August 19, 2011 at 5:05 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Welcome! First time here? Get started with my Welcome Post. Thanks for visiting!
Several months ago I started thinking about what kind of session I wanted to submit to Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits, and this idea started to develop about providing nonprofits with bite-sized tweaks, or fixes, they could make on their website that are tangible, measurable and proven to be successful.
I started with the idea that I bet I could easily list 50 things nonprofit websites could do better, and then decided I wanted to ensure that each tweak could be completed in under an hour. Then I realized, that’s about 50 hours time… OR, 52 weeks… a year. 1 year to a better nonprofit website by devoting 1 hour a week? That would be amazing. And that is how 52 Tweaks in 52 Weeks was born.
I’ve since teamed up with my awesome colleague, Jono Young, who I think compliments my functional strategy experience with his design strategy experience, and we’ve submitted to a few more conferences, including SXSW (South by SouthWest) Interactive. The way SXSW works is that thousands of sessions are proposed (nearly 4,000, actually) and then user (YOU!) get to VOTE and COMMENT on sessions you like. The public’s voting accounts for about 30% the overall determination on which sessions are chosen (only 500 total will be) for SXSW Interactive in March 2012.
SO, Check out our session and, if you’re so inclined, we would greatly appreciate your feedback and VOTE! (Voting does require registration, which is free and takes 2 mins).
Vote today for Better Nonprofit Websites – 52 Tweaks In 52 Weeks
August 2, 2011 at 8:31 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I travel for a living. Well, my “living” calls for air travel. I fly at least twice a month and I am constantly dumbfounded by people at airports. Although these 5 simple things you can do to make traveling easier for all of us might seem like common sense, a good majority of people I see in airports prove this thought wrong on a daily basis.
We all hate airport security and we all feel as if the airlines are screwing us over… but maybe if we pass this information on, and maybe with a little luck, we can educate people on how to travel and make airline tolerable.
1) Be Prepared to Travel
Both for the airport and security. Check-in online and print your boarding pass out at home. If you can’t, use your bank or credit card to check-in at the electronic ticket machines and save the lines for people who need assistance re-booking. NOTE: You do NOT need a credit card to use these machines, any bank card or even your passport will work, you can still check luggage AND they’re faster than waiting in line for an hour.
2) Be Prepared for Security
Put your electronics, belts, watches away BEFORE you get to the TSA Agent. You should have nothing but your clothes, ID and ticket on you. Do this while you’re standing in line, or better yet, before you even get to the airport. If you have a laptop, make sure it’s in a spot you can easily remove and replace. The FSA does NOT require that iPads are removed from bags, however be sure other electronics aren’t laid on top of them, otherwise they’ll require extra screening. As for liquids, yeah, sure… put them in a zip lock. 3oz folks, no exceptions. Don’t want to pay overpriced water prices? Take an empty water bottle and refill once through security.
3) Understand Boarding Procedures
Although there are some variations (mainly shuttles and Southwest), flight boarding generally starts with “those needing extra time” (children, elderly, disabled), then First Class, and then boarding by Zones, starting with Zone 1, then Zone 2, etc. Don’t stand in front of the gate waiting for your zone to be called. You’re in everyone’s way and your only delaying the entire flight–both you and me. Want to be first on? Get up and ready when they call the zone, or group, before yours.
4) Turn Off Your Freakin’ Electronics
Sure, none of us trust that our cell phone or ipod is going to bring down a plane, but it doesn’t matter… those are the rules and there actually are reasons for these rules. Turn off your phone, turn off all electronics and listen to the flight attendants to say when you can use what. And for those of you trying to make 1 last call or “might need to be reached in an emergency,” … YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT! Even if you found out something horrible happened on the ground, what are you going to do… tell the pilot you need to land?
5) Step Away From The Baggage Carousel
Stand 3 feet back from the baggage carousel when waiting for luggage. This allows everyone to see what’s coming and provides plenty of room to step forward as yours gets close to your location and retrieve without taking out a neighbor. If you have a baggage cart, leave it behind you and away from the carousel.
I could go on and on, such as don’t bring strong smelling foods onto the plane, wear deodorant, and don’t let you child kick the seat in front of you or even pound the tray, we can feel it. But these 5 should serve as a starting point, a common sense traveler’s litmus test, if you will. What tips do you have for your fellow travelers?
July 8, 2011 at 6:08 am · Filed under Uncategorized
If you’re living under a rock (or just not a web geek like me), then you may not have heard about Google+, Google’s new foray into the social network game. If you’re already on, check me out and let’s connect, I can be found at gplus.to/christuttle. If you’re not yet on, it’s a pretty cool site with some new “grouping” functionality that allows for much better data sharing security than Facebook.
Ensure you have a Google Profile setup and a working Gmail address, and you’ll be on soon enough, as Google rolls out invites and access.
