, or business.

How to make your website continually fresh may require some additional add-ons in the form of a blog or a Content Management System like Joomla or Drupal. These add-ons do not require extensive programming knowledge once the website has been assembled, uploaded and configured. In the case of a blog, you can be up and blogging in a matter of minutes whereas designing a CMS structure from scratch might take several weeks to accomplish with the help of a programmer and/or designer.

Depending on your marketing strategy, some websites may opt to remain static as they are nothing more than passing billboards on the super information highway. The strategy is different, but no less important to ensure that visitors can find your product, service or information with ease.

SUMMARY: Developing your online strategy is essential before even beginning to design a website. It's important to discuss with your designer the types of options available and how the website is going to work with your overall marketing plans. There's a lot of considerations that goes into the creation of a website in as much as it's important to consider what will happen after the website has gone live. Ultimately you want an online presence that will complement the plan you have in place for the success of your business, organization or agency. Keeping it real, planning it out and working with your support team guarantees the best possible outcome for your web experience.

Buying advice - printers!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:12:00 +0000

Aside from my other semi-normal functions, I'm also a techno-guru of sorts. I get asked a lot of questions about recommendations about technology stuff, computers, hardware, software and the like. One thing that I am very picky about are printers. Now printers have evolved over the years and it's so incredibly easy to fall for the $59.99 inkjet printer that's on sale at your favorite retailer. The ad says all the right things: it can print straight from your memory card, it prints on high quality printer paper, etc...

Well - not quite.

Here's the deal about those cheap inkjet printers you tend to get: they are cheap for a reason!! Or rather - they are cheap initially, but just wait until you have to pay for replacement ink cartridges!

Over the years I've probably had about 6-8 different inkjet printers from a wide range of manufacturers. I found that it's more headache than not when it comes to printing from these ink disasters simply because of the cost value. When I purchased my first laser printer, I became instantly impressed with the consistent quality and the toner life I got from it. To compare:

Inkjet Printer:
- Costs $60.00
- Inkjet cartridges can range from $17-35
- Ink life is *maybe* 300 sheets.
- Banding will typically appear in most photographs you try to print when the ink is running low or the print heads need to be cleaned (which typically uses *more* ink...)

Laser Printer:
- Retails as low as $120.00
- Toner replacements cost as much as $85.00
- Toner life is at *least* 3000 sheets or more
- No banding, but as the toner starts to get low, the text will look splotchy. (Trick: take the toner out, hold horizontally to the floor, shake horizontally, place back into the printer) This trick buys you about 100-300 more sheets

Because the toner life of a laser is 3000 sheets, it would take 10 ink refills to match the same output. Hence, you could pay $120 for a printer that will print 3000 sheets straight out of the box. Or you could pay $60 dollars for a ink printer followed by (9 x $20 avg) $180.00 in ink just to match what the toner cartridge produces. $120.00 versus $240.00 to print the same 3000 sheets.

However....

If you're printing pictures - then your output will not reach 300 sheets as advertised. In the small print, you will see where manufacturers include caveats like: "depending on print usage" or "based on a print area of less than 10%" or some other like-minded message. Because the moment you go to print a 5x7 or 8x10 photo - your ink cartridges will be bleeding profusely and their life will end very very quickly. You will be spending a great deal more in the end per page than if you got it processed by your local Walgreens, Walmart or online at places like Shutterfly or Kodak Gallery.com

But what about quality? It sometimes looks great coming from your printer, but I've taken really great photographs, have them printed on extremely expensive photo paper, put into nice quality frames where they remain protected from the sun and other elements, only to watch the ink fade with time. The lush colors slowly evaporate from the print. Simply put, prints from an inkjet printer simply do not last. And if they are ever exposed to water or other liquids, they will smear and run. Your very expensive print, on very expensive print paper, using very expensive ink via a cheap printer - is ultimately ruined.

