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Celebrate the Art of Music on Record Store Day

by Ryan on April 17, 2009 at 11:50 AM

Growing up, I was always drawn to music. I still remember the first walkman I received. My walkman gave me the ability to take my music, the custom playlists I would spend hours putting together by recording my favorite songs from multiple cassette tapes, with me where ever I went. Music has always been a great escape for me. It’s funny that it took me until later in life to truly realize the impact music has played in my life.

Looking back on my teenage years, I had a great group of friends. Many of whom shared my love of music. Before we could drive, we’d have our parents drop us off at the mall or at the local indie record store. We’d spend hours just digging through tapes and records of our favorite bands. It was always a treat when we were able to go see a show at First Avenue. We’d get dropped off early and spend time rummaging through the records at a local indie record store. Yesterday, I was reminded of the joy that I had back then when I came across the Record Store Day website.

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A Great Tutorial Site for Learning Photoshop, Photography, Blogging, & More!

by Ryan on April 13, 2009 at 9:05 PM

I make it a habit of trying to read a new quote everyday. Actually, I post the quote I read to my Twitter account everyday (if you’re following me and this annoys you…I apologize). Basically what I do is to look up a quote on whatever topic I am thinking about at the moment. Lately, I’ve been thinking about continued education and the desire I have to continually push myself to learn new things. The other day, I read a quote from Henry Ford in which he stated “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.“ What a great, and very true, statement!

I am currently working on a Master’s degree and have found tons of value in it. However, I often wonder if the degree is really necessary or if I could focus my educational efforts in a more personal and customized format that would ultimately be a better fit based on my career aspirations. I do see the value in the work I am doing for my Master’s degree, however, I have also found tons of valuable learning resources online. Of the many benefits the Internet has given us, the one I think has been the most impactful on me is the amount of great learning resources out there!

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10 Great Website Design Gallery Showcases

by Ryan on April 8, 2009 at 8:43 PM

Inspiration is a key component in the design process for me. Creative block seems to rear its ugly head in the most inconvenient times. In order to get back into creative flow, I’ll utilize many different sources of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s as simple as getting up from my desk and taking a walk outside. Other times, I’ll listen to different types of music. One of the chief sources of inspiration I turn to for website design projects is to look at the work of other leading designers.

For this type of creative inspiration, I often turn to website design galleries. So, I thought I’d write a post that highlights ten of my favorite website design galleries. I hope that you find these useful and I encourage you to share other galleries that I may have missed in the comments below.

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Vote for the Top Web 2.0 Apps and Web Services in CNET’s Webware 100

by Ryan on April 4, 2009 at 9:44 AM

Back in 2007 CNET started an award program called the Webware 100. This is CNET’s annual program in which CNET readers are encouraged to select and vote for the top web applications and web services out there today.

Readers are able to vote for their picks from the list of 300 finalists selected by CNET. There were about 5,000 qualifying submissions. So, the 300 are really the cream of the crop. The finalists have been organized into ten key categories.

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Looking for a Truly Integrated Online Marketing Solution?

by Ryan on March 23, 2009 at 7:28 PM

How many separate online marketing tools do you use on a daily or weekly basis? If you are like me, you unfortunately have to manage multiple accounts from an assortment of vendors and separate businesses. There’s a google account to manage your Adwords campaigns and your website analytics. There’s the email service provider account you have to help manage your opt-in email lists. There’s the content management system that you utilize to manage your website and/or landing page content. The list could go on.

The Need for an Integrated Online Marketing Management Solution

Integrated marketing is the process of ensuring that all brand contacts, or touch-points, that are received by a customer or prospect are relevant and consistent. Creating integrated marketing campaigns is no longer an option or a “nice-to-have” for organizations that wish to get or stay ahead of their competition. It is a necessity. As the buzz about integrated marketing communications has grown, so has the need for truly integrated Internet marketing tools.

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