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October 23, 2009

I judge wine with words like "good" and "bad," so Wednesday night when I had the opportunity to go to a wine tasting with some folks who actually know the difference between tannins and acidity, I jumped at the chance. The fact that they wanted us to bring our laptops for some real-time reviews and connecting online made it that much more appealing.

Gary Vaynerchuk, author of the new NYT best seller "CrushIt" and host of Wine Library TV, and Lindsay Ronga of Cork'd held the special wine tasting for a handful of Austinites. With almost 40 people in the room, the conversation was lively and non-stop. We talked about the wines in person, and we also reviewed and rated them on the Cork'd site. Cork'd is a community of wine lovers, winemakers and those who want to learn more about wine.

There were three vintages of one of the wines we tasted -- the Lamborn Family Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon -- 2004, 2005 and 2006. Several folks sitting near the windows sampled the 2004. Those sitting near the door received the 2005. I tasted the 2006 along with the rest of the participants at the table in the middle of the room. I wasn't a fan. My online review actually says, "My tongue feels dirty."

Within seconds of posting my review, I was also able to see everyone else's review. We compared notes, and from the average scores, it sounds like the 2004 vintage was a good one. I then kinda forgot about my review and Lamborn.

But when I got home, I got an email from Cork'd saying that Lamborn Family Vineyards had left a comment on my review. They graciously thanked me for at least trying the wine; they actually thanked me for taking the time to leave a less-than-stellar review.

They get it.

They get that not every comment and review will be great out there in cyberspace, but they responded in a positive way still. They reach out to consumers where the conversations are already happening. They let me know that they are listening. It's about joining in on the conversations, and leading them when you can.

So, they're back on my mind. And because they reached out, I'm anxious to try something else from their menu. I wonder if they make a nice pinot noir… Or cupcakes?!

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October 12, 2009

I just realized it, but last week I uploaded my 3000th photo to Flickr. I love Flickr.

Had I realized I was getting close to the 3000 mark, I might have done something a little more exciting to mark the milestone. But on the other hand, I'm glad it just happened somewhat naturally.

The day I took this picture, I was hoping to get some portraits of my niece in the pumpkin patch. But she decided to take a nap, and then the rain started, so we all ended up at a hole-in-the-wall burger joint in Bracken, Texas, of all places for a greasy (but delicious) cheeseburger.

I love how a single photograph can take us right back to those moments.

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September 4, 2009

I have to admit: I have a little crush on Dr. Walter Bishop from FOX's messes-with-my-head show Fringe. I'm so excited about the new season starting this month. I watched last season without missing a single word, and I plan to do the same with this one.

Last night -- you have may have seen it -- FOX ran a rerun of one of the episodes from last season as they lead up to the new one. They called it a "Tweet-peat" and plugged tweets onto the screen during the episode. I didn't know what to expect. It had the potential to be cool, or really, really bad.

They kept only two tweets at a time on the screen so as not to distract too much from the show, and most of the conversation -- happening in real time on Twitter too using the hashtag #Fringe -- was between the actors, producers and crew. But here's what worked for me about this little experiment: They interacted with fans and fellow tweeters! They answered questions about favorite scenes and episodes, and they alluded to inside information about things to come, maybe.

You can tweet all day long, but unless you're actually listening to those who follow you and interacting with them, you might wanna reevaluate the way you use Twitter.

I kept watching (and hoping) for Walter (played fabulously by John Noble) to send me a special "I love you too" message on my TV screen. I guess I just must've blinked and missed it.

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September 1, 2009

Several members of the Hammock crew dusted off our cameras in August to have some fun with a photo scavenger hunt. The rules were simple: Interpret the nine items on the list in any creative or literal way that we wanted, and have fun!

Here's what I found:

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August 19, 2009

Rex, Steve and I spent four days of the past week in Toronto for ASAE's 2009 Meeting & Expo. We met association leaders from all over the globe and sat in on some great sessions on topics ranging from advocacy to marketing to social media and communications. And you know us: We photographed, videoed, blogged and tweeted every aspect of our visit.

But I had a few random thoughts about my personal take on our visit to Toronto that I thought I'd share:

Everyone is very friendly. ASAE and Toronto did a superb job of partnering up to make sure visitors were never lost in the city or in the convention center. "We've been expecting you" t-shirts and buttons were always within eyeshot – in our hotels, in the convention center, on street corners – so that we could grab someone if we needed directions to a session, suggestions for dinner or just a friendly "good morning." There was even a friendly homeless guy on the walk between my hotel and the convention center. He spoke to me every morning.

