Talklaunch - Blow Up Your On-Line Presence

Introduction by Jennifer Levine 
Ashley Johnson is sweet. I abhor the adjective “nice,” feeling like it’s a descriptor for a person lacking any other quality. But, Ashley Johnson is sweet. Her casual manner and cheery disposition immediately inspire friendship. Her passion just plain inspires. She is one of those rare gems that manifests ideas and visions, giving people (especially artists) something to believe in. As a graphic designer trying to carve a career trek, Ashley saw something missing and endeavored to solve the problem. How can I, as an artist, utilize the Internet to find projects and work… how can I help other artists/artisans with the same goal? Galaxyquotes.com was born. Her company is a platform meant to cultivate artists’ careers and develop creative projects in the mainstream marketplace. Be it a mural on the side of a building, a logo for a letterhead, the perfectly tailored wedding dress, live music or an intricately designed necklace with your favorite stones… Galaxy Quotes is the place to shop. Then, for artists looking for exposure or financing for their visions, they can post portfolios and projects just a click away from consumers. What makes this site different than other artist portfolio / project services out there? The conception and implementation of the business was by artists, for artists. The key demographic is professional. Her service is cutting edge, offering a new platform for creatives to explore that they wouldn’t necessarily have access to through other social networking. In Talk Launch’s “One of Us” series, she deftly fits into their call to arms: The artists, entrepreneurs and digital gunslingers of our creative culture.  Without further ado, here’s the gal behind the galaxy, Ms. Ashley Johnson:

I am Ashley Johnson.  I was born in good ol’ Denver.
I am a creative director / idea designer.  I grew up in Colorado, Pennsylvania, California, and New Zealand.  I wish I could sing.
I have a Masters in Political Philosophy.  I think people are inherently compassionate and selfish at the same time.  I’m just so sick of politics.
I get inspired by art and movies.  I have a little black kitty orphan named Magic Johnson.  I like my spontaneity and general willingness.

Nickname: Ash.

Vice: Cheese.
Diet: Organics.
I’d like to live in Europe.

I fight the temptation to get depressed.  I envy Jacques Cousteau.
I spend most of my time creating and designing.
Dream Job:  Creating an expectational movie while travelling the world.
Fictional Hero: Bugs bunny (not sure why)?
Real Life Hero: Stanley Kubrick and Marco Polo
Great achievements: Directing a movie, websites, and iphones.

My greatest anxiety is not getting anywhere.
One thing the Internet really needs is an environmental reader.  Would using black screens on google be better for the environment?
If I could switch places with one person for a day, it’d be an astronaut.
My favorite spot in the world is a lush forest next to the ocean.
I’m excited by seeing lots of creative portfolios on my website GalaxyQuotes.com
My favorite song: Bob Marley, One Love.  It just makes me happy!

My greatest fear is humans in general destroying our planet.
If I could do anything I’d go to space.
My secret hobby is buying domain names…er yeah…juicyfarts.com?
Work is my life. My ideas are most valued to me.
I connect online: Galaxy Quotes!
Favorite Book:  Even Cowgirls get the Blues
Favorite Song: Bob Marley, One Love.  It just makes me happy!

Gardening is the best way to relax.

You can find me here:
GalaxyQuotes.com
Elfpig.com
Shapingart.com

TECHREALITY: at the intersection of life and all the things your grandmother can’t figure out. 

• Guest post by: @ChicagoRose

There’s something special about introducing one of those “I’ll just stick to Facebook” types to the magical world of Twitter. In college, reading tweets was the first thing I did each morning after clearing my eye boogies and, really, I shouldn’t have added that “In college” ‘cause it’s still kinda how I roll. But this is acceptable behavior for someone like me who is looking to create something for herself here on the interwebs. I’m a social media enthusiast of sorts, having profiles on more networks than I’m willing to upload a photo for. Things get interesting (do they?) when I tell you I’m dating someone with 8 followers. For the Twittilliterate (you like how I did that, don’t you?), “followers” are the people who agree to have all the bullshit you deem important, or tweetable, in their timelines. I’m NOT explaining a Timeline. It’s like, a Newsfeed, okay?

We all know the downside to bringing forth new converts are all the annoying questions whose answers sound just as silly as the uncertainty that inspires them. I”m getting better with time, though. I’ve adjusted my response to the imminent “What am I suppose to say?” from “Just tell people what you’re doing” to ” Share something you find interesting or quote rap lyrics like you do in real life…all day long!” Better, right? To some, this typey-typey-textey-textey, 2011 stuff is a hard sell and I’m slowly but surely bringing Mr. 8 over to the dark side. Two things he still doesn’t get: retweeting and “those number signs”. The retweeting confusion was an easy fix after switching his iPhone app from the auto retweeting feature to retweet with comment, but #hastags? Oy vey! 

