Best practices on file naming

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Conversational terrorism

Have you engaged in conversational terrorism? Or perhaps you are a victim?

Read this -- then come back and share your experiences.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

The horizontal city

More and more people in the "real world" have been asking me about blogging. "What's the big deal?" they say. I talk to them about how conversations are unfolding online. "So what?" they reply. After awhile, I realized that the best way to explain blogging is to talk about the horizontal city.

The horizontal city is an idea based on some of Tom Friedman's ideas, presented in The World is Flat. I tell people that the internet is like a city that slices through the world horizontally. Anyone with internet access can visit the horizontal city -- and every time you visit a website or go online you are visiting.

But if you don't have a blog or some similar internet presence you are a tourist -- you don't live there and you don't enjoy the same benefits as the people who do. As far as the citizens of the horizontal city are concerned, you're invisible.

When you set up a blog, you are moving into the horizontal city. You are putting yourself -- your passions, your ideas, your beliefs -- online, and by doing so you make yourself linkable. People can see you. They can point to you. They can talk to you. You're a citizen.

At first it's just like moving into a new city in the real world. It's lonely. You don't know anyone. Nobody talks to you. But after awhile -- just like in a real-world city -- you start meeting people and having conversations. You leave a comment on someone's blog, or you link to one of their posts. Then they come to your blog to see who you are. The momentum builds and before you know it you are a member of a community -- maybe several communities.

It's like moving to a city in other ways, too. Putting yourself online is not without risk. You're more vulnerable -- to criminals, stalkers and the merely boring. But it's no different than a real city: you take on more risk but you also enter a thriving metropolis, bursting with opportunity and ideas.

Sometimes people say, "So what? I already live in a city. What's so great about the horizontal city?"

My reply is this: As Dave Weinberger has pointed out, the web runs on our collective passion. When you put yourself online and make yourself linkable you are making your passions explicit, linkable and clickable. Because of this, the people who find you and point to you tend to share your passions.

On the web, your "hit rate" of interesting people is much, much higher than it is in the real world. How often in the real world do you meet people who truly fascinate you? If it's more than 10 percent of the people you meet, I'd say you are very lucky.

But on the web, your "hit rate" is much higher. I have been blogging only a year, and already, quite a few people whom I have met online have become offline (real-world) friends. And almost without exception, they are fascinating, passionate people who are fun to talk to and energizing to spend time with.

And that (I say to my non-blogging friends) is why blogging is a big deal.

Related post: "What's the big deal about blogging, XML and RSS?"

As always -- please, share your thoughts!

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

robotic self destruct and self healing chair

Thanks to Mark Beam for pointing me to this.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Divergence, convergence

Divergence, convergence, originally uploaded by hawkexpress.

Hawk Sugano started this thread that has me thoroughly engaged.

It's about using index cards to capture your ideas. What is the best size of index card? What is the best way to store them? How do you use them?

If you find the subject interesting, please join Josh, Hawk, Edward and me: Share your thoughts!

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Designing for emergence

Notes and sketches, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Eugene Eric Kim speaks on emergent design.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Doc Searls on open source

Notes from Airlie retreat, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Tom Friedman on context

Notes from Airlie retreat, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Valence

Valence, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

The beauty of visualization.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

A visual thinking assignment

This is an assignment for students in the information design program at Bradley University. But anyone else is welcome to try it as well.

Your assignment is to read and synthesize two articles by Kevin Kelly, and create visual communication materials that clearly and visually communicate the key concepts in a visual form. There are two products that you will create for this assignment:

1. A 24-inch by 36-inch poster designed to be hung on the wall. This poster should not require anyone to explain it -- it should fully explain itself, including why you should read it.

2. A brief PowerPoint presentation that can be delivered in 5 minutes or less. This is designed to be presented by a speaker. In fact, you will present it and your presentation will be part of your grade.

Here is a link where you can download the files.

This assignment is due Monday November 6, or Tuesday November 7, depending on which section you are in.

If you have questions about the assignment please post them as comments on my blog, Communication Nation.

Good luck!

Update: The assignments are complete! And the project was a lot of fun. See the results.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Greetings from San Diego!

I am in San Diego for a couple of days for a board meeting. If you are nearby and want to hook up you can text message me at +1-314-496-6129 and I will reply with my location -- if I can figure out where I am!

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

A brief history of LEGO

Check out this fun read" The history of the LEGO.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Job opening at XPLANE

We have an opening for a Senior Information Designer at XPLANE. If you're qualified and interested I encourage you to apply. Here's some more information on the opening:

XPLANE is a global leader in visual communication and we are looking a Senior Information Designer to join our creative team. You will work with top managers from Fortune 500 companies around the world to creatively visualize complex processes and technologies.

Qualified candidates will demonstrate skills in visual communication, process mapping, creative direction, people management and business technology. We will also be looking for strong organizational and interpersonal skills.

Computer skills: Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, and any capability with Web 2.0 tools a plus.

Education/Experience: College degree in visual communication, information design or journalism is preferred. Five years of real world experience is required.

Travel: You will typically spend at least 5 days out of town per month. A passport will be necessary.

Salary/Benefits: Salary is commensurate with experience and we offer a complete benefits package.

Send your resume along with 3 samples of your best work to Scott Matthews, Managing Partner, XPLANE, at smatthews@xplane.com. No phone calls.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

Beautiful sky in Toronto

Beautiful sky in Toronto, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

There were some beautiful skies in Toronto yesterday. The light reminded me of paintings by Spanish realist Antonio Lopez.

If you happen to live in or near Toronto I will be here all weekend (Sept. 9-10, 2006) and want to socialize a bit and enjoy the city. If you'd like to connect text message me at +1-314-496-6129 and I will reply with my location.

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.

A day in the life of Google

Keep in touch! Sign up to get updates and occasional emails from me.