Ketchup is very sweet. Honestly, I never expected something like ketchup to taste so different just north of us, but it really did. With my first dipped French fry, I didn't really notice it, but a couple more bites into my lunch Tuesday, and it was unmistakable. This stuff is sweet! I flipped the bottle around to see if anything might tip me off to the difference in taste. There was no high-fructose corn syrup (which I thought was a very good thing) but "liquid sugar" was listed on the label in its place. A couple more bites, and my southern taste buds just couldn't take the sweetness. The rest of my fries went down without their ketchup partner.

Toronto recycles. Like no other city I've ever seen, they are incredibly environmentally friendly. One coffee shop that I walked into on a Monday morning had tape over the opening of the trashcan. Instead, patrons were directed to recycle everything. There were bins everywhere for "plastic bottles and cans," "organics" such as unfinished food, coffee and the bamboo dishes we used during the conference, and all "paper." There was even a recycle bin in my hotel room.

They don't say "eh" as much as you might expect. I only heard it once, and that was in the airport when I was leaving town. I was quite disappointed.

Portions are smaller (more normal). Breakfast muffins weren't the size of softballs but more like tennis balls. My appetizer at dinner Sunday evening was just enough to make me hungry for more, unlike restaurants around here were I'm apt to be stuffed after an appetizer, but still continue to eat more. And mini-desserts were perfect for that after-dinner something sweet.

Blueberries are out of this world. I consumed something blueberry-related every day that I was in the city. Whether totally fresh and raw or mixed into a dessert or dipped in chocolate, they really were like no other blueberries I'd ever had. I don't think I can ever look at a pint of blueberries in a Texas grocery store the same way. Yes, it's the same fruit, but somehow so different.

Condominiums kill the vibe. Downtown Toronto was full of life, character and great architecture. The Queen's Quay along the lake was vibrant and full of fitness buffs and visitors. And even through the two were only about three blocks from each other, a shiny new row of condominiums cut the two completely apart from each other. The condos blocked the view of the water from downtown, and if you were on the water's edge, you couldn't see past them far enough to even realize you were that close to the city. Austin could take a lesson from Toronto and never consider building such beasts along the shores of Town Lake (now Ladybird Lake). There was something kinda sad about it.

Bring comfy shoes. I beg you. Toronto is one of those cities you walk in, and walk a lot. Whether it's a nice, breezy evening walk to dinner or a jaunt along the water, you'll want your feet to be able to keep up with all the things you'll want to do while you visit.

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August 12, 2009

We're lucky at Hammock Inc. We're surrounded by colleagues who are creative, supportive and -- though it may sound cliche' -- very much like family. So when I saw this article about coworker complaints in the Phoenix Business Journal this morning, I just had to laugh.

CareerBuilder released the highlights of a recent survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers, and it included some very interesting complaints. My personal favorites:

• Employee has big hair
• Employee is so polite, it's infuriating
• Employee eats all the good cookies

It's nice to work with a team that shares our cookies. And I don't think anyone here is a pimp.

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July 30, 2009

We all face writer's block from time to time. I actually had a Word document open for four days last week before I was ever able to form a coherent sentence to complete my article and meet a deadline.

So let me tell you what a "word nerd" I felt like this morning when I squealed with excitement at seeing Liz Strauss' 25-word writing project on Twitter. Her blog post inviting everyone to participate says it all: It's about inspiration.

But for me, it turned into a little writing game. I just let the words flow into a complete sentence, just as she suggested.

31 words.

I edited one verb that I wasn't very thrilled with.

33 words.

I removed a couple of instances of a word that I had used three times.

30 words.

Then, a couple of sips of coffee and it came to me. My 25 words on social media were complete!

When miles don't matter, ideas are shared, problems solved; when people you might never meet cross your path, that's when it is worth every second.

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July 29, 2009

I finally finished my first roll of film in my new Holga camera last week, and this week picked up the prints. I was hoping for some quirky imperfections, and boy, did I get them!

A couple of pictures should probably go right into the garbage can, they just didn't turn out at all and I had to squint to even remember what I had taken a picture of.