• Do I even understand #hashtags? 

Duh! #Hashtags are by far my favorite feature on Twitter. The first step to understanding #hashtags (you’re wondering how long I can keep up the #hashtagging of the word #hashtag, aren’t you? All day, buddy. All day.) and making them more of a mainstay in your tweets is knowing that they can serve a different purpose for each tweeter and for each tweet. But explaining #hashtags to a newbie is almost always a failed mission so, you’re often forced to provide the textbook answer and keep the tutorial chuggin’. 

#Hashtags are awesome during big events like the Grammy’s or, if you’re me and a lot of my friends, 90’s cartoons being re-run on Nickelodeon (#90sNick) as well as meet-ups or conferences like #Techweek, taking place in Chicago now. It gives people the opportunity to see what others who enjoy the same thing (watching the #2011Grammys or attending #Techweek) are thinking or doing and blah blah blah by simply clicking the link created by the #hashtag. (THEE Twitter Textbook, 2006)

• People who already understand Twitter are really annoyed with me right now. Suck it. 

My preferred use of the #hashtag is as the do-do-do-CHING! at the end of a funny tweet. If followers didn’t already get it, the #hashtag brings the joke on home. For example, I follow comedian, Jordan Rubin (@jordanrubin), who tweeted the other day: “Lord, please let the actor who played the bad guy in Karate Kid title his autobiography “Sweep the Leg”.” Funny as is, sure, but what could adding a #waxonwaxoff hurt (or, a less famous personal favorite #gethimabodybag)? Just me? Could be the reason I don’t have my own show on Comedy Central but a risk I’m willing to take. 

I just have a thing for music and movie references. Specifically, rap lyrics and lesser known movie quotes. Suppose I thought to tweet about a struggle like trying to take my shoes off without unlacing them (in between tweets about current events and aiding starving children, of course), I may add at the end #thefibersarefusedtothehead—a line Danny Devito screams during a scene in Matilda where he realizes his hat has been super glued to his head. 

• You’re wondering why you don’t follow me, right? It’s never too late. 

I also like the use of music, movies and art #hashtags as a means to make Twitter conversations more…conversational? There are times when dozens of people in my timeline retweet the same exact thing, which can cause feelings of “Ok, so…?”. Give me something to work with, people! For example, many of my friends retweeted @CNNMoney yesterday who revealed that “The average black household wealth was $5,677 in 2009; for Hispanic families it was $6, 325; white households had $113,149.” I chose not to repost the information, but if I had, best believe it’d be followed by a #whowillsurviveinamerica. This way, my followers understand that I’m up for discussing the economy (I’m not, really) and Gil Scott-Heron and having a lively debate about how Kanye West’s Dark Fantasy is next-level shit. 

So, what do you use #hashtags for? And quick! Give me your best #hashtag tutorial in four sentences or less. I promise the smartest first step is explaining that the actual pound symbol means nearly nothing in and of itself. I’m giving you tools for life here. No need to thank me. 

• Oh, but follow me: @ChicagoRose. 

One of my favorite #hashtags currently: #firstworldproblems. Here are a few random examples from across cyberspace. 

@ahenspants: I hate it when my muffin is as cold as the air outside the car. #firstworldproblems

@n00neimp0rtant: the “good denny’s” is too far away so [my] family goes to [the] “bad denny’s” #firstworldproblems

@lewconway: I want to drink orange juice but i just brushed my teeth :( #firstworldproblems

Guest post by: @jason_

Not long ago critics were giving Google fits about the social media flops of Google Buzz and Google Wave. I purchased my first desktop in February of 2002 and ever since I’ve been been a Google user. I remember grabbing a Gmail invite off ebay back in July of 2004 and I was hooked. When Google Wave launched September 2009 I received an invite and the next I know I got everyone I work signed up on it. We used Wave as an internal collaborative tool for new server launches and upgrades so we were all bummed to see Google say good-bye to Wave. When Google Buzz launched in February of last year I thought that Google had overcome their social media jinx and were on their way. I was totally wrong especially when things fell apart so early for Google when the privacy issue arose and people abandoned ship immediately.

Fast forward to July 2011 and Google + is the craze for many on the web. I’ve watched the news feeds as the total number of users climbed to 20 million.  After the news of the number of Google + users reaching 18 million a report came back saying the traffic measured last week was only 1.5 million. Google had a huge advantage over Twitter and Facebook because they already had such a large database of Google account users already. The growth numbers are impressive to a point yet they don’t prove anything other than Google + is the new cool kid on the social media block.

