“Heaven is where the police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics German, the lovers French and it is all organized by the Swiss. Hell is where the police are German, the chefs British, the mechanics French, the lovers Swiss, and it is all organized by the Italians.”

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thanks to MLK, Jr. for the inspiration, to Seth Godin for taking the time to share the sentiment and to Megan Morris for getting it in front of my eyes.

The new site has a lot of room to grow. The portfolio page is hardly representative of the body of work I’ve amassed over the past 5 years.  And I can’t wait to share some war stories from back in the day, as well as try to relate those to the person I am now or the art that I get to make daily.

This year I’ve got lots to be thankful for.  Great co-workers and clients, a loving family, a lot of fun hobbies and a brand new website come off the top of the mind. So raise a glass, and happy new year.

It’s tempting to want to be everywhere. And rather than tell you to put yourself on one channel over another, I would suggest recycling content on channels you don’t completely like or feel like are underused by your audience. Additionally, cross-promote with a goal.  Use Twitter solely to promote Facebook.  Use Facebook strictly to publish the blurbs from your email and web stories.  In the end, you get more blog subscribers while picking up avid Facebook Users and Tweeters along the way.

Know why you want the audience.  Is it just because everyone else is doing it? Maybe sit this one out. You’re not going to make any customers by ignoring the channel you spent so much time and money to promote in the beginning.  You likely hear people use (and misuse) the term “brand engagement” all the time now.  Consumers develop emotional attachments to well-marketed brands the way they might develop an affinity towards a friend. And just like in a friendship, with social media done right, there is a two-way communication. Brands put forth a message. People reply. Brands reply back.  One-to-one communication ratio there.  Feeling spread too thin yet?

This is where hiring a social media guru comes into play.  Some folks do what I do which is getting the ball rolling. We paint the pathways, dress the set, train you in the ways of communication and then (if sometimes painfully) kick you out of the nest.  If the part about getting the boot and learning to fly sounds at all scary, you might consider hiring the other kind of social media guru too. Once I do my thing, the other kind of guru is the kind that lives at your business.  They eat, sleep and drink your brand, and they act as the social voice. Their job is to know what your customers are doing right now and, perhaps more importantly, what your brand is doing right now.  They are the front line, the best defense and offense, all wrapped into one person and a smart phone.  Sound like someone you already work with?  Promote from within! Just don’t leave your social brand image to its own devices because that’s abandonment waiting to happen. It’s abrandonment. Waka waka.

Social media is like many other aspects of life. It’s a rich experience, full of layers of conversation, and if it sounds confusing you can always ask for help. The keys are moderation and having fun with it.

I am an art director in a small market which means that I do a LOT of things. I am a graphic designer, and I edit videos. I write SEO-friendly copy, and I make outdoor ads. I consult on prospective projects, make 2D motion graphics, code up websites, administer social media pages, design logo and stationery packages, and I oversee sign installations.  I have not, to date, vinyl-wrapped a bus, but I’m working on it.

I needed a website that moves at the same pace I do, and that’s where content management systems save me time. Rather than having to write new code every time I wanted a fresh gallery of photos, I just publish. Rather than disabling my prior versions or creating archive UIs, I just categorize my posts and continue publishing.