Purple Wren

Wordless Wednesday: Drive Time

Photo on flickr by The Andy Rat

Business Conference 2007: Secrets of Successful Professionals Revealed

UPDATE: This business conference has been postponed until later in the year. Stay tuned for further information.

Calling all business people!  There's a local business conference on the horizon that you don't want to miss.

Topics include:

• Brand Strategy
• New Networking
• Blogging for Business
• Managing Office Politics
• Business Mobility
• Leveraging Technology
• Making Work Fun Again

The lineup includes presenters from Seattle, WA, as well as Iowa.

• Kevin O'Keefe
• Drew McLellan
• Mike Sansone
• Adam Steen
• Jim Goodman
• Shirley Poertner
• Tre Critelli
• Victoria Herring
• Timothy Johnson
• Mitch Matthews

What are you waiting for? Check out the detailed speaker info and conference updates.

Wordless Wednesday: Burning the Candle at Both Ends

 

Illustration from goenglish.com

Graphics and Communication: Boston Fans

An interesting example of visuals used to communicate . . .

AP Photo

Wordless Wednesday: Green Lake

AYP0721424, originally uploaded by miyukiutada.

 

Quotes: People Are Like Stained-Glass Windows

"People are like stained-glass windows.
          They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
          but when the darkness sets in,
          their true beauty is revealed only
          if there is light from within."
          -Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926 -)    

   

Photo on flickr by cindy47452

Quotes: Helen Keller

"The best and most beautiful things in the world
          cannot be seen, nor touched...but are felt in the heart."
          -Helen Keller (1880-1968)

      

flickr Feature Makes it Easy to "Blog" Photos

One of my favorite things to do each week is pick a photo for "Wordless Wednesday." I like to take photos myself, and don't always have the time - so I take this opportunity to browse through the latest submissions on my first choice for photos - flickr. It's amazing how many photo sites there are since digital cameras have become popular.  And the quality of the photos is incredible (but not all of them).

When selecting a photo to share on Purple Wren, I use the advanced search button and choose "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed photos."

That way, I don't end up finding the perfect photo, only to be disappointed when the owner doesn't want me to share it with my readers.

One of the best features on flickr is the "blog this" button that you will see above many of the photos.

You choose which blog and it automatically opens a window where you can compose the post. Once it's saved, I open the post in TypePad to select a category and add Technorati tags. (Maybe someday we'll be able to edit that before we save it, too.)

This process automatically sizes the image and puts in the name and links to the photographer. Cooh, huh?

Here's a link to the finished post with a photo inserted using this tool.

Wordless Wednesday (on Thursday): Full Moon 

Maybe you'll like this feature, too.

Do you have a favorite blogging tool?

What NOT To Do With PowerPoint

Thanks to David Airey, I found this fun video by comedian, Don McMillan. He shows some good examples of the worst things you can do when designing an effective presentation.

I've worked with plenty of people who use the techniques he demonstrates and didn't listen to advice about what might be more effective.

What's your favorite story about presentations you gave, attended, or created?

Life After Death by PowerPoint

 

RSS: What is it?

A common question I hear is, "What is RSS?" How do you explain it?

I also notice how graphics impact our daily lives and improve our communications. These are two popular ways to explain what RSS is and they also demonstrate the power of visuals. What do you think?

A Visual Guide: RSS in Plain English

This clever video from Common Craft quickly explains what RSS is and how it can help you. The auditory and visual learning styles are addressed - and the kinesthetic learners can follow along in a second browser and actually go through the steps to set up a feed reader.

Click to Play

A One-Page Primer: What is RSS? RSS Explained

This text-based primer is another great resource. It's short, to-the-point, with great information and links. In fact, it's a page I have linked to for some time. They did a fine job of formatting using white space and different font sizes to break up the text and make it more interesting.