Two weeks ago, as I was providing web site training for a colleague, her search screen came up as a black background with white text. “What special Google day is today?” I asked. She explained that this wasn’t exactly Google, but a variation called Blackle (and powered by a custom Google search). It’s an energy saving search engine as the black background requires less energy than a white background. It’s kinda cool. Check it out for yourself at www.blackle.com.
If your job is anything like mine, you are likely called on with some frequency to be creative on-demand: “You’re the writer. You’re the communicator. YOU come up with the idea.” Some days, the creativity flows. Other days, it doesn’t. And then you’re stuck. So what’s a communicator supposed to do? Last year in U.S.News & World Report, Justin Ewers explores “No Ideas? You’re Not Alone.” The basic tenet of the article is that even geniuses had creative people backing them up; no one worked completely alone. In a print edition sidebar, Ewers suggests group brainstorming is best suited for visual or spatial concepts, not verbal ideas, and presents five brainstorming tips:
If your job is anything like mine, it’s pretty hectic. It’s hard to keep up with the newest trends and techniques in the field. That’s MarketingProfs comes into play with a variety of articles, case studies, reports, and conferences. Recently, I signed up for their Get to the Po!nt e-newsletters that summarize what’s happening in the industry, provide a take-away point, and link to further information. It’s amazing to me how I’ll read something first thing in the morning from MarketingProfs, and then hear it referenced later on at some point in my day. While it may be tempting to sign up for all of their six (and soon nine) newsletters, I’d advise you to stick with one or two. Increase your marketing know-how, and checkout MarketingProfs.
Web logs (blogs) are growing in popularity as creative outlets for people to share, rant, educate, debate, and connect. Are you, as an Adventist communicator, blogging? Do you have a personal blog? Does your organization have a blog? Are you the primary blogger, or do you outsource blogging to another department or a volunteer? What kind of content do you place in your (professional) blog? Reply with your answers–and submit your blog for consideration in the SAC blogroll.
Need to brush up on your web design knowledge? Head over to www.alistapart.com. A List Apart Magazine explores the design, development, and meaning of web content in the context of web standards and best practices. Look under Topics for articles about code, content, culture, design, process, and user science. “Educate Your Stakeholders!” by Shane Diffily is a good read. So is “Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign” by Cameron Moll. Now, get reading!
