matthew wengerd » blog

a pause for the cause…

Matthew — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:09:03 +0000

Please give me a couple days to get this site back in order after a catastrophic data loss.

what gmail’s missing and where you can get it

Matthew — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:57:52 +0000

Some people put every form of contact available in their signature line. Others don’t. Nobody (that I correspond with) is putting their latest tweet in every email. To be honest, I don’t even recall where I heard of rapportive. Now that I’ve used it for a bit. I can say that it is, without a doubt, the best thing that has happened to GMail since its beginning.

See, Rapportive fills all that empty space to the right of the email’s body with the IRL and social contact information attached to that email address. You log in to the major social media services (facebook, twitter, linkedin…) and rapportive pulls public information from their profiles like last status updates and phone number. It also lets you friend request or follow your contact directly in GMail as well as place calls with Google Voice.

There are also a ton of add-ons (raplets) that let you intgrate Klout, MailChimp, or a whole host of other services.

If you’re using social media and GMail, stop using Internet Explorer (it’s not supported) and download Rapportive now!

blue note album covers come to life

Matthew — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:37:55 +0000

If you dig the look of all those great midcentury Blue Note album covers, you need to see this super hip Bella Vista Social Pub.

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

gigspam | Sundown Southern Eatery

Matthew — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:45:30 +0000

My piano duo will be playing the Sundown Southern Eatery in Winter Haven tonight (June 17, 2010) through Saturday. I’m playing with Daniel Joiner this evening and rounding out the weekend with John O’Leary.

I’ve been told the Sundown is one of the finest restaurants in the area and has only gotten better under the ownership of Fred Johnson of Fred’s Southern Kitchen fame.

Come out tonight between 6:30 and 9:30 or on the weekend between 7:00 and 10:00 and make sure to tell the manager you came to hear live jazz in Central Florida.

there’s a reason for my absence

Matthew — Mon, 17 May 2010 14:45:01 +0000

So, my design-a-day project didn’t get the legs it needed to stride its way through 2010. That’s a good thing.

Instead, I’ve devoted those energies to my newest endeavor, a fine press. It’s a custom boutique for event-based stationery (announcements, invitations, thank-yous, etc.) We’ve got our first couple projects in the works and are excited to up our marketing efforts in the next several weeks.

Please do me a favor. Go to our website and check it out. If you know anyone looking for custom invitations or announcements, send them this link. I’d appreciate any help I can get in making a fine press a success.

And watch for a cool new project or two as soon as they’ve actually been mailed.

there’s no more catcher

Matthew — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:47:31 +0000

This morning, I posted to twitter a little design I did for a shirt in honor of JD Salinger. The reclusive author, best known for his 1951 classic, Catcher in the Rye, passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

I’m making it available for presale for $16 plus $4 for shipping. If you’d like one, you can send $20 via Paypal (specify adult small – extra large).

week 2

Matthew — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:58:18 +0000

This is the first of my weekly summaries of the work produced for my Design a Day project. I’ll also be posting a weekly poll of your favorite designs from last week. Looks like I was able to avoid the blue that overtook last week pretty well.

a project for 2010

Matthew — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:36:02 +0000

As you may or may not know, in addition to playing music and working a day gig, I’ve been moonlighting as a designer lately. With no formal training in design (I do have a father with a degree in graphic design from Kent State), I often find myself pouring through reference materials at each new encounter, trying to quickly glean some sense of historic perspective. While I’ve been mildly successful thus far, I’d like to take time to approach design with the same intentional focus that music has enjoyed over these last few years.

Enter Smashing Magazine with a solution. “Design Something Every Day!” was the pre-Christmas challenge issued and I intend to accept. For January, my theme will be numbers, with each piece’s number corresponding to the date. For the number series, each piece will be 800×500 in either vertical or horizontal orientation.

Each piece will be posted at midnight, beginning with a the ball drop. See you soon.

me

Matthew — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:45:57 +0000

what do you want me to do next?

Matthew — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:40:42 +0000

Having recently started a new job, I find myself constantly asking “What do you need me to do?” or “what do I do next?” As I learn the processes in place and take care of the more administrative functions of this job, it’s necessary for me to just do what comes next.

There’s not a whole lot of room for that, though. Seth Godin examines asking the questions “What do you need me to do?”

This is a question that defines the person asking it. It is very different from, “here’s what you might need…”

If you ask people for the next task on the list, if you allow them to define the thing they are buying from you, you have abdicated responsibility. Your work product becomes dependent on the insight and guts of the person giving you an assignment. This is especially dangerous for consultants and freelancers, because the answer might be, “nothing.” Or it might be a paying gig that’s profitable in the short run but a career deadener over time.

Far better to reach a level of confidence and skill that you can describe solutions rather than ask for tasks.

For the many sales and marketing people I know and love, how often do you let the client/customer dictate you next move? Until I get a handle on the way my predecessor did her job, I won’t have a clear definition of my next step. That won’t be long…