I have been on a personal project kick the last couple of years. I have had a couple blogs, did some iphone apps, and of course lots of interior design projects. The reason I am sharing this is because having these personal projects keeps me motivated, inspired and happy. And my 9 to 5 work greatly benefits from the personal exploration as well.
Check out this video about the power of personal projects and consider starting your own project asap.
Ohh, I just started another project yesterday.
Last week I attended a talk by Erin Malone- Designing Social Interfaces – 5 principles, 5 practices, 5 antipatterns.
I highly recommend checking out the presentation below. For me, the most interesting part was the discussion about the key decisions that define the future life of your site. Erin briefly discussed how there needs to be a compromise of your product’s vision in order to adjust for the real social needs of your users. She gave an example of how Friendster’s users attempted to create celebrity and music profiles, but Friendster did not allow this as it wasn’t part of their mission.
This decision ultimately contributed to the decline of Friendster and the major growth of MySpace. It’s flexibility, a strong understanding of how people socialize, and the ability to predict the future needs of your audience that will set your product apart from the rest.
Sarah Townsend, Brette Borrow, and I took a trip to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa this past week to speak at an intimate but really amazing tech conference, Iowatasmic. Along with Julia Dvonch Gardner, we spoke on a Women in Technology panel. Watch the panel- besides what we had to say, you will hear from an age diverse audience of women with different perspectives discussing how they engage with the internet.
Here’s the video, click to watch. And here we are in the local paper! 
Well, plenty…
I was hanging out with a friend last night who jailbroke her iPhone. The simple reason she gave for doing so was that it was her phone, she bought it, and she should be able to do whatever she wants on the phone. She then showed me all the amazing applications you could have with a jailbroken phone. She also reminded me that you have access to purchase apps from the App store as well. I thought to myself, why don’t more people jailbreak their phone?
Media Post writes, “For users who really want to use disfavored apps, the only way around Apple’s bans is to “jailbreak” their phones. Problem is, doing so potentially violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions”.
Last week when my application was rejected, Me So Holy, EFF, a digital rights group wrote, “As we’ve said before, Apple is legally within its rights to sell or not sell whatever they choose in their store. But the monopoly they hold on applications for the iPhone means that unless users have the right to jailbreak their phones, they’ll be blocked from enjoying the fruits of 21st century thinking — and 12th century thinking as well!”
At this point there needs to be solution. Either the DMCA makes an exemption for jailbreaking or Apple should allow all applications to be sold within their store.
Watch me on CNN here, read the rejection post here, and check out my other app, the Animalizer here.
Even in today’s not-so-hot economy, I love shopping online. And it has only gotten better in the last year or so. With the convergence of sound design, video, interactivity, and 3D animation, some brands have really created some amazing e-commerce sites.
Here are some of my favorites…
1. This site recently launched for Hoop emulates a real-life shopping experience where you see an article of clothing on the rack, drag it over to your want pile, and keep on shopping. See screenshot and go to play.
2. I absolutely adore this site for Loopt. It’s one of the best out there because it’s so very clever. Each person is wearing a t-shirt, does a little dance, and represents a beat in a sound loop. While watching you will see their entire catalog of t-shirts. Explore the loops or make your own.
3. This is another fun one, check out Beams. I love being able to see the full catalog in one view. There’s a real sense of exploration and discovery designed in a very new and fun interactive way.
4. The sound design on this e-commerce site for Holden is beautiful. I love the emotional energy between the people, sounds, colors, and fabric. Be sure to check out a video or two. The videos really allow the user to examine the quality and detail of the products. In all, I think this site is a great example on how to connect with people on a deeper level online. Go!
