Shmoop, the online study guide publisher founded by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Ellen and David Siminoff, has announced the first of what it says will be a number of deals with major media companies. The Mountain View, Calif. startup says it has signed on to write content for Bio.com, the website of the A&E television show Biography.

Shmoop's website offers study guides in areas like literature, US history, and economics, aiming for an entertaining, funny style. For example, the study guide for The Scarlet Letter includes a short summary, a guide to symbolism, and concludes with Why Should I Care? a long anecdote about showing up for class with I didn't read the book' tattooed to your forehead and being berated by your Dumbledore look-alike teacher.

The study guides are free. The site runs advertising, and it also charges a small fee for apps on the iPhone, Kindle, and other devices. Deals like this seem like should bring in revenue and raise the company's profile with a broader audience. The Shmoop team will be creating biographies for the Bio.com website, starting with Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, celebrity chef Bobby Flay, actress Joan Collins, and others.

Ellen Siminoff, Shmoop's chief executive, previously served as CEO of Efficient Frontier, while David Siminoff, the chief creative officer, cofounded 4info. The third cofounder is Ana Rowen McCullough, who cocreated the Quest Scholars educational program.

Companies: Shmoop

E-newsletters allow a business to stay in touch with its customers on a regular basis. They give you the opportunity to establish yourself as a "thought leader" in your area of expertise, be that in designing toys for rare parrots or providing software to keep your personal finances straight. They are also a great way to create viral marketing, because if your customers find the information useful they may forward your e-newsletter to others, thereby helping you grow your customer base.

"Done right, they will give you a return far better than any other marketing strategy," says Tamara Gielen, an independent e-mail marketing consultant who has worked for such companies as Cognos, eBay, and OgilvyOne. "But success largely depends on two things: relevance and permission. Sending irrelevant messages to recipients who didn't give you permission to e-mail them will not only hurt your brand, it is also the fastest way to get blacklisted with the major ISPs. The last thing you want is to be perceived as a spammer."

So, how do you get permission, and how do you create relevant e-newsletters?

The following guide will cover how to get permission by building an opt-in e-mail list, how to create compelling content and attract readers, and how to choose an e-mail newsletter provider.

Dig Deeper: E-Mail Marketing Solutions

The first order of business is to build a quality list of customers -- customers who have given you permission to send them e-mail newsletters. "Collect this information wherever and whenever you are making a connection with a prospective customer," advises Eric Groves, senior vice president of global market development for Constant Contact, an e-mail and online marketing tool provider. If you have a store front, for example, have a sign-up book by the register and ask people to fill it out and include their e-mail address so that you can send them your e-newsletter. "There's been research done that if a local business asks a customer for their contact information, over 60 percent of the time they will give it to you," Groves says.

Collect e-mail addresses from your prospects and customers at a variety occasions, such as the following.

Use all offline channels you currently have to drive e-newsletter subscriptions, whether they be direct mail, advertising, catalogs, flyers, or feedback forms, Gielen says.

Be careful with rented lists. "Make sure the list owner sends the e-mail on your behalf. If the list provider promises to give you a list of email addresses, walk away. It's not worth the risk of getting blacklisted because the list is old, contains spam traps and lots of bad addresses," Gielen warns. Most email service providers, such as Constant Contact, won't even allow companies to import rented lists into e-mail newsletter products because it would violate terms of service, Groves says.

Remember that permission is important, so don't add an e-mail address to your list unless you have the owner's explicit permission to do so.

Gielen advises to use a double opt-in process when you're collecting email addresses in places other than your own website or when the email capture is part of a contest or sweepstakes. "Double opt-in means that you ask people to confirm their subscription before you add them to your list. That way, you can be sure that all the e-mail addresses that end up on your list are correct and the people on your list are truly engaged." she says. "On your own website, your Facebook page and your blog there's usually no need for a double opt-in process." Gielen says. However, she does recommend sending an email that welcomes the news subscribers, tells them what they can expect and how they can unsubscribe."

Dig Deeper: Finding and Using E-Mail Newsletter Templates

A successful e-newsletter consistently provides value to the recipient by offering relevant content to the readers. "It's not about you, but sharing what you know," Groves says. "If you do it well, recipients will forward it on to others."

Keep in mind that your customers may be solicited via e-mail with scores of offers every day. They eventually tune out the "buy from me" pitch. But they're more likely to read something that helps them become more knowledgeable about a subject that interests them. "Different content offering might include how-to guides that help readers get better at what they do, tips on how to get the most out of the product or service that you sell, background articles on topics that your readers find interesting, surveys, contests and sweepstakes, and promotions such as discounts or free shipping," Gielen says.

A restaurateur might have the chef send out tips on cooking, such as "What to do if you put too much salt in a recipe," Groves suggests. During the holidays, they might send out a newsletter item on what great wine goes with turkey for Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, a landscaper might write an article about plants that deer won't eat. "That's something people can use," Groves says. "They're going to take that and forward it to their friends and say, 'Check this out.' You're sharing knowledge and getting engagement. They already know what you sell."

How can you figure out what your target audience considers to be relevant content? "One way is by asking them on the sign-up form or via surveys and polls," Gielen says. "Another way is by analyzing their behavior. Which links do they typically click on? What kind of subject lines typically trigger them to open your e-mails?"

The articles in the e-newsletter should be brief, Groves advises. And there shouldn't be 42 different items. "A simple one-article newsletter is a fantastic tool," he says. In addition to articles, you might add a calendar of events that might interest readers and, perhaps a link to a promotional offer at the bottom. "If you're writing about California Chardonnays, you might say, 'Here is a real special Chardonnay that we just got in.' That's fine if it's all tied together."

Design for the Preview Pane
Once you have built your list and determined what kind of content your readers value, it's time to develop an effective template for your e-newsletter. The first thing to keep in mind is that most e-mail clients do not display images by default, Gielen says. "The top right two to three inches of your template is what people see in their preview panes, so if your template has mainly images in that area, most readers will not see anything in their preview pane," she says. "Make sure you design your template with this in mind." Think of the preview pane area as a teaser area, and use this area to grab the reader's attention. The information in this area should be compelling enough to make the reader open the e-mail, download the images, and scroll down for more information.

Keep Design Professional
Pick a layout that is going to look professional and render well. Groves says that Constant Contact has 400 different e-newsletter templates alone. You don't have to worry about how to create HTML, but you do need to look at the colors, create images, and think about layout so that it renders well. Most e-mail clients have images turned off as a default, so it's not necessarily a good idea to put a big company logo on the top of the image in the preview pane because it won't load, Groves says. Instead, have that logo lower on the page and just write the company name in regular text at the top of the screen. Choose colors that look weak and reflect your brand. Groves recommends two online tools, Color Cop and Color Schemer, which can help you choose colors. "You don't have to be a graphic artist," Groves says. Lastly, leave some white space for your readers so the e-newsletter doesn't look too dense and is easy on the eye.

