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Followers, Following, Tweets – It’s Not Always A Numbers Game

When it comes to Twitter, many users are so focused on either how many people they’re following, or how many people are following them or how many tweets they have. We live in a world of numbers and it can be difficult to separate yourself from trying to get the larger number. Perhaps the number isn’t what’s important, it’s how that number is relative to your account.

Followers:
We have a desire to be popular. We want more people to listen and care about what we are saying. A higher follower count will make it seem that you have a lot of followers, but are they really following what you have to say? Are they robots/spambots? This is not to say that you don’t ideally want a high number of followers. What I am saying is you have to know WHY you want more followers. What do you want out of Twitter? The number isn’t everything to all users when they look at your profile. It may feel like you are popular, but do you actually communicate with all those followers, or are they just a number.

Following:
One client of mine wanted a strong follower/following ratio on their Twitter page. They wanted more followers than who they are following. I can see the reasoning, but in the end, who cares. You will want to follow those who provide the best content and the most engaging relationships. If that is more than who are following you, so be it. Social media is about the sharing of information and the formulation of relationships. You’re sharing information with your followers, why not share the information from them as well? This will help your account build relationships.

Tweets:
Yes, some accounts have five digit numbers of tweets, some only have three digit counts. Quantity is important in tweeting, however nowhere near as important as quality of the tweets. Think of it this way, would you enjoy following someone who tweets about every mundane thing in their life, every minute? Usually you don’t. However, those who tweet valuable information and insight are the ones you can’t take your eye off of. Basically, it’s great to have a high number of tweets, but make them count.

In social media, numbers are valuable, but they’re not the whole story. You need to have the content, value and relationships along with those numbers to build a strong social media presence.

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The Wallpaper Initiative

I came across a website with a slew of wallpapers for iPhones today. There were so many great designs including music, movies, and general graphics. As I was looking through all of these, I had a strong desire to make one. In fact, I want to design a whole bunch of wallpapers for the iPhone. And why stop there? Why not make wallpapers for desktop machines too? Maybe the iPad as well.

So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to start to design wallpapers for devices. Use my design talent and make some killer papers. I think I will first make wallpapers for ebreakdown, then branch out and create some papers for Son of Erik, wallpapers for music, wallpapers for art and the list goes on.

I’ll be sure to post links to the wallpapers as soon as I design them.

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Type: Put the Sans back into Comic Sans

Yes, I hate Comic Sans. Most serious graphic designers do. The reason I brought this topic up, is I just ran across a friend’s website that used Comic Sans on every page and yes, I think I did just threw up a bit in my mouth.

I have nothing against decorative typefaces, however I do have something against typefaces that are made specifically to “make people happy” or when they use it or to have “something different” — when that is the only reason for the birth of the ugly. How about this, try out Garamond? Or, try Helvetica instead of Arial as a face? I know, for something fun and light hearted, let’s try out Cooper Black. Yeah, yeah, I said Cooper Black. At least Cooper Black was created with some forethought by a master type designer.

I really think the entity to blame for the pandemic of Comic Sans is Microsoft. Had they not lumped this bogus face into the heap of five and dime typefaces in their crash-prone programs, the world would have been saved from the likes of Comic Sans and Arial.

Yes, I’m very passionate about this. I have lived in a Comic Sans infested world for years. Perhaps it is time for the Comic Sans Emancipation Proclamation. Who wants to help me write it? I will not stand any longer to see Comic Sans be used in place of, well, anything else. I want to be free!

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OpEd: What Makes a Good Designer?

I’ve been putting a lot of thought into this lately. Perused the design blogs, the design portfolios online looking for the answer to the question, what makes a good designer. What makes a great designer? I have come to the conclusion that the majority of designers are good, few are great. I’m not saying that I’m a great designer, or you need to be a great designer to see who isn’t. It’s merely the social order of things. Everyone can’t be great, if they all are great, then there is nothing bad; we have no way to judge good design from bad. Good design, not great. Yes, most designers are “good.” Every once in a while do designers make great designs, but for the most part, they are just good, average, adept. This by no means is not a bad thing, these are the designers that help make the world go round. The cooks in the kitchen if you will. It is also important to realize that probably 25% of designers are not good, 74% of designers are good and 1% of designers are great. I have noticed there are ways to judge this, judging through aptitude, passion, integration and evolutionary insight. Let me explain…

Aptitude
Strictly speaking, this level of critique is based solely upon education of whatever sort in the field of design. Gestalt, color theory, history, form and function. This proves to be the foundation of design and the designer. Lack of knowledge in this department is noticed quite readily in the designs. Red serif type on Black provides an immediate conclusion. Granted, some argue that design is visceral. It can be, yes. But, only after a designer has learned the basics of design, can the designer be adept at designing intuitively. Most designers have this already under their belt and from a foundation standpoint, helps make them a good designer.

