User Experience Advertising

2010-06-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

1. UC Berkley School of Information:

http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/admissions/mastersinstructions

Application : 188

Target Class size: 35-40

Avg GPA: 3.5

Median GRE: Verbal 630 Quanty 740 Writing 4.5

Avg. Yes of Work Exp: 5.7

Deadline : January 1 2011

2. University of Michigan

http://www.si.umich.edu/applying/applying.htm

Deadline: Jan. 15 deadline

3. Rice

http://psychology.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=173&linkidentifier=id&itemid=173

Applicants who were accepted into the program recently had:

a mean GPA of 3.59
mean Verbal GRE of 590 (range 400-800)
mean Quantitative GRE of 701 (range 540-800)
research experience is an important factor in admissions decisions

4. University of Texas

http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/admissions/masters.php

The completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in the United States or proof of equivalent education at a foreign institution

A grade point average (GPA) of 3.4 or higher (on a scale on which the grade of "A" is equal to 4.0) in all junior- and senior-level upper-division and graduate-level coursework attempted or completed

A satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE). In the admission-decision process, an applicant's GRE scores are judged in conjunction with his or her GPA. The median GRE (combined Verbal and Quantitative Aptitudes) of School of Information master's-level students in recent years has typically been slightly above 1250.

Clearly and thoughtfully written statement of purpose.

Strong letters of recommendation discussing the applicant's academic abilities.

5. University of Washington

http://www.hcde.washington.edu/nav-prog-advise/day-ms

6. Carnegie Melon - School of Design

http://www.design.cmu.edu/show_admissions.php?s=6&t=2

SXSW Music Schedule

2010-03-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Teusday
ART DISASTER no.10 (RSVP Required) @ Beauty Bar on Tue. 03/16 |  8:00PM.
Tug Boat Hustle presents: Freaks Meet Folks (RSVP Required) @ Club de Ville on Tue. 03/16 |  7
Barcelona - All night
Parish / Jungle - RSVP Required

Type:

Party - House Party

Start Time:	Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:00pm
End Time:	Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 2:00am
Location:	Lanai Rooftop Lounge
Street:	422 Congress Avenue
City/Town:	Austin, TX
	View Map

Forget the ROI, Brilliant Campaign Doesn’t Need ROI!

2010-02-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

The one of the main reasons why I love this campaign is, because it combined two of my favorite advertising together; social media and outdoor. Do I believe this was a successful campaign? Yes. So what is the ROI?... Could you stop mentioning ROI in every social media campaign? There are campaigns that just make sense, and ROI is not measurable in some instances. How could you actually put $ on the emotion this campaign creates and calculate ROI on the buzz value? If you insist, go ahead and type in Kisses Walgreen Timesquare, and see how many results you get in return.

Brief description on this brilliant campaign

"The campaign, led by Digitas with Gilmore Group, connects people online and in-person. From Feb. 10-14, couples can upload their best kissing photo online at shareakiss.walgreens.com, or get their picture taken in-person at One Times Square to have their kiss displayed in bright lights. The billboard picture can then be downloaded or printed at any Walgreens store after it appears in Times Square. The kiss pics will be readily available to share on Facebook, or to print as a photo or gift to commemorate the romantic event."

Why is this a winning campaign?

1. Enhanced brand image & Brand awareness

Long lasting emotional value to everyone who was a part of this campaign
This also applies to people who read about this campaign, including you
People are going to keep their pictures along with Walgreens logo for forever

2. Facebook engagement

Many companies would be dying to have this kind of interaction
They also created a separate EVENT page for the campaign on here
11339 confirmed guest, 1450 wall posts, 3636 maybe attending
That’s not all… someone actually PROPOSED using this campaign and this is the reaction on Facebook.

Who knows how many individual share their photos and this campaign via their facebook account / blog / twitter. I don’t have access to get those numbers.

3. Bringing Customers to the Store

Make $ off the photos printed
There is a high chance that the customers will buy something else other than the photos while visiting
This also increases brand awaresness

4. Carry over / Talk about / Buzz value

I am sure there are other “RETURN” they have gained from the investment they made it on here. But I am sure now you get the point. By using social media, Walgreens was able to communicate and engage with fans, and the coolness factor in outdoor campaign in TimeSquare was able to bring people together and create a buzz.

Elevator Usability Fail - Feedback

2010-02-18T11:36:00.001-08:00

Elevator Usability Fail - Feedback, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Feedback is very important when you press something. It has the white ring to indicate that the button has been pressed, however, the contrast of white ring and the silver metal is not good enough.

User Interaction Diagram - Preparation

2010-02-18T00:49:00.001-08:00

User Interaction Diagram - Preparation, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

User Interaction Diagram - Preparation

By far the easiest way to prepare and conceptualize the interaction diagram. This way, it is very easy to move the actors and the system around. You can also easily attach and detach interaction between the players.

Youtube Channel Embed Trial

2010-02-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

Double Dragon - 01 Dead or Alive Theme

2010-02-01T17:49:00.001-08:00

one of my favorite all time

Testing Flickr Slide

2010-01-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

Things I need to Blog About

2010-01-22T15:02:00.001-08:00

So I've been jotting down all the ideas yet I've been so lazy to write a complete blog entry with them.
1. Back button vs. Banner ads
2. Budget vs. Development . Should the UX person present all the ideas in the beginning?
3. Framing - Asking a question with a certain direction and strategy to get the desired answer. Could this concept be used in the UI?
4. Co -Blogging. Nelson's Taco with $20.09
5. 9 ways to look busy at a public event where you dont know anyone.
6. Foursquare & GoWalla Ethic. What is ok and what is not?

Illusion Labs brings multi-touch gaming to the big screen

2010-01-20T09:27:00.003-08:00

This is so freaking neat. From finger touch to hand touch, this increases the motion and movement = increase of emotion as well. UX win!

Geisha Steak @Geisha Sushi 떡갈비?

2010-01-19T15:46:00.001-08:00

Geisha Steak @Geisha House, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

With the recent rise of Korean pop culture (see Rain and Korean Soap Opera here), the other members of Korean culture are gaining more recognition these days. This, of course, includes the famous Korean dishes. You may already know a famous beef dish such as Bulgogi or Kalbi. I could assure you that these dishes have the international taste, which means that any meat lover in the world find the appreciation for this kind of food. But in this post, I would like to tell you about a fusion steak dish we have specially prepared for the steak lovers in the state. It has similar taste of the two dishes I have mentioned above but in the form of our favorite dish, steak.
Let me introduce Geisha Steak. This thick and tender steak was prepared for the texture in mind. With the first bite, you will be surprised with the tenderness it has that almost feels like you are biting into a juicy hamburger, yet the quality of meat is something beyond of ground beef. Geisha Steak is prepared by with the special sauce; soy sauce, onion, garlic, glaze of honey, and finished with sprinkle of sesame seeds. It is served on an iron sizzling dish with grilled carrots and onions. With a bowl of rice and a bowl of Miso soup (you only get it for free if you mention that you are following us on Twitter!), I think this is probably the best Korean steak you could experience in downtown Austin.

Jets Fans arrested at Chargers 1/17/10

2010-01-19T11:43:00.001-08:00

This is just wrong. If the cops wants to change their reputation, they better get on social media and start listening.