Write a Compelling Subject Line
The subject line (and your sender name) is what convinces someone to open your e-mail, Gielen says. You can ask a question, state a benefit, or add urgency, as long as you don't try to deceive your readers. "You should keep your subject line short," she says. "Most readers see only five to seven words, or 50 to 60 characters, of your subject line, so your most important words should be right in the beginning." Also, make your subject line dynamic. Don't use the same subject line over and over again. Finally, tell, don't sell, what's inside. A subject line that tries to sell something is often perceived by readers as spam, and the chance they will delete your e-mail without opening it is much higher.

Choose an E-Mail Service Provider
Don't use Outlook to send out your e-newsletter. Apart from some very nasty deliverability problems you risk running into, you will not have any reporting for your e-newsletter whatsoever, Gielen says. Without the necessary reporting, how will you know how your e-newsletter performs?

There are a number of very good and affordable e-mail service providers out there, like Aweber, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, MailChimp, eROI, iContact and others. "By using an e-mail service provider, you won't have to worry about any of the logistics, you'll know exactly who opened and clicked and even creating a professional looking template will be a piece of cake," Gielen says.

Manage Your List
Each time you send out your e-newsletter, you'll find e-mail addresses that no longer exist or people that have unsubscribed from your list. It is of the utmost importance that you remove these e-mail addresses from your list before you send out your next e-newsletter, Gielen says. "If you don't, you risk running into legal problems, as well as being blacklisted." Remember the two rules of sending e-mail newsletters: relevance and permission. If a customer revokes their permission, you need to respect that. But, Groves says, next time the customer comes in to your store or makes a purchase, follow up and ask to make sure they didn't unsubscribe from the e-newsletter by accident.

Additional Resources

How to Write Effective E-Mail Newsletters
Tips from Web Market Central, a portal for interactive marketing professionals.

E-mail Marketer's Club
Discuss e-mail marketing trends, issues and tactics with other e-mail marketers.

Have you been considering hiring some new employees? Has it been awhile since you added staff? If so, then let us offer you a refresher course on how to manage the process. The following guide brings together tools you can use to manage the process including deciding what positions to hire, structuring job interviews, and effectively onboarding new employees.

Tools You Need For Hiring: Job Posting and Pre-Screening

Your time is extremely valuable, so when deciding to hire additional staff you want the process to be as quick, efficient, and effective as possible. Start by determining what positions you need to fill. The Position Request Form will walk you through the parameters you shoul take into account when hiring a new employee. Its purpose is to help you define the need for a new employee and what alternatives might exist for your company. You may not need to make a new hire, for example, but to reorganize responsibilities among your current staff. This document helps you to avoid wasting time and money on a hire you may not need.

If you have determined that you do need to increase your staff, it's time to write the job description. You can use this generic Job Description Template that can be customized to your needs or use one of the many job descriptions available on Inc.com.

Once the job has been posted on your website and on job sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and SimplyHired you will get resumes from interested candidates. Be sure to immediately sort resumes as you get them in piles that include interested, not interested, and save for future position folders.

One way to save time on your search is to send a Pre-Interview Questionnaire to the candidates whose resumes immediately grab your attention. Based on a resume and the answers to the questionnaire, you can determine whether an applicant should be contacted for an in-person interview.

As a courtesy to those that submitted a resume and answered the questionnaire but didn't quite meet your expectations for the position, you can send them a Pre-Interview Rejection Letter. This might seem like an unnecessary step but it is polite, and has the added benefit of saving you from having to respond to follow-up e-mails and phone calls.

Dig Deeper: How to Write a Job Description

Tools You Need For Hiring: The Interview

Now that you have selected the job candidates you are interested in meeting, it's a good idea to set up the interviews. Most companies handle interviews in a casual way, but some take a more formal approach. If you would like to add structure to your interview process, either because you are hiring so many new employees that it is hard to keep track of them, you should incorporate an Interview Letter for Employment into your process. This form simply should give the details of the interview location and time, who the candidate will be meeting with as well as outlines the job description. It can be paired with an Employment Application and Job Applicant Reference Request. The interview letter Having the candidates bring a completed employment application and reference request to the interview will save you time on processing. It will also give you some insight into how meticulous a candidate is when it comes to completing a task.

It's now time for the interview and there are questions you should ask and questions you should avoid asking because they put you at risk for violating Equal Employment Opportunity Commission laws. Be sure to ask questions relevant to the position, and also to look for a good cultural fit. The person not only has to be able to do the job but they have to work well with others on the staff. Another way to safeguard against hiring someone who isn't a good fit with the staff is to include several colleagues in the interview process. Allow a few people that will work with the new hire to interview and complete a Co-Employee Applicant Appraisal Form. It also let's your employees know that their opinion matters and that each person is a highly valued part of your company.

As a courtesy to the job candidates that came in for an interview, but you know you are not interested in them for the position, send them a Post Interview Rejection Letter. Like the pre-interview rejection letter, this correspondence politely lets candidates know that although they are no longer being considered for the position, but that you will keep their resume on file for future positions.

Dig Deeper: How to Improve Your Employment Application


Tools You Need For Hiring: The Job Offer

After you have vetted several job candidates, it's time to decide who your new hire will be. If you are debating between several candidates this Pre-Employment Checklist may help you to make your final decision. The first thing you should do is a Pre-Hiring Reference Check. Use this form to make sure you know who you're hiring before you ask them to sign on.

When the references have checked out, it is time to send the Offer Letter. Here are several examples of Job Offer Letters that you can customize to your needs. Be sure to include an Employee Information Sheet, I-9 form, W-4 form, Background Check Authorization, Consent to Physical Exam Form, Reference Release Form, Employee Confidentiality Agreement and other documentation that may be necessary for employment. You can reference this Personnel File Checklist if you are not sure of what forms you need to keep your employee records straight.

It is highly recommended that you hold off on sending Rejection Letters to the other job finalists until your top choice has accepted the offer. You also want to make sure that person clears all background checks and testing before letting the other finalists know that they were not selected.

Dig Deeper: How to Improve Your Hiring Practices

Tools You Need For Hiring: Orientation and Beyond

You have gone through the hiring process and it is the first day for your new employee. Reference the New Employee Orientation Checklist to make sure your new employee learns everything they need to know about their new job and workplace.

You should make the new employee aware of any company policies such as Compensation, Pension, Vacation, Voice Mail/Email/Internet Policy and any other important policies. These should also be included in the Employee Handbook. If all company policies are included in the Employee Handbook then it is in your best interest to have your new employee sign an Employee Handbook Receipt to acknowledge that they received the Employee Handbook and that it is their responsibility to be familiar with all company policies. If there are any other documents that your new employee needs to complete like an Employment Agreement, Non-Compete Agreement or Information Release Form have them do that during orientation.

To show your new employee that you want them to succeed in the position you can include a tip sheet on How To Be an Excellent Employee in their orientation materials. Setting forth a list of desired behaviors helps you maintain communication and positive relations with your employees. The first 60 to 90 days for a new hire are extremely important. To track progress during this period, and to gain valuable insight about your company from the new hire, ask them to complete this 60-Day New Employee Survey. This form allows new hires to add immediate value to a company by sharing what remains of their outside perspective. It can also serve as a review of a new hire.

