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March 12th, 2011

SXSW Interactive 2011 (#sxswi)

All the info from #sxswi 2011, from panels, parties and meeting interesting people in Austin Texas.

*Update: I posted these notes to Notesee, a place to catalog and share your own conference notes. They made me MPV of the day. Thanks, Joel!

**Update: Sam reposted these notes on her website after I posted them to Notesee. Go to SEO Penguin to read more and learn about her work! Thanks for spreading the word Sam!

Thanks for reading!

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Posted in Curiosity, Design and web strategy, Social media, Truths | 1 Comment »

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August 1st, 2010

Tips for Graphic Design Students

“I am terrified of this industry…isn’t that stupid?” This is what my friend, a current graphic design student said about our profession. I find our industry and design community to be active and fun, filled with visionaries, entrepreneurs and go getters.

But for the 45 minutes following his remark we talked about his fears and I offered some tips and insights on graduating from design school and getting a design job. Here’s a recap of that conversation.

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July 23rd, 2010

Building Personal Brand Equity – Tips Worth Their Weight in Gold

Here are some things I’ve learned so far. Take these tips and run with them. Why should you listen to me you ask? Well, for one thing my business card title has “Social Media” on it. No joke, I hustled enough to get it. And second, I just had 3 people write to me on the same day last week asking to pick my brain on this very subject. Instead of keeping all this between us four, here they are for your benefit.

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July 21st, 2010

The Social Media Gold Rush – On Figuring It All Out

Last week Kris Layon of Two Apps Per Day brought up an interesting point about designing for the iPad. He related it to the great Wild West. It was such a good description for not only iPad design, but social media and the new frontier of our web culture.

For instance, there is no degree for social media. Every now and then I get a random job offer in social media for a national organization and even other web firms in town. That said, here are some predictions for social media and our web future.

The E-commerce boom

In the mid to late-90s, every company and anyone with an idea hurried to put up a web site so they could start marking money. Corporations couldn’t grow their web business fast enough. And the web industry made quite a bit of money. In 2000 our bubble crashed and all the bad ideas fell through the floor. We took a step back and refined what worked online and adjusted our perceptions and actions accordingly.

E-commerce is now commonplace. We trust it because it’s become part of our lives. We know the pitfalls and procedures. One of the most amazing inventions was Amazon.com‘s patented one-click ordering system. If you use iTunes, you use this system everyday without even thinking about it.

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Posted in Social media, Truths | 1 Comment »

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June 21st, 2010

10 Tips for Leading a Successful Town Hall Meeting

Last week I lead a town hall meeting for Phoenix Design Week (PHXDW). Speaking in front of people is one thing, but facilitating a meaningful discussion where criticism is openly cherished is quite another task. The event went over really well, a dozen or so “Thank you’s” and “You did a really good job” followed the event. So I thought I would offer some tips for leading a successful town hall community meeting. Please use and share them.

Tip 1: Get to know everyone, make them feel welcome

I knew that in order for the event to work well, I needed to be welcoming to all the attendees. Phoenix Design Week is a community-run event. It is their event. I welcomed each person individually at the door with a smile and tried to remember their name and something about them to bring up at a later date.

Tip 2: Be prepared for any questions, have experts on hand

I asked for a few volunteers and organizers from the first Phoenix Design Week, held last September, to be in attendance. They weren’t going to miss the event anyway, so that was easy to do. They brought perspective and experience to the table. Past attendees, armed with ideas for this year’s event, made up the rest of the group and had tons to offer.

Tip 3: Know the format

After a quick introduction about myself for the stragglers who walked in, I thanked everyone for coming, explained how they were important for the evening’s proceedings, and offered a brief outline of the format for the town hall.

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April 1st, 2010

Your Obscene Wi-Fi Network Name – Being Bad and Getting Away With It

Wi-Fi name is Boobies

Boobies. Sugar Tits. Don’t Touch Me There. These are all Wi-Fi network names that have appeared either on my iPhone or laptop when I tried to connect to a wireless network.