Taking Class Notes with Wave

2010-01-19T05:11:00.000-08:00

This is something new that I want to try starting this semester. The concept is as simple as the title describes. I basically start a wave in Google Wave (I guess I still feel that Google Wave has not hit the main stream; I see myself describing the term 'wave' as you see in this case) for each class note, 1 wave per day, then I would add all the classmates who have Wave account.
Concept is simple, it's adding the notion of collaboration in the class environment, especially in the note taking area. I strongly believe that two individuals' combined notes is more concrete and detailed than the one I write on my own, obviously. This is just very similar to the basic concept of Wikipedia, collaborative dictionary. One thing I would like to see on this Wave trial is the innovation. I wonder how the students are going to use all the functionality in Wave to maximize its capacity, for instance, embedding multimedia and using Wave apps.

It could be a just another small project that could go down the drain, but as long as I keep the note up to date, I don't see how this is going to derail. -> This sounds just like a concept of blogging. Update the content, provide value, and people will engage with you.

Don Norman: The three ways that good design makes you happy

2010-01-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

Florida's Chandler Parsons hits miracle buzzer-beater

2010-01-05T09:14:00.001-08:00

Never give up never surrender

Quoted from: Arcade Expressionism - today and tomorrow

2010-01-04T14:30:00.001-08:00

Enterprise Collaboration? Top 5 What it is, Top 5 What it is not.

2010-01-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Definitions
1. It’s a giant file sharing storage
2. It’s a place to create business documents together.
3. It’s a place to create event calendars and announcements.
4. It’s a place to share knowledge with your coworkers.
5. It’s an intranet communication tool.

Top 5 Misconceptions
1. It’s a giant file sharing storage
2. You build, people will interact and contribute.
3. You have to change the way you run your business.
4. This tool will save us. It will solve every problem.
5. We need a big launch date for this platform

Twitter ASC II Art

2009-12-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

I know.. it's not really an art.. but oh well.

I was able to create something like this
───────────
███─███─██───────────────
█───█────█───██─███─█████
███─█─█─█────█──█─█─█─█─█
█───███─██─█─██─███─█─█─█
─────────────────────

Here is the template you want to use to create your own ASCII Art. Remember, use first 11 characters on the first line to move on to the next line. I should write how Twitter is actually functioning regarding the alignments and indexing, but .. im too lazy for now.

1) Vertical
───────────
─────────────────────────
─────────────────────────
─────────────────────────
─────────────────────────
────────────────────────

2) Medium

───────────
────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────
────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────

3) Horizontal
───────────
──────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────
──────────────────────────────────────────

6 Misconceptions with Social Media Marketing in 2009

2009-12-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

So this year, I have been involved with numerous social media marketing campaigns ranged from small company (50 employees) to a large corporation (3500+). Some were very successful and some campaigns didn't even get to launch because of the internal problems. Here are the six misconceptions and mistakes I have witnessed in year 2009.

1. Social media marketing is Free
People often believe that social media marketing is free. Facebook is free and twitter is free, thus, social media marketing should be free, they claim. Platforms might be free, but you still have to pay for the ideas and the labor for the content generation. Some researches have to be done prior to launching a campaign: listening program, environment research, and user researches. But I have to admit that SMM is much cheaper than the traditional marketing campaign.

2. Social media marketing is guerrilla marketing
Many clients have asked to create 'buzz' using SMM. They want to see quick measurable ROI, and determine if they should invest more money and time. While the results are measurable using various online tracking tools, You will often fail if you believe that there is higher chance for the campaign to get viral if social media is involved.

3. We need a big launch date
Nothing really starts that big in SMM. It could be a part of the main campaign that has the big launch date. Starting SMM from the scratch, I recommend to build a network by providing value instead of spending too much time executing cute SMM campaigns.

4. We need strong social media policies and procedures
Don't look around to hire an agency to build your social media policies.
Build your own. Check out all the possible touch points on different social networks and see where you are going to participate. Predict some scenarios and assign responsibilities to trained employees who will be representing your company on the social media touch points.

5. People will come and interact
This is the same misconception that people had with the website. Many had thought that people will come and find the website once it's built. Without proper content and interaction strategies, there is no reason for people o interact with your brand.

6. The social network will grow overtime
Yes it will, however, you need to make sure to invest time on each social network.

All these sounds little too obvious, but even I had fallen in same traps quite few times. We have gotten smarter over time with website development and interactive marketing last few years. I predict that similar learning curve will be resulted in social media marketing in next couple years.

5 Reasons for TUX - Texas User Experience

2009-12-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

So this spring 2010, I am starting a student group call TUX, Texas User Experience. The main purposes of this group are,

Share professional user experience knowledge and the best practices.
Provide students with real world exercises to build UX portfolio.
Raises the awareness of user experience design in every aspect of business.

5 Reason Why You Should Join in Spring 2010
Graduate with Strong Online Portfolio
Online portfolio is must have when you are looking for a job these days. Regardless of your profession, the companies want to see what you have done and what you are capable of. 'Portfolio is for a designer or advertising students!' You can now rest that idea in year 2009, because the things are changing rapidly. You need to find a way to market and differentiate yourself from your competitors by providing easy access to your practices and experiences. At the end of every semester, TUX will produce series of case studies, blog posts, and other contents to share with the members. You will have access to edit, add, download, and reuse these contents to show your involvement and experience.

Expand your knowledge
User experience skill set is more demanding these days. By sharing UX knowledge with your peers, and the real world professionals, you will be able to expand your skill sets in this field. Simply put, you will have more stuffs to write under your Skills section in the resume.

Learn and apply real world UX practices
One of our main goals is to share and exercise the real world UX practices together. Some of the examples are: card sorting, wire framing, user studies, information architeucture, and usability testing methods. We also hope to work on at least one real world paid project per semester.

Network with real world professionals
I am currently working for a design agency and already have built personal networks with local UX professionals. I will be able to invite these professionals for speaking and workshop sessions. Who knows, they are looking to hire someone as well?

Become the founding members
This probably is the biggest reason why you should join this semester. You will be the leader of this group and you will have chance to showcase your leadership skills. It also give you chance to work on your leadership skills as well.

Are you interested? Please join Google Wave and add me djteknokid@gmail.com and make sure to notify me. You can always follow me on Twitter to join the conversation at www.twitter.com/djteknokid

Looking Back 2009

2009-12-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

After couple clicks away, I was able to pull out the first blog entry of the year. Like I have suspected, it was about the new year's resolutions type of entry.

Beginning of 2009

My Goals in 2009 Was...
There were specifically 5 things I really wanted to accomplish or at least improve upon. They were...

Writing skills . ( I think I have improved slightly by default)
Speech ( I had more presentation opportunities, also I had chance to finish Presentation Zen in the beginning of the year)
More real world practices with users - nope. not enough.
Documentation skills - I still need to make sure that every work I produce need to be documented in a way that I can market my skills using the recorded document.
Information Architecture - I have learned few tips here and there, yet, I need to finish learning Visio.

Looks like these are going to be my on going weaknesses.

Books I've Read
Because of the long distance relationship I am currently in, I spend at least 6 hrs on the road driving every other week. I have been reading audio book while I'm driving, and I think it is probably the smartest thing I have done in years. What are some of the books I have read this year?