Dig Deeper: How to Build an Onboarding Plan for a New Hire

This morning's Washington Post reveals that the Department Of Justice has been pressuring Congress to expand its power to obtain records of Americans' private Internet activity through the use of National Security Letters (NSLs).

NSLs, you may remember, are one of the most powerful and frightening tools of government surveillance to be expanded by the Patriot Act. These letters allow the FBI to secretly demand data from phone companies and internet service providers about the private communications of ordinary citizens. The letters include a gag order, which forbids recipients from ever revealing the letters' existence to their coworkers, their friends, or even to their family members, much less the public.

The gag order and the lack of oversight make this power ripe for abuse. Indeed, the FBI's systemic abuse of this power was confirmed both by a Department Of Justice investigation and in documents obtained by EFF through Freedom of Information Act litigation. Yet, in the years since that abuse became publicly known, there has been no reform of the law governing NSLs.

Now, the DOJ is asking Congress to pass vague and broad new language meant to expand the kinds of data that can be acquired through NSLs. This morning's Washington Post article suggests that the new language could allow access to detailed web browsing history, search history, location information, or even Facebook friend requests.

Considering the FBI's dismal record on surveillance abuses, this is a stunning and brazen request. They're asking the Senate to reward bad behavior by allowing even more bad behavior. We're hoping that the Senate will have the courage and integrity to turn them down. Keep reading Deeplinks for more news on this as it develops.

As you're undoubtedly aware, location is one of the hottest fields out there right now. Startups, services, devices, and advertisers are all hovering around it. As you're also likely well aware, Apple likes to be in control of their own devices. So it should come as no surprise to hear that Apple is moving to be in complete of their own location database.

Back in June, Apple changed its privacy policy to reflect some of the newer things they were doing with regard to location. This worried some people including two U.S. Congressmen who sent a letter to Apple asking about the change. A couple weeks ago, Apple responded to that inquiry with a letter from Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell. The overall main points of that letter have already been covered quite a bit (basically, none of the data Apple collects is linked to a specific user or device and no data is shared without consent). But buried on page 5 of the 13-page letter is a bit of information that's rather interesting.

Here's the passage (highlights are mine):

To provide the high quality products and services that its customers demand, Apple must have access to comprehensive location-based information. For devices running iPhone OS versions 1.1.3 to 3.1, Apple relied on (and still relies on) databases maintained by Google and Skyhook Wireless (Skyhook) to provide location-based services. Beginning with the iPhone OS version 3.2 released in April 2010, Apple relies on its own databases to provide location-based services and for diagnostic purposes. These databases must be updated continuously to account for, among other things, the ever-changing physical landscape, more innovative uses of mobile technology, and the increasing number of Apple's customers. Apple has always taken great care to protect the privacy of its customers.

In other words, since iPhone OS 3.2 (since renamed iOS) which shipped on the iPad, and continuing with the new iOS 4, Apple is now in complete control of the location services on the iPhone (and iPad/iPod touch). Previously, Apple relied on the location information from Skyhook and Google. But now they have built their own databases to be able to drop those guys going forward (though, as they note, the older iOSes still use that outside data).

As I said, this continues Apple's long tradition of wanting to have complete control over their products by developing everything they need in-house. They didn't have the capabilities to do that with location services when the iPhone launched. Now, apparently, they do.

When reached for comment, Skyhook wouldn't specifically talk about their relationship with Apple, but they did say that everyone who has a platform wants to own as much of the location stack as possible. Location data is going the be huge and owning it is going to be the next big war in mobile.

It has to be particularly nice for Apple to be able to ditch Google in this regard. While Google helped Apple build the Maps application on the iPhone, the relationship between the two has obviously changed over the years. With Apple now making its move into mobile advertising with iAds, clearly they didn't want to be sending or receiving all the location information for all of their millions of devices from what is now a chief rival. And Google is making fast moves to beef up its mobile location-based ads, as well.

It will also be interesting to see what, if anything, this means for the Maps application on the iPhone and iPad. Earlier this month, Apple bought Poly9, makers of a 3D mapping software. And last year, they bought Placebase, another map-maker. Both of those purchases were likely for their talent, rather than the products it would seem as if Apple is moving in the direction of having its own mapping products. If they do that, clearly they're going to want their own location databases as well. And now they have just that.

One thing a lot of services such as Google have been working on recently is building up their place databases. It's not clear if Apple will be building their own one of those as well but I wouldn't bet against it.

This also may signal Apple eventually baking in location to some of their other apps like Contacts. While I suspect they wouldn't do this in a way that would directly compete with all the third-party location startups out there, it could be something along the lines of being able to tell where family members are at all times (provided they opt-in, of course).

And, of course, Apple likes to tout their Find My iPhone feature, which is all about location. It's perhaps the perfect example of how Apple is able to tell where any iPhone (or iPad) is at anytime, anywhere. It makes sense to try to fully control that information, and all the data surrounding it.

Technology has progressed photography faster in the last ten years than over the last 100. Over the last ten years, photography has gone from a somewhat misunderstood, often thought to be overly complicated hobby to something nearly everyone takes part in. Auto-mode settings, advancements in facial recognition in cameras and red-eye reduction built-in have made just about anyone who points a camera in the right direction a photographer. During this ramp-up in interest, more gear has become available then ever before, both good and bad for photographers and budding hobbyists.

Having the best photography gear does not mean you will get the best photographs. This has been proven time and time again with the so-called mega-pixel race for those thinking the more mega-pixels something has, the better it is. Sure, it's true that at a certain point, having a better piece of gear will yield you a better shot, but only if you understand how to properly use it!

Photo by pasukaru76 (away for 2 weeks)

Cameras, lenses, filters, flashes and all the accessories that go along with photography are nothing more than tools, tools which allow you to manipulate light and capture moments in time. Before you start to make a really significant investment in any new gear, ask yourself what it is you're trying to accomplish and how this new piece of gear will really help you. Can you make something yourself that would give the same result? Can you rent or borrow the item first to ensure it's what you really need?

Gear itself does not make you any better or worse of a photographer, better gear only enables photographers with knowledge on how to use it and a creative eye the abilities to take different photographs. Ever show up at a family picnic with a DSLR and speedlight and have someone say to you, Wow, I bet that thing takes great photos huh? The reality is, modern point and shoot cameras are capable of taking stunning shots, so don't assume bigger always equals better.

Photo by mikebaird

Having an eye, continuously learning and always shooting will, in the end make you the photographer, not the gear you carry around. Gear envy and the so-called upgrade-itis syndrome is easy to fall into, but it won't help your photograph any if you aren't already using what you have to the full capabilities. Before you invest in more gear, invest in knowledge.

Photography Tutorials, Case Studies and Discounts - LightStalking Photography Newsletter.

I've been familiar with Brian Solis as many have, for several years. We've done a few video interviews with Brian and he's contributed to popular posts here like this one on social media marketing and this one on content curation.

I have to admit that based on his early writing, I thought Brian was overly confident about the opportunities with social media. When I finally met him in person at a Media Relations conference we were both speaking at, I gained a much better understanding and appreciation for the talents and insight behind the evangelism for what has become the most significant change to the web since the introduction of search engines.

