Are you aware that just because images are available for free on websites such as Google and Bing doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have the rights to distribute that image in a commercial (for profit) scenario. Copyright is owned by whomever creates the work in a tangible form. Displaying the copyright symbol next to a work is no longer necessary to justify copyright ownership. In other words, if someone didn’t create the intellectual property then that individual doesn’t have the right to disseminate the property without the written consent of the original owner.

Legally, we can all download images from the Internet for any reason anytime, for personal use only. However, be cautious when you decide to use that for business.

You may ask yourself, what if I run a non-profit corporation? Doesn’t that mean that I have the right to disseminate an image and call it my own if technically I’m not using it commercially? Absolutely not. We can all justify how we mean no harm but it all boils down to the fact that stealing creative work is illegal and completely immoral. Just because images are prevalent and easily accessible doesn’t mean we can put them where we choose. If I own a used car lot on display and I walk away for lunch, does that mean my property then becomes up for grabs for anyone to take a car?

My client said it was an extreme hardship to be fined $750 for her infringement. Actually, she is very lucky indeed that there was no further action taken by such as huge company like Getty Images to pursue the case. I say pay “the man” and be on with it. Remember, the Internet is meant to be a source for authentic creative material. Be authentic or be boring, but don’t break the law.

As our minds float ever so further to the cloud every waking day, it appears a solution to cloud-based collaboration is just on the horizon. Every creative person is looking for a super fast file approval system. I’ve done some research on file sharing lately, and it seems there are three top competitors that have some great functionality that assists with streamlining our workflow.

Salesforce.com Chatter

Chatter is extremely easy to use because it is just like Facebook, but used as a private network for a company. I can constantly view a feed, just like I would on Facebook. They have apps for the “Big 3,” as I call it; Desktop, iPhone, and iPad.

A user can follow whomever they’d like within the parameters of other users with the same email domain—A huge suck for those small businesses that use Gmail or Yahoo for their business email.

Another downside I’ve found is that the previews for shared files on Chatter are extremely small, which lack quality. Not an ideal choice for those of us that are in editorial design and must read through a ton of copy to find mistakes. However, it can be useful for quick approvals of logo colors and any other quite apparent changes.

Another thing Chatter lacks is the option for push notifications. This would change the creative industry tremendously! I could drag and drop a file on my chatter desktop app, Chatter could send a push notification to multiple people (great if you have more than one boss), my boss could approve the file simply by clicking “like,” and download and send to the client for final approval.

DropBox

Dropbox is great for simple file sharing between devices, but lacks the social collaboration platform that us creatives deserve. I highly recommend Dropbox for standard consumer file transfers, but nothing more.

Box.net

Box.net is my favorite, so far. With easy use uploading, my boss can get an email notification when I’ve changed a file on their cloud storage, and it even shows previous versions on the business subscriptions.

Just like Chatter, Box.net lacks push notifications so people conducting final approvals can be automatically notified. I’ve spoken to a sales rep at Box.net and he claims push notifications are definitely in the works and are expected to hit the mobile app later this year.

Conclusion

It all boils down to simple file sharing, easy social collaboration, and push notifications. Dropbox wins with the simplest file sharing system, but Chatter wins for the creative industry with the easiest social platform. Chatter will have to refine their file preview and add push notifications. I am anticipating that Salesforce.com, with it’s clout in the cloud race, will make the necessary changes to win us all over, but when?

If anyone knows a platform that is as if Chatter and Dropbox had a baby, please let me know.

Indeed, this is a huge move for Facebook as it expands it reach evermore. Is Facebook becoming the one stop place to do everything the Internet has to offer?

It started with AOL with chatrooms and basic information web browsing. Chatting and Information? Check. It does look like Facebook will become the new way to search for information.

Read the article here.

When it comes to service requests from a tenant, service requests are usually communicated through an email or phone call. Many people who rent a home or apartment may not have the knowledge or experience to explain an issue that requires a repair, thus a request is broadly communicated to the landlord or property manager. A tenant sends out a claim about a leak under a sink, and most of the time a landlord will send someone out to inspect the issue. In most cases, it may be difficult for a landlord to visualize what is occurring with a service call. The process is impeded by too many steps, time, and confusion that can sometimes take days for a tenant to receive repairs, especially if the landlord owns many properties and units. There are tons of software suited for landlords and property managers that assist with organizing their rental payments, managing maintenance, setting up taxes, and much more. There has been no discovered software that is made to enrich the life of a tenant.

Purpose
Fix Request is an app that is designed to create efficient communication between a tenant and landlord. It allows both parties to visualize and collaborate on issues with ease. Fix Request will empower a tenant to figure out their issue with many options to choose from, take a photo and highlight areas of needed repair, and send the request, all in less than one minute.

