Design is a loaded word. It means something different depending who you talk to. For example, design in the context of an innovation services firm (like AO) means something entirely different than design at an ad agency.
Unfortunately for many, …
Last Thanksgiving, my dad announced he had cancer. It’s been rough watching him fight this disease, and I can’t imagine the toll it has taken on he and my mom. He’s beating it, and things are looking good.
In honor of him, and in effort to raise awareness for men’s health issues, I’m participating in Movember. The aim, grow a mustache & raise a few funds along the way.
Join me this N(M)ovember by:
Simple Grid is a jQuery plugin intended to be a no-fuss way to “replicate” your Photoshop grid on top of your development site.
Set these 3 variables to get started:
$.simpleGrid({
rowHeight: 20,
columnWidth: 30,
gridWidth: 960
});
Once you’ve added the tiny bit of JavaScript to your page, you will get a pink dot in the upper left corner.
Clicking the pink dot will toggle the grid on and off.
A GIANT thank you goes to Patrick Bacon
for his coaching and coding input.
Dustin Tinney has been a solid source of inspiration and ideas along the way as well! Major thanks!
IDEO has a knack for finding some of the most creative and inspiring thinkers in the world. They have a list of awards and recognitions to prove it. So when they pitch their idea of “The Future of the Book“, people tend to take notice. Here’s the pitch:
The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.
Slick huh?
But wait. This looks a lot like this thing that popped up in the late 70s and early 80s. I think they called it the Internet back then.
Is this really the future of the book, or is this just another delivery device for the Internet?
The IDEO approach represents the general consensus in the publishing industry, as to where the book is headed.
An approach that I personally disagree with.
I think this is where media, in general, is headed. I think that content formats will continue to collide as well as become more interactive.
As publishers race to figure out ways to add value to their products, they continue to look down the technology path – and without fail, it looks a lot like the World Wide Web.
Don’t get me wrong; I think there is value in pursuing ways to wire up what used to be a traditional book. I say traditional, because I think we’re in the process of coming up with a new vocabulary – or maybe the publishing industry just needs to catch up to the vocabulary the Web has been using for more than a decade?
I think the utility of the content may lend itself to taking on a different form (like the WWW or App), but I also think that we’ll come up with a different name for that type of content. Maybe we’ll call it an App, or a Site, or something altogether different. Book, however, has to much cultural significance to be used as the catch-all term for something we read.
In the print world we have journals, magazines, textbooks, reference books, trade books, etc. We have those terms and definitions because “book” isn’t sufficient. Just like book and ebook isn’t sufficient to talk about digital versions of things we read, watch and listen to. We’ve got to come up with something better.
The publishing industry needs to realize that new technologies (like the WWW and physical devices like the iPad) have paved the way for new types of content – not new types of books. Parchment paper wasn’t a new version of the stone tablet – it was something all together different.
Books weren’t the beginning, and they surely are not the “end all” of ways to read.
I think the time has come when innovative thinkers and problem solvers need to abandon the notion they can “save” the book, and champion this new space in which content collides; the World Wide Web.
The Herstein’s recently added a beautiful new addition to their family, and I had the privilege getting them all in front of the lens. Here are a few of my favorites. Thank you all for being such good sports and letting me drag you around campus!
My favorite lunchtime pizza place went out of business a couple of weeks ago. I knew it was too good to be true. They had the best pizza in town (New York style thin crust), and the prices were a steal.
I had a hunch when I first stepped foot in the place a little over a hear ago that they would most likely end up like the majority of newly established restaurants, and go out of business within the first few years. Sad story.
One of my first real jobs during high school and college was working at a local pizza place, in the small town I grew up in. To this day, it was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.
I started out dressing pizzas and graduated to running the ovens, and then on to pretty much every aspect of the place. I loved it, and I’ve always wanted to open a pizza joint ever since.
I know the odds of winning at the restaurant game are NOT good. So for now, I’ll put that distraction aside and just morn the loss of good local pie.
R.I.P. New York Pizza
Rich Snippets are nothing new, but there still seems room for some semantic energy to be thrown towards books. I’ve been working on a schema that will accommodate books within Microformats hProduct. I’ve based the majority of this work directly off of the Book Industry Study Group’s best practice document for sending metadata.
Microformats Book Specification
The book specification is an extension of the hProduct draft schema for Microformats. It should should be subject to, and likewise inherit, the guiding specifications for hProduct schema as it continues to solidify.
Table of Contents
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is defined as:
A unique international identification number for each format or edition of a monographic publication published or produced by a specific publisher or producer.
Example:
<p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-10">1585425885</span></p> <p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-13">978-1585425884</span></p>
The title is defined as the following:
The complete name of a published product, including the subtitle, as it appears on the title page.