Passion
Design is an art. Art requires passion. If a designer doesn’t have passion for their work, or at least passion for the ideal of design, then they’re in trouble. Enough said on that.

Integration
To judge a design and thusly the designer, an integration of aptitude, passion and solution of design must be presented. Taking the knowledge of design, applying it to the job or project with a passion is how we work. This is where most designers are in the world. If the designer can integrate everything they have and know into their designs and overall thought process while maintaing a passion for what they do, most likely you will find good design coming out of it.

Evolutionary Insight
This is the the precipice of designers. These designers incorporate Aptitude, Passion, Integration along with something else. That spark. That whole understanding of how things work now and how they will work a year from now. They are the trend makers and the elite. These designers are the ones that set the standard for the good designers. Example: The web2.0 look or the reflection look, each were most likely thought of by one designer. One. Now, it is such a trend that everyone is doing it. Most likely they have moved onto something else that we as good designers will see in a year. These designers have that insight into the evolution and trends. They know what will work. They are the top 1% of designers in the world.

It is important to understand that my intention is not to insult the average designer, nor interrupt their dreams. It’s the whole notion that we all can be president. In truth, we all can’t be. There are limitations in life. We can strive to become that top 1%, but it takes time, talent, passion and drive. Not all of us can be the pacesetters. There is NOTHING wrong with being good. In fact, there is everything right about being good. Good designers are hard to come by. Also, like I mentioned before, good designers are those who make the world work. I would love to be great. I strive for it. I know my place too, I’m a good designer.

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Son of Erik Mixtape Release: Innocent Idealism

This mix is all about music that I listened to when I was younger. Music that is aligned with the feeling of idealism from back in the day when I still had my innocence. There are a few contemporary tracks in this mixtape as well that help reinforce that nostalgic feeling. I’m sure you may not get the same feeling, however, this is more of a personal look back at a time long-lost.

I have provided a link for you (at the bottom of this post) to download the mixtape. (If you would like it split into tracks, let me know, and I’ll provide.)

The track-listing is as follows:

If Everybody Looked The Same – Groove Armada
DARE – Gorillaz
Do Your Thing – Basement Jaxx
Audacity Of Huge – Simian Mobile Disco
The Creeps – Camille Jones vs Fedde Le Grande
Let Forever Be – The Chemical Brothers
So Many Times – Gadjo
Poppiholla – Chicane
Right Here Right Now (Redanka Mix) – Fatboy Slim
No Air (Jason Nevins Remix) – Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
Love Island – Fatboy Slim
Tao of the Machine – BT & The Roots
Dealing With The Roster – Junkie XL
Never Gonna Come Back Down – BT
Stop The Rock – Apollo 440

Download Innocent Idealism Here

These mixes are not intended for sale or reproduction. Son of Erik does not and will not receive any proceeds from the production of these mixes. Please respect the copyright of the original artists that have been listed.

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Your Work Hit Home

He wrote on of the most inspiring books of our time and my life. He was a reclusive man, a man passionate about his work. He had his oddball tendencies, but then again who doesn’t? He will be missed by many, including myself.

“It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.” — J.D. Salinger

J.D Salinger – 1919-2010

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The Evolution of Son of Erik: Album in the Works

From the last post, you may have read that in order to apply an audio track to my video, I needed to create it first. It was no big deal at all. However, once I started producing that track, I wanted to produce more!

As a result, I’m going to produce some original, custom Son of Erik tracks for an album. Now, Son of Erik, over the last year, was primarily a DJ/Mixtape sort of adventure. I would produce an hour long mix utilizing existing tracks, try and splice them together creatively and pass them along to my friends. I had no intention to mix live sets or make profit on it, it was merely a hobby. But, I want more.