Further - you're not guaranteed the best results each time. Ink doesn't always behave the way it should - and as cartridges get used, sometimes they leave banding marks -- which requires you to initiate a cleaning protocol to clean the heads. It also means that you're quickly depleting your ink capacity - which means you'll be buying more ink quicker than you may normally would.

Yes - you can treat the images you print by spraying some sort of matte finish afterwards, but that requires additional work on your end just to ensure the possibility of retaining the right color and consistency of your artwork. Furthermore, the paper will have a tendency to curl - meaning that your print is ruined.

And this is why I do not recommend inkjet printers. Too much cost, too much hassle, and ultimately your prints are unusable with time. Why waste that much investment when you could have purchased prints from a vendor? You're not saving money, time, stress or headaches.

But what about Laser printing? I do like Laser printers. I do not rely on them for my artwork because the quality just isn't as good as when it's printed through one of my chosen vendors. I personally own HP printers - because in my tenure in the electronic world: "HP knows printers." That's not to say that I fully endorse every HP product, but when it comes to printers - they really know what they're doing..

Do I need to buy the most expensive laser printer out there? Oh heck no. I have two printers: a dedicated monochrome HP model that I paid $120 for on sale at an office supply store, and a HP color laser that I paid just over $300 for on sale at a different office supply store. (Hint: check the sales ads, and keep noting the prices). Most of the features you have in the upper laser models simply are not needed for the average user. If you have a small studio with multiple computers, then you may opt for a laser printer that has networking capabilities. Otherwise I've been extremely pleased with the lower end models and often recommend them to other clients.

Do I need two printers? Nope. I purchased my monochrome printer years before I got my color laser printer. That said, my default printer is the monochrome because the toner cartridges are cheaper ($60) in comparison to my color printer ($85).

BOTTOM LINE: Stay away from inkjet printers, find a good printing vendor around town or online for your prints, buy a laser printer for your normal printing.

Tis the season!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:14:00 +0000

Out of all of the holidays in the calendar, this time of year is probably my most favorite. The nip in the air causes us to dress more warmly, a nice cup of cocoa sounds divine, and it's the best time of year to snuggle under a blanket. I have a thing for candles as well - so I love opening up my pine candle which fills my office with a wondrous scent of a pine forest.

It's also a time of year when things are happening at a bustles pace.

I'm wrapping up a video project that's due this coming week - which will be a good feeling that it's off my desk when it's all edited and sent away. That means my December will be spent working on the remaining websites that we're working on and gearing up for the Christmas season!

Upcoming events!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:41:00 +0000

Artspace & Open Studios and Reflecting Time Productions continue to share a wonderful relationship. Both Darby and myself have already conducted technology/marketing classes for Artspace artists and we're also in the process of unveiling a very important addition to the Artspace group: their own website! The unveiling should happen sometime before Christmas, so keep checking back on here or at their website artspacecolorado.org when it finally goes live!!

In addition to designing the website, we're conducting an art photographic event for Artspace members as well. The first event will happen on December 1st where artists are encouraged to bring in their artwork to be posed and photographed to eventually lead to digital copies of their work to be submitted for gallery consideration. For $10 per piece, the artist will receive a CD containing several pictures of their artwork taken from a myriad of different angles and with different areas of focus. The idea is to create a much more descriptive approach for each piece that they will have and be able to distribute on their websites, in their advertisements and for upcoming shows.

I'd like to thank Linda Brotman-Evans for working with us and we're thrilled to be apart of the Artspace community!

Finding the Balance...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:41:00 +0000

As we creased the calendar to reveal our eleventh month of 2007 -- a sudden panic overwhelmed me: exactly where did the rest of 2007 go? In the middle of one project after another - what happened? I found myself confronted with that blur of a moment where you re-live the last 4 months in a span of 14 seconds. OUCH that hurt...

In the middle of that painful realization, I fell ill to the local bug and have since grounded myself to sleep and recovery. A strange thing happens when one is under the influence of cold medication - as for some, it becomes an almost philosophical experience. So, in the middle of one of my couch-ridden programs, I discovered the inherent necessity of finding and achieving balance in my life. Almost like a flash of light - I realized that not only was I lacking the forceful Monday through Friday weekly structure, my days blend together until I'm utterly and completely overwhelmed.