Example:
<p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></p>
The subtitle is defined as:
A secondary or explanatory title that follows the main title.
Example:
<p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: <span class="subtitle">The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></span></p>
A contributor is defined as the following:
A person or corporate body responsible for the creation of the intellectual or artistic content
of a product.
Example:
<p>Author: <a class="vcard contributor author url"><span class="fn">Piero</span> <span class="n">Ferrucci</span></a></p>
A publisher is defined as the following:
The entity that owns the legal right to make the given product available in this form.
Example:
<p>Publisher: <span class="vcard publisher"><span class="fn org">Tarcher</span></span></p>
Price is defined as:
The amount of money set as consideration for sale of the product in question.
Example:
<p>Price: <span class="price msrp">$13.95</span></p>
Product form is defined as:
A code list value describing the physical or digital qualities that distinguish a given product manifestation from other product manifestations of the same intellectual work.
Example:
<p>[<span class="product-form">Paperback</span>]</p>
Publication date is defined as:
The date on which a retail consumer may purchase and take possession of a given product.
Example:
<p>Publication Date: <span class="pub-date">October 4, 2007</span></p>
The BISAC Subject Headings are defined as the following:
The BISAC Subject Headings are a list of standard subjects designed for use in the North American book trade.
Example:
<p>Subject: <span class="subject PHI015000">Philosophy / Mind & Body</span></p>
Language(s) of product content are defined as:
The language (written or spoken) of a significant portion of the content included in a product.
Example:
<p>Language: <span class="lang eng">English</span></p>
Series is defined as:
An indefinite number of products, published over an indefinite time period, and grouped together under a series title, primarily for marketing purposes.
Series Number is defined as:
The number of an individual product in a numbered series.
Most series do not number their constituent products, however, for series where the individual products are sequentially numbered this data is important.
The series name should be supplied for every product that is published as a part of a series. The series number should be supplied for every product that is published as a part of a numbered
series.
Example:
<p>Series: <span class="series">The Way of The Buddhist Series</span> Book Number <span class="series-number">7</span></p>
Edition number is defined as:
The Arabic number of an Arabic-numbered edition of a product.
Example:
<p>Edition Number: <span class="edition-number">3</span></p>
Edition type is defined as:
A code that describes a standard type of edition.
Example:
<p>Edition Type: <span class="edition-type lte">Large Print</span></p>
The standard edition types are:
Audience Code is defined as:
An ONIX code, derived from BISAC and BIC lists, which identifies the broad audience or readership for whom a product is intended.
Example:
<p>Primary Audience: <span class="audience general">General</span></p>
Examples:
Age(s) of target audience are defined as:
The precise age range in years or school grades of the intended audience of products aimed at children and young adults.
Example:
<p>Age range: <span class="age">18+</span></p>
Territorial Rights are defined as:
The publication rights that the publisher chooses to exercise for a given product in the specified geographical territories.
Example:
<p>Territorial rights: <span class="rights world">Whole World</span></p>
Example:
<p>Size: <span class="dimensions"><span class="width">6</span> x <span class="length">8</span> x <span class="depth">0.9</span> in.</span> <span class="dimensions">152 x 203 x 22 mm.</span></p> <p>Weight: <span class="weight us">1.09 lb</span> | <span class="weight metric">494 gms</span></p>
Page count is defined as:
The total sum of all numbered pages in a printed book.
Running time is defined as:
The total length, in standard units of time, of the recorded content of the product.
Example:
<p>Page Count: <span class="page-count">368</span></div> <p>Run Time: <span class="run-time">01:05:05</span></p>
Textual description of the product is defined as:
Detailed text describing the product appropriate for public display, such as what would be printed on the flap of a dust jacket or on the back cover of a book or DVD package.
Example:
<div class="description"> <p>Piero Ferrucci warns against the dangers of "global cooling." As the pace of living grows faster and the impact of new technologies more insistent, communications become hurried and impersonal. The drive for profit overrides the heart. Warmth and genuine presence fade.</p> <p>The Power of Kindness is a stirring examination of a simple but profound concept. Piero Ferrucci, one of the world's most respected transpersonal psychologists, explores the many surprising facets of kindness and argues that it is this trait that will not only lead to our own individual happiness and the happiness of those around us, but will guide us in a world that has become cold, anxious, difficult, and frightening.</p> <p>In eighteen interlocking chapters, Dr. Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism-and toward love. Writing with a rare combination of sensitivity and intellectual depth, Dr. Ferrucci shows that, ultimately, kindness is not a luxury in our world but rather a necessity for us all.</p> </div>
Summary is defined as:
An abbreviation of the textual description that covers the main points of the work.
