This is a little bit of a different post than my usual fare, in that I am asking for your advice. Over the past several weeks I have been approached by a number of design-related blogs requesting that I write articles for them. In most cases I am already a fan of these blogs, subscribe to their RSS feeds, read them regularly and I’m extremely honored by their requests. Also, in most cases, they are offering to pay me for my contributions. This has happened often enough now that I am wondering if I should step deeper into the realm of freelance writing. My primary concern, though, is that I currently find very little time to write on my own blog, much less for someone else’s. So in this post I am going to think out loud a little bit, examine the pros and cons, and ask for your insight and suggestions to help me make this decision. Hopefully my ramblings will be interesting enough for you to read, provide some type of encouragement or assistance in your own situations through the process, and help me form a foundation for a next step in the right direction.

Present Position

As I’ve stated before on this blog, I generally write from my experiences, sharing thoughts and concepts and situations that I am working my way through. Writing is a creative process for me, and it is an expression of my being that I find invaluable. I have never set out to get paid for it, and although I have toyed with the idea of selling advertising space on this blog to generate a little pocket money for the time I spend on it, I never want to get to the point where I feel I MUST come up with posts in order to satisfy traffic needs or advertising contract stipulations. I have learned that I do not enjoy writing tutorials or list posts or showcases that are usually the big traffic generators, but instead the goal of this blog has been to share more of who I am and interact with others to learn and grow along the journey we’re all on. I have found that this gives potential clients and colleagues a view inside my head, so to speak, and often helps them decide if they would like to engage my services or interact with me in some other way. So far, this has proven successful, although it has not generated any direct income.

Unfortunately I often go for weeks at a time without posting anything, either because of a lack of inspiration or due to a lack of time. Writing for this blog falls lower on the priority list than serving my clients, spending valuable time with my wife and kids, and so many other more important things I am committed to. It even ranks below my current commitment to write weekly posts for Freelance Folder, which has been my first foray into writing regularly for another site and has proven to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I have written a few one-time posts for other sites, but not nearly as many as I have been asked. I am wondering if it is time to change that.

Potential Problems

I guess my biggest concern about writing for a number of other blogs is primarily a consistent stream of new, interesting and relevant ideas. I don’t ever want to produce content that does not come from my heart and soul, and I am nervous that committing to writing 3-5 posts per week for various blogs could dilute their quality and the passion behind them.

Just from my brief stint at Freelance Folder I have seen the benefits for my freelance business, as new clients have come from my posts there. I can only imagine that the more I write in various locations the higher the odds are that I will be ’stumbled upon’ by new people, so that benefit is well worth the consideration. Yet if the quality of the articles becomes exponentially reduced by the quantity I produce, will I be doing myself, my writing and my business a disservice?

Another issue I have run into has to do with my writing style. I have been very up front with others that I simply do not write with a goal of generating traffic, so the tutorials and so forth that seem to do this best are not what they will get from me. What I have found is that even when editors agree with my approach and feel it will benefit their site, they eventually come back to how much (or little) traffic my posts have generated as the bottom line, and I end up with requests to “use more pictures” or “give more links to examples” or other elements that are generally found in those types of posts that we both agreed I didn’t need to write. I completely understand their position, as most of these sites exist to generate revenue from advertising and therefore must show numbers that are beneficial to their goals. I don’t fault them in the slightest. I just don’t know that I am the right ‘fit’ for them, yet they continue to insist that I am, while still requesting more of the types of posts that I don’t write.

Do you see where I’m struggling with this? Any thoughts or ideas?

I write to learn and grow. The discussions in the comments help me to do that, along with the writing process itself. I write to challenge our ‘typical’ ways of thinking and approaching things, and I think I become a better person while hopefully helping others do the same. I believe that there is a part inside all of us that recognizes the status quo should not just be passively accepted, and I try to tap into and awaken that part with my writing. It is something I am extremely passionate about.

Does this type of writing ‘fit’ on a design blog? Maybe. Maybe not. What do you think? I know that I very seldom see it on design blogs, except for a few. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong there. Maybe now is the time to expand the definition of the typical design blog.

The final issue I struggle with is my desire to continue writing on my own blog. If I start writing for several others, what will I write here? I think there will be things that just don’t work anywhere else, but I would hate to lose a part of what happens here on this blog, simply because I’m trying to make a little extra money elsewhere.

Promising Possibilities

Besides the obvious benefit of an increase in cash flow, there are other valuable results that can come from diving into more freelance writing. One of the biggest I can think of is the growth of reputation and authority in my field. I have written about this before, and I continue to see the value of it as mine grows through my persistence at strengthening my online presence using social media and other tools. The more that others read and interact with what I share, the more they tend to respect who I am and what I have to offer. I have had clients, colleagues and new friendships come from blog posts in some way or another, and I always marvel at the most unexpected places they turn up.

Let’s face it. Looking at the numbers for this blog, they are not nearly as impressive as some of the others I have been asked to write for. The amount of RSS subscribers and monthly visitors are not even in the same ballpark. So writing for blog’s with a larger number of readers will always bring potential benefits linked to greater exposure.

Another possibility is the growth as a writer I am sure to gain the more that I do it. This in turn could create more writing opportunities, which would then strengthen my skills, and so on. The cycle has wonderful potential!

Still another thought is the increased contribution and influence I could give to the design community. I don’t really consider myself as a valuable element to the community because I believe I gain so much more than I give, but I have been told otherwise by people I respect. So there is the very good possibility that I could bring into balance the amount I give and take and perhaps my little offering could somehow help to make an already amazing network even better.

Your Thoughts?

