Where in the world is Cindy?

I know I've been a bit absent on the blog over the past couple of days. Saturday, I distributed equipment to the students attending, which left me with only a camcorder to record the days events. But, I am so proud of the work that the students have accomplished so far. The breadth and depth of coverage, with humor and insight, has been amazing. And, I think they are having fun! The content this year has been overwhelming and fantastic, and a clear validation that what we have been discussing in class is important and timely.

So, now I've found a little corner of the convention center, with electrical outlets and a strong wireless connection. So, I'll fill you in on my activities. On Sat. morning, I attended a Design is in the Details panel, which had a helpful design checklist, but the presentation was less than engaging.

1. Experiment
2. Choices
3. Stay Consistent
4. Completeness
5. Step in, step out, step back: balance - this was the most controversial, he suggested taking 7 days away from working on any design project. I like the idea, but wonder how feasible. I liked when the speaker said he "lets the design percolate."
6. Be your own critic
7. Complexity in simplicity: less is more
8. Obsession is healthy

Then I went to the Suxorz, worst social media mistakes of 2007. Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine was on this one. Nominees were a Molson ad that encouraged students to put pictures of themselves "engaging with the product" on their social networks. Jarvis mentioned that pay-per-post activities were "evil," with examples of an HP video of a family crushing a competitors' camcorder with a hammer.

They also mentioned Austin's own Whole Foods CEO and his debacle with blogging false accounts of a competitor as his company was trying to acquire it. And, they talked about a Vespa blog in which Vespa grew bored with it, left the bloggers hanging, which ultimately led to a shift in the discourse (frustration with being abandoned). Vespa didn't notice the negative comments for two years. Another was the agency.com video they did for Subway, a lame attempt at making fun of themselves as a viral video.