Ever since becoming a designer and have clients, I am more and more realizing the importance of customer service. I pay attention to it a lot, since it is my job to know how companies maintain their brand/identity. I look at companies like Apple, from a global scale, from what I see on tv, all the way down to how I am treated from sales people when I walk into an Apple store. And their brand is executed with [almost] perfection on all levels. (more…)

So it’s Monday morning, and this time change has me up extra early, so I figured I’d write about something that I thought about the other day. Watching tv this week and seeing commercials to movies and stuff, it was a swift slap in the face that we will never see cartoon(ish) movies on the big screen again. Not that I’m upset or anything about it, but it’s just weird to me. (more…)

At least once a week after lunch, me and some co-workers go walking along the river to kill time. Since the day I started, I saw so many things I wanted to take pics of. As jenky as Detroit is, I did happen to notice alot of different opportunities to take some sweet pics. So today, I finally brought my camera out with me to get a few shots, and they turned out fairly well. There was only one that I took that didn’t make the cut, so I chose not to post it.

But anyways I created a new set on Flickr named ‘A View from the D’ which is self explantory. This will be a continuing work in progress. I got alot of shots of the Ren. Center because I love the way it looks, although it matches no other buildings in downtown. So take a look:

 A VIEW FROM THE D

I sit on my computer for at least 10-12 hours a day, and by the end of the day, my brain is just exhausted. Now in no way is that healthy for my eyes or anything, but for 8 hours I’m at work so obviously I don’t have a choice but to be in front of a computer. For the other few hours I spend at home, I’m playing around doing web shit that I can’t exactly do at work, and yes I have a choice in that matter, but I choose to get web stuff done. I mentioned in my last post that I am looking forward to working out, but there are more reasons for working out other than getting in shape.

Today I read a very intriguing article that talked about our culture and technology, and for hundreds of years, civilization and the technology it created worked to bring us closer together. Well today, as much as you can say that technology brings us closer together, I don’t think that’s true. Why? Because it seems like people hide behind technology now, and use things (ie facebook) to create these virtual relationships to replace the physical ones. Unless people are already really close friends on these sites, then everyone else you talk to is just a virtual representation of the real person, and you can’t really get to know someone like that.
It’s like what was once healthy for our society like meeting people face to face, and having business meeting, etc. now turned into conference calls, video conferencing, emailing, and all this other kind of stuff just for the sake of convenience. Now I’m not saying I’m any kind of special case, because I easily fall in this category, and even though some of this tech stuff is cool, do you think it’s worth sacrificing the physical interaction that you have with people? I don’t think so.

And I hope you can somewhat understand what I am talking about, because you don’t have to be some techy (like myself) to realize it. But am I the only one that thinks it’s kind of weird that people surrounded by their own technological atmosphere trade in real life interactions with cyber-interactions? Why? Because it’s just too damn convenient to sit on your ass and do it. It’s not just in your home either. Now tons of [public] coffee shops now offer wireless internet. So you can even go to a public place just to be in your own world on the computer. Aren’t Weren’t coffee shops like a social meeting place?
So again, I don’t exclude myself from this, in fact maybe I’m a prime example of this. I do all of my banking online, as opposed to going to the bank. If you’re a client, then best way to get in touch with me is through email, as opposed to talking on the phone or having a meeting in person. I play online video games wtih friends instead of going somewhere to play basketball or whatever.

Here is a direct quote of a quote from the article that I read:

We have at our disposal more free time than ever before, but instead of using it creatively for personal study and inner growth, we lean back in the controlled comfort of our living rooms and demand to be entertained, hypnotized by the endless parade of animated figures on a television screen.

…We are a society of spectators, voyeurs rarely experiencing the peace that comes from physical expression and personal accomplishment. We seek a life of ease and comfort, believing that this is the way to happiness, and then wonder why life has lost its flavor.

That basically sums up what I’m trying to say, and I fall dead in that category. Now at this point, you’re probably wondering what the hell that has to do with working out. Well I guess another reason why working out will be good for me, is that it will give me a chance to get away from my computer and tv. I know that I’m a computer/internet junkie, but when there is something to do, then I have no problem walking away from it. And although I’m usually being productive while surfing the net, it’s always good to get away from it for awhile. That’s another reason why I’m looking forward to next weekend at Sarah’s too. So working out will be very good for me, even if just for an hour, it’s an hour of resting my eyes from staring at a computer screen or tv.