So this is where I stand. I am definitely leaning toward writing more here and elsewhere, but I would love to hear what those of you who find my writing interesting enough to read think about all of this. Are there other pros and cons I have not mentioned or considered? Do you have any experiences that might help me move forward better equipped? Does any of this contribute to your own processing of similar situations? Please share your insights in the comments. I truly need your help and I’m hopeful you will find the time to share your thoughts. Thanks for being a part of my process. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

It was about 9:30 on Tuesday morning when I got a call on my cell from my eldest daughter. The voice on the other end was trembling, and I could tell even before she said two words that something was wrong.

“Dad, I just got in a pretty bad accident.”

No father ever wants to hear those words, but thankfully it didn’t take long to learn that she was okay and that no one else involved was injured either. Her car, however, was in pretty bad shape. This was a car that we had bought her less than a year ago from Goodwill Auto Donations, so it wasn’t an incredibly expensive loss, but it was still unexpected and a serious concern. Finding that balance between frustration at the carelessness and inexperience that caused this new expense and the relief that our daughter was unharmed was not a difficult one.

Sure, we suddenly had to figure out a way to purchase a replacement so she could get to and from her college classes and her job. Sure, we just moved across the country and depleted any savings we may have been able to use at this moment. Sure, we just recently started paying twice as much rent and other higher expenses in order to live in San Francisco, yet we were abruptly going to have to find a way to come up with even more cash.

Yet none of these things really matter when compared to the fact that our daughter is fine, especially considering she could have ended up seriously injured, or worse. Looking at the damage to her car, in the photo above that was taken minutes after the accident, it’s easy to see that things could have ended up much differently for her.

In case you haven’t already guessed, the answer to the question in the title is: none of the above.

Sure, these are all valuable tools that we may use to further our network, strengthen our brand, grow our community, increase traffic to our website, and so on. They are good tools, and they are important for many of us who work or even socialize on the web. They are the subject of countless articles and tutorials and conferences and business meetings. They fill headlines and drive strategies and contribute to the rise and fall of many different things.

But if any of these tools are the most important element of your life, I believe you are missing the point.

People are the most important entities in existence. Relationships – real relationships with people who you love and who love you – are what drive us to become the best person that we can possibly be. The rest of it may somehow be involved in helping us get there, but it should never become our primary focus, should it?

I am a web and graphic designer who uses social media to connect with others, brand and grow my business, and contribute to influencing change and growth among my community. So each of these tools in the title are very important to me, but they are essential for a single solitary reason: they directly or indirectly bring income that provides for my family. Yes, they are things that I am passionate about, and I am so fortunate to be able to make a living pursuing my passion. But they will forever be a passion that falls in line behind my number one loves: my wife, my three children, my true friends and my parents and relatives.

I guess this is just a reminder to me that I am choosing to shout out loud, just in case anyone else needs to be reminded. Let’s refrain from ever making the mistake of putting tools and networks and goals and strategies before people, and especially before people we love. Maybe if enough of us started there we could begin to see some visible change in the world around us.

Worth a shot, isn’t it?

In the last post I wrote over a month ago, I talked about breaking out of our comfort zones and shared some of the extreme measures my family and I have taken to ensure this is a consistent part of our lives. I talked about the recent move we made across the country to return to San Francisco, the city I grew up in. Now that we are settled in and I have a moment to breathe, I want to follow up with some thoughts I’ve had through this experience.

Since our arrival in San Francisco we have been reminded daily why we love this city as much as we do. Although I realize the city life is not for everyone, it is most definitely my preference. My children, who have only visited but never lived here before, appear to be discovering their own delights in what the city has to offer, which in turn increases the joy and satisfaction of my wife and myself. Our children grew up in Bay Area suburbs for the most part, and they are only now beginning to understand why their parents have been longing to return to the city by the bay.

This city breathes. It is alive. It is full of culture and creativity and inspiration and challenge. It is diverse in every possible way.

We love it. It is an adventure within itself.

It has been suggested that our return to San Francisco is actually a return to our comfort zone, and I have to agree that in many ways it could be. I grew up here, we lived here the first three years of our marriage, and we visited regularly during our years in the suburbs. My wife and I both know which buses will get us where, we know how to drive to most places in and around the city, and we have already visited some of our old favorites in the few weeks since our return. It is a comfort zone in the sense that when we set foot in this city, we feel home.

So how does someone who is pursuing a breaking of boundaries and a shattering of comfort zones deal with the potential of the day to day routine? We can’t just pick up and move across the country every day, or make radical changes every time that we identify a place of comfort and familiarity. These are extreme reactions and solutions to extreme realizations. How does one become a catalyst for adventure in their own daily routine in order to continue growing and changing and becoming everything that we desire to be?

My wife and I are attempting to answer these questions. We never want to settle. We never want to fall into a rut. We have no desire to allow our faces to transfigure into the same empty, sometimes sad expressions that populate the rush hour commute.

But how?

I think it starts with opening our eyes. There is life around us, but we have to begin to see it if we are ever going to have a chance to experience it. There is inspiration and possibility in the mundane as well as the amazing. In the weekly trip to the Laundromat down the street, or the walk to the local grocery store, or the bus ride downtown, or whatever your case may be.

There is life in the people we encounter. In the stories they carry that no one has cared enough to express interest in or listen to. In the wealth of history and culture and uniqueness that each individual intrinsically possesses. In their eyes you can see it, yet our society has conditioned us to never go there. To not talk to strangers. To live in fear of the unknown and stay within our safe little comfort space.

There is life in our surroundings. This city is (as many other cities are) rich with museums, parks, restaurants and all the other fare that we typically find ourselves seeking out as a break from the norm. This is great and makes the challenge of finding adventure more appealing and accessible. But what about those “not-so-typical” adventures that pass us by each day in our blindness to them?

An adventure is an activity that is perceived to involve risky, dangerous or exciting experiences. I believe life is supposed to be just that, yet so many are content to play it safe and miss out on even the most minute experiences that could possibly change their lives forever.