As a successful author, speaker and owner of Future Works, Brian has many opportunities to face tough questions from clients, peers and conference attendees. In the realm of social media, it's not unreasonable to have a lot of questions about the who, what, why, where, when and how.

How to start? How to create a strategy? How to find customers and influentials? How to create engaging social destinations? How to promote without offending? How to measure? How to report? Those are just some of the critical questions answered in Brian's newest book, Engage! The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate and Measure Success in the New Web.

I promised Brian to talk about Engage! here months ago, which was a no-brainer since we already did a review of Putting the Public Back in Public Relations. While I thought about a variety of perspectives to take on sharing my opinions of this book, nothing stood out until now. In the course of answering many social media questions on a daily basis, I've often referred Engage! to people as a resource. Therefore it makes perfect sense to share some of the top questions this book answers for marketers. Essentially, this is a list of 10 reasons why you should check the book out.

1. Where does social media fit in marketing and communications?

2. What social tools and technologies are available? What are their differences and how do they work for marketers?

3. How do you manage multi-channel social media participation? What tools are there for listening, publishing, promotion and measurement?

4. Search results can be optimized, how do you optimize social media?

5. How do you develop social networks and distribution channels?

6. What are social champions and how do we find, engage and develop influentials?

7. How do you develop a social media strategy?

8. What are the logistical and process considerations for planning, implementing and managing social web participation for companies?

9. How do we foster and manage social customer relationships?

10. How can we develop social media teams in an organization and create a model for social participation within our organization?

There you have it. Ten key social media questions that the new Brian Solis book, Engage! answers for communications professionals, business owners, marketers and social netziens all over the web. If you have different or more questions than those listed above, by all means visit Amazon and get the book. If you need a person to walk you through the answers, then you can always talk to us at TopRank Marketing .

If you're in Minneapolis tonight, be sure to come and see Brian present at Solera from 6-8pm.

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Online Marketing Blog, 2010. | 10 Social Media Marketing Questions Answered by Engage! | http://www.toprankblog.com

The seed of this apocalyptic rant was planted off-the-cuffly last week when I tweeted the following:

Old JFL: "Our next act appeared on Letterman and had his own HBO special."

New JFL: "Our next act has 10 million YouTube hits."

In my first stint here, said credits usually took the form of TV shows these acts were on.

Last week, I heard Australia's Axis of Awesome lay down their YouTube stats as their cred establisher.

And they weren't alone; acts like Chris Hardwick (a.k.a. The Nerdist) and Dane Cook had their live on-stage walk-on trumpet their web 3.0 stats.

Thats's one small step for a host, once giant leap for showbiz.

So here's this week's brain-splattering lesson:

The music biz is just the canary in the coalmine; The Web is about to destroy and overhaul all of showbiz as we know it.

The evidence is everywhere.

Yowtch!

But this type of paradigm shift (now there's a term I'm sure you haven't heard in a while!) is happening everywhere in the world of leisure:

• Amazon reported that digital ebooks are now outselling its hardcovers.
  
• The geeks have inherited the earth and now rule Hollywood's roost thanks to Comic-Con.
  
• Other than tentpole events, more TV is timeshifted than watched live...and watched on devices other than TVs.
  
• Green Day is simultaneously appearing in huge outdoor concerts, on Broadway and in Rockband.

Walking the Just For Laughs site last week, the digital divide was eye-poppingly evident. Live bands were replaced by iPod-packing DJs. Promotional flyers littered the ground as kids tweeted or texted reviews of shows, and intentions of attending them. Our Zoofest shows were packed with crowds who probably never read a newspaper in their lives, let alone be influenced by ads within them.

Consider the conversation I had with Guy Gal, a 26-year-old online video producer, a few weeks ago in Toronto. He was about to attend a Just For Laughs Festival Gala hosted by Louis CK. He learned the comedian was touring from one of CK's Tweets. He clicked on the URL, and bought tickets. And here's what's scary: Despite the fact that he was going to the show, he had no idea it was part of Just For Laughs. Worse yet, he had no clue Just For Laughs was even in town.

Exponential yowtch!

The Web is changing, and will continue to at a dizzying pace, the way people find out about shows, the way they buy tickets to them, the way they attend them, the way shows are marketed and--most notably--the content of the shows themselves.

Given AttentionSpan 3.0, how can I continue to shoot TV shows on a single-focused, old-Broadway-styled stage, and present them to an at-home audience with only one moving image on screen at a time?

Jeez, do I have my work cut out for me here.

So, to channel the spirit of P.T. Barnum, I invite you to step right up. Wanna really see something spectacular? Sit back and watch the greatest show of all--The way showbiz rapidly morphs into something that looks tomorrow like Nickleodeons or Vaudeville looks like today.

To start, enjoy Axis Of Awesome...and add yet another view to their YouTube deluge.

As someone who benefited immensely from numerous people encouraging me to write as a young man, I will shamelessly plug this: 826 -- author Dave Eggers' youth writing program -- will finally be opening a D.C. branch at 3233 14th Street NW in Columbia Heights this fall, and are looking for volunteers for writing workshops and drop-in tutoring sessions. Those familiar with 826 know that each local branch has a themed storefront to help support the work being done. D.C.'s does not disappoint: the "Museum of Unnatural History" will sell "Confused Wood and Existentially Distraught Wood (from the makers of Petrified Wood), a selection of tools for budding unnaturalists, and evolutionary supplements for those who want to develop bipedalism or opposable thumbs." Awesome. 826DC has already been working in D.C. schools (continuing the good work that our friends at Capitol Letters had been doing in this town for some time), but the new building will allow them to serve even more young people. If you like the idea of helping, you can volunteer here.

via http://www.aloveletterforyou.com/

Mark Rothko, an American artist who described himself as an abstract painter, once said that he was not the kind of person interested in the relationship of form, color or similars. He didn't define himself as an abstractionist, but rather as a person interested only in expressing basic human emotions such as doom, tragedy, ecstasy and so on. This was one person's vision of art, but what do we mean by art today? Why is defining the concept so difficult?

This article is an exploration of the meaning of art and an attempt to understand the relationship between art and artists, with some useful insights via interviews with both traditional and digital artists.

[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that there is a Smashing eBook Series? Book #2 is Successful Freelancing for Web Designers, 260 pages for just $9,90.]

1. What Is Art?

This question pops up often, and with many answers. Many argue that art cannot be defined. We could go about this in several ways. Art is often considered the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations and ways of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics. At least, that's what Wikipedia claims.

Art is generally understood as any activity or product done by people with a communicative or aesthetic purposesomething that expresses an idea, an emotion or, more generally, a world view.

It is a component of culture, reflecting economic and social substrates in its design. It transmits ideas and values inherent in every culture across space and time. Its role changes through time, acquiring more of an aesthetic component here and a socio-educational function there.

Scott Marr

Everything we've said so far has elements of truth but is mainly opinion. According to Wikipedia, Art historians and philosophers of art have long had classificatory disputes about art regarding whether a particular cultural form or piece of work should be classified as art.

