Happy New Year 2010
January 1, 2010
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Extensibility
September 21, 2009
Think: building a house with a future extension in mind.
Extensibility is a term used in software engineering but can also be applied to building a house, a road or a website. It means starting off with something that meets your needs — and your budget — but planning for future additions without redesigning. Extensibility can mean start small but keep your options open — or start big and plan for growth.
Wikipedia describes extensibility as “A good architecture (that) provides the design principles to ensure a roadmap for that portion of the road yet to be built.”
We feel this was accomplished with the ProArteMaya.org website, where updates and additions were built on to a bare bones website and blog originally launched in 2007. And there’s still more to do, but the site is fleshed out enough that a link seems appropriate. Please visit http://www.proartemaya.org/Basket Maker, 8” x 10” Woodcut by Marilyn Anderson, www.proartemaya.org
Mapping Labor History
May 5, 2009
Just finished work on the latest offering from RochesterLabor.org: the Labor History eMAP, a web-based tour connecting the history of workers and their unions to locations in Rochester New York.
Map text — authored by local historians and educators Linda H. Donahue and Jonathan Garlock — links labor struggles to the Rochester landscape. Contemporary and historic images are served up by the Monroe County Library Rochester Images database and the Rochester Labor History Flickr site — with special thanks to RochesterPublicArt.com. The map itself was made with CommunityWalk, and can also be viewed on Google Maps at Rochester Labor History.
RochesterLabor.org is the website for the labor education programs of the Rochester Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Online since 2003, the site provides information on events such as the the Rochester Labor Film Series, Labor Lyceum and the annual Labor Day Parade. See links to other projects at RochesterLabor.org, Educational Materials.
Field Notes
March 6, 2009
A great example of online niche marketing, Field Notes offers an inexpensive, elegant and useful product that almost everyone can love (how’d they DO that?)
Initially, I was hooked by the Field Notes website. It’s built with WordPress and designed with a clean, retro look.
The folks at Field Notes describe their product as: “Inspired by the vanishing subgenre of agricultural memo books, ornate pocket ledgers and the simple, unassuming beauty of a well-crafted grocery list…”
Built with blog software, the site’s home page features regular (and amusing) updates. They take advantage of a range of social media to drive traffic to the site. These include a Facebook page, MySpace page, Twitter feed, an RSS feed and my favorite: a Flickr.com group.
The fieldnotesbrand.com online shopping cart integrates just fine with WordPress. Fulfillment services are provided by the North May Co.
Oh, and Field Notes make GREAT GIFTS. Orders always include extra goodies. Signing up for their mailing list gets you special offers.
All you need is…
February 12, 2009
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