Coming Soon...

School has been out for awhile, I've been busy being married, living outside of college, and learning to stand on my own feet with the support of my loving husband.

I'll be updating again pretty soon, as I want to make this a bigger part of who I am and what I do.

I might start using a different blogging platform, but we'll see. I'll experiment.

A New Year, a New Day

As you might already know, since last June I've been engaged. During this time I've been updating my blog over at http://steamynight.blogspot.com instead of teaching you all. No regrets, just letting you know that I still exist.

Now, as for the lesson -

I received an iPad from my mother for Christmas this past holiday season. It's not the 3G or anything special (apart from being a frickin' iPad!), but it was one of the highlights of last year.

I love it, it hardly leaves my side and I constantly am checking my feeds at school to make sure I'm staying up-to-date with the latest in technology and, well... anything, really.

However, apart from this love affair I'm having (I've always said I would make Cyborg babies with Lieutenant  Data from Star Trek TNG) with this piece of technology, it's necessary to look at what all is available to consumers out there.

Through a conversation via facebook with one of my professors and several of his facebook friends, one of them shared this image of comparisons:

Honestly, to me the LG Optimus Pad looks more favorable to me than any of the other non-iPad variants. The screen size throws me off, since its more widescreen than the iPad.

Actually, it might beat out the iPad for me as far as specs are concerned. I love that it has microSD card capabilities and that it has 3D recording. 3D isn't necessary, but it sure is fun! Also, I have to admit that anything that supports (or, as the LG doesn't say yet, "capability to support") flash is a HUGE plus for me as a web designer/developer.

I'll definitely be interested in seeing how much that will go for when it's released.

I haven't experienced Android 3.0 yet, but currently my smartphone runs on 1.6... honestly, based PURELY off of my experience - as I know with newer versions comes more apps and more high-quality interfaces, etc. - as of 1.6 I'm unimpressed with the app market and the general user interface with android. I love android, however. If anything because I love the more rugged feeling of technology as opposed to using an apple product.

Don't get me wrong, I love apple, including because it's so clean and streamline. Sometimes I just want to get something done, so I don't mind the OS telling me exactly what I can and cannot do - while android and windows wave themselves around, "do whatever you want! I'm all yours!".

So I will probably stick to my iPad. I won't be upgraded to iPad 2.0, but will probably attempt to get 3.0 when they release it next year. How do I know there will be a 3.0? Because Apple will make money off of it.

Under Construction

Re-designing my main site, http://www.brittanyklopfstein.com, so this one will also be redesigned shortly. Eat... I mean Pardon... my Dust.

Long Overdue

I honestly feel like this should have been implemented awhile ago. However, we're glad it's here now! It's a great step towards a new online shopping experience!

YOUReality is a 3D modeling service that companies online can used so costumers can upload spaces in their household and then copy 3D renderings of furniture and decor into those images, depth of field and lighting included. Just take a look at the video:



"YOUReality gives cool technology relevance in the world of commerce by driving retail sales through increased conversion rate," says YOUReality founder Michelle Fallon. "Retail Visualization takes the guesswork out of the visual aspects of shopping, making the buying decision faster and easier. Retail Visualization for ecommerce allows product visualization in a web store and then adds the selected items directly to the shopping cart or wish list," she says.

Fellow students and teachers, this is cool. I've done my fair share of taking pictures of rooms in my house that I want to decorate and photoshopping them, adding in images off IKEA and Google search, so this new service makes me excited. You should be too!

It's a bird, it's a plane,... it's an Advertainment.

Hot off the press:

In a recent PR Newswire report, we're going to be seeing a lot more interactive and attractive advertising on airplanes.

This is coming to us in the form of free food. Well, free so long as you pay the often outrageous price for a plane ticket.

This food (a lunch/snack as it's described) will be in containers that are sponsored by ad space. This new "Air Advertainment" is described as "the back of a cereal box for the 21st century".

Now, it's going to be hitting us where it hurts. When we're flying, sitting next to that child psychologist who is why too interested in knowing why you're by yourself and had just gotten back from a foreign country when I was 13 years old. Or that really hot guy that you can't say anything to because you have bad breath. The list goes on...

It's all the same, though, when we're flying we have fewer distractions and, especially on longer flights, are constantly looking for forms of entertainment (the ocean can only be entertaining for so long before you forget what land looks like). So, free food covered in ads? Why not? I'd take a gander.

It was this morning, May 24th, that passengers of a Horizon Air (flight 2631 from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR) will be the first to experience Advertainment. These initial ads are sponsored by Creative Labs, which is using a Facebook contest to name it's new video camera as it's promotion.

"With certain airlines cutting services and adding charges, this program is a welcome addition for passengers and operators alike," said Mary L. Macesich, co-founder and Vice President of Air Advertainment. "Passengers are thrilled to receive a snack or bite to eat, the airlines are excited to be able to provide it at no cost, and the brand finally has the ability to connect with the public in captive environment where they are spending time, largely undistracted. All with a social media kick."

The report states that the passengers will be enjoying a delicious snack of Stacy's Pita Chips and Hershey's chocolate (among other snacks, but apparently that must be the highlight, which I am not impressed).

There is a lot to consider, but all in all, I think this is brilliant. As far as marketing goes, couldn't be better. This company is determined to make it's consumer spend more than 15 minutes considering and being exposed to the brand being advertised. I don't think it's a bad message, and while I do genuinely dislike advertisements, I think this is different. It isn't an interruption like commercials or billboards. They aren't making you go out of your way to understand something.

