Last month, Cool Hunting invited creative professionals to share their desktops-both physical and virtual in its Desktop article. The photos and screen grabs gave readers an exciting glimpse at how these individuals work, how they stay organized, and how they become inspired.
The idea got us thinking-what do the desktops here at MoCo look like?
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be giving you a peek into our workday with our own physical and virtual desktops.
Kaitlin Hughes Townley Account Coordinator
What tools do you use to keep yourself organized, either on your virtual or physical desktop?
I LOVE Post It notes, physical and virtual. I keep my virtual desktop pretty clean and minimal by using Excel spreadsheets to organize my projects and progress, but my Mac dashboard is a complete mess of sticky notes. My physical desk is more similar to my Mac dashboard, there’s usually at least a few Post Its or pieces of paper spread out with the same kind of information on all of them. I just can’t stop writing things down, even if they’re already written down somewhere else!
What is your favorite thing in your workspace?
My favorite item in my work area is the vase of flowers from my wedding. The flowers are dead of course, but the type of flower, Craspedia, or “Billy Balls”, dry beautifully and maintain their bright yellow color. I love how easily they brighten up my workspace, not to mention the happy memories they represent.
What is your desktop image of and how long have you been using it?
My desktop images are of my cat, Oliver Pierre. I’ve been using both on my work computer since I started at MoCo in November, and the one on my main desktop I’ve used at home for the last couple years as well.
It’s January 20th. Do you know where your New Year’s Resolution is? Buried somewhere at the bottom of a bag of cheesy Doritos deliciousness? Well, don’t beat yourself up. You’re certainly not alone. In fact, according to the UK’s Daily Mail, it took only nine days into the New Year for 75% of hopefuls to abandon their skinny jeans and/or fat wallets.
If you’ve already given up on flaunting that beach body, there’s still hope. The New Year has got plenty yet to offer. Ditch the winter blues, and give 2012 a chance. Here’s a sample of what we MoConians are looking forward to:
5. Welcome Back Cotter Draper
During a recent Podcast, a loose-lipped show star Jon Hamm revealed a March 25 start-date for the upcoming 5th season of AMC’s critically/creatively acclaimed Mad Men. After more than a yearlong hiatus, everyone’s favorite creative Casanova returns to the small screen. With flower children and Charlie on the horizon, there’s no telling what creator Matthew Weiner has in store for our beloved cast of agency alter egos.
4. MySpace TV
Facebook frustrations ablaze, social networkers may finally give their forgotten friend, Myspace, another chance. Announced January 10 by co-owner Justin Timberlake, the neglected network will shortly re-emerge as “MySpace TV.” Updates have been vague at best, but Timberlake and his cronies promise a community-driven, real-time TV and music-based “experience where people can connect to what they’re passionate about and connect with each other based on that shared love.” (Want to be part of the limited beta test? Head over to the Myspace TV announcement page and request an invite.)
3. London 2012: The Summer Olympics
Put down those little smokies, forget the pigskin, and behold the power of the Olympic games. Promising an international draw that goes beyond the reach of any multi-million dollar Superbowl spot, this summer’s series is actually a two-fer: For the first time ever, the Olympics and Paralympics are teaming up as one unified event. We right-brains love a good identity crisis. Let the re-branding begin.
2. iPad 3
Though an official date has yet to be leaked, experts are betting on March or April for the next major Apple release: the iPad 3. In what would seem a tribute to their fallen leader, speculation indicates that Apple is pulling all the stops, releasing a machine nothing less than drool-worthy. Amidst flourishing rumors suggesting a bigger, more beautiful display, enhanced processor, and better battery life, MoCo is in agreement: we can’t wait to get our hands on the next generation.
1. 2013
Whether it’s the Mayan calendar, asteroids astray, or planetary rotation reversal fueling your doomsday fears, NASA has put together a webpage devoted to debunking those pesky apocalyptic 2012 rumors. (See it here: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html) Claiming that our planet Earth “has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years,” credible scientists insist that the only real danger 2012 has dished up is the potential for another New Year’s Eve hangover.