I love inappropriate behavior when it is funny – like the first network name in this screenshot. How great is it that we can name something no one else will see or touch? Well, unless they come near our personal spaces then boom! Gotcha.

Wi-Fi networks are intangible so I’m not going to know who owns “Pussywillow”. We can’t punish people for being bad, so go ahead and make someone smile. Pick a naughty Wi-Fi network name then tell me what it is.

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March 21st, 2010

Lonnie Tapia Personal Interview – Questions from Chris Guillebeau

This video is a response to Chris Chillebeau’s March 8, 2010 blog entry “An Interview  with Yourself.”

I answer what I have to show for my life, what are you most proud of, what I regret, what’s next in my life, what I believe in, and if I had year left to live, how I would spend it.

For more information about Chris, visit http://chrisguillebeau.com/

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March 19th, 2010

GLAAD – Branding for The Gays

GLAAD - words and images matter

Words and images matter.

GLAAD recently relaunched their new brand. And they adopted the above tagline to go with it. It has my endorsement – both as a designer and an activist. GLAAD exemplified what it means to protect and nature a brand. It’s a tall order because their brand is the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities. All of them.

They speak out for these groups when someone defames someone for being a part of the above communities. They demand apologies and educate everyone so it doesn’t happen again.

Laws won’t change until the people are ready for it. This is one organization that uses words and images that matter to protect and elevate the perception of gay people. It’s a small step towards equality.

You can donate to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation on their website at www.glaad.org.

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March 18th, 2010

SXSW Session Recap: (How to Get a Job or) Funemployed: Success Stories from the Laid Off Community

Search for more info on this SXSW session using the Twitter Hashtag: #funemployed

Speakers: Van Horn from Digg.com and Chris Hutchins creator of laidoffcamp.com

Van and Chris led a discussion for finding a job and making sure you are prepared if you get fired or let go. Here are some tips to ending unemployment and finding a job.

  • Network before you get fired or laid off. Update your LinkedIn account frequently so people know about you before you need a job.
  • Go to events and meetings that are above you or that you are not invited to. Know you don’t belong there but meet the people who can influence your future.
  • Offer your services to everyone in the world. The US only has 5% of internet users in the world. People everywhere need your skills and services.
  • Be a doer not a faker. Create projects don’t just talk about what you do.
  • Ask for mentors. People are happy to help, but you need to ask for it.
  • Make sure everyone in your network knows what you do. Your friends may not hire you, but their friends will.

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March 18th, 2010

SXSW Session Recap: Kicking Recession Ass with a Killer Company Culture

Search for more info on this SXSW session using the Twitter Hashtag: #culturesx

An amazing work culture starts with setting values then hiring the right people. Passionate people who are supported by a company give back. Here’s how to find them, keep them and help the company stay strong.

  • Hire the best problem solves, it’s the only way to find people who can fit into a group and work alone.
  • Be honest in job postings to help candidates pre-screen themselves. If the job has a drawback, let them know. You only get people willing to put in the work.
  • Use orientation to set the tone for company culture.
  • Set expectations and goals so employees know how they can rise above the norm.
  • Give everyone access to tools and training for them to learn about anything.

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Contact MeYou can also use this form to contact me. Send an email (hello @ lonnietapia.com) or call me at 480 332 4898 to start on your next web or design project.

Before you do that, take a look at my design and social media portfolio then read more about me and see if we're a good fit for each other. Thank you!

Lonnie Tapia is a designer, web and digital media strategist and social media consultant. He's been blogging and designing since 2003. He currently lives in central Chicago and is a strategist and producer for Grip. Lonnie acts as a mediator between design and technology, navigating new media, social media and promoting web standards and accessibility. View his portoflio of design and social media work. He loves cheese but cheese doesn't love him. Read more about Lonnie Tapia.

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