The virtual non-profit that I am proposing is similar to one currently in existence but with twists. It will be called Working Art Studio Tours. Instead of an “art fair” tour genre, it will be promoted as a working studio tour. I am proposing using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs for my media tools.
The Facebook site will have links to artist websites, links to blogs, images of studios and artwork and include periodic information of dates of the tour, member artist gallery events, and other art related community events.
The Twitter will also inform of dates of the tour, links to blogs, member artist gallery events and other art related community events.
The YouTube will include narrated brief videos of the artists at work in their studios as a teaser for what the public will see when they tour the studios. Or the consumer may view it after the tour to select art that they have thoughts of purchasing.
We will have a main blog tab on the website with artists submitting blogs on their wide range of issues, thoughts and topics of interest to them and their work. Each artist will have a brief biography of themselves and description of their work or the thought process that goes into a piece. Being that this is a visual community the emphasis will be on the written blog but they may contribute a few images to each blog.
Each artist will need to contribute a small amount for some print publishing that needs to be done with a directory and map. But some of this expense can be countered with community grants.
The desire for this non-profit is that the visitor will see the artist in their environment. See the art in different phases of creation. Yes, the artist may sell artwork to visitors to their studio, but this is to be presented as a working studio tour and not an “Art Fair”. I see this as an educational opportunity for the public to see how much time, toil and talent an individual artists puts into a handcrafted piece of local artwork. A hopeful bonus is that the public will appreciate the pricing and value of handmade local artwork. This is not a traditional Art fair; this is a school field trip for the general public.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Writing New Media Assignment, Library tour review
The Madison College library system online website has a plethora of information available on social media. There are library guides on Art, Law, Marketing, New Media and many more. Each of those library guides has tabs for links, videos and other resources for you to use. If you can find their library guides. Their sites were confusing and I felt like I was in a labyrinth looking for the Holy Grail. I am trying to return to their site right now to find their great resources on computers, social media options, but I am lost in the maze again.
After I found them I started with the New Media tab and am bombarded with great useful information. The basic definition of what is New Media, the devices to use, and the software and programs that a person would need to use is divided up in organized file tabs. Our presenter in our tour of the Libraries Social Media offerings barely touched on the resources available. He barely touched on the subject of Facebook and all that it can do, let alone going into twitter, blogging, and YouTube. It was a shame that he did not touch on the items that I had found just by surfing their site. It deserved a better tour.
What he did touch on was how we should write in consideration of New Media, check our facts (Snopes.com or factchecker.com) and to remember to give credit where it is due especially with photographs. He also covered how to do an advanced search in Google. We were also informed of the help available if we want to do open source recording, and there are laptops available for students to check out for projects. Dana Boyd’s blog and publication on social media was a recommendation for us to follow.
In consideration of the libraries presentation of their information I think they are due for just some easier navigation design. If they just had a button for their Library guides, resources, etc., it would be easier to locate the treasure trove. All of this could be solved by a web designer, not just someone who knows how to build a website. Sometimes I think it is forgotten that a designer knows more how to make it look good and easier to read/navigate. But for all they have on their website that was the only thing I would change.
After I found them I started with the New Media tab and am bombarded with great useful information. The basic definition of what is New Media, the devices to use, and the software and programs that a person would need to use is divided up in organized file tabs. Our presenter in our tour of the Libraries Social Media offerings barely touched on the resources available. He barely touched on the subject of Facebook and all that it can do, let alone going into twitter, blogging, and YouTube. It was a shame that he did not touch on the items that I had found just by surfing their site. It deserved a better tour.
What he did touch on was how we should write in consideration of New Media, check our facts (Snopes.com or factchecker.com) and to remember to give credit where it is due especially with photographs. He also covered how to do an advanced search in Google. We were also informed of the help available if we want to do open source recording, and there are laptops available for students to check out for projects. Dana Boyd’s blog and publication on social media was a recommendation for us to follow.
In consideration of the libraries presentation of their information I think they are due for just some easier navigation design. If they just had a button for their Library guides, resources, etc., it would be easier to locate the treasure trove. All of this could be solved by a web designer, not just someone who knows how to build a website. Sometimes I think it is forgotten that a designer knows more how to make it look good and easier to read/navigate. But for all they have on their website that was the only thing I would change.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Writing New Media Assignment, Website Review
I look at Huffington Post everyday for my news now, rather than a watching local TV news station or their website. Their website Huffingtonpost.com is using twitter, blogs and facebook. But I just mainly use their website. I recently subscribed to one of their contributors through Google reader and was overwhelmed by the number of posts. So I deleted that person from my Google reader. That was not as effective as their website and scrolling through headline teasers and selecting what I want to read. But the empty space is usually filled with links or adds making it quite busy.
As a recent graduate from UW Madison’s art department I am highly familiar with their website (http://art.wisc.edu/) and the tools they use. I know they use an email delivery/ template provider for their newsletter, but their website just has a link for their face book fan page. The language on their page can be hard, but they are artists and have a tendency to be long winded.
Being an artist participant and a board member of this non-profit, I work with the website MAOAS.com on a regular basis. This one is need of more work (just from insider knowledge). If you look for the participating artists, there is not contact information (which was available in previous editions). We also do not have a link to our facebook fan page or our email newsletters. Being a volunteer organization it takes a little longer to correct known issues.
The last website that I have reviewed was of http://www.roguesheep.com. I like the easily visible buttons that take you to different pages for more information and they appear to just have a link to blogs underneath all of their “news” snippets of praises and awards. They are a business that creates enhancements for Adobe products and it would help if they had a twitter account to inform customers of new products or additional “did you knows”. But what I prefer about this website is the crisp clean design, not too littered or overpowered as the Huffington post site. The language is brief and to the point. If you want more information it is easy to get to. It has the information needed or contact is easy, verses the MAOAS site where the information needed is not there. Overall I think the rogue sheep site takes the prize.
As a recent graduate from UW Madison’s art department I am highly familiar with their website (http://art.wisc.edu/) and the tools they use. I know they use an email delivery/ template provider for their newsletter, but their website just has a link for their face book fan page. The language on their page can be hard, but they are artists and have a tendency to be long winded.
Being an artist participant and a board member of this non-profit, I work with the website MAOAS.com on a regular basis. This one is need of more work (just from insider knowledge). If you look for the participating artists, there is not contact information (which was available in previous editions). We also do not have a link to our facebook fan page or our email newsletters. Being a volunteer organization it takes a little longer to correct known issues.
The last website that I have reviewed was of http://www.roguesheep.com. I like the easily visible buttons that take you to different pages for more information and they appear to just have a link to blogs underneath all of their “news” snippets of praises and awards. They are a business that creates enhancements for Adobe products and it would help if they had a twitter account to inform customers of new products or additional “did you knows”. But what I prefer about this website is the crisp clean design, not too littered or overpowered as the Huffington post site. The language is brief and to the point. If you want more information it is easy to get to. It has the information needed or contact is easy, verses the MAOAS site where the information needed is not there. Overall I think the rogue sheep site takes the prize.
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