Social Media Meltdown

If you are on facebook, twitter or linkedin - you know that my business hinges on social media. . . and as you can see from the last few posts - I have been busy trying to share news related to twitter and facebook outages and issues to keep everyone up to date.

I will continue to post links to relevant stories as they are made available. . . as well as make you laugh. . . or atleast try to.

And I promise not to waste your time with a fancy blog post trying to convince you that someone from Mashable is a guest blogger or that I am an expert in anything. I am not. I am not a 'guru' or 'pro' at social media - I simply want to share information that I think maybe useful to you. . . it's that simple. And today that information just happens to be related to tools I use on a daily basis. I know how vital social media is to *my* business and thought you would like to know why twitter and facebook are down.

Now, since we have some time on our hands until the Social Media Meltdown is over . . . . I think it's time to fix another cup of coffee and get back to work. What do you think?

(for those of you who need entertainment this site should keep you busy until twitter is up again)

Twitter outage silences tweets

Twitter outage silences tweets

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Facebook Slow. Twitter Down. Social Media Meltdown.

Facebook Slow. Twitter Down. Social Media Meltdown.

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Twitter's Site Goes Down

Twitter's Site Goes Down

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Vintage Style : Design Archives

As many of you know - I *love* classic 40's style. . . so much so that nearly all of my wardrobe is made up of vintage fashion. . . . .and you can be certain that growing up watching classic movies with my father (WWII vet) has played a huge role in my silver screen style.

Recently I spent an afternoon, on Tate Street in Greensboro, exploring one of my favorite getaways

- Design Archives.

Known as the largest vintage store in the southeast. Design Archives has been the mecca for vintage buffs for over 30 years . . . offering a selection of wearables, collectibles and textile swatches from the1880’s to the 1980’s

that rotates weekly. It is always a thrill to carefully discover little gems. . . like this classic black hat from the 40's - found in an open suitcase near the front window. I spent nearly a half an hour with all of the other hats that waited

patiently to be admired and fussed over.

Next to the hat racks near the front, I oooed and ahhhed like a little girl over these shoes. ::sigh:: It's too bad that I already have my Halloween costume (Samantha from Betwitched) because these shoes would be perfect for a Cinderella, or a Glinda the Good Witch costume . . . or maybe a sexier Maryilyn-esque dress. Hell, why wait for Halloween!

Take one look at my closet and you will see that I am a sucker for anything black . . . and this little polka dotted cotton number with a red belt, Sews up the fresh summer style of the 40's era . . . It makes me want to wear white gloves and red lipstick.

Oh, and if you haven't heard already . . . they also have a fantastic selection of costume and vintage jewelry, clutches, sunglasses and accessories.

The reason I love shopping at Design archives? . . . . Kit Rodenbough, the owner . . .and her 370 consigners silly! Together they offer a fun, funky mix of styles to accommodate any ones taste.

Visit Design Archives Online

or

in person!

Mon thru Fri – 11-7 Sat 11-6

DESIGN ARCHIVES

338 TATE STREET

GREENSBORO, NC 27403

Phone: (336) 272-1800

info@shopdesignarchives.com

and be sure to follow the fashion on 

 Buy Online:

Etsy Shop Ebay Store
• 
  

My Vintage Style - Fashion Cents from a Dime Store Diva

I have always had a style of my own. As the youngest of 6 girls, I was introduced to the fine art of recycling style at a *very* early age. 

Over the years my fashion cents has grown and the influence of my late Father (who served in the army during World War II) is hard to miss.

 I often have perfect strangers strike up a conversation because of my shoes, bag or dress. . . I have met so many amazing people just because of my vintage style.

Watching old movies before shopping at my favorite thrift stores /consignment shops  (or even my own closet) is an indulgence I will never give up . . . women were elegant, graceful . . . sexy without revealing too much - true inspiration!

It is rare that you see me in jeans. I do not own sweat pants . . . and only wear my yoga pants in the house, thank you. 

The sophisticated style of post WWII is intoxicating to me - I love heels, and believe that there is nothing sexier than a dress. 

I usually wear my hair up in a 'business bun' Grace Kelly style - so if you see me with my hair down . . . well, consider yourself one of the few. 

Getting down and dirty when it comes to my furniture building/design is a must! My favorite pair of bibs that I wear

 when combing the county for elements to build my pieces is true Rosie the Riveter style! . . .  with the red hankerchief to complete the look. 

My furniture designs are  influenced by the Depression Era mentality that I was lucky to grow up with.  My father taught me how to live a rich life by using what I have and never wasting anything. Though I design new pieces, I prefer to use recycled materials. There really is a treasure trove of potential . . . if you aren't afraid to let it find you. 

The 3 R's of living like a Dime Store Diva. . . 

