writing

Good Friday everyone! I’ve been busy writing and making things and writing, and I also have a backlog of ideas to write about…

But I just wanted to mention something for the folks out there who enjoy reading my writing (both of you!) and let you know that you can also read my writing elsewhere.

VerveCast

I post over on the VerveCast blog, which is published by Z2 Marketing. I usually post about once a week. You can certainly just see my posts, but I’d encourage you to check out the other authors as well. We’re a branding firm, but I often delve off into subjects like 3D printers, desktop manufacturing(?), experts, and weird photos.

Since those guys (and girls!) at the Milwaukee Makerspace were kind enough to let me join and hang out there, I’ve also started blogging over there. I often post about my own weird projects, but I also try to post about interesting topics, demos we do, or just a typical night of hacking and making.

And if all that isn’t enough (and it should be!) you can occasionally see mysterious images over on Posterous, or see the strange things I post on Google+.

Web414: Creativity Challenges

Creativity Challenges

For the Web414 March 2009 Meeting we’ll be discussing Creativity Challenges on the web.

Have you taken part in National Novel Writing Month, or the RPM Challenge (record an entire album in a month) or maybe taken a photo every single day for a year for the 365 Days Project?

These are challenges (not contests) and there isn’t a winner or a loser (unless you beat yourself up about not finishing) but if all goes well, attempting to “meet the challenge” will force you to be creative when it’s so easy not to be. It’s too simple to come home from work, plop down on the couch and consume the latest piece of “entertainment” that someone else created, but if you like writing, making music, or photography, why not step it up and see what you can really do by giving yourself a challenge to be met?

It can be difficult… most of the people I know involved in these challenges have day jobs, friends and family, and other responsibilities. And often, things just “get in the way” or go haywire and you just can’t do it. Equipment breaks, computers crash, files get lost. I saw a post in the RPM Challenge forums from a guy who said he couldn’t finish due to the fact that he had to get divorced. Life can get in the way of things, and that’s all part of the challenge.

If everything goes right, you complete the challenge, you’re proud of what you’ve created, and hopefully you’ve learned something in the process, had some fun, and make plans to continue creating things and being creative.

If discussing this further sounds interesting, please stop by Bucketworks Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 7pm and join in…