But a couple of them were decent, imperfect, and gave me a great lesson is using the camera. For instance: This camera needs LOTS of light; anything that happens to be in the corner will be blurry and soft; and I need to back away from my subject just a little.

I've just put another roll of fresh film in. I can't wait to see what comes out next!

The shot you see here is of the backyard tree that I photographed for a whole year. I thought shooting it on film would give me a good point of comparison.

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July 21, 2009

I'd love to go into the office this afternoon, but it's 1,000 miles away. I try get to Nashville a few times a year and do actually work in the office with my colleagues, but the rest of the time I'm working remotely -- alone -- in Austin, Texas.

But don't believe for a second that being out of sight means that I'm out of mind. Nor does it mean that the rest of the Hammock team isn't on my radar.

Hammock is a big believer in embracing the technology and tools that bring people together, so on a daily basis we use an arsenal of those tools to stay connected across the miles. Some employers might wince at the idea of opening networks -- and thus the lines of communication -- to such ideas. But I for one can tell you that doing so is a must if you want to cultivate the relationships you have with remote employees.

Here are just a few of the things that make me feel like I'm right there in the office with the rest of the team every day:

• The phone. (Of course.) Every Monday morning the Hammock staff gets together in the conference room to go over production deadlines for the week, project updates, who'll be out of the office, and what movie recommendations we have from the weekend. My phone rings around 9:30 so that I can join in on the conversation. I'm also able to follow along on the agenda and see any Web page that they may open by tapping into screen-sharing between here and there.
• Instant messaging. Everyone at Hammock is on iChat. If I have a grammar quandary to debate with Emily or a headline-writing question for Bill, IMing them to chat for a moment is a perfect option. It's faster than email, it's a real-time conversation, and it keeps me connected to all of them as individuals.
• Yammer. We use Yammer internally like a private Twitter or a group iChat. Again, it's real-time, can be used between any number of employees at one company, and we can create and join different groups for specific projects so that chatter about one project doesn't become noise to someone not involved in it.
• Flickr. Although we have a group presence on Flickr, many of us also have personal photostreams. While that may not sound like it keeps us connected and productive for work, it does help me to feel personally tied to my coworkers. I learn things through Flickr that I simply don't learn during our Monday-morning phone calls: the crazy antics of Megan's cats, how many tomatoes have been harvested in Rex's backyard and what Ben wore to a recent concert.
• Google Docs. In a word: fabulous. Google Docs allows us to all work from one document -- and we can all view it at the same time -- without emailing it back and forth and wondering who has the latest and greatest version. From text documents to spreadsheets to website wireframes, Google Docs allows us to all stay on the same page.
• Twitter. Ahh, Twitter. It's entertaining. It's silly. It's helpful. And it's a great tool for helping me feel connected across the miles. From finding sources for stories to taking quick polls to sharing ideas, we use Twitter for a variety of reasons. But for me personally, it's just one more way that I can stay connected to coworkers in Nashville.

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July 20, 2009

Saturday evening I met up with an amateur photographers group at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery. We met new people, ate some great food, and of course took photos every step of the way.

Some of the folks there were very new to photography, so those of us a little more comfortable around a camera were sure to offer a few tips and tricks to anyone who needed assistance. One gentleman got help with setting the white balance on his new camera, one new member of the group ate his first-ever breakfast taco, and I shared a few tips for shooting food. These are the things I try to keep in mind:

1. Watch your background. Sometimes the background can be just as important and tell just as much of the story as the item that you're shooting, but don't let your background be too cluttered.
2. Natural lighting is best. Of course it is. But if you can't take a full meal into the backyard to take photos, at least open the blinds by the dining table or move what you want to photograph to a better natural lighting source.
3. Utilize props. Do be afraid to style your shots. Add a colorful napkin or a bottle of wine or an edible flower to your food subjects. Doing so can add interest, color and excitement to your photos.
4. Get close, but not too close. Focusing in on a single, beautiful bite of the dripping icing on cinnamon roll or the melty cheese on a burger is perfect, but make sure you stay far enough away that you can actually tell what you took the picture of.
5. Rule of thirds. The four points created by the tic-tac-toe pattern in the rule of thirds are great targets for food pictures. Make one of the four points your main focal point to add interest and draw the eye into your subject.

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Summer Huggins

Conversational Media Director

o: 615.690.3428

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