The definition of art is open, subjective, debatable. There is no agreement among historians and artists, which is why we're left with so many definitions of art. The concept itself has changed over centuries.

The very notion of art continues today to stir controversy, being so open to multiple interpretations. It can be taken simply to mean any human activity, or any set of rules needed to develop an activity. This would generalize the concept beyond what is normally understood as the fine arts, now broadened to encompass academic areas. The word has many other colloquial uses, too.

In this article, we mean art as a form of human expression of a creative nature.

2. The Evolution Of The Concept Of Art

While the definition of art has changed over the years, the field of art history has developed to allow us to categorize changes in art over time and to better understand how art shapes and is shaped by the creative impulses of artists.

Having a solid grasp of art history, then, is important. I spoke with Alexander Daniloff and Jonathan Ball about the concept of art through history and about whether tracing a line through traditional and contemporary art is possible.

Alexander Daniloff is a Russian artist who lives and works in Italy. His focus is painting, although he has worked in several media. Lately, he has worked on children's illustrations. He has participated in various events and illustration competitions and has illustrated three books. He has held numerous individual and group exhibitions in Italy, Russia, Holland, Spain, Finland and the US.

Jonathan Ball is the creative behind Poked Studio, an innovative company committed to developing creative visual solutions. That's not all: among its services, Poked Studio offers illustration; Web, graphic and blog design; 3-D rendering and visualization; motion graphics; children's book illustration; Flash websites; and games.

Question: Can we trace a line from traditional to contemporary art?

Alexander Daniloff: I don't think we can say anything without falling into controversy, even me. I have a traditional view and prefer artwork that speaks for the artist or period. I can't explain what contemporary art is, or at least what it's meant to be. Yes, you can trace a line from traditional to contemporary art, but not a straight one. Perhaps it is a parabola that goes up and then down, or a spiral. We don't know. All we can say is that the art market has developed, which affects the art itself. With what we call contemporary art, words and explanations are always worth more.

Visual arts have been transformed by articles and critical essays; meanwhile, the works themselves have become mute. In the theater, the curators and critics have taken up the front row. This is my view on the difference between contemporary and traditional art.

I personally prefer art measured in human dimensions: art that whispers and doesn't shout, art that covers me and makes me fly and does not crush. But I must confess, some of these modern things attract me; for example, mural painting (graffiti) and abstract things.

Trips to real and mythological ages and changes in theatrical costumes and decor are a part of Alexander Daniloff's style. The style gives his paintings a special grace, showing both the festive and dramatic sides of life on stage. The style is also infused with a sweet irony that shakes up the painting. Precision, flexibility in design and subtle color harmony free up the artist's movement between different artistic conventions, playing with light and shadow, line and color.

Jonathan Ball: Yes, most definitely [we can draw a line from traditional to contemporary art]. Many of the same techniques are used, just in slightly different ways and with different tools. The same principles apply, however you create art.

I see a line particularly running through the stylized form of Japanese art such as Hokusai and contemporary stylized graphic illustration.

Question: Compared to the evolution of traditional art, how would you describe the development of digital (or new media) art?

Jonathan Ball: Digital art has obviously developed much more quickly than the thousands of years of hand-crafted techniques. A whole generation has been brought up on Photoshop and other tools, whereas earlier generations used pen and pencil.

Still, I believe that digital art is still in its infancy. Despite what seems an enormous amount of progress in computer hardware, general computing and even the computing available to most design studios is just not fast enough to easily reproduce art on the scale and level of detail possible with traditional media. Go to any national gallery, and you will see works on an enormous scale. Try reproducing a 10-foot canvas with the resolution of a hand-painted work of art in a 3-D program, and you'll find it can't cope. In fact, most programs will struggle to render a detailed picture at, say, 300 DPI at just A4 size.

While a painting may appear to be just splotches and blobs, when you go up to it close, the patterns are beautiful by themselves, full of color, intensity, saturation and texture. Go close to digital art or a TV screen and you'll see a mess of distortion and artifacts.

Once screen resolution is on par with printed media, and once computer technology allows us to easily create large, highly detailed work at speed, then digital will have caught up to traditional media.

Most digital art of the early-21st century is designed to be viewed on low-resolution devices. Much of this art will be obsolete when higher-resolution screens and devices are developed over the next century. And much that has been stored only on hard drives will be lost forever as drives fail and websites close or are redeveloped.

I find it a shame that so much great work is reproduced at such a limited resolution and scale and not stored in a way that keeps it safe for future generations.

Jonathan Ball

Question: Tell us about your favourite art movement.

Jonathan Ball: Difficult, because I like so many styles. But I find that if I'm in an art gallery, I love contemporary painting because it holds so many surprises and is less predicable than previous eras.

I love quirky contemporary illustration, particularly low-brow art forms and gothic-mythology mixtures.

3. Aesthetics In Digital Art

Moving into the mid-20th century, the conceptual transformations that arose from new approaches to art led to a crisis of aesthetics, as was manifested in new art media.

Alberto Cerriteo

While borrowing many of the conventions of traditional media, digital art can draw upon aesthetics from many other fields. But various criticisms have been made against it: for example, given the variety of tools at their disposal, how much effort do digital artists really have to put into their work?

I asked Jan Willem Wennekes, also known as Zeptonn, for his opinion on this. He is a freelancer who specializes in illustrative design and art direction, with a focus on eco-friendly and environmental projects.

Jan Willem Wennekes: The question seems a bit ambiguous. On the one hand, there seems to be a question about the effort required to create digital art. That is, some people may think that using digital media to create art is easier than using traditional media. On the other hand, there seems to be a question of whether digital art is an art form in itself (or maybe at all?).

With respect to the first question, I think that working with digital media (mostly the computer, mouse, Wacom, scanner, software, etc.) does not have to differ from creating art in other media. The computer and all the tools generated by the software are still what they are: tools! You have to master those tools just as you have to master any other tools. For example, if you do not understand how light works, you won't be able to create artwork with correct lighting, and so on. If you don't know how the pen tool works in Illustrator, then you won't be able to create good artwork, just like a traditional artist who doesn't know how to use a pencil. You still have to master color theory and all the other things that are essential to creating a good or stunning piece of art. In that sense, it doesn't matter whether it is a painting or a print. Simply put, you have to master all the tools and theory, just as you had to master them before. And the better you master them, the better your artwork can be.

Jan Willem Wennekes

Jan Willem Wennekes: Now, one can wonder whether digital art is a distinct art form. This is a difficult question and not easy to answer. I think the difference here is that digital art is more of a group term than just one art form. There are many types of digital art: some look a lot like paintings, some look like photographs, some look like drawings, while others appear quite new and unique (e.g. computer generated artwork). So in a sense, digital art consists of both overlapping and new kinds of art. Photography was once viewed as a competitor to portrait painting, but in the end it became its own art form, with many directions and fields of interest. In effect, painting benefitted from the rise of photography, and each added to the other and renewed interest in art in general. Nowadays, we don't view photography as a competitor to painting; we see them as different media, with different benefits and drawbacks. I think the same holds for newer digital art forms.