MoCo welcomes designer Justin Tvete to the team! As the new guy, we thought it only fair to thoroughly embarrass Justin by having him answer some personal questions about himself. He didn’t even put up a fuss.
How long have you been in the industry?
I graduated from Moorhead State with my BFA in December 2010, so I am just over a year out of school.
What agency/company did you come from?
I worked as a designer with the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx last season and did some freelance work before I started here at MoCo.
What brought you to MoCo?
I had a list of companies in “Minneapolis” that I respected their work and wanted to work for and MoCo is one of those companies.
What is your favorite ad campaign?
Hmmm, the first thing that comes to mind is the creative McDonalds Ads that I have been seeing over the last year or so.
Which do you prefer, St. Paul or Minneapolis?
Minneapolis
Do you have a favorite sport? If so, which one?
I enjoy playing baseball.
The best and worst thing on your iPod?
Best: P.O.S. – Never Better Worst: I guess I would say Best of DMX
Cake or cupcakes?
Cupcakes
If you could meet a celebrity (living or dead) who would it be and why?
Dave Chappelle, He just seems like a real fun guy.
Motorcycle or bicycle?
Bike
Favorite thing to do in the summer?
Go camping
Favorite way to beat the winter blues?
Play video games
One thing that would shock us about you:
I can lick my own elbow.
The cavemen told stories through paintings. Ancient tribes relied on song and dance. Our parents used printed text and scripted television. But what is the next generation going to use to share stories?
Educators and history buffs are starting to jump on the social media bandwagon to connect a younger audience with the past. They are using social media to share stories about people and events in history.
Facebook
Donnelyn Curtis is the director of Special Collections at the University of Nevada. Curtis saw a problem in the fact that young people were not accessing the library’s historical texts and she set out to fix it. Gathering information from the University’s libraries, she developed Facebook profiles for alumni Joe McDonald and Leola Lewis-who in real life went on to marry each other after graduation. She began to create lives for the two that were interesting and historically accurate-posting about finals Joe and Leola had, uploading photos from the school and filling in hobbies and interests.
The profiles have been removed (likely because they violated Facebook ‘s registration protocols) but not before introducing the story of Joe and Leola to thousands of “friends.”
Twitter
Last August, former history student Alwyn Collinson created the Twitter account @RealTimeWWII. Since then, he has been posting news events from the war in real-time. Followers receive “breaking news” as it happened 72 years ago to the day. Strung together, the tweets form a story that people want to read and, at 140 characters or less, that they find easy to read.
Collinson plans to continue the account through spring (spoiler alert: the invasion of France) and hopes to continue for the next six years to cover the entire war.
Google Doodles
A Google Doodle is one of the best ways to get people interested in an organization, an important figure or an historical event. When a person clicks on the Doodle, they are redirected to a related web search, which often leads them to more informative articles on the subject. For the top results, the increased traffic is incredible. When Google celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day last year, the Wikipedia page for King saw 2,800 visitors in one day. This is compared to the average 6,000 visitors it usually receives in an entire month. See More Google Doodles.
Modern Day Storytelling
It is becoming increasingly easy to share stories from the past and the same can be said about sharing stories from the present. Through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and personal blogs, our every thought can be documented and shared with ease. There are a few key differences between social media and the old way of documenting thoughts or stories on paper.
Sharing
For most people, their written word is only ever seen by a handful of people. If a piece isn’t mass-produced it’s only visible to people within a few feet of it. With computers and smart phones, we can now share with anyone across the globe at anytime.
Ease
Printing and distributing takes time and resources and so unless the content is of value, it doesn’t get shared on paper. Now, with social media, thousands of people can learn about your most mundane thoughts or news instantly through posts, tweets and vlogs.
Permanence
Paper gets lost and destroyed. For every document we have from history, there are hundreds more that are gone. But we know that, whether good or bad, nothing dies on the internet.
The sharing capabilities, ease and permanence of modern day storytelling has made us obsessed with documenting our lives. It may also be making us a little narcissistic. We are focused on us, right now in this instant. It’s important to remember that we can also utilize these tools to share lessons and stories from the past. We need to embrace new technology as a way to push these lessons and stories into our current lives.
