[Webpub] The latest from WebPub

[Lisa C. Mayer]

The latest from WebPub - sorry I didn't get around to emailing these  
when I posted them!

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Social media isn’t a cure-all
Posted: Feb 23 2009

I loved reading this post from Ron Bronson about using 2.0 wisely in  
communicating your message:

     Most view their web sites as a tool to recruit new students and  
perhaps to reach out to alumni and the public at large. What they’ve  
not be able to understand, is how to communicate to these very  
different audiences using all of the mediums at their disposal,  
without compromising their message.

     The web is nimble and other mediums are not. The web is  
immediate, it’s fast and yet, if you’re not clear about who you’re  
trying to reach and target the message to that audience, it can be  
even more ineffective than anything else you do (print, radio, TV,  
etc.) and it’ll reach them and turn them off faster than ever.


Webinar: 7 Killer Steps to Generating Big, Fat, Hairy Design Ideas
Posted: Feb 19 2009
MIT IS&T and the Publishing Services Bureau invite you to join us for  
a webinar called 7 Killer Steps to Generating Big, Fat, Hairy Design  
Ideas. The webinar is being presented by HOW magazine.

Date: February 26, 2009
Time: 4-5 p.m.
Location: N42 Demo Center; no registration required
For those unable to attend, presentation files will be available to  
download after the webinar.

Description:
Are your ideas flimsy? Do you feel like your ideas scamper away in the  
dark and hide the moment you share them? Are you jealous of those  
rocking few who seem to come up with big, fat, hairy ideas? The kind  
of ideas that are uttered alongside angelic voices while beams of  
light fall from the heavens? Good, because Reign Creative Director and  
“Caffeine for the Creative Mind” author Stefan Mumaw has the seven- 
step plan for learning how to generate monster ideas. Don’t settle for  
routine thoughts and stale solutions; crank up your ideation and learn  
how to boost the quantity and quality of your concepts.

Stefan will share real-world examples from his own experience as well  
as the perspectives of some of the biggest idea-makers in the  
industry, delving head first into the techniques and methods that can  
train you to produce the hairiest of ideas.

You’ll find out:

• What ‘Creative Training’ can do to pump up your flabby ideator
• How the biggest ideas hide behind the smallest questions
• How laying on the floor can make ideas reach the roof
• The benefits of assembling your own creative posse
• How play can be work, and vice versa
• How what you can reach right now may be all you need to trigger an  
idea torrent

Uses and misuses of web design patterns
Posted: Feb 19 2009
An interesting article on web design patterns is online at Webcredible.
     Getting your website right - uses and misuses of web design  
patterns

     A well designed website is absolutely crucial to future business,  
particularly when online is used as a channel for sales. This article  
looks at the pitfalls of website design patterns and how companies can  
use them successfully to aid website design, helping to ensure an  
online proposition that’s as effective as possible.


Sync and back up your bookmarks
Posted: Feb 18 2009
I have a penchant for Firefox addons…here’s one that I’ve just learned  
of called “Foxmarks.”  I store all my bookmarks on iGoogle so that I  
can access them from anywhere.  I began that practice shortly after my  
last laptop died - I hadn’t backed it up in a while, and so I lost  
stuff to The Great Beyond.  Yeah, you’d think that someone who works  
at MIT would know better…

     Foxmarks is a free add-on for your browser that syncs and backs  
up your bookmarks across multiple computers and more. Available for  
Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. Learn more or take the tour.

In any case, I think I’ll give this extension a go.  Anyone else tried  
it yet?


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Lisa C. Mayer : web & database consultant at MIT- IS&T- DCAD
lmayer at mit.edu  |  617.452.4225  |  (gtalk & aim) lisacmayer
Join MIT WebPub! :  http://webpub.mit.edu  :  follow mitwebpub










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