Zeptonn's work can be described as positive, eco-friendly, simple, wacky, colorful, fantastical and illustrative. It is distinguished by its hand-drawn elements, sweet patterns and curvy line work. And you might find a creature popping up here and there. For more, visit his website or follow him on Twitter.

4. Art As We Know It Today

The 20th century was a turning point in our conception of art, which is mainly why contemporary artists frequently reach for new concepts, break with tradition and reject classic notions of beauty. All these factors have given birth to abstract art. The artist no longer tries to reflect reality, but rather tries to give expression to their inner world and feelings.

The old definitions of art have become obsolete. Today, art is an evolving and global concept, open to new interpretation, too fluid to be pinned down.

Dan May

I interviewed Nate Williams and Travis Lampe to explore new elements of contemporary art and to answer the question, what new elements and principles are evident in today's art.

Nate Williams, also known as Alexander Blue, is an artist, illustrator and designer from the US. He has extensive experience in various facets of the illustration industry, and he has a wide variety of clients. His illustrations are aimed at both adults and children. He has also worked in the advertising world and in publishing, music, fashion, textiles, home decor, merchandising, posters, press and social expression.

Travis Lampe is an illustrator who currently lives and works in Chicago. He worked as an art director in advertising. After a two-year stint in Warsaw, he returned to Chicago and tried his hand in the art and illustration scene. He enjoys making art and toys, and he has shown in fine galleries throughout the US and in Europe.

Question: How much influence does new media have on your work? What is your relationship to digital art? Do you consider yourself a traditional artist?

Jonathan Ball: It has a lot of influence. I think because of my knowledge of programming, it influences my work. I think in terms of modular parts and variables.

Nate Williams: My definition of art is play, be curious, discover, express.

Travis Lampe: I'm a traditional artistI work in acrylicbut I wouldn't be able to operate without computers. When I design toys, for example, I use computers to scan and create vector art from my original paintings. I don't create digital art in and of itself, though. Purely digital work can be beautiful, but for me there is value in having a tangible and unique product, as opposed to a set of data.

No doubt, though, I've been influenced in my traditional art by being exposed to ideas that I've discovered on the Internet. It's a great place to find old-timey cartoons, for example.

Question: Travis, if the purpose of art was once to create beauty and to imitate nature, today the concept has evolved dynamically and is constantly changing. In your opinion, how has the Internet and new ways of communicating influenced the development of visual arts, its conceptual premises and its physical execution?

Travis Lampe: The Internet most influences the development of art simply by exposing more people to more art. Unfortunately, a lot of it is really, really crappy, as you would expect. Anyone with a ballpoint pen and digital camera can post their art for the world to see. And that's okay. I think the cream just naturally rises to the top. Ideas are still what's important, far more so than technical skill, and the Internet hasn't changed that at all. I've seen a lot of ballpoint pen art that I really like.

As far as physical execution goes, it's evolved the way it always has: as soon as a new medium arrives, there's a scramble to use it in new and creative ways. I don't know that the Internet has affected the physical execution of art so much as computers themselves have. It's just made it easier to disseminate.

Travis Lampe

More communication is great for PR and in that way is a great help to artists. And more communication should equal more ideas bouncing around, which ideally should result in better conceptual thinking. But most of the communication is fluff. And I think there's a threshold beyond which the constant connectedness ceases to be helpful. Artists need some disconnected time for the creative ideas to coalesce. Successful artists are the ones who are disciplined and able to balance all of this, I guess.

Question: Would you say that art and the new, social Web have a connection? Are social media a viable way to improve artistic communities?

Jonathan Ball: Of course. Art has a connection to anything in our environment that influences its creators. As far as social media goes, I think being able to communicate better is always an improvement.

Travis Lampe: Social media is great for sharing results; it's allowed me to connect with and see the work of other artists who I admire on a constant basis. And it makes working long hours in a basement a bit less of a lonely enterprise when you can show the world what you've done the moment you've finished. On the other hand, social media are a constant distraction. When I want to get work done, I disconnect. So I love it and hate it equally.

5. New Media Revolution And Its Relationship To Artists

Visual arts comprise many forms of artpainting, drawing, sculpture, music, literature and performance art being the most widely recognized. However, with the technological revolution, others forms have emerged.

Leandro Lima

So, what exactly is the relationship between these new forms of expression and contemporary artists? Max Kostenko and Pino Lamanna kindly answered my questions, giving us insight into the topic.

Max Kostenko is a Russian illustrator. He specializes in 3-D digital illustration and character design. He works as a freelancer for many Russian studios and agencies worldwide, such as Kotetkat and Lemonade.

Pino Lamanna, also known as SchakalWal, is an illustrator and graphic designer from Germany who specializes in corporate design, character design and typography.

Question: Please introduce yourself and your work. How did you get started in the field?

Max Kostenko: My name is Max Kostenko. I'm 23 years old, and I am an artist and illustrator from Moscow. I have been doing illustrations for about one year. Before, I worked for three years as a Web designer in various Moscow Web studios.

Pino Lamanna: Hi. My name is Pino Lamanna. I am a 27-year-old half-Italian, half-German digital artist living and working in the city of Wuppertal, in Germany.

I currently work as a freelance designer, specializing in unique branding, handmade typography and character design. Most of my work is highly influenced by graffiti and street art, old-school cartoons and the music I listen to. My aim is to create stylish, unique and useful designs with an urban twist.

I took my first steps as a designer as a little kid, drawing comic strips with my own superheroes. Later, in my teenage years, I became interested in the graffiti and street art movement.

The first thing that attracted me to digital art was photo manipulation. Through that, I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop and several digital art communities. Later, I switched my focus to illustration, branding and typography, which I think suits me best.

Question: Tell us a bit about your artwork. What software do you use? How hard was it for you to learn?

Max Kostenko: In my work, I use only Photoshop. I started studying it when I wanted to start working as a Web designer. But as years passed, I understood what I really wanted to work on, because I found the job of designer boring, and so I started drawing some silly little men; that is, I tried to understand many of the principles by drawing them. In Photoshop, I do not use many tools to make my work look artisticI just choose my normal round brush and start drawing.

Max Kostenko

Pino Lamanna: Even though for the kind of work I specialize in, working in Illustrator or other vector tools would be common, I create most of my work in Photoshop. That might sound strange, but I can't help it. There isn't much of a difference at all, because Photoshop has vector editing capabilities, too.

Once I am happy with my design, I copy and paste to Illustrator to create the final output.

I cannot say that mastering Photoshop was difficult, because working in it has always been fun. The very first steps were kind of hard, though. I remember being overwhelmed by the gazillion options. It was learning by doing. I did a lot of tutorials, which I found online, to become comfortable with different techniques and methods.

Learning Illustrator wasn't hard, either, because I was already used to the Adobe interface and I knew a lot of stuff about vector editing from Photoshop. And of course, there are tutorials for Illustrator everywhere.

Question: What is the main inspiration for your pieces? And how has the digital art community influenced your work?