Reclaim | Recycle |  Reuse

inspire and be inspired. 

How To Write An Ad

If you run a small business, use this article as a guide to crafting your own advertisements.

Written Feb 07, 2009

John McLain

national media consultant
Oak Harbor, Washington

Home-based business owners often need to advertise, but typically don’t have the resources to hire a professional copywriter in an advertising agency. No need to let that stop you. I’ve written ad copy for agencies, for corporations and for my own small businesses. You too can learn how to write your own ad, and do it effectively. Here’s how —

Every ad, sales letter, direct-marketing flier and radio or TV commercial is structured along an age-old advertising formula designed to motivate the person exposed to your ad. The acronym for this formula is AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. In just that order.

READ MORE >>>

How Has the Recession Changed the Art Market?

How Has the Recession Changed the Art Market?

Valerie Atkisson / ArtBistro

April 01, 2009

Interview with Ed Winkleman from Winkleman Gallery, Chelsea, New York. Ed Wilkleman founded Plus Ultra. It quickly became a “hot” gallery in Brooklyn. After a few years he moved the gallery to Chelsea on 27th street and changed the name to Winkleman gallery. Ed has kept an active blog about the art world and life as a gallery owner since 2005.

How has the recession changed the art market?

There is one big change. Collectors are unsure of what the work that they are thinking about purchasing is worth. For example a painting that is 36 × 48 inches that sold for $5,000 is probably still a safe bet, being reasonable by any standard. But a painting that size by an artist whose work went up in value during the bubble, up to $50,000 or $100,000, is now more of an unknown. The uncertainty of what art is worth is much more pronounced in the contemporary art market. Older works of artists from another era are more stable. There is also one kind of collector who is active and coming back to the market. These are the mid-range collectors that were priced out of the bubble boom and now that things have settled back down, they are collecting again.

Popular Links

 Nine Steps to Become an Artist  ArtBistro Scholarships
 Improve your life. Get a degree.

How can artists survive and thrive during this recession?

Artists should look at this time as an opportunity to play with some new ideas or consider some experimentation. Since artists don’t have to produce on demand for the next art fair as much, now is the time to master the new media that you have been thinking about or play with scale so that when the economy does turn around you will be ready to jump in with new work that you are excited about. Now is time to work on a project that you always wanted to do.

I have been told that a slump in the art market is a good time for new artists with less exposure to get in. Since the galleries are not selling out shows anyway, a gallery may take a risk on a new artist. Is this true?

I would say that conventional wisdom does not support that statement and that the opposite is true. A boom market is better for unknown artists because galleries are more willing to take risks. As the market cools there are experienced artists whose galleries fail. Those artists who have a more established careers are now looking for a galleries. If I had a slot open I would take an artists who had a reputation, many museum shows and collectors over an unknown artist. If there weren’t any experienced artists looking for a gallery, then I would consider showing a new artist.  

How can artists survive and even thrive in this art market?

Consider what “product” (i.e., artwork) you can put on the market that is obviously “worth it.” Adjustments may need to be made to your work now that it is not selling in a boom. Artists can focus on drawings or traditionally less expensive media. This can help keep your work selling. It also brings down the price of their work to what collectors are willing to spend without devaluing the work. Many artists and galleries are selling prints or multiples. This is a great way to give the market what they want again, without devaluing the work. Many artists are also picking up teaching while their work is not selling as much as it used to.

Has anything changed in your advice to artists who want representation?

The same rings true now as always, the best way to get gallery representation is: First, Know what kind of work the gallery shows and if you work fits in. Second, having someone you know and that knows the gallery introduce you if it is a good fit. Third, network, network, and network.

What will need to happen before the art market can come back?

Collectors don’t know what they personally are worth. They don’t know how much money they have or what their real estate is worth. The stock market needs to stabilize and there needs to be indication of real growth. Patience is the key here. Some have said that there is new life coming back from some early indicators in the past couple weeks, but just as many others dispute that claim.

Ed Winkleman’s blog

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Thanks to @creativechick for tweeting this link!

Eco Friendly Furniture - You Can Make a Difference

Eco Friendly Furniture - You Can Make a Difference

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HOW TO: Survive the New, New Facebook

HOW TO: Survive the New, New Facebook

March 27th, 2009 | by Adam Ostrow

Earlier this week, Facebook promised a number of changes to appease user concerns about the latest homepage re-design. Users have been noticing these improvements being pushed live to their homepage over the last day or so, and this morning, I finally got them enabled on my account.

After doing a bit of tweaking, I’m definitely enjoying my Facebook homepage more than I was the past couple weeks with version 1 of the redesign. I thought I’d share with you a few of these tweaks - designed primarily to reduce information overload - so you can try them on your own account, unless of course you’re happy with the new, new Facebook as-is. READ MORE>

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