Presentation Zen
Tipping Point
Blink
In Search of the Obvious
Made to Stick
Never Eat Alone
Strategic Intuition
A Whole New Mind
Yes!
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Dip
On Intelligence
The Ten Faces of Innovation
Tuned In
Hey Whipple! Squeeze This
Advertising Age
Communication Theory
What I meant to say
Web Form Design

That's lotta books.... but like someone said, "To learn and not to do, is not learning. To do and not to learn, is not doing." I have read so many books yet I have not produced much content nor practices of my own. I am not a scholar, I am more of a practitioner... I need to remember that.

School

I started well with 3 A's, but I ended this semester with B+ and B and I am not happy with it at all. I should have continued my steak...
I got into creative sequence, and also advanced to portfolio

Work

I am finally in charge of planning and executing interactive marketing for FGSQUARED
UX process are documented and it has now become a solid part of FGSQUARED's Services
$20.09 campaign was successful from PR perspective

Final Grade for Year 2009
I still have 13 more days to go and there are still couple things I would like to add on this list. I hope to get Google Analytics Certification by the end of the year and finish reading another book by then. I am also in the process of starting Student UX Group, so let's see what happens ... but just to give myself a grade, it would be....

B -

Let's kick butt the rest of 13 days to move up to B!

A Charlie Brown Ad Agency

2009-12-17T12:59:00.001-08:00

So funny So true.. But not in my company though : )

Good Job Caleb!

2009-12-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Former coworker Caleb Joyce has produced an artwork that is currently being displayed in TimeSquare.
Check this out

Corey Brewer POSTERIZES Derek Fisher!!

2009-12-14T08:46:00.001-08:00

Excuse me

Today's Reading and Goal

2009-12-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

Readings for Today

UX Related
http://www.andyrutledge.com/where-wireframes-are-concerned.php
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/11/communities-of-practice-optimizing-internal-knowledge-sharing.php

Advertising Related
http://www.adweek.com/aw/creative/ad-of-the-day/article_display.jsp?creativeId=270371

Google Analytics IQ Certification
http://www.google.com/support/conversionuniversity/

To Do
- Send the US Citizenship Application
- White Paper Outline
- Facebook Integration MockUp

To Do List

2009-12-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

So many things to do, not much time left, wasting my time jumping on the different train of thoughts...

1. Finding a mentor
2. Starting UXD group at the UT Austin
3. Enterprise Collaboration White Paper
4. Google Analytics Certification
5. HFC Usability Certification
6. Google Challenge
7. Facebook Integration on FG2.com
8. Read all the audio books I have donwloaded
9. Read all the UX articles I have put off of
10. Applying for the Citizenship
11. oh yeah... engagement ring : p

Never Eat Alone

2009-12-06T17:20:00.000-08:00

I have been reading this book call, Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi. Among many practices he had suggested, he had mentioned to write down achievable goals in life. Many people are confused with the dream with the goals he also pointed out. The goal is the finish line where you can look back and see your footsteps knowing that you have reached to the point.

So here... I am going to write down some short term goals and long term goals. I ask myself what I really want to do in my life. Something tangible that I can measure myself. What makes me really happy? What are my strengths and the weaknesses to see if I am heading to the right direction in my career? If I answer these questions, the author suggest that it is much easier to come up with the goal and how to accomplish it.

My Strength & Things that I enjoy
1. Video Game
2. Drawing
3. Cognitive Science
4. Marketing Planning
5. Presentation
6. Information Graphics
7. Creative Thinking
8. Visual Design
9. Watching People and Analyze

My Weaknesses & Things that I don't Enjoy
1. Being Organized
2. ADD
3. Writing
4. Weak at Information Architecture
5. Networking / Meeting New People
6. Memorizing
7. English or Language in General
8. Saving / Budgeting Money

What do I really want to be at the end?
Professor at a major university teaching...
1. Advertising
2. User Experience Design / Planning
3. Human Factor / Cognitive Science / HCI
while running my own user experience advertising agency.
I also want to be known to be the father of user experience advertising. Heh, I have already purchased www.userexperienceadvertising.com and uxadvertising.com

Education Goals
1. Finish my undergraduate study in Advertising at the University of Texas by Dec. 2010
2. Start my graduate study in HCI at one of the below universities in Fall 2011

Rice
Carnegie Melon
University of Michigan
University of Indiana

3. Finish my masters by May 2013

Career Goals
1. Be a better user experience designer at FG Squared while working on the company interactive marketing plan.
2. Help FG Squared establishing concrete and self sustainable marketing plan by end of 2010.
3. When I'm done with the masters, I would love to work for a place like IDEO or Google.
4. Become a director of UX processes at one of the major design / advertising firms
5. Stay close to the places where ideation happens

People Who Could Help Me Get There - The author mentions, "the mentor committee of some sort"...
1. Current managers / bosses at FG Squared
2. Professors at the University of Texas at Austin
3. Local UX masters (let's be more detail here)

Communities I need to be Invovled
1. HFI
2. Austin IXDA

well.. this should be enough for now. I need to get back to the book and read more on the NAP (Networking action plan).
I feel like I am way behind in life...

황리건님과 40+1의 UX 세미나. 뽑아주세용~

2009-11-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

황리건님,

먼저 바쁜신데 이렇게 시간을 내줘서 감사합니다. 한글이 좀부족해서 오타와 문법오류들에 대해 먼저 사과드리구요.

현재 FGSQUAREd www.fg2.com 에서 Sernior UX Designer로 일하고 있습니다. 몇번 트위터에서 UX에 관해 몇번 얘기한적있구요. 지금은 다시 university of texas at Austin 에서 광고를 공부하면 Ux를 이용한 광고효과에 대해서 공부중입니다.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/leedavid 에서 보시면 저와 일한 사람들의 추천서에서 제가 지금까지 해온 일들에 대한 quality 를 보실수있겠구요. 지금 제가 맡구있는 일들을 요약하자면,

Persona building through off / online interviews with the users and the potential users.
User stories build through off / online interviews with the stakeholder
Information Architecture building through Card sorting
Early UX performance analysis through various prototyping including , paper prototyping, rapid prototyping
Iterative usability testing

입니다.

이번 이벤트에서 이루고 싶은것들

한국에서의 UX trend
The differences in UX in different cultures
혹시 제가 제공할수있는 UX knowledge 공유하기

트위터나 01026657269 로 연락해주세요.
감사합니다.

Check Point. Fall 2009

2009-11-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

I was just looking back at some of the blog entries from the earlier this school year, September to be exact. I could find the below...

"After this semester, I anticipate to become
1. better visual designer
2. better campaign planner using analytic
3. better UX designer using analytic "

I need to polish my wireframes and IA mapping skills.

#TXMETRICS - UT Class I am Attending

2009-10-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Woudln't it be awesome if all the TA has to write a class blog?

Anyway, this fall I am taking three classes: Digital Metrics, Ad Portfolio 1, and Statistics in Market Place. Digital Metrics class is something I had a high anticipation but getting less than stellar result in return. Now I have to memorize 120 interactive marketing related terms and definitions in a week. Hooray!

http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=11285

I probably have seen almost all the words listed, but I would have hard time explain in my own words clearly. So I clearly see the benefit of doing this exercise. What is the most effective way to go through all the words?

Alternative UI

2009-10-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

What does this mean?
I was just looking at espn website searching for today's NCAA football scores and results. It have been nice to have "score" and "ranking" today inside the football highlight photo. Same concept goes to NBA and NFL or whatever.
By looking at audience's activities online, ESPN.com could provide better user experience by adding UI elments for specific time and sports.
Just a thought.

