Posts tagged ‘it takes a cyber village’

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June 28, 2011

giving credit where credit is due

For fifteen years, I have worked as a writer, and later, a photographer and an editor as well. I love editing, be it book or magazine or for an individual client. Not just the research and working with writers and the robin’s egg blue cover of the latest CMOS, but because I know what it’s like to be on the other side. I’ve had editors of my own. I still do. And when I’m editing, I want to make sure that the work of others is the best it can be.

While I’ve been guest posting on various blogs for four years now, this site still has a bit of that new blog smell. I have netiquette conundrums all the time. (What my great grandmother Fifi, my personal Emily Post, would have made of this, I wonder?)

With a blog of my own, I’ve thought more about the way words and photos roam. How often I hear about people seeing their own work plagiarized. With a writing career mostly in print, I never really worried too much about that. (Photos more so.) Unfortunately, the ease of a cut and paste is too hard for some to resist. Fortunately, many cutter and pasters find karma is alive and well online.

Just yesterday I was talking to my friend Janna about public Flickr accounts and how much trust you had to have in others when you posted things. Because when you post photos online, they can end up anywhere. Like glitter. Or a Czech grocery store advertisement.

Whether here or on other sites, I have always been quite particular about images, taking my own photos (or scribbling a few words) most all of the time. I never quite understand how people deal with images otherwise. I’m baffled by the issue of credit. And what is OK to post, and what isn’t. So, I err on the side of caution and generally do my own thing.

Check out this fabulous poster about photo creditiquette that was created by Erin Loechner and Pia Jane Bijkerk, with a font by Yvette van Boven. Great typography AND in pink! (It comes in three other colors, too. You can purchase a print here.)

And please pay a visit to LINK WITH LOVE - you’ll find that there is a whole wide web of people who create and respect the creativity of others and want to see their names, URLs, twitter handles, placed beside their words and images.

While I’m learning that not everything requires permission - I no longer will email/tweet and ask people permission to link to them - the editor in me will always want to source and fact check because it’s the right thing to do. And it’s the nice thing to do.

And while it’s nice to be important, it’s most important to be nice. xo a.

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June 21, 2011

intro-net, glitter and all

It is more easy to be wise for others than for ourselves. - François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

It was a Sunday morning, and for the first time I heard what would become the familiar high-pitched squeal of dial-up as it came through my computer. I was fifteen.

When the homescreen appeared, my first thought was this was some sort of fake test page, which sounds totally stupid now, and probably then, but I remember that being my first reaction. Because it was just so surreal. The headline, which seemed huge across that 17” screen, said that River Phoenix was dead.

It seemed impossible.

But so did the Internet.

I don’t know if the day I got my first email account would have had such an impact if it hadn’t crossed paths with the death of that amazing boy. But I still remember the goosebumps. Info was still coming in about what happened, who was there, and details were not entirely clear. But there it was. Information traveling at dial-up speed, faster than anything we’d ever known.

Fast-forward eighteen years, and there is an entire generation that doesn’t know what dial-up was. Or River Phoenix .

And I would think that this generation, having grown up not knowing any different, would approach the web with a bit more savvy then we did way back when.

My friend Morgan once wrote a great tutorial explaining the Internet to users d’un certain age. For them, this is a brand new world. They didn’t grow up with computers. But how to explain why today’s ten, twelve, fifteen-year-olds don’t understand the impact of half the things they do online? This worries me. Not just in a safety sense but in terms of the repercussions and responsibilities that come with an internet identity.

Once you’re online, well, it’s hard to go back. And if you’re on Facebook or twitter or other social media sites, there’s no knowing where the things you share end up. Life online is like glitter. Taking a page from Demetri Martin:

The thing about glitter is if you get it on you, be prepared to have it on you forever, because glitter doesn’t go away. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies.

So, if I were 15 today, I really wish someone would explain to me, in a big sisterly way, not an annoying parental way, the tech talk basics:

-Respect your privacy. Learn now that you don’t control much when you’re online. If a site requires a password, there is a reason for it. And giving that password to your friends is stupid. There is very little privacy left in this world wide web. Treasure what you have. Do the same for others.

-Represent yourself well. When you post photos online, anyone can share them. So, be selective. Don’t tell the world where you go to school or where you’re going on vacation. (And explain to your parents why they shouldn’t be posting about their upcoming trip either - they don’t know any better, the poor things. Educate them.)

-Think before you type. The thing about the Internet is it can be like a game of telephone. Only if you do say something wrong or hurtful, it will be in writing. And you can’t take that back. You can’t deny doing it. We all make mistakes, we all say something stupid. But when you post it, tweet it, email it - well, it’s quite a bit more complicated. If there is even a small part of you that believes it could hurt someone’s feelings – don’t post it.

