In this age of internet (in)security, it is now more than ever crucial to establish a system of password creation that is both safe and easy to remember. Following is one method that should help prevent you from falling into common mistakes when creating passwords, such as writing them down in order to remember them, or using easily recognizable words or word combinations. Start with a favorite song lyric. For this example, we’ll use a line from the Beatles’ tune, ‘Blackbird': “Take … [Read more...]
About Rachel Cary
Rachel Cary is the Founder and Creative Director of Elevata Incorporated, a full-service print and web design firm in Oakland, CA. She has worked in the advertising & design industries since 1990 and her firm has won numerous awards for its work in both print and web design. Elevata specializes in corporate identity, print collateral, web design and custom web applications, including iPhone design and development.
Create a Safe(r) and Memorable Password
Proposals vs. Contracts: Get Efficient!
I ran across this newsletter article (Proposal or Contract? February 2005) on the Win Without Pitching site a few weeks back. I remembered then that someone had told me to check out WWP a while ago. In the constant overflow of information running across my radar, I had forgotten to do so. I encourage you all to not make that same mistake and to check out not only this article, but the entire Web site. WWP is oriented towards designers and ad agencies, but the principles advised in the founder's … [Read more...]
Tweeting with Your Best Foot Forward
I’ve been tweeting for about five months now and loving it. It’s become a regular part of my day and work life and I’ve gained boatloads of insight, access to information and more, which I wrote about earlier. I’ve noticed a somewhat disturbing trend in some tweeting though, something that brings me back to Business Communications 101 with a heaping dose of Internet Etiquette 101: you are your own PR team, and anything you put on The Internets can and will come back to haunt you. Or … [Read more...]
Twitter: Three Months In, And Loving It
There’s been a lot of press in the last few months about ‘Twitter Quitters’ and the 60% of users that stop tweeting after about a month. And now, there appears to be some indication that Twitter usage has flatlined, although time spent on Twitter in the last year has grown a whopping 3712%. A lot of people have tried Twitter and a lot still don’t get it. Many perceive it still as way to broadcast what you had for lunch or simply to brag about your latest achievement -- but those of us … [Read more...]
Twitter: Next Steps
If you’ve read my previous recap/intro to Twitter, and I’ve got your attention -- read on, this post will help you quickly get up to speed. UI design of social media tools is a point of hot contention. Both Twitter and Facebook have been heavily criticized for the lack of clarity and consistency in their applications. Facebook recently embarked on a redesign that generated a firestorm of negative feedback from loyal users, and Twitter -- in addition to have bandwidth issues that can cause … [Read more...]
Working Those Linked In Connections
This is the second part of my recap of the EBWIBR Social Media Luncheon that I attended on Friday, April 3rd. I learned quite a bit in the two presentations given by Nancy Friedman of WordWorking and Kelly Parkinson of Copylicious. It was obvious both presenters had far more to say about Twitter and LinkedIn than we had time for, and I look forward to hearing these women speak in the future about Social Media. In the meantime, here's a recap of Kelly's presentation which focused on using one of … [Read more...]
Getting on Board The Twitter Train
As one of WIC's Social Media Co-Chairs, I’ve been keeping my eye open for speaking events from users of social media. I was particularly interested in users that were perhaps not ‘power users’, or social media experts, but users that were a little more like you and I. Or perhaps, more like we’d like to be. Last week I found just the thing: EBWIBR’s monthly luncheon. EBWIBR (East Bay Women In Business Roundtable) is a division of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce and this event was a … [Read more...]