We may look at our daily routines and our comfort zones and quickly dismiss the thought that they possess any type of potential for adventure. I think the reality is that every second is ripe with the possibility of discovery, and it is each person’s challenge to dive in and become a catalyst for the birth of a moment’s fullness. Or they can choose to check out and just go along for the ride, avoiding risk, danger or excitement.

For me, the latter sounds far too boring. I can’t imagine living my life without the awareness of each moment’s possibilities and potential, even though I am sure I manage to initiate discomfort within my comfort zone far less often than I would like to think. Still, my eyes are open to the fact that I don’t do it as often as I want to, and I believe that’s the beginning of change.

What are the daily routines you find yourself enslaved by? What are the rituals that have taken over and seem to have removed the reigns from your hands? What are the times each day that you have unconsciously decided just have to be that way and will never change?

Let’s open our eyes to these seemingly mundane things, and begin to identify and target them as the next boundary to be broken. The adventure that lies beyond their walls could be risky, dangerous and possibly even exciting. I think that’s something worth exploring. Don’t you?

This week is an exciting one for me and my family. On Sunday, July 4^th, Independence Day, we are driving out of Tallahassee, FL, with our belongings in a U-Haul trailer to begin the three-and-a-half-day journey across the country to our new residence in San Francisco. That amazing, unique city is where I grew up, where my wife and I lived for the first 3 years of our marriage, where my eldest daughter was born, and where our hearts are. Although we spent many years in SF Bay Area, we have not lived within the city limits for years, and we are anxiously anticipating our return.

In some ways the City by the Bay could be misinterpreted as our “comfort zone”, the place we feel the most at ease and safe. Yet anyone who knows us and knows our relationship with the city would make the distinction that we seldom ever make the choice for what is safe.

In the McDaniel philosophy of living, safe is equivalent to boring. Safe is for those who are satisfied with the status quo and have little or no desire to experience the adventure that is an intricate element of the potential within every breath we take. Safe may be fine for others, but it reeks of stagnancy, boredom and insufficiency to me and my family.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure we have our own comfort zones, and this writing is not an attempt to put our approach to life on a pedestal high above your own. It is, however, rich with the hope that by sharing our story you too might be inspired to examine your comfort zone and maybe, just maybe, step outside of it to experience all that you have been missing.

We all have comfort zones of various contexts. As a designer, I have areas I excel in that I prefer to focus on. It’s easier and seemingly more fulfilling than trying to do something different, challenging or new to me. As a husband and father I have comfortable ways I communicate my love for my family that are so natural they can become routine. As an introvert I have boundaries I prefer not to step outside of because I find interacting with people I have never met awkward and emotionally draining.

And that’s really what comfort zones are, isn’t it? Boundaries of safety that we prefer not to break or wander beyond into the unknown.

But why? What’s so great about comfort zones? If they are all we ever know and we never set foot outside them, how much more are we missing that this life has to offer? Even more importantly, how much are we limiting who we become and what we have to offer others?

For many people, growth and change are scary propositions. For others they are almost cuss words. But for some they are the most prized possessions to pursue in every moment, and the result is a resounding impact on their own lives as well as those whose lives they touch.

I strongly believe that the very next step to take after identifying your comfort zone is determining how to breach its boundaries. In certain areas this can be easy. In many others it can be painful, ridden with mistakes and hurdles, and full of unknown results.

This, of course, is why so few even consider stepping outside their comfort zones.

Who wants to fail? Who wants to put time and energy and effort into something that could have either wonderful or devastating results? It’s so much easier to find what works for us and stick with it, never to stray again. No risk involved. No possibility of failure or disappointment. No unknown.

For me, the thought of a life without risk and adventure is enough to turn my stomach. My family and I have already experienced so many incredible highs and demoralizing lows in the short lives we’ve lived, and we would not trade a second of it for the alternative of safe and predictable. It would be like buckling up into a roller coaster that never rose more than a foot off the ground throughout the ride. How boring would that be?

If you would indulge me for a second, I’d like to share some examples of what I mean. My wife and I have lived what others have deemed a “crazy” life so far, and it might help you to hear some of our experiences as you consider stepping outside of your own comfort zone.

Broken Boundary: When I graduated from high school I had the choice of going to college for graphic design or playing music in nightclub bands. My deepest passion was writing and performing music, so I chose to pursue it rather than the ’safety’ of a graphic design career.

Results: At age 18 I toured the northwest US and Canada with Hawaii’s most successful nightclub band at the time. This gave me the connections to form my own band, which eventually opened for The Cult and The Spin Doctors. For 5 years I made a living playing music, and most importantly it created the opportunity for me to meet the woman who would become my wife.

Broken Boundary: On February 14, 1989, 5 months to the day after I met Candace, I proposed to her. We both knew it was crazy to get married so quickly, but we also knew within the first month that we could spend the rest of our lives with each other. 8 months to the day from when we met, we were married on a beach in Hawaii.

Results: We are still married 21 years later, we have 3 amazing kids and we both continue to experience the joy of being in love with your best friend.

Broken Boundary: 1 week after we were married in Hawaii, we jumped on a plane to San Francisco with nothing more than $1500 and our wedding gifts. We knew we wanted to live in the city, so why not just go for it?

Results: 1 month after we moved into our apartment in downtown SF, the top 2 floors burned down and the building was condemned, so we had to move again. Just a few months later was the great SF earthquake of 1989. We were beginning to wonder if we’d made some dreadful mistake, and if the universe was against us living there. Still, 3 years later we got pregnant with our first daughter. Yes!

Broken Boundary: After years of working my way up into Operations Management in a nationwide electrical supplies wholesaler, we decided to jump from the stability of a full-time, successful career into full-time ministry as a Worship/Music Pastor at a local Bay Area small church. We spent the next 10 years learning and growing and serving others in this capacity.