Max Kostenko: My inspiration comes in different ways: sometimes after watching a film, sometimes from something I see in the street or on public transport. I always look for the work of known artists: it stimulates me to grow and improve my skills. I became acquainted with digital art through the Society of Digital Artists, and the first thought that came to mind was, I could never draw like that. But then I gradually drew things like leaves. Still, I've only began to walk the path of the artist and still have much to learn.

Pino Lamanna: Inspiration can come from anything, whether a cloud in the sky, an old movie or a box of sushi. My style has always been influenced by urban culture, music, movies, cartoons, etc. As a matter of fact, the digital art community has influenced my work a lot. Thanks to the Internet, I've gotten to know many interesting people and designers from all over the world, and in the end those communities have helped define me as an artist.

Question: How would you describe your creative process? What are some of its most important aspects?

Max Kostenko: The most important thing is a basic idea, I guessa plan. If you have one, you can start drawing. Sometimes I get in my head a general sense of the result, and so I begin with the big shapes, placing them in a composition. When I've got the result, I start to color it, the most difficult thing for me. At the end, I complete the final details.

Pino Lamanna: I always have pen and paper by my side, even in my bedroom. You never know when ideas will pop in your mind, and you better save before you forget.

Brainstorming and sketching are crucial for me. If ideas pop up while working on my computer, I'll usually put aside all the stuff I am doing and try to directly realize that idea in a design.

Pino Lamanna

When working for clients, research is very important. Without a detailed brief, finding a design to match the client's needs and expectations can be tricky. Therefore, I always ask clients to fill out my design questionnaire.

Another important aspect of my creative process is patience. Often, I find a good flow and can't stop working on a particular design until I am happy (and exhausted). However, before publishing, I always force myself to wait till the next day. I'll often find things that need to be changed, tweaked or tuned up, when I am looking at my work with a little distance.

Question: Have you ever gotten into traditional art? If so, tell us something about that experience.

Max Kostenko: The thing is, I wasn't trained in an art school. But since childhood, I have liked drawing and thinking of stories. I've always drawn with a simple pencil. After school, I tried to enter the Automotive Design College but was rejected even having passed the drawing exams marvellously well.

Pino Lamanna: As mentioned, I was into comic drawing as a kid, and I trained hard to create the world's most powerful superheroes and villains. I can remember only a single character from these days: Super-Frog. (I know that's lame, so don't be mean!)

Later, I got some experience with graffiti and street art. Never made it to the All City Kings, though.

So, I don't have much experience with traditional art, because my main focus for the last couple of years has been on digital.

Question: How would you define your relationship to traditional art? Who is your favourite artist?

Max Kostenko: I often visit the Tretyakov Gallery, and I can't believe people could draw like that on a canvas centuries ago. I am surprised every time by the talent of classical artists.

I like Russian landscape artists. Vasily Polenov and Ivan Shishkin are top in skills for me.

6. Communication And Self-Promotion In The New Web

The artist's life is not as simple as it may seem. Standing out from the crowd is not easy, which is why self-promotion is essential.

I queried Bob Flynn, Alex Dukal, Jayme McGowan, Chris Piascik and Irma Gruenholz for their thoughts on the art of self-promotion; on how to spread ideas, concepts and a deeper vision of their work; and on the impact of this kind of marketing.

Bob Flynn is a cartoonist who is interested in illustration, comics and animation. He currently resides in Boston, where he works as an animator and game designer for the children's media company Fablevision. His work has appeared in publications such as Nickelodeon Magazine and Improper Bostonian.

Alex Dukal is an illustrator who was born and raised in Patagonia, Argentina. From a very young age, Alex has published comics and illustrations in the legendary Fierro magazine.

Back in his home town, he dedicated some years to painting and teaching illustration and comics. After working for some time mostly in Web design, Alex decided to get back into illustration. At the moment, he's working mostly on children's books and creating illustrations for design agencies.

Jayme McGowan is a freelance artist and 3-D illustrator based in Sacramento, California. She works with cut paper and posts her artwork in her project journal.

Question: Do you have a portfolio website? And which social networks are you currently on?

Bob Flynn: I have a website, but I'm very lazy about updating it. And I find I get less traffic there compared to, say, my blog, which is infinitely easier to add to. A portfolio website is more of a structured presentation, which is great for art directors and people looking to make a professional assessment of your work. It's often static, and it offers little to no opportunity for two-way communication. You get little to no interaction with the art community except for a friendly email or two a month. A blog is dynamic and opens that dialogue. I now think of my website as a hub to help direct people where they need to go.

In addition to having a blog (my primary point of communication), I'm currently on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and, most recently, Google Buzz. Is being on all of them worth it? Probably. I've found that you really can't be in too many placesthough there is certainly a sanity threshold. A different audience traffics each social space (with some overlap), so the way to reach the most people is to be everywhere.

Twitter is currently the best place to track people in the industry and to communicate with your peersbut not everyone is there. Facebook is where most everyone else is, although juggling friends, family and business is admittedly cumbersome. You have to weed through the clutter (I'm less a fan of its increasingly unwieldy interface), but you can certainly get traction over there. Flickr is the most straightforward: upload artwork, leave and receive comments. Buzz is new to the game and still hasn't developed an identity of its own. But it's another place you should probably be.

I can track most job leads and connections back to a tweet here or a comment there. Not to mention great friendships. Simply by spending time in these spaces, saying Hi and participating in a positive way, you really can't go wrong.

Driven by an obsession with off-beat cartoons that are grounded in optimism and tinged with the grotesque, Bob Flynn keeps busy spinning nonsensical creatures into comics, illustrations and animation.

Alex Dukal: Yes, I have had a portfolio online since 1998, and I currently use Facebook a lot, Twitter not so much. I really like Flickr. I used Orkut when it first came out. I tried Google Buzz and did not like it. Every now and then I take a look at Google Wave to see if it'll ever turn into something interesting. I have a Netvibes account that I hardly use. I have an account on Dribble. As you can see, I like to test new tools.

Jayme McGowan: Yes, I have a website for my portfolio, and pages on Facebook, Flickr and Etsy, and I recently caved and am now on Twitter as well.

Question: Do you write articles for your own blog or for other blogs and publications? Would you consider either an effective way to get your name out there?

Bob Flynn: I regularly post artwork to my blog, and I have written a few Flash drawing tutorials. Simply having an online presence is a good start, but think of the impact you could have by sharing information, ideas and helpful tips. People enjoy reading about process, so document your methodology as you work, and it will make for more interesting posts.

I wouldn't be in this just to get my name out, though. If you're all for show and self-promotion, you risk turning people away. Participation is key: I enjoy reading about what everyone else has to say. There's more value in that, really.

Alex Dukal: I started writing little news on my website using Grey Matter, an old tool for blogging. Then I switched to Textpattern, and finally I separated my portfolio and blog (now in Blogger) as a matter of convenience. In the blog from time to time, I'll write an article or tutorial. Judging from the feedback I get, I'd consider it an effective method of promotion.

Jayme McGowan: I have a blog where I post images of my work in progress and updates on current projects I'm involved in. I use it to give readers some insight into my process. I think it definitely gets people more involved in my work. Most of the visitors to my main portfolio website were directed there either from my own blog or from someone who did a post about my work on their blog. I think if you keep your blog up to date and post regularly, it will be an invaluable tool for getting your name out there.

