I am a huge fan of Smashing Magazine, especially their monthly calendar desktop wallpapers. I like to pick through my favorites as they’re released each month and I routinely swap out backgrounds on my work and desktop machines, depending on the time of year, my projects, and my mood. Years ago I realized that they had an open policy for submissions – anyone can enter a desktop calendar so long as they meet a minimum of requirements. I was terribly intimidated but I always wanted to try to submit something, to see if I could have any success and to return the favor for all my years of inspiration. In late…
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All About Infographics
Hey Internet! I did a presentation on infographics at this year’s SpeedCon. I created the central infographic and did my research to find the other examples. I opted to present it with Prezi since that tool is so dynamic – it’s the best thing for working with large graphics like this. Anyway, it got some good feedback so I thought I’d share. Want to know more about it? Drop me a note. Enjoy! How to Make an Infographic on Prezi
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I’m a Certified Beer Server!
(Reposted from blogs.girlspintout.com) I’m sure I’m not the first person on from GirlsPintOut to take the Cicerone Certified Beer Server test – not by a long-shot. But since I have successfully completed my certification I want to share the details of what the test is and why I’ve chosen to out some time into it. So let me give you some background in case you’re curious… First, let’s back up. A “Cicerone” beer test? What is a cicerone? A cicerone, by classical definitions, is a guide. As it pertains to beer, a cicerone is a beer guide – knowledgeable in all aspects of beer including the making and serving of beer and…
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BarSpeedCAUSE: A Conference(s) Recap
Whew! October was a busy month. In six weeks (last week of September and through the first week of November) I participated in four conferences; specifically I presented at all four and helped plan two. Yeah. Crazy. And stupid. That being said, I love being busy and I love conference planning and have no problem with public speaking so as far as I’m concerned it was totally worthwhile. My recap of the conferences and presentations is overdue. I did a brief post on the Social Media Strategies Summit in September, but here are my thoughts on the other three… BarCampRDU BarCampRDU was one of the events I helped plan and I…
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Lit Review
As some of you may know I have been working on a masters degree in Technical Communication for about eight thousand years now. Happily I’m on my last class – an independent study course – and finishing up the menial tasks required to receive approval in the form of a very expensive and official piece of paper. I might actually frame this diploma – I’m not even sure where my undergrad one is… Despite the required work still to be done on my final class, I don’t actually have to be in a classroom this semester so it feels very much like… well, like I’m free! And so I’ve turned my attention…
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Social Media and Technical Communication
I’m very happy to report that I’ve completed and submitted my capstone project for my Masters degree. Huzzah! The project, to create a university, graduate-level course on social media and technical communication, was a big task and represents a lot of hours of work over the course of this semester. I’m very pleased to have it in the bag. I’m not quite done, however. Next Tuesday, April 26th I’ll be doing my defense presentation for my department faculty, my peers and other interested parties. As you might imagine I’m pretty nervous but also confident in my knowledge of the subject matter. And I’m looking forward to really being done. I’m…