Why not just take a photo, attach it to an email, and send to the landlord?
While it may be easy to snap a photo and send it in an email, there are occasions, such as leaks, where it may serve the tenant to utilize the highlight capability of the Fix Request app.

Key Functions
Main menu has quick access to categories comprised of most common service requests.
Ability to take a photo of the issue, tap areas of the photo to highlight areas. 
(e.g. a water leak may be invisible on a photo, so it is easy to circle to show where it is coming from.)
Sends a structured email request to the landlord. Includes photo with detailed information such as date and time, service category and sub categories, tenant contact, and address of residence. The email will be printable for the landlord, which can also be forwarded to maintenance staff.
An emergency repair button for immediate phone contact to the landlord.

Setup
The tenant will be asked to fill out a brief user profile that includes:
The tenant’s email, phone number, and address of residence.
The landlord/property manager’s email and emergency phone number.

Process
User notices a repair is necessary.
User launches Fix Request
User chooses category for common service repairs.
User chooses common repair from options.
User takes a photo of the object needing repair.
User taps on specific areas of the photo to draw circles that highlight areas.
User sends packaged request.
Receiver gets email.
Receiver has option to forward to maintenance staff, and/or print/archive for records.

Clarity Institute is involved with NLP, Reiki, Matchmaking, self help, anything that deals with better communication to oneself or others, healing mind, body and spirt. NLP works in the context of ALL areas of life; financial, health, relationships, learning, and athletics. They offer workshops in all those areas to help people excel, remove limiting beliefs, fears, and procrastinations.

They teach others how to be optimally well in mind, body and spirit and to personally help others in their journey for the same. They wish to help others gain personal freedom in order to live more purposefully both personally and professionally and to build lasting loving relationships. We do our part bringing peace to the planet, by helping bring peace to individuals one person at a time.
Clarity Institute is here to help people return to their most true essence and to live in harmony with themselves and others. They hope to do our part to build a stronger more loving society by helping people find their soulmates and make lasting, loving marriages and be great parents to raise a peaceful, loving next generation to be healthy in all aspects.
They wish to have young adults learn earlier in life how to choose wisely for lasting loving relationships, and how to learn more effectively and efficiently and learn the kinds of things that are most useful to lean and avoid the baggage and pain that comes from mass consciousness thinking.

Thus, the mark for Clarity Institute was derived from healing, cleansing, and partnership. The mark abstractly communicates all of these, subtly representing the lotus flower, a symbol of healing, a drop seen in the negative space, and the two leaflets representing male and female partnership.

Clarity Institute is involved with NLP, Reiki, Matchmaking, self help, anything that deals with better communication to oneself or others, healing mind, body and spirt. NLP works in the context of ALL areas of life; financial, health, relationships, learning, and athletics. They offer workshops in all those areas to help people excel, remove limiting beliefs, fears, and procrastinations.

They teach others how to be optimally well in mind, body and spirit and to personally help others in their journey for the same. They wish to help others gain personal freedom in order to live more purposefully both personally and professionally and to build lasting loving relationships. We do our part bringing peace to the planet, by helping bring peace to individuals one person at a time.
Clarity Institute is here to help people return to their most true essence and to live in harmony with themselves and others. They hope to do our part to build a stronger more loving society by helping people find their soulmates and make lasting, loving marriages and be great parents to raise a peaceful, loving next generation to be healthy in all aspects.
They wish to have young adults learn earlier in life how to choose wisely for lasting loving relationships, and how to learn more effectively and efficiently and learn the kinds of things that are most useful to lean and avoid the baggage and pain that comes from mass consciousness thinking.

Thus, the mark for Clarity Institute was derived from healing, cleansing, and partnership. The mark abstractly communicates all of these, subtly representing the lotus flower, a symbol of healing, a drop seen in the negative space, and the two leaflets representing male and female partnership.

About Typekit,

Built around web standards, our service gives designers and developers a subscription-based library of hosted, high-quality fonts to use on their websites. We have over 250,000 customers including some of the largest sites on the web today: The New York Times, Conde Nast, IGN, Twitter, and many others. We are also actively integrating Typekit into hosted platforms—such as WordPress, TypePad, and Posterous—so that anyone with a website can use real fonts.

Our Company

Typekit, Inc., is a fast-growing, venture-funded company based in San Francisco. We have revenue, a business model, and a plan for how to change the web. The company was founded in 2008 by some of the industry’s most experienced designers and developers with the goal of advancing what’s possible on the web. The team we’re building continues to reflect that.

Check out this amazingly animated speech rendered by RSA Animate.

For over 250 years the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has been a cradle of enlightenment thinking and a force for social progress.  Their approach is multi-disciplinary, politically independent and combines cutting edge research and policy development with practical action.

Their videos provide a visual connection to deep thought. You can subscribe to their videos on YouTube.

Flyer design for Encore Entertainers Golf Tournament in Palos Verdes, Ca.