Results: We were offered a Pastoral position at one of the largest multicultural Southern Baptist churches in the country. We both enjoyed the challenge and the unique experience of working across cultural boundaries and motivating others to do the same. Our children grew up within the church environment, while simultaneously being exposed to our methodology of never accepting the status quo.

Broken Boundary: After serving for 5 years in an amazing multicultural church, we realized we were settling into another comfort zone. We recognized that, for us, organized religion was intrinsically and ironically counter-productive to what we believed, and we needed to walk away from the institution of the church and learn how to live our beliefs in the world outside the walls. We resigned from our positions and packed everything we owned into a shipping container bound for Hawaii, where my family lives.

Results: We were ostracized by the congregation, colleagues and many ‘friends’ we had served for the past five years. It was one of the worst times of our lives, and there are scars that still have not healed completely after 4 years. Yet we simultaneously grew in our own development of our personal beliefs and began a new and exciting chapter in our lives. It was at this point that I really began growing my freelance design business from a side project into the full-time focus it has become.

Broken Boundary: After spending 2 years with family in Hawaii, we realized that although we loved the people and the spirit of the islands, it was not the place we wanted to live for the rest of our lives. We needed to be back on the mainland. So we made the decision to sell everything we own that we could, pack the remainder into a 4′ x 6′ trailer, and move across the country to a place we’d never been before: Tallahassee, FL. We had two friends there, but otherwise it would be a complete unknown. This thought was both exhilarating and terrifying.

Results: This is the place that, out of necessity, I became a full-time freelance web and graphic designer. My business has blossomed and my connections through social media and other avenues have greatly expanded. On this Saturday, July 3, my wife will be graduating from the Aveda Institute and will be obtaining her cosmetology license to pursue her newfound love as a stylist. She already has a position at a salon in SF lined up, as well as devoted friends and clients who will be using her services.

Believe it or not, those are just a few of the major boundary-breaking experiences we have had. It hasn’t all been fun and rewarding in the classic sense, either. Our marriage has been challenged in the most difficult ways. Some very dear friendships have been irreparably destroyed. Our children have left relationships behind and had to build new ones, all while attending new schools almost every year. As I said before, the lows have been just as extreme as the highs. Maybe it’s some type of balance that must be maintained in the universe. I don’t know. But I will take those extreme lows in order to indulge in the most amazing and fulfilling highs we have had the joy of experiencing.

We are stronger for it. Our kids are better people and eventually adults because of it. And I believe the people whose lives we have touched due to our boundary breaking are grateful.

What about you? What are your comfort zones? And what’s so great about them that you would choose to stay safely in them rather than experience the vast expanse of adventure that awaits you?

I believe life is a journey, but no journey can be taken by those that choose to stand still. What if everyone took the time to identify their comfort zones and then put into motion the plans to shatter the boundaries that once seemed so desirable? I really don’t know what kind of world that would be, but I would love to find out. After all, it’s another unknown. And I love to explore the unknown.

I have been a part of a few different discussions regarding design trends recently. One of the best articles I’ve read on the subject was written by Matt Ward at Echo Enduring Blog. In it, Matt helps a rebel like me realize the importance of design trends and best ways to respond. I recently wrote a guest post on Pelfusion.com discussing design standards and trends and challenging us all to break out of the expected to create new, interesting and unique designs, possibly birthing more new trends along the way, or maybe generating some one-of-a-kind, stand-alone masterpieces.

If you have read much of my writings and ramblings, you are probably aware that I am bent towards breaking myself and others out of the status quo, so when it comes to this topic of following trends and adhering to standards I am pretty opinionated. I don’t necessarily think I’m right, or an authority on the subject, but I do have some strong feelings that are rooted in my own personal experience and philosophy. In this post I want to continue to challenge our thinking so that we will extend our approaches to design in any context beyond the perceived boundaries that can bind the creative spirit.

Almost everyone at some point in their life has colored in a coloring book. At a young age many of us were forever shaped by the adults who commented on our crayon creations. Some children were challenged or required to color inside the lines, making a nice, neat picture. Others were encouraged no matter what they produced.

“Beautiful colors, Jimmy!”

“I really like how you scribbled so vigorously, Suzie! It shows your exciting personality!”

Most parents, babysitters and teachers never realize how dramatically they have contributed to the formation of the creative spirit in the child. Unwittingly, they quite possibly have helped to limit or unleash, to confine or set free.

It is my concern that design standards and trends possess the ability to do the very same. The best trends will unleash the creative spirit in us all. The worst will be mindlessly followed and serve only to bind us to conformist attitudes and sticking with what is proven to succeed.

Playing it safe is never the key to success in its truest form, although financial success may quite possibly still be attained in this manner. True success, as I define it anyway, comes out of pursuing the fulfillment of your passions and your dreams. The journey, the experience of this is far more satisfying than riches or fame. On occasion the riches and fame follow the fulfillment of this pursuit, but when they become the object of it, the adventure is usually lost.

True art, true creativity should not come from a place that is restricted. It can come from places of emotion, pain, struggle, celebration and so on, but if it is to be an expression of the individual artist, who am I to dictate the artist’s boundaries? It’s a cliché, but aren’t rules made to be broken? And who makes those rules anyway?

Of course, when we’re talking about design and art in the same context, there is another debate separating the two which I don’t want to address here, but I will say that I consider myself a designer AND an artist. I create art. I design to provide solutions. Sometimes the paths of the two are integrally entwined. It is my opinion that the results of those times are my best work.

Not because they meet some standard, or because they attract the biggest crowd. Not because they have made me a fat paycheck, or because they are admired by my peers.