Asian Tacos Reviewed by Mexican

2009-09-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

David's Twenty Day Challenge Tacos from Nelson Flores on Vimeo.

angry asian man

2009-09-01T13:39:00.001-07:00

angry asian man

Shared via AddThis

장난하냐?

2009-08-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

누가 이렇게 입으레?

코디 당장 불러와!

Thinking Ahead - Grad School

2009-08-29T12:52:00.001-07:00

Yup.. I am thinking away ahead.. or am I? I will be done with the under grad next yr after the fall semester. So I have 3 full semesters and 2 summers left including the fall session which started couple days ago.
I am already looking forward to the post-undergrad stage of career. One thing I know for sure is that I am going for the masters. I actually get really excited thinking about finishing both under and grad while keeping up with my career in the real world. What do I like so much about this? It's the concept that is presented in The Outliers by Malcom Goldwell. He mentioned in his book that one must spend at least 10,000 hours to master a subject and that is the minimum number of hours in order to become the outlier. Doubling the duty in both real world and academia gives me a much better and faster chance to reach that 10,000 hrs. CEO at my company actually told me to aim for 50,000. Holy.. yeah that's what I will do after 10,000.

I'm actually asking myself what I should study in grad school. It will actually determine my career and the next destination in my life. Before I think about the subject I should at least write down subjects that I am interested in. This is going to be a hell of long list.
Let's see...

- Advertising: My current major in under grad.
- User Experience: My current career.
- Graphic Design / Visual Design: Inspiration & Admiration
- Marketing: Currently in pursue of becoming a marketing director in my career right now.
- Human Computer Interaction / Human Factors: Something that always intrigue me.
- Psychology / Sociology: Subjects that could only enhance my other skills.
- MBA: The place where I know I can accelerate while making $$$
- Sports. Video Game. Music. Dance - Where my heart is since when I was little kid, but I don't know how to relate these to my career for now.

One probably will say... do what your heart tells you. Do what you love the most.
But u know what?... my heart is all over the place. But one thing I know for fact is that... I need to be where I use my creativity all the time. Once I feel that I am forced to think inside the box, that is when I start getting frustrated.

Back 2 School - Texas Creative Sequence

2009-08-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

Yay~ I got in. One of the most prestigious advertising programs in the nation, the Texas creative program has accepted me! I am finally going to receive proper education on the communication design concept and theory. Although I am still puzzled which direction I am going in my career right now, I, for now, want to forget the end goal and enjoy the process.

The first day of school is today, and I am very excited. These are the classes I am taking.

Digital Metrics - I am very stoked with this! I already have in depth knowledge in site analytic and conversion analysis. But I still feel inadequate because I've never received a proper training.
Statistics in Market Place - I am only taking this class for the requirement, but now I think about it, it makes clear sense of why I would need this class. Especially taking side by side with digital metrics, ability to use / extract stats while running an ad campaign is must have skill set.
Portfolio I - this is the first of the creative sequence.

After this semester, I anticipate to become
1. better visual designer
2. better campaign planner using analytic
3. better UX designer using analytic

I will come back to this post to asses myself when the semester is over.

$20.09 Campaign - Thought?

2009-08-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I have learned from Adv325 is that to have a successful advertising campaign, your ad must stand out of the crowd. It sounds simple and easy, almost like a law of the nature in advertising field that one shouldn't even talk about. But why is it that there are very few advertisements that stand out? Why are people so afraid to think outside of box and push the boundary?

That's exactly the reason why I am doing the $20.09 campaign. I am not even sure if I had pushed the limit enough for people to pay attention to it, yet. Social media is now like a billboard, TV, magazine, and radio. It's a place where the advertise must consider to deliver brand promises to the targeted audience. But social media space is already getting crowded with status updates, messages, and other blah blah craps. Now.. do you see the similarity of the concepts in two ad spaces? I am hungry.. I don't have energy.. I don't know what to do with next 15 days... but I know that this is just a learning experience for me. In the future when I have to think about an ad concept, I am going to look back to this date and remind myself how hungry I was.

I WILL NOT PROMISE SOME CRAP AD,

Advertising 325 Journal

2009-08-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

All the entries for Advertising 325 Creative Journal can be seen here.

play3, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

The main difference between the hand written journal and the online blog is the sequence. The physical journal shows the story of the author from the past to present. The online journal on the other hand, tells a story backward, from the present to the past. For this reason, I have been saving this image to be the first image on the list. I want this image to be the first one on the list because the design speaks for myself.

Done - Big Red Rebranding

2009-08-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

Big Red Rebranding

View more documents from David Lee.

After hours and hours of work on the project, I am finally done with the project! I am very proud of my teammates! There were many ups and downs during the project as we had conflicts all over the places.
Now I look at the presentation that I wish we could have kept the campaign more focused. But regardless, this is a great work... almost near the professional level.

Favorite Ideas for Big Red

2009-08-14T00:34:00.000-07:00

These are some of the ideas that I had presented in front of my team that did not get accepted.
For the final project, I wanted to create a message through branding that is something controversial and provocative yet meaningful. My concept was to create a branding that showcases the visually small red that has left significant mark in the history of mankind. Some of the ideas that is not shown on here that I had discussed are..

Karl Marx's Communist Red

Emergency 911 red button for a girl who is about to get raped

Jesus' Bloodli>
First discovery of the fire

I really thought we had a good campaign with this concept. Oh well..

In the Boxing Ring

2009-08-14T00:26:00.001-07:00

In the Boxing Ring, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Been focusing too much on the red lately.. everything I see now has red in it. I started doodling some stuffs like always.. and ended up drawing a boxer with red gloves on. From there.. I ended up drawing a gym full of the boxers.

Shoot.. I really need to go back to work out again..

Really Productive Meeting

2009-08-14T00:25:00.001-07:00

Really Productive Meeting , originally uploaded by djteknokid.

I have developed a skill to have a in depth conversation while drawing stuffs like this. I also manage to talk to the client ( of course the conference call : ) ) while I finish out my chaotic doodles..

I think I become the most creative when I am actually not thinking too much about the subject but let my mind free and hand.

This meeting was really productive.. im not being sarcastic this time.

My Normal Diet

2009-08-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

Below are top 10 food I eat the most often…

10. Roast Beef Sandwich

9. Katsu Don

8. Chicken Taco

7. Kimchi

6. Steak

5. Home Made Potato Fries ( not the one from France )

4. Egg

3. Cereal with Soy Milk

2. Tuna in a Can

1. Rice

20 days for $20

2009-08-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

So today is my first day to blog about the campaign deal with UFCU. I have been brain storming with UFCU last couple months with different social media marketing opportunities. They have presence in Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We are looking to grow our presence as well as running a word of mouth campaign for brand awareness.
Here is what I have proposed and I am in the middle of spending next 3 weeks campaign. I am becoming the campaign of myself.

What?

I have proposed to UFCU that I will go on a crazy diet to see if I can get word out there for their Video Contest.

Crazy Diet?

I am cutting down my next 2 weeks' food budget to $20.09 starting next Monday.

$20.09?

They are running a $20.09 give away campaign to anyone who opens an account with them in the beginning of the school year. I think starting in couple weeks...
I am just trying to prove the case that $20.09 is... big money. It can get you a lot of things, like... 2o days worth of groceries? I proposed UFCU that we should run a diet campaign that I can last 20 days with $20.09 food budget. Now... they have accepted the pitch and now I have to make this happen. MAN!

WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO!?

How Big is Your Red?

2009-08-08T14:35:00.001-07:00

How Big is Your Red?, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

My red stands for the passion...
and it is bigger than the sun

Starbucks - Napkin & Food Wrapper

2009-08-08T14:27:00.001-07:00

Starbucks - Napkin & Food Wrapper, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

I like the typography and the unity between the two. But the copy is horrible!!! "Simply Delicious" is so 90's..

I've written some more stuffs on the food wrapper for more detail.

Inspired by Spirited Away

2009-08-08T14:26:00.001-07:00

Inspired by Spirited Away, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

We all love the anime.. I've started sketching stuffs right after the flim.

Batman & Crew

2009-08-08T13:40:00.001-07:00

Batman & Crew, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Started drawing Batman again... I remember when I used to draw Batman and Robocop in cartoon figures. They used to be my favorite super heroes growing up.

My super heroes no longer save the world and poors. My super heroes now days make alot of money, spit the talk, sells the idea, and really popular on the web. My current day heroes would get their ass kicked by Batman and RoboCop.

Big Red Rebranding Trial 1

2009-08-08T09:26:00.003-07:00

Big Red Rebranding Trial 1, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

I went ahead and created a quick brand exercise graphic using Che Guevara.
Well.. my teammate wasn't too thrilled with this direction as it looks too much like pro communism.

But no way I am going to stay away from the red being rebellious. That is one of the strongest asset of the color Red IMO

Big Red Rebranding Brainstorm

2009-08-08T09:26:00.001-07:00

Big Red Rebranding Brain Storm, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Just brainstorming using various method. Looks like this is a combination of a mind map and serendipity.

I like the Volcano...
I also like the what the color red stands for.

Jordan

2009-08-06T06:21:00.001-07:00

play-other1, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Old desktop wall paper i've designed.
This actually looks great being placed on the right side of the screen untiled and set the back ground black.
Well.. whatever man.. I think it looks great.

Mind of Djteknokid

2009-08-05T21:12:00.001-07:00

Playing with Wordle, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

So this is words cloud of my blog entries. The size of the text also reflects the frequency of the word appeared.

Some of the most used words seem to be...
adv325
Design
Well
One

Sounds about right...

Nice Design. Edward Hates It. Client Loves It.

2009-08-03T01:32:00.001-07:00

piggy, originally uploaded by digital_monkey.

Very well designed info graph. I like the combination of the colors on here. Typography is pretty clean as well. Edward Tufte will throw many red flags on here though.
I need to write a find way to write a proposal in this format. This is way more elegant, fun, and informative than the .doc files. The visual also provide the stickiness. Think from the client's perspective. If the contents are exact same on each format: the word and the pdf seen here, which one would you like more?

Tipping Point - After Thought

2009-08-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

I am late on this book.

I admit that I am late on this. I may have not read it through if it was not for adv325.
Let's see what Ive learned and how I can apply this to some of my practices.

What is tipping point?

Are we thinking in terms of a graph? Time? Place? Money? Let's see if I can explain the title in 140 Twitter status limit.
A small trend turns into an epidemic when it reaches Tipping Point,a point that perfect timing and right location cross each other.

Patterns of Tipping Points

The Law of the Few: Few agents are the one who makes it tip.

The Stickiness Factor: How well does the message or the story sticks to one's memory?

The Power of Context: People's decision often gets influenced by the stiaution the one is in.

The law of the few / Who are the "few"?

In this book Malcome listed them as

Connectors
- The one who is well connected with others in various societies. The connectors connect two groups who doesn't know each other. They inI really fleunce the width of a subject.

Mavens
- The person who knows about it well and talks about it well. They influence the depth of a subject.

Persuader (or the salesman)
- These are the one who make us believe about the subject. Mavens provide you with data for you to make a decision. Persuader can affect one's decision without the data.

Best Social Media Marketing

2009-07-31T09:50:00.001-07:00

Best Social Media Marketing, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Dear Social Media Experts around the country,

What's so expert about you? You use twitters and have 50,000 followers? How can you be an expert at something that everyone knows. I mean.. tell me something that's new and nobody knows.

This guy... have you done this kind of marketing?
I don't think so. Hire this guy asap!

Productive Meeting

2009-07-31T06:57:00.001-07:00

Productive Meeting, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

1 hour meeting... 45 min conversation of not much.
Meetings could be so unproductive yet it is unavoidable. What is? Being unproductive? That is avoidable.. but meeting itself is not.
Whatever... i get to create these at the meeting regardless. So.. what a productive meeting.

Nano Mind Map..

2009-07-30T07:08:00.001-07:00

Nano Mind Map.. , originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Another mind map.. This is little bit different because it focuses on Two concepts rather than one. I was trying to brainstorm to find a way to advertise Nano product using social media.
Lots of good ideas.. This is actually going to be seen by the client, and let's hope that this generates some good ideas at the meeting.

Austin - New Parking Meter

2009-07-29T22:51:00.001-07:00

Austin - New Parking Meter, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Yay.. we dont have to carry bunch of changes anymore! We can now use the credit card to park on the street! Well.. now there is more competition to beat though.

I love this design! I thought the new system the city was implementing was going to be huge and bulky design that Houston downtown has. But this one is fairly small and slim. Now, the biggest part is to check the user experience and usability of this machine. It looks like these machines are ready to go any day.

iPhone App Mock Up - Starbuck

2009-07-28T19:21:00.001-07:00

Starbucks I Phone App

View more presentations from djteknokid.

dj Heaton

2009-07-28T11:02:00.001-07:00

Current addiction at work.
I love how trance put me in the flow to work.. hiphop and other music just won't cut.

$20.09 Campaign Wireframes

2009-07-27T18:08:00.001-07:00

$20.09 Campaign Wire Frames, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Wireframes for new project

Shift of Paradigm 2 - Water Campaign

2009-07-27T17:03:00.001-07:00

Shift of Paradigm 2 - Water Campaign, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Who is giving water to whom? Instead of focusing on giving bottle water to the homeless people, how about we shift the paradigm? We could create awareness for the donation for the homeless who participates in this campaign. This could change the perception of the homeless people we are scared to engage with.

Stencil Biz Card

2009-07-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

New Cards, originally uploaded by Design Commission.

Love this as a UX designer

Mind Mapping - New Website Launch

2009-07-27T07:24:00.001-07:00

Mind Mapping - New Website Launch, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

So new FG SQUARED site was launched but there is no publicity. Here, I quickly created a mind map to explore possibilities to get the publicity. Next, transfer this information to more presentable document to share with team.

Mind Mapping - User Experience Advertising

2009-07-27T07:23:00.001-07:00

Mind Mapping - User Experience Advertising, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

User Experience Advertising is still a new relative term. Because of my background in user experience and my major in advertising, I am really curious to see what the combination of those two look like.

Culture Shock.. Korea -> USA

2009-07-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Man.. I have been in US for 16 years now.. I even clearly remember the date when I left Korea, July 23rd 1993 that is. Even till this day, I still think that has been the biggest day of my life that turned my life upside down, in a good way. (damn it.. but i still speak like I only have been in this country for couple years... -_-)..