Usually, however, whenever I've tried to dedicate myself in a more structured endeavor, the ever-changing the project list continues to overflow and disrupt any attempt to maintain the balance. The quest of finding balance dissipates and I'm right back in the 7-day a-week rut once again.

So when I started to feel better yesterday and today, I resisted the temptation to startup any of our projects. I literally forced myself away from my office and onto the couch watching movies, sipping water and sucking on throat lozenges. I could've worked, but: a.) it's technically the weekend, b.) I'm sick, c.) the projects will still be there and d.) I felt very rundown and unfocused.

I initially felt that the unfocused feeling was the result of the head and chest cold, until I realized tonight that I'm actually looking forward to a renewed day of business tomorrow. The forced rest and relaxation path I traveled on this weekend has allowed me to catch my breath and have a way to re-channel and re-focus my efforts in the coming week.

Maybe there's something to be said about having weekends after all. Now that would be completely revolutionary considering the events which have transpired over the course of the past year. Maybe I'm getting a little smarter as time goes on and may this entry serve as a reminder for myself -- the next time I consider working a weekend.

(well, there's always hope!)

Sunday Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:09:00 +0000

We've been rather busy traversing the locales from here and Louisiana, but when we finally made it back to our beautiful state we were truly intoxicated with the the colors infusing the precious yellows, the glowing reds, and the brilliant blue hue of our Colorado sky. So when we drove around downtown after our return, I instantly became aware of "this shot," "that shot," "oooh, look at that one right there!"

I found my autumnal inspiration!

I love autumn. I think it's a combination of experiencing all of the possible senses from the cool, brisk October morning to the beauty of the fall colors, to the smell of someone in the distant burning leaves. The senses swoon and I love it so much.

I made it a point to go out the next day, on a very rain-dreary Sunday morning to take some photos. Unfortunately the overnight rain did take much of the foliage from the trees we had seen hours before, but I make it a point to find the shot if the one you wanted isn't at first available. Even with the gray clouds diffusing the light upon my colorful subject, I was still able to capture the beauty of the colors in that Sunday subtlety.

But more importantly there's the message that I most recently conveyed to my mom who is really loving her digital camera: sometimes we need to think about our subject differently so that we can show it's beauty in a different way.

We need to adjust our position, change our focal point and even try something as daring as standing on a rock or taking a picture from our ankles. I call it: "taking photos outside the box," thinking creatively than the vantage point of a 5'10" roaming tripod which happens to be the perspective of every other 5'10" roaming frame. It's no longer unique, but ordinary.

That's why if I stand long enough in one spot, I can see potential captures. Whether it's a contrast of shadows or a very irregular pattern on the pavement or a mixture of media on a light pole -- all of it can become our moments of Sunday inspiration.

Not because the sun didn't come out, but because we didn't need the sun to take the picture in the first place.....

A busy month and a web tip!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:07:00 +0000

A lot of projects on tap here lately - including one that's going to take us out of the (970) area code for awhile. We're heading to Louisiana on a road trip production down south for the next three weeks. As one can imagine, it has been pretty busy getting things squared away before we leave.

I'm wrapping up a video-edit production for a dear friend of mine who is retiring after 24 years. I'm proud to say that I worked along side David for 10 great years and I'm looking forward to working with him again in the future! I've been going over old photographs and videos the past week and there have been several times of going down memory lane. I loved the people I worked with - I don't necessarily miss all of the stress that came with the job.

So that's been the scoop around here lately. We'll return in mid-late October and if I'm able to upload some photographs along the way - I'll try to get them posted on here.

Web Tip: TURN OFF YOUR SIDEBAR

As web designers - we work within a canvas that is so mobile and flexible. Statistics show that the majority of the surfing public uses either Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox while having their monitor resolution set to 1024x768. That's a nice sized canvas that we start with, however a year ago we had a client who was having problems looking at her website because it wouldn't fit on her screen and it would look completely askew.