Question: What are the challenges of creating a self-promotion strategy? Have you implemented a self-promotion strategy for yourself? Has it worked? If one is starting from scratch, how long does it take for a strategy to start working in their favor?

Bob Flynn: To be honest, I can't say I've ever architected a real strategy. You're talking to a guy who's never even sent out a promo card. My approach has been to put myself out there and see what happens. Sort of the like old adage, Just be yourselfthat's how you stand out from the rest of the pack. I try to update my blog at least once a week to keep people coming back. Keeping up with your website's stats is a good way to see what's sticking (i.e. where your traffic's coming from and what your most popular posts are).

Alex Dukal: Yes, of course, as a freelance artist, self-promotion is absolutely necessary. I think the first challenge is having something to say, something to show, a reliable portfolio to back up that promotion.

Personally, I placed my bet on a portfolio that shows my best work, something that showcases the illustrations rather than the website interface and that makes it accesible and simple. And then there's the blog, which allows me to maintain other kinds of contact with people: social networks, forums, contacts database, etc. It's a big garden; one must water and take care of it every day.

I think a strategy of this kind should be thought of in different phases. And you can't expect a miracle before six months (though miracles do happen).

Alex Dukal

Jayme McGowan: My self-promotion strategy is fairly simple and involves social networks, as I mentioned earlier. When I got started creating a presence online, I came up with a plan by looking at the networks that successful artists who I admired were involved in, and I tried to do something similar. I was fortunate enough to generate interest in my work early on just by posting photos on Flickr and becoming an active member of the Etsy community. Many people who commission work from me say they found me on one of those two websites.

Now I use Facebook and Twitter (and my blog, of course) to keep people posted on what I'm up to. But to succeed in promoting yourself on any of these networks, you have to be truly interested in making friends and business contacts. You can't just scream, Hey, look at me! all the time without giving anything back. I guess I have a subtler approach to self-promotion: let people know what you're up to from time to time, and trust that they'll follow you if they like what they see.

Question: Do you regularly submit your work to online galleries? Is that useful for gaining credibility and getting feedback on your work?

Bob Flynn: I created an account on a great website run by Nate Williams called Illustration Mundo a few years back, but I've never put my work in an online gallery (or paid for anything of the sort). I guess I view my blog as having that purpose. Flickr is a kind of gallery, though.

Alex Dukal: Not at all to both questions. Ten years ago, if someone invited you to show some of your work in an online gallery, it was cute, flattering. Today, I think we have to be careful, because the selection criteria is often not that great, and one must pay attention to those details as well. If you display your work in the wrong place, it could have a negative result. In principle, credibility should come from the work itself.

Jayme McGowan: I have a profile on Illustration Mundo, which is a great website that functions mainly as a directory of illustrators, not a gallery per se. Honestly, I don't participate in any online galleries. I'm sure that's a great way to get feedback from your peers, but I don't know that it will give you added credibility as a professional. I can maintain only so many Web pages myself, so I try to limit them to the ones I get the most benefit from, those where I believe art directors and buyers might find me.

Jayme McGowan

Chris Piascik is a freelance designer and illustrator who is active in the design community. With six years of professional experience at award-winning firms in New England, he has had work published in numerous books and publications, including the Logo Lounge series, Typography Essentials and Lettering: Beyond Computer Graphics. He currently posts drawings on his website daily.

Irma Gruenholz is a Spanish illustrator who specializes in clay and other materials, allowing her to work in volume. Her work is used in books, magazines, advertisements and online marketing.

Question: Are you an active participant in every social community you have joined? How much time do you set aside to interact in social media? Do you commit to posting new work and personal updates regularly?

Chris Piascik: I stay active in quite a few social communities. I admit that I have joined some that I couldn't keep up with though! I don't really schedule time for social networking, although that's probably a good idea. Instead, I scatter it throughout the day, whether it's browsing Twitter on my iPhone while exporting a big file on my computer or procrastinating the start of a new project. It's all about multi-tasking! I think the biggest thing that has helped me with social networking is my daily drawings. I post a new drawing Monday to Friday on Flickr, and from there I post it to my personal website, and those updates flow to my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Chris Piascik

Irma Gruenholz: Yes, I have a blog, and I participate in some social communities, such as Flickr and Behance. Unfortunately, I don't have much time for a very active presence. I would like to devote more time because it is a good way to keep up with and see the work of other artists.

Question: At the moment, which community is the most valuable for finding job opportunities?

Chris Piascik: I think most of the networks out there have value. I do think Flickr works really well, though. My Flickr page seems to get the most traffic out of all my websites. Flickr is so vast that a lot of people use it for image research. I think my daily updates help my work not get lost.

Irma Gruenholz: Based on personal experience, Behance is a good platform for showing your work to art directors and art buyers. I've gotten some work through it.

Question: How important is crafting the messages you send out and keeping your website looking professional?

Chris Piascik: I don't censor myself that often. I think keeping things honest is a good thing. My work has some personality; much of it has a loose qualitypairing that with a cold or professional Web presence would seem odd. Expanding your social networks requires you to be yourself just as long as yourself is interesting!

Irma Gruenholz: Internet presence is very important for the artist. It is the best way to exhibit your work to the rest of the world. So, keep your website updated, and make it easy to communicate with people who want to follow your work.

Irma Gruenholz

Question: How do you make time for social networks? Are you committed only to websites from which you can get some professional benefit?

Chris Piascik: I have completely given up sleep. I really just sprinkle it throughout my day. It's a nice way to start my day while drinking my coffee or eating some lunch. I wouldn't say that I limit myself only to websites that I benefit from, though my opinion is that all networks help. Visibility is visibility. I use social networking to stay in touch with friends as well, so it's not strictly business for me.

Irma Gruenholz: I have little time to devote to social networks, so I prefer to focus on communities related to my profession.

Featured Artists

To grasp the meaning of art and how it has evolved over time, I interviewed Alexander Daniloff and Jonathan Ball. To explore the aesthetics of digital art, I spoke with Jan Willem Wennekes, who touched on some important points related to the differences between digital artists and other artists and the nature of digital art itself.

I also feature Nate Williams and Travis Lampe, in an effort to learn more about their work and their relationship to technology, including digital art tools and social media, and to explore the way the Internet influences the development of art.

To better understand the relationship between contemporary artists and new methods and tools for creating art, I've interviewed Max Kostenko and Pino Lamanna. I focused on their creative process and professional experience, from their entry into the field right up to their current sources of inspiration.

Finally, I interviewed Bob Flynn, Alex Dukal, Jayme McGowan, Chris Piascik and Irma Gruenholz, asking their opinion of the challenges that artists face when promoting themselves and their work in the new Web, trying to capture their experience with social media and online art communities.

Each of these artists has a particular style and is an active member of the artistic community. As such, they could be a source of inspiration to many. I hope their insights are helpful.

What about you? What does art mean to you?

(al)

Marilina Maraviglia for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | Post a comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine
Post tags: art, Design