What I consider to be the best of my designs are those that I have poured my heart and soul into, an inspired thought, an idea that may contain plenty of trends and standards, but simultaneously contains something that is a piece of me. Something only I could have come up with. Something that breathes in unison with my spirit.

I derive complete satisfaction from these projects. Unfortunately I have a hard time identifying many that currently exist within my portfolio. Why is that? Maybe because clients tend to desire trends as much as designers tend to adhere to them. Maybe because we as designers will advise our clients to use proven techniques and styles, sometimes even when they challenge us to do something different. We provide a solution rather than explore the possibility of a revolution.

What if the revolutionaries had chosen to play by the rules? What if artists did their best to color inside the lines, succumbing to fear of failure and rejection? What if designers continued to put out the same trends and standards that that were in place 10, 20 or 50 years ago?

Someone has to start the trend. Someone has to stretch the boundaries. Someone has to say it’s okay to color outside the lines. Someone has to be the first.

How disappointing and utterly dismal this world would be if we all chose to stick to what’s safe. What’s proven. What someone else has proclaimed the standard or the trend.

I choose to at least attempt to design outside the lines. I will fail. I might even be laughed at or dismissed. But I believe it’s worth it to take the risk. What could possibly be a better way to die than in the passionate throes of pursuing your dreams?

Today – May 7th – is my birthday. Here’s a video with a small thank you to all my friends for this past year, and my birthday wish for each and every one of you.

This is a question I’ve begun asking myself recently as it seems I am stumbling across a newly-created website donning this title every few days.  With the growing success of online endeavors in the design realm, it is beginning to appear as though every designer must have some type of blog or design-related website if they stand a chance at establishing a name for themselves, and even more so if they are looking to simultaneously create some manner of passive income.

I’m not sure where it started, nor do I particularly care. I am a fan of many design blogs, and I am indebted to many more because of their contribution to my continuing growth and education as a web and graphic designer. There is definitely a need for quality design blogs, and in many ways the abundance should promote a healthy competition to provide a high standard of content.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

In fact, there are a plethora of websites that purport to be contributing members of the design community but instead are merely regurgitating the content that someone else’s hard work has produced.

Yes, there are already countless discussions and debates about the dreaded list posts, roundups and so forth, and while this rant of mine may enter that arena a bit, I am more interested in finding a way to move forward that encourages and celebrates those design blogs that put in the time to fashion high-quality tutorials, interesting and passionate proposals, ideas and philosophies, and all in all work toward improving and challenging the way we design in an effort to make the design world a better place.

So how do we do it?

Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate and redefine what makes a website deserving of the term ‘Design Blog’. I realize this can be a very subjective path, but here are some of my ideas for you to consider. I believe a design blog should:

1. Provide insight and direction for a better way to do things
2. Challenge the status quo of current trends and theories, not just for the sake of argument but to pursue progress and improvement
3. Share personal perspective of the author on an idea, a design process, or other matters
4. Invite and encourage community discussion

In contrast, there are a number of elements that many so-called ‘design blogs’ integrate in what appears to be some formulaic road to success. I believe a design blog should NOT:

1. Regurgitate or showcase others’ content without some meaningful, original addition and direction of the author’s own
2. Blatantly display a priority of high visitor traffic (translate: advertising sales) over quality content
3. Refrain from including any insight into the designer behind the blog itself
4. Strive to have more pictures than text unless dictated by the post itself
5. Be maintained and moderated by someone who is not a designer of some type themselves

To be fair, I subscribe to hundreds of design blogs that fit into both categories. I even benefit from and enjoy many posts that are obvious roundups of someone else’s work. So I am not suggesting we throw the baby out with the bathwater. Instead I am thinking out loud about how we look at what we ourselves and others are doing, what the motivation behind these things are, and navigate toward a better understanding of what is what when it comes to blogs within the design community.

Why bother? Who cares that there are plenty of design blogs that may be harshly categorized as ‘imposters’? Why not let them do what they do and ignore them if what they are doing bothers you?

For me, the issue arises when the value of amazing design blogs is diluted by the sea of others who produce such an inferior product.

I want to see the hard work and passion of the purists recognized. I want to celebrate and rejoice when the design community congregates in rigorous discussion around the thoughtful post of a fellow designer. I want to see designers hunger for more of those types of posts, spurring on their creation, rather than relegating ourselves to filling our RSS readers with the latest roundup of the hottest this or that and post titles full of overused, over-dramatic adjectives.

And I want to write those passionate and pure posts myself.

In case you were wondering, I’m not sure if I would call this blog a ‘design blog’. I talk about design here, and I am a designer, but I also share a lot of other things. The primary purpose of this blog is not to make money with advertising, or to generate amazing traffic numbers, or to showcase anything other than my own passions and pursuits in hopes that somehow others will be inspired or assisted in some way.

Maybe that’s a method that could be used for deciding what website should be dubbed a ‘design blog’. Maybe, rather than setting up shop and announcing to the world that I’m the next greatest design blog on the block, someone else should place that crown. Maybe design blogs should be categorized as such by their readers.

In the end, I’m not really sure if I have a major point here. I’m also not really sure if I am even the one that should be raising the question. I mean, who am I to ask these sorts of things? There are other, far more recognized and respected members of the design community who could command a far greater audience and perhaps start a movement toward progressive thinking in this area.

But this is my little corner of the interwebs, and it’s my soapbox of the moment that you have chosen to take the time to gather around and listen. So at least in this moment, in this place, perhaps our little band of thoughts could spark the fire that burns down the status quo and raises up new ideas in its stead.

What do you think?

I cannot tell you how many times it is assumed that I am a Mac user, since the word “mac” graces the name of my design business with its presence. To tell the truth, I think Apple products are amazing in almost every way – design, style, functionality, user experience, branding – pretty much everything but the price. I am a bargain shopper to the core, so when it came time way back when to purchase my first home computer, it was a no brainer to go with the much more affordable PC. Over the years the beautiful machines that Apple has produced have often tempted me to drop 2-4 times the dollar amount I would otherwise pay for a comparably equipped PC, only to watch me submit to my frugality and practicality over and over.