We checked her website coding, ran it through several validation checks and could not find out what was the problem. I eventually got the chance to check out her computer and discovered that she was surfing while having the bookmarks/history sidebar open. Once she closed the sidebar, the website returned to normal and everything was resolved.

The issue with the bookmarks/history side panel is something we debate with all the time because while we want visitors to enjoy their browsing experience as they see fit, from a design point of view - an open bookmarks sidebar ruins the experience we're trying to produce. It would be the equivalent of watching a movie at a theater and have a "picture in a picture" on the screen that is showing Jerry Springer re-runs. Why would you want to watch "Jerry Springer" at the same time of "Gone with the Wind??"

When I'm surfing the web - I want to experience a website the way that it was originally designed. Even when we optimize the website to accommodate the bookmarks/history sidebar - the design element is lost and people will immediately be turned off by the design aspect. Instead of planning for a wonderful 1024x768 canvas, we now have to optimize the browsers to "fit" the content - and it doesn't always look nice and pretty.

So today's tip is essentially: turn off the sidebar if you're not using it so that you can enjoy your websites as they were intended.

Blogging class and a new uploaded video section!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 07:28:00 +0000

We had the wonderful opportunity to give a presentation to the great folks at Art Space this past Monday evening. It was a really great primer introduction into blogging and what it means to your online marketing experience. While the possibilities can be a bit overwhelming, most blogs start new and small. Keeping that small, clean design is much preferred than a more cluttered blog environment.

The rest of the week was spent preparing a Mitigation Demo video for the Indiana Public Defender's system. With the kind assistance of Albert Stork and Darby Casey - we were able to create a sample video of what a mitigation production might look like. I created a new section on the website - dedicated to small video production work that I've been working on. Check out the new section here.

I'm looking forward to a brief break Saturday so that we can run down to nearby Delta, Colorado and perhaps a picnic in some "up and out of the way" place between here and there.

It was a good week and we're looking forward to the upcoming projects. September has become quite a busy month!

Take care!
-Michael

Blogging Do's and Don'ts

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Do make the time to update your blog. Once might be good enough but a good average to shoot for is three times a week. The more you blog the more interest your blog will gain and the more repeat visitors you will have looking and buying your work.
Don't make similar posts every day. It might be nice to show a painting everyday, but just posting the painting and no thoughts, insights or process will lose your visitors interest.
Do reply back to emails and comments from your blog. The personal interaction is key to keeping them coming back.
Don't engage in online drama. You might get some criticism about your work and it is important to be polite, thank the person for perspective and then move on. Don't get in a battle your time is more important.
Do make sure your blog loads quickly. You only get 8 seconds to lure them to stay and get to know you.
Do visit other bloggers, comment and add their link to yours if you enjoy their blog. Interacting with other blogs brings them to you. And eventually you will get more people linking to you adding more traffic to your website and blog.
Do give it time to grow and become a success for you.

------------------------------

this is part of the brochure that we handed out in the blogging class

Blogging for the Artist

copyright Reflecting Time Productions

http://www.reflectingtime.com

Why and What Should I Blog as an artist?

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:46:00 +0000

Why Should I Blog as an artist?

Marketing is the main reason. The following points all bring it back to a blog is good for marketing your art.

It is the easiest way to keep your website fresh and new without needing to revamp your website constantly. Fresh content means visitors will be more apt to re-visit your website to check out what’s new.
It creates a personal experience for both the visitor and you. Your vistors/customers see "behind the scenes" of your work, your art and your mindset. A visitor – goes to the gallery - they look at the piece and go: "that’s cool." And then walk on to the next piece. A blog allows you the opportunity to discuss the piece – what was the inspiration, the state of mind or emotion that went into the piece.
Communication and networking with not only people locally but world wide.
Easiest way to get on your art on the web. CAVEAT: you SHOULDN’T be treating the blog to be your "end all, be all" A blog should be ENHANCING your online presence and not become it’s only presence. Your blog should be a piece of your online presence.

