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A Change in Delivery
Since launching iPad Decór back in April, the encouraging feedback I’ve received from actively sharing perfectly cropped 1024 x 1024 photographs of my travels to prettify iPads has been very comforting to say the least.
Quite honestly it’s become one of my favorite side projects to curate because unlike Jorgeq.com, the focus of iPad Decór has rested soley on sharing personal experiences through my photographs alone.
I’ve often referred to the refined selection of choosing which photographs to feature to the simplicity of hanging a print in our home. There’s thought behind each decision because that’s what the process represents. I wouldn’ dare choose to hang a print I don’t like, especially if it’ll mean having to see it everyday. When we have friends come over, they’re always taken back by the amount of places we’ve had the opportunity to visit. I enjoy showing more than I do bragging about it.
I continue to have passion for owning and maintaining my own website and it hasn’t diminished at all but I’ve considered doing away with the current format of Jorgeq.com (articles, links, quotes) and competely replicating that same enthusiasm I gain from running iPad Decór.
Because I’ve accumulated so much content I’m still proud of at Jorgeq.com, the decision I’m comtemplating is allowing that content to live by itslef and perhaps setup a sub-domain and start from scratch with what essentially will be a photoblog, very much like My Little World or Samantha’s Flickr stream. Both photographers whose site is rooted not only in beautiful photographs but with deep stories that enhance their reasoning for being shared in the first place.
Despite the availability of much better suited photography based themes for WordPress, I’m no way ready to give up the amazing community that I feel I’ve connected with using Tumblr for the past 3 years.
If the flow of content happens to lessen here, it’s because I have new ideas that I can’t deal with them just being idle thoughts anymore.
Through meetups with fellow photographers, through constant inspiration online and constant shooting, I’m more comfortable presenting myself as a photographer to friends and family and I want for Jorgeq.com to be representional of that confidence.
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Charging to Submit
I don’t enter photography contest as much as I’m suggested to but I’ve changed that about me because it’s really a great assessment in seeing how your photographs stack up against others as well gaining the exposure that comes with winning one. Some are free while others require a fee but I confess it’s the latter that I veer to the most.
What’s wrong with free ones? Absolutely nothing but you must consider that because it’s free, the amount of entries are going to be considerably higher whereas if you pay, there’s the obligation to place extra thought on the caliber of the material that’s being submitted as oppose to submitting just because there’s a wide open door to do so.
Not always the case but a perfect illustration of this would be similar to the amount of comments a blog may receive. Are they always insightful, relevant and do they add value to the topic at hand? Absolutely not but then again there’s no velvet rope at the front to contain it unless you’re one that likes to deal with moderating comments on Wordpress.
I know I don’t which is why I side with the Sun Chronicle’s recent decision to charge $0.99 for a comment that any reader might consider submitting. Unless one has something valuable to contribute, one’s less likely to pay for something’s that’s often abused. Like Marco said, hopefully submissions would “be more civil, more intelligent, and better written.”
I can’t say that I’m overjoyed with every single one of my photographs but the ones that I feel more strongly about are the ones I don’t ever have any reservation paying $20 a piece when submitting to a contest. Whether I win is another question but at least I can stand firmly behind what I think adds substances to a less-likely-to-be saturated environment.
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It’s Those Select Few
I’m always been mindful that if I were to devote myself to writing strictly photography based content, I would perhaps reach a much wider audience but my intention with this blog has never been to try to replicate better material than what’s already out there.
I like to focus more on the personal experiences through my writing and having the ability to weave my photographs into any of it has become the perfect structure to represent me and what I want this site to become.
There are a few readers that will stick around more than others and that small percentage that invest the time to probe deeper and discover what else to expect from this site, those are the ones that I have felt I’ve made a quality connection with already.
I can’t recall specifically where I came across this statement but it said that “if it takes you longer than 10 seconds to explain your blog, then you probably haven’t made sure it’s conveying the right message as to why it exist in the first place.”
My byline says it all. I’m a blogger, I’m a web enthusiast and I’m an avid photographer. That’s what this blog is about with a strong emphasis on photography and yet sometimes not just limited to that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the sites I will always feel a stronger connection with are the ones that bundle their topic with a first-class personal story and whether I write about how much I enjoyed a movie, it just won’t be another film review as I will always strive to instill some personal meaning to it. Case and point.
I continually come across friends that stumble about my site via Facebook and they inquire what my site is about, hence this post. Is it for everyone? Perhaps not but I can tell you that it’s incredibly empowering to be able to relate truthfully about anything as long as you’re enthusiastic about it and even more so when you consider that people may actually read it.
You can never please everyone with what you write but even more important is remembering that you don’t have to. It’s those select few that matter.
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3 Days Without an iPhone
It suddenly stopped working. The screen persisted in being off and unresponsive and no trouble shooting tactic seem to revive what now was my dead iPhone. If you ask me, I think the combination of too much jailbreaking and just the life of the battery all contributed to its death.
What’s interesting is that making phone calls was second to everything else I accomplished with the device yet to make up for the inability to now make a phone call, I resorted in using this cracked Razor flip-phone that we had laying around the house. I quick SIM card swap revived it.
This may seem a bit overboard but being without my iPhone for 3 days has completely made me feel disconnected. The days seem one-sided, half-completed but mostly disoriented because I have zero access to online content that generally keeps me in touch with what’s transpiring in the world. Even standing on line at the supermarket feels unfamilar.
Staying in communication with my wife consist mostly of SMS throughout the day but I refused to put so much effort in trying to text on a phone that doesn’t have a full-blown keyboard like I’ve been accustom to already. It’s a complete hassle.
The device has not only changed my communication habits but it’s brought a new level of excitement and enthusiasm that apparently can easily be taken away from going a fews days without a technology that has forever changed me.
Art Changes You
Whenever an author decides to mention in their book successful companies, it’s almost a given that Apple will be included in that inventory. I’m half-way through Seth Godin’s Linchpin and there’s a chapter where he touches on how we can all be creators of art but not if what we create doesn’t instill some form of change to the recipient and this particular entry resonated with my current plight -
The design of the iPhone is art. It changes the way some people feel. It changes the way they use the device. It changes the way they communicate. And there is a gift as well. People who see the iPhone but don’t buy one still receive the gift. An ugly iPhone would cost as much as the beautiful one. The beautiful part is the free prize inside, the bonus, the gift to us from the artist who designed it.
I was among the few that pre-ordered the iPhone 4. I’m excited beyond belief because the device no longer acquires its popularity based on the bragging rights that comes with owning one but on the integral and emotional relation that you develop with a technology that enables you to be more attached with things you care about. It’s no longer an ornament to what you already own, it’s an integral part to what you want to accomplish.
I’m ready to get back to normal. Normal for me means keeping up on Tweets, Facebook, feeds, reading and texting all of which seems like normal habits for any Mac and web enthusiast.
