Stair Master (partial edit)

Impromptu film project with the talented Jeremy Snook. A partially edited version, followed by Jeremy’s fully edited copy.

 

Change in Plans

A two minute film / journey to San Juan Island:

Storytelling Sledshow

Storytelling: Five-image slideshow (or, “sledshow,” in this case), less than three minutes long, with a beginning, middle and end. 

ACTION IDEA:
OVERCOMING FEAR: SLEDSHOW—A group of urban, preppy young professionals from the city head to the woods. After the struggle of reaching their remote, amenity–free lodging, they realize that they are beyond their comfort-zones. They decide to embrace their anxieties and challenge their fears. This is embodied best by “extreme sledding,” which does not come injury-free. Together, they find joy in stepping beyond the comfort of their cosmopolitan lifestyles.

Site for Internal Communication Trends

A compilation of information about Internal Communication Evolution and Trends can be found at the following Web site:

http://internalcommunicationtrends.wordpress.com

Evolution of Internal Communication

Evolution of Internal Communication Slides:

Location-based Services

In the Fierce Wireless article, “What’s next for location-based services” by Mark Lownstein, the author shares his thoughts on the state of LBS and GPS services. It is interesting to read that he is not optimistic about subscription-based LBS. However, he offers ideas on how to monetize such services.

Questions that can be asked include:
1) What are some examples of ways to appropriately dispel information about where consumers are? The most common example seems to be the right for restaurants to contact nearby consumers who may be looking for a good meal special. What are some non-food/beverage examples?
2) What are some circumstances under which consumers would be able to charge companies that want to access their location information?

Societies Media Co. business model

Following is an outline for the business model of the fictitious Societies Media Co.

I. ABOUT SOCIETIES MEDIA COMPANY
Societies Media Company is a leader in the social news media category. This award winning company has cracked the code on bringing popular news and local events to consumers. Societies Media combines the convenience of local city guides with breaking news and local news. With the rapidly evolving (declining) news media and new focus on personalized digital services, Societies Media is listening to and meeting the needs of consumers.

A. Target Demographic

Preserving Crucial Records

The article “Archivists Struggle to Preserve Crucial Records as Paper Gives Way to Pixels” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, by Florence Olsen, addresses the concerns over maintaining records of online information. The article focuses on important university documentation.

Several questions came to mind regarding the article:

1) If the information discussed is so crucial, why wasn’t it’s archival discussed before it was only documented online-only?

Improving WAP Usabililty

The document “Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0” by W3C provides basic guidelines for improving mobile Web site usability. This is a useful reference document for mobile site creators. From an academic perspective, the paper provides useful insights as to why certain features are or are not acceptable on the mobile platform.

 

For example, W3C’s regulatory suggestions include limiting the content on WAP pages and keeping externally linked resources to a minimum. The paper makes it clear that the overarching problem on mobile sites is that they are improperly designed for mobile use, and not properly transferred from PC formats.  “Many Web sites and pages make for a poor user experience when they are viewed on a mobile device” and “Many Web pages are laid out for presentation on desktop size displays, and exploit capabilities of desktop browsing software.”

 

Several questions came to mind, and the answers would provide a relevant context for digesting the “Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0” document:

 

1.       How much of a problem is created due to developers failing to follow these best practices? It seems as though the only loss or detriment is to the developer himself – in having an unusable site.

2.       As version 1.0, was there not a previous document of this type? Were former developers simply expected to filter through numerous other documents (such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Device Independent Working Group concepts) to obtain this information? It is surprising that this agregated paper was just released in July 2008.

3.       Similarly, is W3C the only organization of its type? Meaning, are these Best Practices supported by the rest of the industry and streamlined/agreed upon by all factions of the mobile industry?

 

 

 

Tragedy of the Commons

“The Tragedy of the Commons” is a famous work by Garret Hardin. Published in 1968 by Science magazine, it offers concepts that are often referenced today without acknowledgement of where the philosophical credit is due. The article’s message is inherently relevant to modern life, and often referenced by academics and professionals.

Hardin is extolled for his concise analysis of what he calls the “tragedy of the commons”, the namesake of the article. When reading this work, it is important to keep in mind that is was written forty years ago. While the examples Hardin provides may be outdated, they are still surprisingly germane.

Hardin explains that “no technical solution” to a problem is, in fact, an acceptable solution. As people are faced with diminishing resources and a growing population, the race will be forced to make decisions as to what is truly finite. He argues that man needs to explicitly realize the difference between commeasurable wants versus needs. Sometimes this process relies on solutions that are solved by changing thinking processes rather than cyclically looking for practical solutions.