What Should I Blog as an artist?

First and foremost - show off your art. Finished pieces or
progress of a piece or series.
Tell about your experiences and thought process on your work.
Share what inspires you - a story in the newspaper nature, something you found at a flea market. Whatever it may be share it.
Share your knowledge tips and techniques associated with your works and the art business.
Share your daily life (within reason).
Share your upcoming shows, events or anything else significant in promoting your art.

Your visitor wants to get to know you and the art you create. Each of those things will help you bring them back again and again. And also of course buy your art.

------------------------------
this is part of the brochure that we handed out in the blogging class

Blogging for the Artist
copyright Reflecting Time Productions
http://www.reflectingtime.com

Blogging Class

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:44:00 +0000

I am giving a blogging class for Artspace & Open Studio tomorrow. I will post notes and links that I share in the class Tuesday or Wednesday.

Selling Art on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Darby) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:24:00 +0000

Websites discussed during "Selling Art on the Internet" for Artspace & Open Studio. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Selling
1. Etsy.com

is a market place not an auction
20 cents each item
3.5% percent of the total sale (excluding shipping)
paying fee – credit card on file - billed or auto billed once a month
built in shopping cart so not needing to have one on your website
can use your own logo and put links to your website in profile

2. Ebay.com

do a search for self representing artist to see what others do
fees vary to price listing – 20 cents to $4.80
percentage of total sale starts 5.25 and then goes down high the price it sells forself
representing artist – then broke down into medium, subject or style

3. yessy.com

fee yearly - $59if you use –their shopping cart then the fee is a 10% percent of sale but if you use your own merchant account then no additional fee

4. artbyus.com

free - you put up your items but you use either your merchant account or paypal
also good for networking

5. Boundless Gallery - Stephanie mentioned this one. It looks like they have a free sign up and many free features but I am not sure if you sell things via them - their might be a fee. But I haven't signed up or know enough about them to know for sure.

6. Absolute Arts - I don't know anything about them - but came upon them in some searches the other night. It looks like there is a free sign up but if you want more features then it costs.

Networking & Marketing
1. a blog - Sept 10th Class is on Blogging

2. many of the above sites where you can sell your work also have forums which are good for networking - make sure when you sign a post to forums that you put your web url under it.

3. EBSQ Art

$78 yearly fee for artists
Portfolio
links to your website, etsy, ebay, blog
in rotation for being a featured artist
online community
not a site for selling but a site for showcasing and networking

4. Wet Canvas

a forum
articles

5. writing articles - because the more your name is out there the more you will get unexpected hits from many sources (I haven't used any of these yet.)

6. Yahoogroups or Livejournal Art Communites

Yahoogroups - do a search for your medium or just a general search of art and see if something catches your eye. There is not only valueable information for marketing your art online in many of these groups, it is a place to market, network, find new techniques and communicate with other artists.

Livejournal - it is not only a place to blog but it has many artists communities - again do a search for your medium or art in general.

7. Myspace.com, 723.com, deviant art, indiepublic

They are all similar. They are a place to have a profile, blog (I would never use it as my main blog though), network and communicate with others. They are all free for sign up.

Myspace.com - I don't really have a fondness for as most of the time when I got to people's myspace pages they are very clunky in loading.

The rest of these are geared towards artists.

723.com - it is like a myspace but for artists. It is fairly new so not sure on where it will go.

indiepublic - Again like a myspace but for artists

deviantART - it is more like EBSQ where you can have a gallery, people can comment on your art, there is a shop but it is for prints of your work, and there is forums also

Tips

make sure your business cards, letterhead, brochures, advertising has your website address
make sure when you do emails to anyone - everyday correspondense or online forums have your web address in your signature

Reflecting Time Production Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:32:00 +0000

Jumping into the blogosphere to give out useful information on photography, videography, art marketing, website design and much more!