-Have an offline life. The Internet is a wonderful thing. But much of it is vicarious experience, and little of the real thing. Read real books, watch movies in theaters, g to concerts and shop in stores. Connect with people, who will also connect you to more incredible things online. It’s a very cool cycle.

And google River Phoenix. Watch Stand By Me and Running on Empty and The Thing Called Love, amongst many more. He was incredible. He was talented. He didn’t have to die so young. Don’t do what he did.

xo a.

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June 16, 2011

i get by with a little help from my friends

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth. - Madeleine L’Engle

The first step - especially for young people with energy and drive and talent, but not money - the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art. - Chuck Palahniuk

I read a lot of biographies. Particularly those written by, or about, writers, artists, and filmmakers. (By the way, my good friend Peter’s book on the work of director James Bridges was just released, and it’s fantastic. Bravo, Peter!)

I’ve always been drawn to books about circles of artists and writers, the times in which they lived, and the way they influenced one another. In the visual arts, performing arts, literature, fashion, and design, as artists, we’re all under the influence of something. And whatever is happening historically will be evident in our work. As Charlie Parker said, “If you don’t live it, it won’t come out your horn.”

In the late 90s, I read Everybody Was So Young, about Gerald and Sara Murphy, ex-pats of the Lost Generation. You may not know the Murphys by name (they were the inspiration for Dick and Nicole Diver, amongst others), but you’d probably recognize a few of the friends they encouraged and supported: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Cocteau, Picasso.

Like Peggy Guggenheim, and other patrons of the arts, the Murphys had wealth and privilege, yes. But, more than that, they possessed a desire to encourage others to create. And did so with a critical eye.

Almost a hundred years later, technology has brought us to a place where many artists can do so much without first seeking someone to fund their pursuits (but, hey, nice work if you can get it.)

All artists, no matter the medium, need community and criticism and inspiration. I know I do.

So, when creative people set out to encourage others, to provide a platform for them to showcase their talent, it’s an exciting thing. And in creating cargoh, that’s just what my friends Paul and Cariann have done.

Seeking out artists and craftspeople around the globe, they’re creating a curated space for artists to call home. And today, after a great deal of hard work and passion, I am thrilled to see that cargoh is ready to take on the world.

Love what you do and it will love you back - that’s the cargoh way of life.

But it’s not exclusively about what’s on their site, it’s also about finding inspiration in the larger world of art and music and design. Which is why I think what they’re is doing is so fabulous.

Once upon a time, artists and writers and performers would gather at the Murphy home, Villa America. And while I surely wouldn’t mind an escape to Cap d’Antibes, I believe with cargoh, Paul and Cariann are creating a 21st century destination for artists to gather all their own. Stop by and take a look, won’t you?

Check out the cargoh blog, this side up, here. xo a.

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June 3, 2011

stripe mania

Chic is where you find it. – Bonnie Cashin

Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury. – Coco Chanel

In recent years, two of my lifelong fashion staples have become increasingly popular: ballet flats and striped tees.

Some people get annoyed when their signature pieces become trendy. I actually think it just makes for more fun stuff to buy. (Silver linings, right?) So, from top to toes, the things I love to wear can be found just about anywhere these days - from Target to Barneys. (I find J. Crew satisfies both addictions very nicely.)

When I was a little girl, long before Repetto came stateside, I’d go to Capezio and get one pair of ballet shoes for ballet class, and another that went to the shoe repair and had rubber soles put on the bottoms to wear outside. I think the only thing that would have made me happier was if I could have worn my tap shoes outside, too.

As for the stripes, well, I suppose it must be genetic as my mother loves them, too. One of my favorite photos of her is on my parents’ wedding day as she’s having her makeup done. It’s actually a series of shots, in black and white lit by LA sunshine breaking through the curtains. There’s nothing posed, and she seems unaware of the camera for the most part. And along with her Dorothy Hamill hair cut, she’s wearing a navy and white striped bateau neck top. (Ironically, so is the makeup artist with her supercool Mary Quant makeup caddy.)

I’ve worn a lot of stripes in my time. Tops, tights, skirts – my favorite probably being a navy and white striped Christian Dior sweater dress I had when I was eight.

So, when Jules first mentioned that decor8 was doing a round-up of bloggers in their stripes for Pinterest, I decided to join in. I mean, I was wearing stripes then. I am wearing them as I type this. I didn’t have to do much.

Since Tru happens to have one item of clothing and it is striped, I wrangled him for a quick photo op. (Don’t judge. I will have children one day, and he’ll be lucky if I remember his name, let alone humiliate him with striped sweaters. It’s not like I bought him ballet slippers.)

In honor of #stripemania, “Only connect…” Breton-style. xo a.

(To join in the decor8 stripe mania photo project, go here for details.)

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