I was never a fan of Facebook even though I have an account. I only signed up to be able to keep in contact with family in other states. When I first gained access to Google + I was pleased to see the clean not clutter user interface. Facebook is absolutely miserable with all the garbage they throw at you. I’ve probably blocked just about every non-essential part of Facebook. I know millions of people love to waste their day on Facebook but I never once logged in with the intention of playing Farmville. I’ve read where it leaked out that Google intends to insert some games into Google +. I really hope Google keeps it low key and doesn’t flood the user’s account and gives them the chance to block it all.  

Google + Circles are great because I enjoy being able to lump my contacts from both online and in the real world in their own little … well circles, lol. One example of my online contacts circled is I already followed Lee Williams of Hoptopia fame on Twitter so I linked up with him on Google +. The number of people ( Google + users of course ) I’ve been able to converse with about craft beer through Lee’s connection is amazing. I’ve been using Facebook for a few years and I’ve never once had that type of interaction with a specific group of users. My family circle on the other hand, which are all Facebook users have been quite slow to adapt to Google +. I honestly believe that majority of them have just started to figure the whole Facebook thing out and they aren’t particularly in a hurry to have to learn something else.

I recently experimented with the Google + Hangout with my friend and we had a great time using it. We both have Kindergarten age daughters and they particularly enjoyed using the Hangout function of Google +. Like everyone else I’ve used Skype plenty of times but I enjoyed that I could easily access Hangout right inside of Google + without having to go log into another program. I will admit the day I tested Hangout an update was apparently released that required a plug-in and it annoyed the heck out of me because it seemed no matter how many times I installed the plug-in that Hangout didn’t want to display my video on my Windows 7 (64bit) machine. I eventually had to fire up my Windows XP netbook and log into Hangout. I learned that Google has since resolved the issue because I tested Hangout tonight and it worked just fine. I recently read about where someone has a Google + Hangout marathon going on and there’s no idea how long they intend to keep it running for. I intend to keep up on their progress and keep tabs on them via their Livestream feed.

So far I’ve enjoyed Google + Photos and how I can click on photos from my circles, photos from my phone, photos of me, and my albums. The recent release of Facebook’s facial recognition software seemed to creep a lot of users out. Google + Photos is easy to use and does essentially the same things Facebook’s Photos does but I like the way it manages them much better. Like Facebook, you can tag people in your photos and manipulate your photos how you want to. I have a friend who informed me this past Friday that he was able to purge every photo/album he’s ever posted on Facebook and put them all on his Google + account. I’ve not yet learned this trick but I intend to check it out very soon.

Google + users all have a messy long profile url so I discovered Google + Nick (they’re not associated with Google) to resolve this little issue. The site manages to chop your Google + profile down from https://plus.google.com/u/0/108503230261783742377/posts to http://gplus.to/jasonr so it’s a lot easier to share.

Google is receiving a fair amount of criticism over their account deletions of corporate accounts. This is due to Google wanting all user based accounts to display your real name and not your internet handle. Complaints are being reported around the web. Google is working quickly to roll out the corporate accounts and Ford Motor Company appeared as a test account recently.

Only time will tell whether the Google + user base will totally abandon Facebook for good or use both platforms. If I can convince at least 90% of my contacts to join and use Google + I would delete my Facebook account. Given the amount of products Google already has I can easily see the continued growth of Google + to skyrocket so Facebook should something way more than Skype integration to entice their user base to stay around. I see a battle of the giants shaping up between Facebook vs. Google + and it will only benefit the end users after it’s all said and done.

* Disclaimer - I didn’t receive any compensation to endorse Google or Google +  I only wanted to give my insight and honest opinion.*Copyright © 2011 @jason_

Duncan Trussell had a great story on the Joe Rogan Experience yesterday.  

He had been depressed and went on a 10 day camping trip. 

He noted: In the woods there are no mirrors.

• During the course of your day you glance at the mirror to make sure you look good; to see how you are doing.

When you have no mirror, the people around you take it’s place.

• You look to these people to know how you are doing.
• Their expressions reflect how you look. 

In the woods, in the company of friends, all you see are smiles.

There is a reciprocity here that is beautiful.

I found this quote by Rudolf Steiner that fits:

“A healthy social life is found only when in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.”

I’m heading to the woods in a week and I’ll take Duncan’s story with me.

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I’m gearing up for another round of the ‘One of Us’ series.  

I am inspired by good folks working with excellence.  

I work to reflect that.  

Estes

Talklaunch creates and manages social media.

We want contributors and collaborators.

We don’t want ‘gurus’.

You are: a writer, a comic, a musician or an artist.

A creative person.

We want you.  

This is an opportunity to earn some cash doing what you do.

Call me, tweet me, text me, email me - whatever.  Let me know.

I’m taking the first few qualified peeps and running with them.

Peace,  Ryan Estes

720.663.7644 - @talklaunch - estes@talklaunch.net

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