Example:
<p class="summary">Citing a global phenomenon of impersonal human relations and materialism, a respected transpersonal psychologist argues that individual happiness can occur only through acts of kindness, in a resource that explores eighteen expressions of kindness while demonstrating how kind people are the most likely to survive and thrive in a hostile world. By the author of What We May Be. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.</p>
Cover thumbnail is defined as:
Example:
<img src="../images/978-1585425884.jpg" alt="The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life" class="cover thumb" />
<div class="product hproduct book">
<img src="../images/978-1585425884.jpg" alt="The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life" class="cover thumb" />
<p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: <span class="subtitle">The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></span> [<span class="product-form">Paperback</span>]</p>
<p>Author: <a class="vcard contributor author url"><span class="fn">Piero</span> <span class="n">Ferrucci</span></a></p>
<p>List Price:<span class="price msrp">$16.99</span></p>
<p class="summary">Citing a global phenomenon of impersonal human relations and materialism, a respected transpersonal psychologist argues that individual happiness can occur only through acts of kindness, in a resource that explores eighteen expressions of kindness while demonstrating how kind people are the most likely to survive and thrive in a hostile world. By the author of What We May Be. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.</p>
<div class="description">
<p>Piero Ferrucci warns against the dangers of "global cooling." As the pace of living grows faster and the impact of new technologies more insistent, communications become hurried and impersonal. The drive for profit overrides the heart. Warmth and genuine presence fade.</p>
<p>The Power of Kindness is a stirring examination of a simple but profound concept. Piero Ferrucci, one of the world's most respected transpersonal psychologists, explores the many surprising facets of kindness and argues that it is this trait that will not only lead to our own individual happiness and the happiness of those around us, but will guide us in a world that has become cold, anxious, difficult, and frightening.</p>
<p>In eighteen interlocking chapters, Dr. Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism-and toward love. Writing with a rare combination of sensitivity and intellectual depth, Dr. Ferrucci shows that, ultimately, kindness is not a luxury in our world but rather a necessity for us all.</p>
</div>
<p>Publisher: <span class="vcard publisher"><span class="fn org">Tarcher</span></span></p>
<p>Price: <span class="price msrp">$13.95</span></p>
<p>Publication Date: <span class="pub-date">October 4, 2007</span></p>
<p>Subject: <span class="subject PHI015000">Philosophy: Mind and Body</span></p>
<p>Language: <span class="lang eng">English</span></p>
<p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-10">1585425885</span></p>
<p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-13">978-1585425884</span></p>
<p>Series: <span class="series">The Way of The Buddhist Series</span> Book Number <span class="series-number">7</span></p>
<p>Edition Number: <span class="edition-number">3</span></p>
<p>Edition Type: <span class="edition-type lte">Large Print</span></p>
<p>Primary Audience: <span class="audience general">General</span></p>
<p>Age range: <span class="age">18+</span></p>
<p>Territorial rights: <span class="rights world">Whole World</span></p>
<p>Size: <span class="dimensions"><span class="width">6</span> x <span class="length">8</span> x <span class="depth">0.9</span> in.</span> <span class="dimensions">152 x 203 x 22 mm.</span></p>
<p>Weight: <span class="weight us">1.09 lb</span> | <span class="weight metric">494 gms</span></p>
<p>Page Count: <span class="page-count">304</span></p>
</div>I’ve written countless blog entries over the miles and miles I’ve ran over the past 2 years. None of which have ever made it to the Web. The act of actually writing them down seems to magnify their pointlessness.
I’m also haunted by the fact that once you put something online it has a way of sticking around and defining your future to a degree – even if the moment that you captured was purely a moment and nothing more.
So I find myself looking for something “professional” to write about, because writing about friends who bail on you, struggles at work, questions about religion, or some other random “conflict”, all seem to create a negative space around you that just gets glued to your ‘digital self’.
For me, the ‘social web’ has turned into a mechanism used, for little more, than defining your online persona. It tires me out, after all, I’m an introvert by nature.
I think part of the success of the social web is that it feeds our inherent desire to be known. It lowers the threshold for most people to share just because they want their voice to be heard.
I think it’s a bit of fools gold though – at least it was for me.
The litmus test was to just stop talking and see if anyone notices. I had my hunch – which was confirmed when I stopped writing “meaningful” blogs and closed my Facebook and Twitter account.
Virtually no one noticed – which is probably more of an outliner than I would like to admit. Either way, it’s telling.
Soapbox
There are, of course, many reasons to adopt a topic that you’re passionate about, and champion it whenever you have the opportunity.
The danger comes when you get on your soapbox and it’s clear to everyone around you that you don’t practice what you preach. It’s a lot like standing up on a soapbox with your pants down.
Just sayin.