Yesterday during spontaneous tweetup among @djteknokid @mikechapman and @mlfnow, I had chance to talk about the culture shocks. What have been the biggest culture shocks in my 16 yrs of experience in US? Because I indirectly experienced US culture, like everyone else, through Hollywood movies, fast foods, and other popular brands such as Nike and Coca Cola, I was able to have sneak peek at the US culture that I was going to experience for the rest of my life. Because of the US pop culture, I did not get to experience the same level of culture shock that the Americans have when they visit other part of the world outside of US. But there is no way the pop culture alone can portray the entire US culture, and of course I had culture shocks of my own.

My top 10

1. 7.11 Big Gulp... when I first saw the size of this drink, I first though it was to feed the entire family.
2. Size of regular soda can... it's almost half the size in Korea ( post picture here!)
3. Amount of Food in 1 serving.. food again!
4. Kindness.. ppl were saying hello and good morning to a complete stranger!
5. Make up and Short skirt to school.. unthinkable in HS back in Korea
6. HS Kids driving.. impossible in Korea!
7. Math classes being a joke.. This was probably the hardest subject for me in Korea, but it became my favorite subject in US.
8. Tip & Tax.. what is this again?
9. Commercial breaks during a show.. There is no commercial interruption during a show in Korea. But the commercial breaks are much longer in between shows.
10. Street Fighter 2.. I was being called cheap and dirty in US because I was doing "jab jab throw. jab jab throw"... that was perfectly fine in Korea

Sunday Journal Session

2009-07-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

So many people studying.. reading books on Sunday morning.

Sunday Journal Session, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Today I came to a different coffee shop to tackle my journals. This is going to be my entry #21 out of 40. I hope to complete at least 6 more journals before I leave this place today.

This journal assignment has become one of my favorites of all time. I have to admit that I have not been this motivated to be creative in a long time.

Napkin Scribbles = Overrated?

2009-07-25T12:57:00.001-07:00

Napkin Scribbles = Overrated?, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Go get yourself a creative journal. Consult ADV325!

Shift of Paradigm

2009-07-25T12:55:00.001-07:00

Shift of paradigm , originally uploaded by djteknokid.

While I was making a truck run with @MLFNOW with Alan Graham, he gave me a great way to look at things from different perspective. Of course, as a UX designer, it is my job to look at things from users point of view. It is almost required that I look at things from different perspective, but Alan took this approach to next level.

What was so amazing about his approach?
He basically said how helping homeless people is something we should do for ourselves not for them. Forget the fact that we are providing with them food, we are doing good deeds, and we become "better" people for doing it. It's the experience I felt during the run...
I get to look at how other people are living. I get to look at the life from their perspective, how happy they seem regardless of the situation they are in. It was some sort of enlightenment I experienced. I felt very ashamed that I always complain at the work place while I sit my ass in the place where AC and free water are provided 24/7. It was almost like a religious retreat I used to be involved with.

Now.. it's time to look at every project with the shift of paradigm... who is it really for? who really benefits from this? It maybe you.

Social Media Banking

2009-07-25T12:35:00.001-07:00

Social Media Banking, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Heh.. I am trying to think outside of the box!... Of course this idea will never happen in the real world, but who knows huh?
The idea is simple... it works just like Facebook. You get to see what you are friends are doing and you get to show what you are doing to people of your choice. But instead of the picture upload and status updates, you get to share your spending and banking experiences. How crazy!

REAL WORLD! think inside the box

2009-07-25T12:24:00.001-07:00

REAL WORLD! think inside the box, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

One thing I love being back in school is how I get to think outside of the box. Especially the class I am taking right now, adv 325 under Sean Thompson, has brought new light in my dull life. As an UX Designer, i often rely too much on my left brain to solve the problem. What are some of the reasons that I learn to think inside the box in the real world?

1. Budget
2. Time
3. Expectation
4. Knowing that my idea is going to be turned down
5. Brand Perception
6. Criticism
7. Being not in a position to make an important decision...

but... these all just sounds like bunch of excuses to me. I need to expand my horizon.

Change of Scenery = Creative Juice

2009-07-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

Saturday Journal Session, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Change of scenery usually bring more creative juice for me. My room does not really give me the creativity that I need to complete a project like the creative journal.

This picture was taken with iPhone Quadcam app. This is one of my favorite apps of all time.

Agile Self Development

2009-07-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Self Agile Development, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Agile development has been one of the hottest buzz words in the Biz Dev / PM / Web Dev / Soft Dev industry. There are thousands of advocates all around the world who are not only sold on this idea but spreading the word like its their religion. I have been involved in several agile dev projects and I also agree that it is probably best way to manage projects / company.

Self Development
Could agile development method be used in the self development? Could you improve your skill sets, expand your network, build on your career with the agile concept? I am trying to utilize this concept to on my own self development. This is what I am trying to accomplish.

Iteration
Team of one, I doubt that I need two weeks for each iteration. I would actually keep it at one week and review myself every Sunday night.

Velocity
How many blogs can I post in a week? How many case studies and work samples can I present in a week? How about reading blogs / articles / book? How many work outs per week? Would it be such a waste of time & effort to keep in track of all the actions I am taking in my life? What happened to the fun & spontaneous life?

Scrum - Daily Meeting
Gather myself in the morning with the schedule in front of me. Quickly go over the action items I have to accomplish.

Retrospective
What was good / bad / hopeful for the iteration? How can I improve myself in the bad items and accomplish the hopeful items.

Community. Knowledge Management & Agile Dev

2009-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Knowledge Manamgenet in Social Media Space, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

After meeting thought...

- Pilot Program : 10 -15 sales people to run a community for a month
- gather requirement through experiences & observation
- information architecture through experiences
- run alpha community before the modification on the theme (easier for experiments, implementation, change and updates.
- have agile methods. have a small goals to accomplish everyday
- find patterns. how people search for assets (videos in this case)
.. more to elaborate...

Design. Writing. Math.. Grouping

2009-07-22T06:24:00.001-07:00

Design Theory in Grouping: How it is evident in writing and math as well....

Twitter University

2009-07-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

I am sure some professors are already exercising this somewhere... but it would be awesome to have students to be on Twitter for a discussion. Just the same way people discuss and share information during SXSW using various Hashtag. Currently, I am only connected one person in my class who I have been actively exchanging class related information.

It would be so much easier to prepare for a test if more students are connected using social media other than the one school provides. I think Twitter would be the perfect tool to bring a discussion among students.

"Does anyone understand what the professor meant when he talked about the creative pyramid?"

I bet with more students connected to my Twitter, I would get that answer easily.

5 Traits of Creative Person & Creative Process

2009-07-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

So this is from the Adv class again.

1. Curiosity
2. Playfulness
3. Courage
4. Controlled
5. Motivated

Well.. it sounds like these are traits are also for
a. the leader
b. the innovative person
c. the outlier (from Malcom Gladwell)

But... I have seen many leaders who are not creative... humm. Maybe they weren't the leaders after all?

Creative Process
You never get anywhere by just sitting there and thinking about the problem. (or just discussing about the problem). this is why I love jotting down my ideas and thoughts on the piece of paper.

Creative Process : is the internal method by which one thinks and invents or solves.
Your way of thinking is totally cool.. but be open. Everyone has different way to think, none of them are right or wrong. There are many different ways to solve one problem.

