Chatterbox : visual communication

A Flickr Suggestion

Lindsey Robbins — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:49:00 GMT

Ever been frustrated trying to find an image when you use Google search? I usually like the Google search especially when you can choose file size. However, I don't always find the quality or the artistic value I'm looking for. Lately, I've been using Flickr to search for an image I need. On Flickr, photographers of all skill levels get to share their passion and consequently there is an abundance of some pretty amazing pictures. Yes, some have spent some time in the photoshop lab but either way, the diveristy and quantity of choices are the highlight. One really great feature Flickr provides is hidden in the Advanced Search.

The last section of the Advanced Search is the Creative Commons section. This is where you can choose to search for photos that Flickr users have given permission, yes explicit permission, for you to use their work. Since I use photos from here for non-commercial use 99% of the time, I just mark the Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content checkbox. But, you might want to consider marking the Find content to use commercially or Find content to modify, adapt, or build upon checkboxes.

My favorite thing about Creative Commons? Well when I find an image I like under this license, I get all the file sizes to choose from. And when you're designing things for print or the web, having a choice of file sizes is key. Oh and last piece of advice, don't forget to give credit where credit is due.

Here's an image I found when I searched for Charleston, SC

Thanks to Micah A. Ponce for the brilliant image.

Jumpcut - Online Video Editing Tool

Lindsey Robbins — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

(Originally appeared on From the Doc Side)

Now that our team’s Docs Day 2008 (team training day) is over, I can start sharing all the fun surprises I had for them in my presentation. I presented on my trip to the Society for Technical Communication Summit in June. I’ll be posting reviews on each presentation I went to as I promised in an earlier post. In the meantime, I wanted to share a fun new tool I used for the lunch time entertainment.

I found this site – Jumpcut http://www.jumpcut.com

Jumpcut is a website that makes adding, editing, and sharing video online easy. In 2006, the company was acquired by Yahoo but I don't think it's taken away from this fun, feature rich site. For me, the easy to use editing part was the reason I chose this site. I had embarrassing footage of me doing the Rocky impersonation in Philadelphia and wanted to add the Gonna Fly Now music to create a silly video of me for my team to laugh at. Then when I started playing on the site it was easy to add photos, more music, and transitions. The only issue I came across was trying to figure out how to transition the music. Also cool, people can remix your video or you can give them permission to edit. The features are all easy to use and the learning curve isn’t that steep. In the end, you have a **free** video you can share with others.

At risk of further embarrassment, I’ll post the video here. Warning – it is 8 minutes long! (I got a little out of control). Also, in the beginning I was making fun of the opening session by posting a picture of each person who presented something before the keynote speaker. It just went on and on! Once you get past those though, it’s all pictures of how much fun I had in Philly.

Enjoy a good laugh on me!

A Great Visual Communication Resource - Worldmapper

Lindsey Robbins — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

(Originally appeared on From the Doc Side)

This post is a little off topic from documentation but it's a great resource I came across from my alma mater's listserv.

Introducing... Worldmapper! http://www.worldmapper.org

According to their website, "Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest… There are now nearly 600 maps."

Did you read what I read? 600 maps for us to click around, play with, and in general become more aware about the world we live in. I especially recommend you spend some time learning a bunch of cool things in the Map Categories section.

366 of the maps are available as PDF posters. This is definitely a great resource if you need a visual to communicate an important point.

Here's an example of a map based on total population…

And another example, based on road traffic deaths…

I guess the traffic in Charleston doesn't seem so bad now.