It’s worth noting the online ordering is third party development and trying desperately to improve.

On my wish list is definitely the Hoefler & Frere-Jones fonts.

First it was an honor to work for Stuller, Inc. the last 4 years, being one of the largest jewelry manufacturers in the world, I learned much about the industry and an ability to market on a grand scale. Saying farewell to co-workers this week is never easy but the feeling ends with the reward that you may have made some impact however subtle during your tenure.

Moving forward the idea to work with a company as progressive as NAKEDpizza is definitely a shift in gears and contrast to Stuller’s very conservative approach to technology and social media. The capacity to evolve in this area was important in my decision to move on.

Living healthy and diet are becoming more important issues as our longevity increases and thus the quality of life depends on the food we eat. I was hesitant at first at the idea of working for a pizza franchise but quickly understood that I was working for a communication company that happens to sell pizza and building a culture of a healthier lifestyle. The opportunity to be involved in the investments of Mark Cuban and the Kraft Group (think New England Patriots not cheese) provide much optimism for this venture forward.

I decided to do a Web Trends version of Louisiana that included technologists, creatives, social media professionals and bloggers from Lafayette to New Orleans. Obviously the map is incomplete and may not be accurate in accordance with people’s proximation to one another; however, I tried for the best generalization possible but if anyone is omitted that should be added please direct message or email me and I’ll try and correct the oversight.

A feature of Web Trends is that it aggregates trending links from all the individuals within the map.

We should be very proud to have such a distinguished group of professionals and individuals in this state.

What I actually observe is the differences between people’s grammar, sentence structure and typography. Some still use the two hyphens (- -) to represent an em dash or a normal hyphen (-) seldom do I see a true em dash (—) which saves a character if you use the two hyphen method. Two schools of thoughts also precede the actual em dash, one is no spaces around it the other is a full space around the em dash i.e. the New York Times. The Chicago Manual of Style suggest no space which again saves two character spaces. In print I kern the em dash and on my blog I use a hair space but on Twitter no spaces so I’m all over the place. It’s also common to see a hyphens used for an author attribution rather than an em dash.

The en dash (–) is rarely used or seen (currently unavailable on the iPhone) most people just substitute the hyphen to signify duration e.g. 2000–2009. I actually won’t write something which requires the en dash if I can avoid it on the iPhone.

Two spaces after a period has always annoyed me. It’s what I call “term-paper typography” where two spaces after a period was required because some English professor didn’t realize it was initially done because typewriters of their era were horrible at letter-spacing.

I see misused quotes everywhere and it’s not isolated to just social media. Using correct quotes comes down to Typography 101. I see the foot and inch marks (',") being used incorrectly but are actually the default on the iPhone and most other mobile devices. Now that the iPhone supports actual smart quotes I wish Apple would change the auto-correction and promote better typography.

For me it’s about communicating as eloquently as possible and sometimes we makes sacrifices to engage our social audience using all caps or ubiquitous abbreviations i.e. OMG, WTF, ROTFL, etc. I try to employ good typography where it makes sense. Although it would seem in this age of constant contact “anything goes.”

“Writing allows even a stupid person to seem halfway intelligent; if only that person will write down the same thought over and over again, improving it just a little bit each time. It is a lot like inflating a blimp with a bicycle pump. Anybody can do it. All it takes is time.”
 — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Recently several sites in my area (Lafayette, Louisiana) have shifted to WordPress and I couldn’t be more delighted because they are BBR Creative a reputable advertising agency, Aileen Bennett a noted public speaker and Mike Spears owner of a respected web agency.

It is refreshing to see that WordPress helps empower the individual and not the large web firms. For me it’s a shot across the bow for technologists who offer expensive services that aren’t openly accessible.

Could you imagine requesting to have an application built where you can update your site from your iPhone or the ability to revamp your site design without effecting content then adding social media integration with little or no additional costs? Much of the SEO work is already done for you because of WordPress is built on Web Standards.

These resources have been available for years but are finally gaining traction. As web agencies pour efforts into creating convoluted content management systems they often lose grasp of the user and their audience. Features are great but it is not only features that make a product but accessibility and support. Resources spent on development can easily be allocated to support.

Open source technologies like WordPress and Expression Engine provide a more capable platform than anything I’ve seen; developing is continuous and the next version always provides enhancements. When was the last time your CMS was updated?

Ultimately there is still plenty of room at the top for large web firms, Happy Cog quickly comes to mind and some companies are more accustomed to dealing with those type of entities but the door for small and medium sized businesses are wide open.

I was hoping Hornets could have acquired Ben Gordon since the they still need a shooter to offset Peja’s inconsistencies.

However, the Hornets had to unload Tyson Chandler or Peja Stojakovic if they were going to improve. There was little room for them to maneuver considering the luxury tax. They currently rank seventh in the league among team payrolls and they have also signed free agent forward Ike Diogu to add depth to their frontcourt.

I’m often weary of people who claim they are an artist or creator and don’t have a true desire to be doing their job. Being knowledgeable about one’s craft is a responsibility of the individual. Your employer has no real obligation to teach you past the job requirements.

You don’t ever turn it off.

As a creative I was once asked “do you turn it off when you go home?” I would say the contrary. Away from work is where I create my finest ideas. Work is revolved around rules and restrictions to produce a product you probably didn’t create singularly.

I’ve learned exponentially more from doing my personal projects than I have my day job. Is it a slight to my employer? Not at all, I think we are all self-vested and want to create beyond someone else’s expectation. Even if you had the most perfect job in the world, you would still have the urge to go beyond.

I once knew a photographer that actually didn’t own his own camera? How can you claim to be something and don’t own your own equipment? I couldn’t fathom the idea of not owning a computer and deem myself a web designer or an illustrator without a drawing table.

That’s not to say that you have to be consumed by your work but rather that you should be proficient enough to be able to enhance your life. Don’t be someone going through the motions. Find a passion for something and do it.

Stephen King:

Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.