Wonder Girls Performance on The Wendy Williams Show

2009-07-20T21:19:00.001-07:00

Wow.. the Korean pop sensation Wonder Girls performing on.... The Wendy Williams Show (?). Well it is a national show and I am just proud of these girls stepping up in the big stage. Regardless of the outcome, I have to give it out for the effort.
Much prop to their producer, JYP, the one who i had admired in the past.

Sci Fi So Negative

2009-07-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

So today in the class, we spent about 15 min demolishing the rebranding effort done by Sci-fi, soon to be known as SyFy.
I was the only person who brought up a positive point in the class that people outside of US may have easier time pronouncing the brand. Sci could easily be pronounce as Ski.
Here is the new SyFy

Yeah.. the name SyFy may sounds silly ( especially in America), but the new logo looks so much better than the old one.

Someone mentioned in the class about the rebranding of Pizza Hut. Because Pizza Hut is now known as The Hut, it would not change his frequency of eating there. How about applying the same concept to the SyFy case? You would drop the channel and not watching your favorite show now that they are SyFy instead of Sci-Fi? If the channel continues to support good programs and shows, the name of brand would not matter too much, IMO. Like the professor said at the end of the class, they may prove the critiques wrongs after 10 years. I am with SyFy in this case... They are going to win the international fans with the rebranding.

Top of frost tower

2009-07-20T19:37:00.001-07:00

Top of frost tower, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

Had a meeting with client on the top of Frost tower in downtown Austin. Austin's downtown view is not all that great, however, no way I am going to complain that I got to brainstorm here. I sorta had hard time breathing... blame on the altitude? ..

9 steps to achieving flow

2009-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

• You have clear goals
• You can receive (or give yourself) immediate feedback
• The task isn’t too simple ( uninspiring = boring) or too difficult (creates anxiety)
• Action & Awareness merge (stuff becomes automatic)
• No distractions
• No fear of failure
• No self-consciousness
• Time becomes irrelevant, distorted
• Task becomes autotelic

As a director / manager... what are you guys doing that distracts your employees from being in the flow?

Thinking Inside the Box

2009-07-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

It must be the $ and corporate environment I have been involved so long, I feel like my creativity has diminished significantly since my days in highschool.

My professor at Adv 325 has asked a question about the factors that limits creativity. Here are some answers from the students, including the one from myself.

1) Criticism
2) Tendency to be stubborn with one decent idea
3) Budget (can't come up with Star Wars when the budget is Blair Witch Project)
4) Pressure to come up with something great

I have been involved in projects which I witnessed all 4 of the above factors. How do I overcome above obstacles?
1) Directors / Managers at the meeting need to ensure that no idea is bad idea during brain storm session.
2) Again, meeting facilitator needs to make sure to continue the conversation without dwelling on one idea.
3) This is a very tricky one... I don't see the budget as an obstacle you have to over come, it is more of a factor that you have to work WITH.
4) One thing I have noticed over the course is that execution is what makes the idea great, not the idea itself. Sure, there are some exceptions.

I sure hope to utilize some mind mapping and creative process to the real world practice in future projects. More to come...

40 Journals in 30 Days

2009-07-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Only 1 week has passed yet I am supposed to be at the journal #14 by now... This is insane! But oh well I guess that's what the summer school is all about. I am only on #3.. So behind. I just need to keep in mind that journal entry is a free form of expression that I could write just anything I want. It's not like there are many people reading this blog anyway.

40 Journals in 30 days reminds me of the Arabian Nights Tale, 1001 nights. The princess would have been one famous blogger if she lived in the present. How did she do it? Well, I guess it's possible given the fact that she was locked in her room all day, doing nothing much. If i was locked in my room all day, I think I could also come up with one blog entry per day. Humm... Some people these days get paid to blog, full time, right?

School vs. Real World

2009-07-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Because I work in an agency, I am always in a position to pitch my ideas to sell. It's sad that ideas have to be monetized or else the time I spend to be creative would be labeled as 'waste.' I think this is one of the main reasons why it is so hard to be creative and innovative, being right brain thinker, in the real world.

Now I am back in school and I have been taking some advertising classes. Some people were wondering why I go back to school when I established my career in a good position. It wasnt the concept of degree that I was attracted. It wasn't really the fact that 'you need a degree to be an executive.' My decision happened when I looked at some of the advertising classes that UT is offering. How could I not be excited when I see the list of these classes?

User Experience Advertising

2009-07-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Today I regsitered
UserExperienceAdvertising.com and UXAdvertising.com
Because of my background in user experience design and my current major in advertising, I think I am onto something innovative that has just risen above the surface in the advertising industry.
Let me introduce you user experience advertising. It is not a whole new concept. It just has not been very well defined and documented. Basically I see this as a way to advertise to the public focusing on the user experience. Some of the examples would be: in game advertisement, YoutTube video contest, and branded theme park.
Instead of pushing marketing content to the audience, now the brand can provide memorable experience to the users so they can engage with the campaign.

A Chinese proverb states:
Tell me, I’ll forget
Show me, I’ll remember
Involve me, I’ll understand

New Semester - Idea #1 : Social Media Broadcasting

2009-07-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Let me log in to Facebook and read some of my friends' status update.

Jean : its nice to be at home... about to watch Bachelorette.. yeah!!
Billy: Ice cream, two episodes of Weeds, bed by 9:30. Gearing up for whatever Kate throws at us tonight.
Jiae: Lunch down on South Congress with my school mothers and Kristen! fun it was!

Since Facebook and Twitter provided an ability to update one’s status and broadcast it in real time, I have noticed people utilizing this functionality in a similar manner. They are reporters of their own. Reporting live action data to their friends as it is happening right this second.

Using the similar concept, my intern and I had come up with a new way to broadcast an event, the social media broadcasting. No, it is not Meebo nor SopCast like real time broadcasting. We are talking about using the existing social network such as, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to broadcast a live event using various tools.

Tomorrow, my company’s CEO, Steve Golab, and we are joining Austin’s non-profit organization, Mobile Loaves and Fishes to help homeless people to distribute much needed bottle water and foods. Of course, our main focus will be helping the needed, but we would like to broadcast the experience of volunteering at this event using camera, iphone, and laptop. By doing so, our goal is to gather more volunteers at these events.

I am going to be doing what I am good at, using different tools to update my social networks to get the words out there. This probably is the best way to serve at this event, in my opinion. … I don’t have too much money to contribute yet : p

In Love with Audio Books

2009-07-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

I love audio books. I love the fact that I can double the productivity by listening to it while I: cook, clean, do laundry, workout, and drive. I love the fact how I am always gaining knowledge every minute I am awake. I have been basically addicted listening to either podcasts or audio books the last couple months.

Here are the list of audio books I have completed or in the process of completion.

10 Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
The Dip by Seth Godin
On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee
The Shack by William P Young - 3 / 4 way done now..

I also have been listening to Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, and UX Week podcasts.

If you have hard time reading a book because of various reasons, I recommend you to give audio book a try.

Team Game

2009-06-30T22:22:00.001-07:00

While I was playing basketball today, I noticed all the mistakes I am making on / off the court. I love the sports metaphor to describe the business world.

