Running the Business

Notice to PR Agencies

I just sent the below e-mail in response to a “HairMax LaserComb” laser hair therapy press release delivered to me an hour ago as part of an e-mail blast. The press release was from Andrea Samacicia, Account Executive, at KMR Communications, a New York-based public relations firm.

My message is fair notice to all PR firms about how little patience I have left for those who send releases without bothering to read the “Beats” line Bacon’s lists above editors’ e-mail addresses.

Ms. Samacicia,

Before sending releases to me, my editors, or my publications…

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I Love Busy Days

Deadlines. Writing. Designing. Editing a letter for my girlfriend. Web design and coding (4 sites simultaneously). Scheduling a speaking engagement for November. Negotiating my fee for same. Writing questions for a software certification exam. Trying to learn the ins-and-outs of RSS feed parsing. And, in my spare time, turning myself into a manga character (here I am ; make yourself one, too).

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Quark Vs InDesign Under Its Own Domain

As part of a multi-phase restructuring of this site–not to mention moving to a hosting company that actually works–the Quark VS InDesign category of I Am Pariah.com has moved to its own domain name: Quark VS InDesign.com

Now The Authority for News & Opinion on the War of the Desktop Publishing Giants has a look to match its stature.

Watch for Quark VS InDesign grand re-opening in January, and for the grand re-opening of I Am Pariah.com later in January.

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I Wept Teaching A Class Today

Today was my last day working in Colorado Springs. I fly out early tomorrow morning.

Because I am so passionate about InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., about the graphics industry, and about sharing my enthusiasm for these things with others through teaching classes, I often bond with my students. On many occassions students treat me to lunch or go out to dinner with me after class. I’ve made quite a lot of friends from this work. Leaving, as I must inevitably do, is often somewhat saddening for me.

Still, never have I shed a tear for, much less during, a class. Today I couldn’…

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Fear Grips Blogs: Copyright Infringement

I think this issue is being taken a little too seriously and literally–especially by the commentors on Calacanis’s original post–because of one article, which was written in early 2002 if you read the fine print at the bottom (or read the URL). Were copyright infringement on blogs really such a hot issue, we would have heard about it left and right the last two years. As Jason Calacanis proved with that one post, were any blogs to have been sued in the last two years for a dispute over Fair Use of an image in a blog, the news would have spread across the blogosphere like wildfire. A…

Posted in Blogging, Running the Business | 7 Comments »

Winner! Free Blog Makeover Contest

After reading and re-reading, after much thought and the input of Strawberry Blonde, I have picked a winner in the Free Blog Makeover Contest. Before I announce the winner I want to state that there were many, many excellent entries. Choosing the winner was not easy. Still, I had to choose but one entry to win the blog re/design.

And the winner is…

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Free Blog Makover Contest – 24 Hours Left!

Only 24 hours lef to enter the Free Blog Makeover Contest! I’ve gotten some great submissions. It will be a tough decision. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t still enter!

Get your essays to me before the stroke of Midnight Pacific Time (3 AM Eastern Time) tomorrow!

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1 Week Left For A Free Blog Makeover

Only one week left to enter the Free Blog Makeover Contest! All essays must be submitted no later than midnight Pacific Time Saturday, 28 February 2004.

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Family As Clients, A Bad Idea

Recently a family member asked for help with a design project. I agreed, but it brought back to mind the last time I worked for family. I’ll share it.

A few years ago my uncle was running for Senator of an East Coast state. My aunt, nephew, grandmother, and a few other uncles were helping with the campaign. My aunt, whom I respect a great deal, asked for my help. She hired me to produce the candidate’s platform brochure and help build his brand identity. Four of my family members were working in the candidate’s campaign office. My family believed in my uncle, but didn’t beli…

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Today Started A New Gig

Today I started a new consulting gig training in Quark. It’s a lot of fun. It’s also profitable, but the fun is the main draw for me. The gig should last about two weeks.

For more on Quark, see these very active discussions on my blog: Quark vs. InDesign

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How Spam Can Happen

This is how a single lapse in e-mail address dilligence two years ago can result in an ongoing flood of hundreds of spam messages per week.

As you know my system was down for a couple of weeks while I moved. This morning “go through my e-mail” was at the top of my To Do list. Of course, going through 785 messages (not including this week’s) would take time. And, of course, the majority of it was spam. Hence I decided that today would my (usually only one) day this month when I would crawl through the spam building and updating filters.

I had been at it a little over two hours already when…

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PDF Unfit for Human Consumption

supergee: PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption

Just like with page layout, HTML, graphics, and everything else, the right tool in the wrong hands produces bad results. PDFs are designed to work in print, yes, but they are also designed to work in digital form if you take the time to understand them.

PDFs are XML structured (if the human who creates them creates them correctly); PDFs will reflow to fit any display–graphical browser, text browser, PDA, cel phone, WebTV, et al–with less work than HTML generally requires to achieve the same results (if the human who creates them creates t…

Posted in Creative Pro, Running the Business | 6 Comments »

Meet Me: How Conference

2003 HOW Design Conference – June 5-8

Anyone else going? If so, let’s meet up.

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