I did eventually purchase an older iMac to mess around with, and I even won an iPod Touch in a radio contest, but I have never made the full switch to becoming a Mac instead of a PC. Still, I am not an Apple hater by any stretch. The truth is, as I’ve explained, if I could have afforded these things throughout the years, I would have happily donned the Mac title years ago. Alas, this was not the case.

Then along came the iPad.

Apple did it again. Their slick marketing buildup sucked me in, and soon I was one among the drooling minions, anxiously awaiting the early April release of the shiny, new, supposedly revolutionary device. Best of all, this revolution was surprisingly affordable to participate in, and I finally saw my chance to dive into the Apple waters.

I didn’t go so far as to line up at my local Best Buy the morning of release. I am, after all, a practical, analytical thinker who does his research before making a significant purchase.

So I read the various reviews, weighed and compared the specs of the different models, asked early purchasers for their thoughts, and finally came to a point where I felt the final justification of using the iPad for my business (testing web designs on the new format, sketching ideas, productivity tools while on the run, etc.) was reason enough to seal the deal.

This past Saturday I headed over to Best Buy and played with a display model. They had four on hand and there was actually a line to try this amazing new device. Those in line were peering impatiently over the shoulders of those ahead of them, and it was obvious that Apple had succeeded in drawing the attention of the technology consumer once again. When I finally got my chance it took me only 2-3 minutes to know I must have one.

Still, I was determined to sleep on the decision – a practice I learned from my parents and have used throughout the years on anything close to a major decision. If I wake up in the morning still assured that I should move forward then it is deemed a wise move and not an impulse buy. This has saved me from the latter quite a few times.

I even went a step further and told my wife that I would put our recently purchased Kindle 2 up for sale as a test. If it sold then that would be a “sign” to replace its eBook functionality with the iPad’s. I went through the paces of placing the Buy-It-Now ad on eBay and it sold within hours for full price.

I had my confirmation.

The next morning I arose without a second thought in my mind, and headed over to Best Buy. Soon I was home with the new iPad in my hands, and the fun began.

Since I have little experience with a Mac or iPhone, I had no clue where to start, but it didn’t take long to figure out the App Store and the freebies I would want to try out. I was (and am still) in awe of the beauty of the iPad and its user interface. Every move, every gesture inspires joy and awe, followed by just plain admiration and respect for the Apple quality and experience throughout. For long-time Apple users this is probably old news and may even be overlooked, but for this relative newcomer it is a sheer pleasure to behold.

I would concede – as much as I don’t necessarily want to buy into the “revolution” hype – that the iPad is revolutionary in a few ways. One of the main ways is the experience of the internet. Interacting via touch screen with links and content and images is an immersive experience that significantly differs from my desktop and mouse, not to mention my Android touch screen phone. I was surprised to notice that I didn’t feel constricted at all by the screen size and in fact felt that it was more than large enough. Because of the lack of buttons or controls I tended to feel as though all I was holding was a screen. It’s an intriguing and futuristic feeling.

Most of the other “revolutionary” elements probably don’t seem as game-changing or new to previous iPhone users, but to this newbie the iPad is as innovative as anything I’ve seen in awhile. It would probably be beneficial for those who relate and compare it to an iPhone to let go of that thought process and open their minds to the possibilities that the larger format unlocks.

Some of my favorite early finds include:

» Adobe Ideas: Sketch in full color with varying line widths and custom color palettes. I can see this awakening some dormant artistic sides of me in new ways.

» Netflix: Using your Netflix account you can stream movies and other video instantly to the iPad. And I do mean instantly. Over my normal home wi-fi connection it took less than one minute from the time I clicked on a choice for it to start playing – and the picture is gorgeous and crisp!

» News: USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Guardian and more, all instantly at your fingertips and complete with that more immersive experience I referenced earlier.

» Books: The iBooks feature is very slick, but the store seems relatively limited at the moment (I’m sure that will change soon enough). However, there is a Kindle app that gives access to the huge Amazon eBook library, syncs with your existing account, and actually makes reading books look and feel like the Kindle minus the eInk technology but making up for it with touchscreen functionality. (I can’t tell you how many times my wife and I both tried to touch our Kindle’s screen to navigate it.)

» Typing: I have somewhat fat fingers, and I am a hen-pecking typist (although I usually average around 45 WPM). I was wonderfully surprised to find that typing on the iPad, especially in landscape mode, is not much different than on a full-sized keyboard other than the lack of a key actually pressing inward. My only beef would be having to switch keyboards to get to punctuation and numbers, but that’s a relatively minor issue. The iPad’s keyboard makes it disappointing to go back to texting on my phone.

I know that there are countless other apps and features to still explore and discover, and there will be scores to come as developers catch up with the technology. So far I am extremely pleased with what I’ve found and I’m anxious to research and find much, much more.

The Bottom Line

As I was contemplating the iPad purchase I was told by several people to determine if it would serve my needs before deciding. I believe this is very wise advice, and I want to pass it on to you. However, I am surprised to find that the iPad has already proven itself to be more than I expected.

What were my hopes for the iPad? That it would provide some more-portable-than-a- laptop functionality for business related productivity as well as some different approaches to some of my daily tasks. I am also interested in testing website display and usability on the new platform, since I design websites as a primary function of my business. It seems the iPad will do all of these things with ease.

But the iPad has proven itself to do something I am pretty sure Apple has been counting on from the beginning. This device has not only answered my hopes and perceived needs - it is opening my eyes to entertain “needs” (probably better described as “wants”) that I didn’t even know I had.