I believe that Son of Erik can evolve. It can be mixtape production as well as producing tracks that are original to the Son of Erik name. Moreover, I can then utilize those tracks into the mixtapes themselves while making an album. I have to say I’m very excited.

So, what’s next? Well, I’m planning on producing an album in 6 months or less featuring only Son of Erik tracks. I know that’s far away, but I need to get a grasp on some things technical: scales, time-management, and overall flow of the track. My plan is to work on this album as much as I can while producing the mixtapes on the side. And of course, I’ll keep you all updated on the progress. (Maybe give you all a preview of a few tracks too!)

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Video: Abstract Ambience

For a long while now I’ve been wanting to try my hand at creating some video works. I have been producing some mixes under the Son of Erik name for the last year or so. But, video has often intrigued me, as a result, I’ve created my first video. (Well, first since High School.)

The video is entitled “Abstract Ambience.” Yes, it’s a pretty basic video with nothing really going on. It’s simply a candle burning with no over or undertones. I’ve always been entranced by flickering flames. They’re so lovely to stare at and get lost in. The video was shot using my Canon SD750 Powershot camera. I used this camera simply because I don’t have another. I edited the whole piece using Apple’s iMovie.

I had originally wanted to use Ulrich Schanuss’ “Gone Forever” track for accompanied audio track, but the upload was denied on YouTube for copyright reasons. Yes, I do know you can’t do that, I simply forgot. As a result, I needed a new track that was free of copyright. I decided to use my skill set in audio production to create a custom track that would reflect the overall feeling that I was trying to convey. So now, Son of Erik also makes background music for videos.

It was a great evening of creativity tonight. Shooting and editing my first video and producing the accompanied audio track for it too. I can’t wait to make more videos, develop new ideas, create new tracks and post them all for you to watch.

So, take a look. Let me know what you think. I can take the criticism, however, please keep in mind, this is my first attempt and I plan on getting a lot better as I delve into this new creative experiment. Enjoy!

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A Chicago Experience

My recent trip to Chicago proved to be a lot of fun despite the disappointment I encountered on Thursday. One of the purposes of me extending my stay, was to figure out how I would interact with the city that I love.

Day-to-day, I started to feel immensely comfortable. Not just because of the amazing generosity of my friends James and Laurie for setting me up for a few days, but because I started to find a rhythm in a city where you can’t afford to not have one. I even started having a feeling that I lived here, a few blocks away from my friends. Weird. Public transportation is key in moving around Chicago. I was able to travel, with ease, around town. I didn’t really explore a lot of the town, but I’m starting to get perspective. I’m starting to understand my sense of direction and starting to get a feeling of security on top of that serenity.

Cell services are a bit lacking though. Not to say that I don’t have a signal here, it’s just a bit less reliable. I’m assuming that is due to the number of people on my network. I’m not thinking it’s going to be a major issue.

I was telling friends that the cost of living is just a bit above that of Milwaukee with rent and transit. However, things are more expensive as illustrated by me wanting to buy sponges for painting with Laurie. They were retailing for $3 each at Walgreens. That’s sort of expensive for something I’m just going to throw away. Something to think about I guess.

Overall, I found it very welcoming. Overall people here respond to kindness and gestures of friendliness. But, you have to pull it out of them or initiate it first. I don’t think that will be a problem either. Chicago is a great town and filled with life.

I want to give a shout out and a hearty “thank you” to James and Laurie for being so generous in welcoming me to stay at their pads. (I need to find a time to come down when the weather isn’t so crappy.)

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Artwork: Discovering the Past

So, yes I have neglected this blog a bit in the last few days. Sorry, it wasn’t my intention at all. Been sort of busy lately.

One thing that I have been doing, is transferring all my Zip discs to my MacBook. I thought there would be a lot more information on them, but it turns out, all the information on the 15 Zips totals 600MB. Laughable today, but by the standards of yesteryear (yes, I said yesteryear) it was a ton of information.

Needless to say, it was a walk down memory lane. I saw projects from early on in college, typography experiments, party invitations and various other assignments. But, the gold medal find was my work from high school. There is a lot of junk in there, but I think some of the work shows progress. Or at least, a desire to learn more about the graphic arts. I guess, early on, I knew where I wanted my life to go…

Let me know what you think. (Keep in mind, these are from 1999 when I was only 18.)