1. I have been crying too much for the playing time and the spot light. I often forget that the goal is to win as a team, not to get the individual recognition.
2. I need to support team by doing what I am good at. I need to stop dribbling and try to take people off the dribble. I need to stop losing my focus at work. I am hired to do certain things.
3. I need to stop pointing finger at my teammates. My words are reflection of who I am.
4. Assist counts. Pass first. I need to learn to assist others in the business world. If they need my skill sets to accomplish their goals, I need to shut up and pass them the ball.
5. I need to train harder. Simply playing the game itself won't improve my game too much, I need to lift weight, shoot around, and run drills. I can't just hope to improve my skill sets by working 8-5, I need to read books, write blogs, and go to conferences.

The most important thing I have to understand is that I am a part of the team... I need to shut up. Shane Battier should by my role model.. not Allen Iverson.

72 YO Great Grandmother Tasered by Police Durring Traffic Stop Austin Texas

2009-06-10T08:47:00.001-07:00

the interview with the loser

Raw: Texas cop Tasers 72 year old, great-grandmother

2009-06-10T08:46:00.001-07:00

wow.. messed up. He should be fired and jailed

Lesson from Mega Man

2009-05-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

Mega Man has been so popular that they are still producing games with the same concept on Pstation. XBOX and even on iPhone. One great concept that separates this game from other adventure games is Mega Man’s ability to learn enemy boss’ special skills once he defeats them. In this picture, Mega Man is using the Metal Man skill instead of his lame generic bean bullets.

So what can we possibly learn from this game?
It’s about the importance of the ability to learn from your peers. If you can just learn one special skill from the people you interact with everyday, you would be in much better position at the end of the year. Presentation skill, sales skill, having the marketing brain, or even creating an eye opening excel spreadsheet, your coworkers possesses something that you don’t have. Of course, it is very hard to learn something like, PHP, from your programmer as I don’t do programming. Why don’t you just step back and watch how he programs instead of what he programs? I am sure you could learn about a lot about the process, instead of the PHP language.

Well.. That’s it.. I am going to look around and see what I can learn from my friends at work.

돌아갈 탕자

2009-05-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

돌아온 탕자에 관한 얘기를 내 인생에 접목시키는데에는 .. 한 20년정도 걸린듯 싶다.
모든 돈을 다 날려버리고 거지가 되서 돌아온 탕자... 그를 아무 조건 없이 받아들인 아버지... 내가 탕자라는것을 알게된 지금, 난 늦지 않았다라는 되새김과 함께 다시 하나님을 찾게 되었다. 잠시나마 나의 힘으로, 내 의지로 행복을 찾으려 발버둥 치고, 내 비전으로 사랑을 바라볼려고 할때 난 행복에서 가까와 지기는 커녕 , 더 멀어지는 내 자신을 발견하게되었다.
내 힘으로 정상에 오르려고 할때 더많은 헛디듬을 하게되었고...
내 힘으로 사랑하려 할때 의심과 집착많이 더 커지게되었다.

더 멀어지고. 더 무너져서 힘들어 지기전에, 내가 다시 돌아가야할 자리로 돌아가야겠다. 언제나 날 받아 주시는 그분이 있으니까.

korean archery - challenge the impossible

2009-04-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

1+1=1

[social media] Contents vs. Relationship

2009-04-16T07:03:00.001-07:00

Chicken or Egg.....
Do we build the good contents first to build good relationship? But,many times, good contents get no recognition without the relationships.

I've recognized in the last couple weeks that I only care about the contents that were produced by authors who I have relationship with. Some of the contents I engaged with did not have too much relevancy with my interest, but I still spent time reading and engaging with it.

Many marketing people are looking to create a the big bang word of mouth marketing campaign relying on contents only. I would build the relationship first.
But till I can prove myself.... this is just all theory.

Expanding Your Network

2009-04-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Guy Kawasaki.. the man who made a name for himself for just being brilliant.. or whatever he is doing. He is just damn popular these days.. I dont personally know him nor I read his blog. I just know that his name pop up like pimples on teenage boys. I am following him to on his twitter as well.

I have tried to get my tweet retweeted or have him @djteknokid reply me so that;
1. My name gets a recognition through his word of mouth
2. He recognizes me somehow and I become his friend.

Well well.. with himself following 120938102938019283 people, I am sure he does not have time for a small person like me at this point. He was not the only person who has not replied back to me... Shaq, McHammer, and other big stars have ignored my comments and failed to give me the recognition I'm craving for. Whatever the reason was.. my objective was to expand my network with a big name star.. someone up in the higher position. I dont blame them.. they get hundreds of msg like mine through numerous networks for the same purpose.

So what have I learned from this? How do I go about expanding my network to VP, directors, and C level executives? Look around...
1. Look around and find young brilliant minded, ambitious professionals who has not made a name for themselves yet.
2. Creative indivduals who always have the new fresh idea
3. The one you know who is going to be the next Guy Kawasaki. The next CEO, VP, and the director.

These individuals are much easier to get in contact right now. The one who only has maybe 200 followers at this point. Stay keep in touch with these people... 3,4 ,5.. i mean.. even a year later these individuals are going to be rocking their industry. Build the realtionship till then.. dont go for the homerun. Get few hits here and there.. go for the sacrfice bunts. It will all add up at the end.

So.. having said that. Follow me @djteknokid before I get way too up there to recognize you. : D

When I Grow Up I Wanna Work in Advertising

2009-04-08T08:13:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to collect stereotypes for marketing agency for the school work. This sums it up!
Thanks Edward

Feel Good Hot Mail

2009-04-08T05:32:00.001-07:00

Feel Good Hot Mail, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

I received this email from Windows Live team couple days ago. They are not trying to sell anything nor asking me to sign up for a new service; They had their share of advertisement at the bottom, but didnt bother me at all.

This email actually made me feel really good and I am spending my time posting it on Flickr. This is probably the warmest email I have received from a giant corporate ever. Not only they remember that I have been using Hotmail service for 10 years, they listed three important events 10 years ago which I could associate myself with.

ROI is important.. clickthrough ratio is important.. bounce rate.. all that good analytic stuffs are very important. But how do you truly measure user experience like I just had with this simple email?

Consumption Constellation

2009-04-06T14:46:00.001-07:00

psychoad4, originally uploaded by djteknokid.

This was one of the projects from Psychology of Advertising class. I made 10/10!

Personal Branding / Re Branding - Emotional Tags

2009-04-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

Some people on Twitter had suggested that I keep the current personal branding to go with the alias, Djteknokid. My sister had been telling me to change my alias to something more professional as she found it pretty immature and hard to spell. So I had sometime to rethink of my personal branding. How do I present myself online?

Emotional Tags
People often describe themselves using various keywords or tags. Some keywords I have used for myself to fill out the personal profile on the social network channel are: user experience, design, marketing, basketball, dance, and web development. One thing I have recognized over the time is that these keywords just describe what I do, not who I am.
What are some emotional keywords that I can extract from my personality and way I present myself? I am going to just list some of the hedonic keywords and determine the importance and priority. (very SEO way)

Funny, Passionate, Considerate, Innovative, Creative, Energetic, Positive, Negative, Critical, Honest, User Focused, Trendy, Forward Thinking, Early Adopting...

3 Keywords to Use
After spending about... 8 minutes to go over the above keywords, I have decided to use: Funny, Innovative, User Focused. I should go consult with the creative writer from my company to see if she can come up with something better than "User Focused".

My question for today.. Which three keywords from the above would you like to work with? In other words, if you were to pick an agency to work with, which three keywords from the top do you want your agency to possess?

Twitter @djteknokid