This puppy will be incredibly handy for travel, and although I won’t leave my laptop behind, it is very likely it will stay in its case on the plane and in the airport. Different apps will encourage me artistically and creatively to begin tasks I have done or used to do with new and innovative approaches. Reading, watching video, listening to music or other audio – for entertainment or research or education or news – will become a variety of experiences that can happen virtually anywhere. Productivity apps on the iPad will – at least for awhile – make the mundane come alive and even be fun.

So, for me, the iPad is not what I would call a “must-have” device. My life would be okay without it. I am not sure I would necessarily even go so far as to call it “revolutionary”, although I think it would be presumptuous to not give it a little more time before eliminating that possibility.

I can make this statement confidently: my iPad is a blast. It challenges me somewhat. It broadens my possibilities. It does things no other device I own is capable of doing. And it’s the first Apple device I’ve felt was affordable while simultaneously worth every penny.

Ultimately you need to decide if the iPad needs to join your ever-growing arsenal of gadgets, or if it should be bypassed for its forthcoming competition or even a future generation. I hope my little insights could help you make up your mind if you are sitting on the fence. I encourage you to research and try it out for yourself. Do your best to steer clear of the naysayers and haters and those self-proclaimed experts who seize every opportunity to rip apart the next big thing. Don’t get caught up in the hype either, only to be left wondering how you ended up with an overpriced coffee table ornament.

Make your own, well-informed, biased-only-by-your-own-thoughts personal decision.

And feel free to ask any questions or share your thoughts in the comments below.

Although this post was inspired by recent events in the US political arena, it is not about them in particular. This is not about which side you or I are on or how either of us feels about recent historic happenings.

This is about grown men and women making a conscious decision to carry themselves like adults or like third graders when something they feel very strongly about does not go their way. I have been on both sides of that equation for various reasons at different points in my life and, although I probably have not always succeeded in behaving like a mature adult when I have experienced a disappointing loss in something I was fighting for, bearing witness to the poor behavior of others in similar situations has bred in me a distinct distaste for the immature and destructive antics of the poor loser. I want to share one of those experiences in hopes that a view from another angle may help us all to consider with compassion those around us as we determine our next course of action whenever we don’t get our way.

In the fall of 2000 I began the interview process for the position of Worship Pastor at a unique multi-cultural, Southern Baptist church in northern California. Over the next few months it became evident that this church would in fact invite me to take this position, move my family to a new town, and begin contributing my gifts and passions toward the vision of the congregation, a large part of which was to grow what would become one of the largest multi-cultural SBC congregations in the country. The standard procedure for SBC churches is to operate as a democracy and present the candidate for the position to the church for questioning, after which the members would take a vote to decide if they would hire me.

I spent 3 weeks driving to this other church several times to organize and practice a choir, band and sound team so that I could lead a worship service on what would be dubbed my “Candidate Sunday”. After leading several services that day, the response was enthusiastic and it seemed that I was a perfect fit for the direction the church had dreams of heading toward.

After the evening service the congregation was invited to attend a time of questioning for me and my wife. It was at this gathering that a few older and long-time members chose to verbally attack me and my intentions, saying I appeared to be self-centered, a showman, and other inflammatory attacks on my personal and spiritual integrity. For the most part, the questioning was positive and focused, but those few who saw my arrival as a threat to their comfort zone and their belief of what their church should be sowed seeds of distrust, anger and pain that would continue throughout the next five years that my family and I served at the church.

When the vote was cast, the majority decided I was to become their new Worship Pastor. My wife and children left the town we had lived in for the previous 9 years to move to this new location where we hardly new anyone and began pouring our lives into this church and the congregation.

Some long-time members that were upset with how the church had voted left the congregation altogether. They decided they would be better served elsewhere. From my viewpoint at the time, I was glad they left so I wouldn’t have to deal with their disapproval of me. Looking at it now I am disappointed that they so quickly chose the path of “taking their ball and going home” because the other children didn’t agree to their rules. Remember that, when you were a child? If things didn’t go our way we would just leave, and take our toys and friends with us.

Others who were upset by the decision of the majority spent the next five years seizing every opportunity to point out my mistakes, faults and any other issues they had with me to anyone who was willing to listen. One particular deacon kept a steady stream of mean and abusive notes coming to my mailbox, telling me how “money-hungry” my wife and I were, that we should leave before we drove anyone else away from the church, that I should learn how to dress more “like a pastor”, and so on. Another deacon’s wife stood up in a Sunday morning service once and literally shouted boos after a particularly rousing modern arrangement of an old favorite hymn. And the list goes on.

Again, these were just a few people that felt they were expressing what others were thinking, but that did not dilute the personal pain, sadness, anger and other destructive impact that their actions inflicted upon me and my family.

When I talked to supporters and other pastors about these things, they were encouraging and apologetic. They said that in a church, once the majority has made a decision, it is the responsibility of those that disagreed to fall in line and support the decision, keeping the bigger picture of unity in mind. It is also supposed to be a time for them to consider that maybe the majority was actually right in their decision, and it could be possible that the minority was actually wrong. Regardless, it was supposed to work in a way so that all church members would unite together to work for the common good. For the most part this was happening, but obviously there were those who felt it was their duty to make sure I did not succeed at pursuing what I believed at the time to be the best for the church.

Meanwhile, the church grew exponentially in leaps and bounds over the next few years. The congregation doubled in size, added new services and began planning to construct a new building to accommodate the growth. Again, the majority was excited, but with every apparent measurable victory those same opponents made their voice heard loud and clear.