They are giving the consumer something to do, and it involves interactive experiences and food. I really do think it's brilliant, and I would love to work for this company someday. If more advertisers took consideration of the consumer's time like this, we wouldn't need as much advertising because users would be spending more time looking at ads because they want to - rather than gaining subliminal messages.

I hope the next flight I take involves these treats, but so far it seems Horizon Airlines is the inaugural carriers of Air Advertainment.

Why Research is Important When Job Searching

For those of us living in the digital age and making our careers out of it, researching what the market looks like, and what it's predicted to look like, and what it wants, is very extremely important.

Things like what employers are looking for in who they are hiring, what companies are planning their budgets to be regarding digital mediums (social networking, web sites, marketing), and how the economy is agreeing (or disagreeing) with agencies.

Researching these things can be easy, especially if you know where to look.

My first experience with understanding what the digital job market wanted from me, should I start applying, involved looking at job ads on Craigslist. It was very noticeable (even with the scams) that there would be expectations of the applicant that I didn't have any experience with yet, like ASP.net and jQuery, and as a result of seeing these trends, I've started researching the things I know and fiddling with them. Gaining a "working knowledge".

While this doesn't mean I'm an expert at something, it means I have the drive and ambition to learn new things that are expected of me for a job, and that I'm passionate about what I do.

Conferences/Conventions are a luxury for those of us that can be sponsored or can afford it themselves. South by Southwest (SXSW), which is a convention split into Music, Film, and Interactive, with the Interactive section focusing on technology and the digital age, is a popular one. I've mentioned it before, as I know a lot of people that have had the benefit of attending it. I, however, am not one of them.

If anyone has 1k sitting around, I'd be thrilled to go next year!

The most recent research device I have found comes from a 2009 Digital Marketing article from the Society of Digital Agencies. Well, it's not really an article, it's more of a report. Well, it's not really a report, it's more of a... anyways.

This is one of the diagrams in the report. To me, this is one of the most helpful pictures of what the current job market is looking for. Know how I got connected to this? Twitter. Awesome, right? I'm personally so sick of defending myself as to why I love Twitter. But that's another story.

The image to the right links to the site the diagram came from. Well, it's where you can get the report the diagram came from. You have to sign up for a free service to download it, but I recommend it since it's 70 pages and there are a lot of charts that I recommend getting a really good look at.

I haven't had a chance to read the entire thing, but I'm probably going to print it out and read it at the gym, so I'll talk about that later.

As a college student, and as someone entering the digital job market, knowing what is expected of me when really get "out there" is my top priority. When a person has all the tools they need to excel in the job market, the world can be open to them. One of the reasons I'm excited about my future and the job market I'm going into is that I have opportunities all over the world, I don't have to be bound to a building, and I don't have to be bound to just where ever I can get a job.

So, as a main point, researching is a vital part of preparing for the job market. It tells you what employers are expecting of their applicants and it grows you as a professional in the digital age. It keeps you one step ahead of your peers, allowing your resume to be just that much better - and it can increase your job security if you're already employed.

Part of being a geek, which a lot of us are, is the ability to be a student of life - constantly learning. There is so much in life to know and understand, and so much that we will never know or understand, why wait? Get on it! You're on the Internet! It's your job to know the world you live in, so continue onwards and upwards.


Cheers,
Klopfstein

Give your face some privacy

It's been a long few months, students of mine, but it's good to see your smiling faces!

Today's order of business is this discussion and boycott against popular social networking site: Facebook.

These are the things to consider when decided whether or not to forgo facebook for all eternity are the following:

           - if you are concerned about your privacy, you shouldn't be social networking in the first place. Unless you are giving away credit card information, social security numbers, or anything of that nature - there is nothing you can't tell people that, if they really wanted to know, they couldn't find anyways through phone books, directories, your friends, public information, etc... I use to believe that my house would be broken into, a family member murdered (if not myself), or something bad along those lines would happen if I so much as tell someone my real age online, let alone an e-mail address or phone number. Heaven forbid an address. If you want these things to be private, don't social network. It's important to understand that social networking involves talking to people, and sharing information with them, especially if you are doing it right (and getting job offers).

           - privacy is the main concern for most people considering giving up facebook, which is silly since you give just as much information (while not as directly) away through myspace, twitter, linkedin, etc. However, another issue people have with Facebook is the bugs/errors. So the chat doesn't work every now-and-then, and pages sometimes don't want to load, but if you are letting these things distract you from the benefits of Facebook and social networking, then you're doing it wrong.

            - Giving up Facebook, if you are a part of that community and not just updating your status every now-and-then, will essentially hurt your social life as it stands now. Because I don't know you very well, let me explain what losing Facebook would do to me currently: I would lose friends. I have friends that are graduating college and moving away, and in only a year or two I will be doing the same. Keeping in touch with these people is important to me, and Facebook and social mediums are the easiest and most efficient way to do that. Cell phones only go so far with conversation, especially when you have 50 good friends that you want to keep tabs on. Another thing, I've gained opportunities through Facebook that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I was an extra in an Indie movie, I've learned about sites/movements like couch surfing, I've become a part of communities involved with my interests - like Doctor Who and Steam Punk, I've organized parties, and the list goes on.

If it's not obvious by now, my stance on this issue is that I will NOT be deleting my Facebook account, and I've yet to fully understand why any self-respecting social-network-user would.

That's all for now, class. What is your opinion on the issue?