Blog: August 2009

Thoughts on Gnomedex 9.0

August 24, 2009

The entire Hop Studios team, Justin, Rachael, Travis and Susie, were first-time attendees of Gnomedex 9 this past weekend in Seattle. Going in, we weren’t sure what to expect from the conference, which may seem odd but it came highly recommended by friends and colleagues who had attended in the past. Also, who can resist an excuse to visit Seattle and all it has to offer?

Part of Gnomedex’s tagline is “Human Circuitry.” I find this label intriguing, because it describes the idea of the intertwining of people and the technology they use in one catchy line. The conference was less about technology itself and more about how people use it to connect, share ideas, and present themselves to the world. Funnily enough my favorite sessions—Nerd Craft: A Field Guide by Beth Goza and Personal Manufacturing: The Robots that Sharing Built by Bre Pettis—were about craft, which seems as far as you can get from high tech.

A very strong theme throughout the presentations was the use of social media to bring attention to a cause and raise funds for it. Local Vancouverites Jay Grandin and Leah Nelson of Giant ant media presented on their evolution as social media content producers and how this enabled them to start a charity and help street youth in Tanzania. By the end of their presentation (and this was the case for a few others presentations, too), they had raised additional funds for their issue or project. (Read more about their project at Bongo the Film)

In the end, I’m still not sure what the conference was all about, but I think that’s just because it’s not the kind of event with a specific theme. I enjoyed the experience and found inspiration in some of the presentations even though speaker quality and subject matter was all over the map. I really liked that there was only one track to follow, which meant I was only missing out on presentations I chose not to attend rather than because of scheduling conflicts. It was also interesting for me, an inexperienced conference goer, to attend one that was developed on such a large scale. I really only have Northern Voice to compare, so it was impressive to see what organizers can do with a large budget at their disposal.

Posted by Rachael Ashe at 2:54 PM | Comments (1)

This Duck Tweets

August 14, 2009

Did you know Hop Studios is on Twitter? You can find us @hopstudios where we tweet about all things ExpressionEngine.

We recommend that clients sign up and start using twitter as a great way to extend their influcence online, and to augment the participation of some of their most avid and tech-savvy supporters.  Many of our past and present clients can be found on Twitter:

@FlourRose - Rose Levy Beranbaum, a cookbook author and baker who blogs at RealBakingWithRose.com

@CandyBlog - Cybele May writes about every delicious candy imaginable on the Candy Blog.

@WouldYouEatIt - A hot or not food site found at WouldYouEatIt.net

@CleanBinProject - Jen and Grant’s companion twitter account to their environmentally focused blog CleanBinProject.com

@Truthdig - A selection of items from news site Truthdig.com

@JewishJournal - Highlights articles and free giveaways from news site JewishJournal.com

@RoyOsing - Roy Osing, author and business advisor, blogs at BeDifferentOrBeDead.com

@WorldHum - Travel tips and hints from travel blog WorldHum.com

@LarryMaiman - M?ni’s Bakery Caf? specializes in natural sweeteners for their bakery items and desserts

The Hop Studios staff also have individual accounts:

@nep - Travis Smith

@Hoosteeno - Justin Crawford

@RachaelAshe - Rachael Ashe

And now you know!

Posted by Rachael Ashe at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

Hop Studios at Gnomedex 2009

August 11, 2009

Wow. Where has the summer gone? When we first registered for Gnomedex 9.0 last winter, it felt like it was a million years away. But spring and summer have just flown by and Gnomedex is set to roll next Thursday. We’re really looking forward to it.

If you’re not sure what I’m taking about, Gnomedex is a technology conference “of inspiration and influence” taking place in Seattle and going into its ninth year. From the Gnomedex Philosophy page:

While technology brings us together, technology at Gnomedex is ancillary to its role in our daily lives. Software, hardware - it all boils down to experiences, personal and shared. We have deliberately opted not to funnel Gnomedex into a single “technology” silo. This has afforded us the freedom of lateral maneuverability - enabling us to appeal to a wide variety of enthusiasts who use technology for personal and/or professional pursuits. Politics, commerce, art, academia, philanthropy, science, communication - all areas touched by tech, and all relevant to the Gnomedex audience.

This will be the first time Hop Studios has been to Gnomedex and even Justin will be flying in to Seattle to join us. If you’re planning to attend, please leave a comment and let us know. See you there!

Posted by Rachael Ashe at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

Nerds on Site

August 4, 2009

Who do you call when you’re having technical problems with a computer that isn’t covered under a warranty? What about when the computer in question is a frankenstein of various parts, and a PC? This isn’t a situation that comes up very often for us because most of the computers we use are Macs covered under the Apple Care warranty.

I did a bit of Google research and was reminded of Nerds on Site. I’d seen their distinctive bright red Volkswagan beetle on the streets of Vancouver a few times and was curious to have them in to troubleshoot our computer problem. Our nerd, Jay, was very professional and really knew his stuff when it came to figuring out the hardware-related problem. He was also able to solve a font display issue that had been on-going for months and wasn’t successfully resolved by others. Best of all, Jay’s presence in the office for the forty-five minute visit had a minimal impact on productivity.

Would we use Nerds on Site again? Definitely.

Posted by Rachael Ashe at 10:40 AM | Comments (8)

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