Creative Denver

A List Apart is a group blog run by Happy Cog, a design firm from San Franciso. It also happens to be an amazing resource for people whose job is based on building this crazy thing we call the internets.

What is Coworking?

Freelancers and small businesses are starting to learn the benefits of "Coworking." Coworking is the word that's been invented to describe situations where people get together to rent office space as a group. It's similar to a co-op but based more on the idea that people inside the coworking facility are more likely to be renters for a relatively short term instead of the long term and contractual obligations that are part of the co-op model.

I've written previously about the state of newspapers and physical vs. digital media but there was a development recently that may change some of that industry's situation. Specifically, Google, perhaps the most successful advertising brokerage online has started offering Printads - it's adwords for print media. Google previously experimented with inserting ads into print media and they didn't run forward with it.

This is too good: If Architects Had To Work Like Web Designers

The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) is an organization that works to promote Art and Creativity in Denver. Within DOCA, Create Denver: Art & Economic Development is a group that works to use Creativity and Art as a catalyst for Economic growth in the city. The popular Creative Class book and theory have made this a popular concept and Hickenlooper is wise to embrace this popular concept.

There was recently a review of iBiz on MacWorld. Anita seemed to like the idea.

iBiz is out for me since it only runs on Mac.

I've tried out QuickBooks and found a homegrown spreadsheet to be more than sufficient for my needs.

What works for you?

So, is print media dead? Yesterday we briefly discussed whether print media (e.g. newspapers) are "dead". Part of the fuel for the fire was the news that the Denver Nespaper Agency is laying off 5% of it's staff. Bummer.

On the flip side, RR Donnelley 3Q Profit Up 61 Percent. It's not clear exactly which business unit inside of the mega-company was responsible for the growth, but it's safe to say that it has to do with physical print media.

So, perhaps those 5% of laid off folks can take solace in the fact that more jobs in the print media are out there - they just have to find them.

Here's a good blog entry that will help us freelancers get back to why we're in this in the first place, as well as reminding us of some tips to keep things going. Although the title is "7 Habits of a Highly Successful Freelance Web Designer", us print folks can get the message as well.

http://www.andybudd.com/archives/2006/10/7_habits_of_a_highly_successful...

From the pro tips rss feed:

This trick is pretty much just for graphic designers who work with EPS images from applications like Adobe illustrator, Coreldraw for Mac, Freehand, and Photoshop. If you want to convert your EPS image instantly into a PDF (ideal for emailing), just drag it onto Apple’s Preview application icon in your dock (or in your Applications folder) and Mac OS X automatically converts your Postscript file to a PDF on the fly. When you choose save from the File menu, it will save as a PDF.

So, I'm typing this, basically to myself 'cause I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. And yay for me -- I've had a blog for 2 weeks and 4 days!

Anyway, I've got a new site (glmarquez.com -- note the clever, brainiac incorporation of my real name and web site??), but it won't be used for much right now other than testing a client's site.

c'est ça.
glm