|
Insight, Information and Inspiration on women's careers, business, technology and the Industry.
|
|
|
Recently someone asked a great question on the Interaction Design Association’s discussion list: What music do you listen to while you design? Over the next few days, designers of all ages chimed in. Though some said they like it quiet and others commented that they were usually stuck listening to the sales guy’s phone calls, there was a strong, recurring theme: While we’re working with our ear buds in, we designers have background noise we don’t have to pay attention to to understand.
For example, many people said they listen to classical, jazz, electronic, and world music in other languages (like the Plutomayo series). Others said they let their iPod shuffle through very familiar songs. New music was off limits to most (though some people cited online college radio stations known for new indie music). To be fair, there was a punk streak, a little NPR, and a handful of nods to Rammstein. A wise soul acknowledged it’s nice to break from designing and play a little acoustic guitar. Even though hip-hop soars in the charts, it was mentioned only as a side note that people turn to when they’re in a certain mood.
One after another, people piped up about their favorite spots online to get endless streams of custom music on demand. Here are some cyber-music suggestions that came up in that discussion that I wanted to share with the Webgrrls community to keep you designing to the beat.
This site has canned channels or lets you build your own. They even have an Irish channel for St. Patrick’s Day. One cool feature is that you can put in an artist and it will tell you what radio stations play them.
The best feature on finetune is their widget that lets you put play lists on your blog. They say that “it’s the soundtrack for your life and anyone can tune in.”
Continue Reading “Online Music to Help You Design”
 Many of us are watching the Chinese market and trying to figure out how to play in that space. I’ve even started taking classes in Chinese (though I must admit I’m still working on my tones). If you’re like me, you’re on the edge of your seat to stop reading about what’s going on in China and instead start experiencing the culture firsthand.
For those of us eager to learn and experience more, I wanted to share a fantastic opportunity: the Rethink China! 2008 sponsored by Moving Target Research Group. This cultural immersion trip gives you access to anthropologists, designers, and other experts in the field. The itinerary looks amazing! You’ll spend 5 days in Beijing, 4 days in Shanghai, 2 in Chongging, Dalian, or Shaoxing, and 3 final days in Hong Kong. It’s a chance to go on an amazing trip that has a huge pay off in your career as well. They’re still finalizing the dates, but tentatively the trip will be June 6 through 19.
In each city, you’ll go on field trips and participate in workshops. According to the website’s description, the program will focus on things such as:
- What’s going on with the so-called “middle class”?
- What about brands?
- What do households care about? How do they differ?
- What about recreation and leisure?
- Product usage in China: Basic things to know (pre-purchase, purchase, transport, sharing in-home, etc.).
- Networking with China-focused colleagues in and outside of your field.
Of course, such an incredible program comes at an incredible price. Early registration opens March 17, 2008 and is US$7995 per person. After April 15, it jumps to US$8995.
And if you happen to know of any place to apply for scholarships to attend something like this, please share. I REALLY want to go! 
The recent article In Praise of Spikes in FastCompany.com examines whether, in today’s global market, we can really work from anywhere in the world.
The conclusion: The idea that location no longer matters is “a compelling notion–but it’s wrong.”
The article claims that, even though we are highly mobile, we still benefit greatly from being in certain spots around the globe. To clarify, it’s not saying we all need to sit together in a room to innovate and be successful. This brief article caught my eye with its theory of “spikes” and “valleys”. It says there are highly concentrated areas of innovation and economic growth around the world and that people in these areas are connected to and benefit from other innovation pools around the world; people outside these areas can have a hard time tapping into the same resources.
“People in spiky places are often more connected to one another, even from half a world away, than they are to people in their own backyards. This peak-to-peak connectivity is accelerated by the highly mobile, global creative class, about 150 million people, who migrate freely among the world’s leading cities–places such as London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.”
Continue Reading “Can we really work from anywhere in the world?”
 For a working mother, achieving life and work balance is definitely a challenge. However, working for a mom friendly company that offers paid maternity leave, flexible work schedules, on-site child care, definitely helps. Working Mother magazine has just released its 100 Best Mom-Friendly Companies list.
How the Companies Were Chosen
The list of companies was based on an extensive application completed by each firm. The application included detailed questions about the workforce, compensation, child-care and flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It also checks the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them.
What the Companies Were Measured and Scored On:
Continue Reading “Working Mother - 100 Best Mom-Friendly Companies”
« Previous Page
|
|
|