One day a senior member who had originally loudly opposed my coming to the church made his way into my office and we began to talk. Over the next few years our occasional discussions became eye-opening for both of us. This senior member and former deacon helped me to understand how his peers were feeling. He helped me to see that my passionate approach to reaching out to the younger generation who felt that church was irrelevant was making the older generation feel as though they were irrelevant too. Displaced. Pointless. Worthless. And as my eyes were opened to this mistake, he saw the truth in my heart and my desire to do what was right. Together we assisted each other to see one another and our beliefs from a different viewpoint and to eliminate the misconception that our differences meant the other was wrong.

Three different roads were taken by those who disagreed with the majority’s decision. One choice was to leave the situation altogether and never turn back. Another was to stay and do everything they could to tear down what was being built. The third, and what I believe was the best choice, was to work with the decision that had been made and help those involved to see the situation from every angle so that together we could move toward a better result.

What do you do when you don’t get your way? Do you choose to leave, to stay and be destructive in an effort to get your way, or to work within the existing parameters toward unity and the hope of eventual universal satisfaction?

Just because someone believes differently than I do does not mean they are wrong. It just means that they are different. And different is something to be embraced and even celebrated above mindless uniformity any day, as far as I’m concerned. It is what makes our individuality as human beings a thing of beauty, and it is what makes each of our individual contributions to our society valuable.

I am disappointed when I see anyone, including myself, choosing to behave in one of the first two categories when they don’t get their way. There is nothing productive or constructive about it. In contrast, I am overjoyed when I witness someone who takes the high road toward constructive improvement of a situation they disagree with. It is refreshing and powerful.

What do you do when you don’t get your way?

There. I said it. You know where I stand and hopefully have an idea how you personally would answer the question in the title of this post. Now why am I asking it?

This past week on two separate occasions I have been confronted via Twitter regarding my personal policy about who I will or won’t follow. In both cases the parties in question wondered why I did not follow them or others back because they believed I should since they were following me. I have written about this before so I don’t want to rehash it completely, but apparently I need to attempt to make very clear my own stance for those that have questions. My friend @mistygirlph also had a similar issue and wrote about it last week, which leads me to believe there is still a need for the discussion.

First off, I want to make it clear that I try to be the exact same person online as I am offline. I am not so arrogant as to think everyone should do the same. It is simply my value system and it is how I operate. In my “real life” I befriend and build relationships with people who share common interests or for some reason or another I gravitate toward. A good sense of humor, a creative streak, a unique personal fashion style, a particular taste in music – these are just a few of the things that may draw me toward someone that I meet, and may be the catalyst for the beginning of a friendship. Online many of the visual elements do not translate, but those that come out in interactions become even more obvious.

Online I tend to follow or friend people who share common interests (web & graphic design, freelancing, social media, SEO, art, music) or who capture my attention with something they’ve said, an interaction we’ve had or who simply displayed a good sense of humor or a positive approach to life. These are the people I’m interested in engaging with, and these are the people I follow or friend on social media channels and in real life.

I don’t see any point in following someone solely because they followed me. There are plenty of people who follow me that I have absolutely nothing in common with, other than the fact that they may be interested in some of the resources I share. There are also those that follow me who are spammers, bots and those who are more concerned with their follower counts than life itself. Why in the world would I automatically follow these people back and flood my streams with information that I am not interested in?

I am not on social media channels to build my numbers, or to constantly watch them. I don’t go through the list of people I am following to see who is or who is not following me back. Who has time for that? And why? To me that would be like going through my phone bill each month to see if my friends are calling me as much as I call them, and then refusing to call those who were not keeping up.

I follow and friend people for the value they add to my stream – resources, laughs, interactions, quotes, and more. That value does not change whether they are following me back or not – it’s still valuable to me. Does it make me sad or hurt if I find out that someone I interact with or follow and enjoy is not following me? Honestly, sometimes it might for a second or two. But then I remember that everyone uses social media in different ways, and their decisions of who they will or will not follow really have very little to do with me or even possibly their opinion of me.

There are people I respect or admire that I do not follow or friend on Facebook because to me their status updates are noise (Bible verses, quotes, etc.) But that absolutely does not mean I’m not interested in them as a person! My true friends know how I feel about them and would laugh at the thought that not engaging with them on social media would mean a rift in our relationship.

The two who confronted me last week had some things in common:

» They pay a lot of attention to their follower numbers
» They believe that following someone is an act of kindness that should be reciprocated and it is rude or arrogant to not return the ‘favor’
» They believe that everyone else should use social media in the same way they do

When I first started using social media I did get caught up in the numbers of followers or friends I had obtained, but I eventually stopped focusing on the numbers and started paying attention to the people. It was at this point I truly began finding the value of social media and the global connections that can be made. What’s baffling to me is that neither of these people are newcomers to social media and both have large follower counts, yet they are still so concerned about who is following them or not.

If I took this approach in my day to day life, I don’t think I would have any friends. Conditional relationships are flawed from the beginning, and eventually they will fail because someone will not live up to the other’s requirements or expectations. We’re only human, and we need acceptance, tolerance, celebration of differences, freedom and forgiveness if we are going to not only coexist, but thrive as a society. Should not these same values be applied to our online relationships as well?

The element that is most disturbing to me of all of this is their expectation that everyone should follow their rules and do things the same way they do. While I fundamentally disagree, my disagreement dictates that I embrace their freedom to hold firm to this belief. In other words, my belief system says that everyone should be able to do whatever they want however they want, as long as it does not harm or endanger anyone else. I think this is a real life necessity, or else we would all be robots dressed in the same clothes, saying the same things, voting for the same laws and living the same boring lives. However, you are completely welcome to disagree with me, as far as I’m concerned. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Ah freedom.

Now back to the original question: should social media relationship rules be any different than the rules we have for our daily lives? I don’t think they should, but it is obvious that others do, and I celebrate their freedom to live however they desire. I guess I just wish they didn’t feel the need to confront or insult someone who thinks differently. What do you think?