Darlanne.com

118 Free Groovy Retro Stock Photos

Darlanne — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 07:46:52 +0000

One of my favorite current styles is the vibrant retro look that’s very popular this year. What’s old is new again and while “retro” used to mainly refer to the pre-70′s era, a search for the keyword now delights those of us who still love the groovy stuff. This style doesn’t appeal to everyone and should probably be used with the word “moderation” in mind (or suffer a neon-like flashback!). However, for those who appreciate the carefree colorful look, I’ve gone back in time to bring you retro themed stock photo goodies that are reminiscent of the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s.One of my very favorite sites on the web is Sxc.hu, the “leading free stock photo site” with currently almost 400,000 royalty free photos and images to choose from, a perfect solution for almost any graphics project one can imagine. After signing up, please be sure to read the license type before downloading and adhere to the terms of the photographer/artist. If you like what you see, take a few moments and leave them a comment in appreciation of their work, and let them know where their photo or image will be used.

For More Great Retro Stock Photos, see:

123rf

Fotolia

Dreamstime

iStock

Big Stock Photo

Stocked Photos

CanStock

Now let the FREE retro begin!

Strange Twitter News Stories

Darlanne — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:24:04 +0000

As the popularity of the microblogging site turned household word continues to grow, so does it’s mention in the news media. Performing a basic search in Google results in an explosion of news stories, articles and blog posts about the social networking phenomenon. Most are generic in nature and relate to the service’s massive growth, such as the buzz surrounding the possibility of various internet giants being poised or in talks to buy Twitter, along with many op-ed articles either giving the birdie a whole hearted thumbs up or just giving the bird in general and wishing the Twitterverse would go find a new galaxy somewhere. Twitter, love it or hate it, but either way it’s definitely aflutter within recent media reporting.

Just like with every hugely popular trend, it’s success comes with the good, the bad, and the strange! I wish to share with my readers a few of the more bizarre and outright weird news stories I’ve come across. The moral of all the oddball stories below? Twitter doesn’t just mimic real life. In it’s own unique micro way it provides a true glimpse into the human experience. A “tweet” can be so spontaneous it appears to often capture a very accurate depiction of what each user is truly like. It’s my belief that sometimes a simple 140 characters or less can tell more about a person’s character than a full blog, bio, interview and so on. Why? Because it’s so raw and often “off the top of our heads”. However, with the rawness comes the downright strange, just .. like … REAL life. Perhaps we really are what we tweet.

Metro Pastor Says Twitter Post Led to Hate Crime

One of Pastor Taylor’s Twitter posts: “Crowley invokes the power of the badge on private property proved to be owned by black professor i guess black men cant holler on they land”

Read Full Story

Watch what you Tweet – Twitter could get you sued

Watch what you Tweet – Twitter could get you sued. One Chicago renter is find this out the hard way. Reportedly on May 12th Amanda Bonnen mentioned her “moldy apartment” to her 20 followers and now her property manager is taking her to court.

Read Full Story

Woman Chronicles Bank Heist on Twitter

“My bank was just held up

It’s My Tube, it’s Your Tube

Darlanne — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:01:40 +0000

So it’s a Friday night. For some that’s an exciting evening. If I remember correctly, it’s got something to do with getting dressed up, going out and having fun? The most exciting part of my evening will entail fixing the relative paths problem on a client’s Joomla site, at which time it will indeed feel like a reason to celebrate! So, perhaps you’re a bit like me, and your idea of a hot date is marking the calendar for the next WordPress upgrade release, and being social means hanging out with your friends on Facebook. Or perhaps you’ll really be wild and crazy and chat it up on MySpace at the same time! If you make your living online, indeed it’s sometimes hard to break away and take a much needed breather.

Sure there’s always TV, especially now with the gazillions of available channels, premium movies, shows galore and sometimes there’s STILL nothing desirable to watch. With the exception of two TV shows, Dexter and Criminal Minds, I don’t watch any television. I couldn’t tell you what’s happening or popular, a far cry from my time working for the media firm. For 7 years, I transcribed and monitored television and radio programming. I could rattle off the weather report on both coasts. I could easily repeat that year’s Oscar nominees and who wore what to the Emmys. I knew the fall lineup like the back of my hand, and if a celebrity so much as sneezed, I was your go to girl for all the juicy details.

I am now media dumb. I know no recent films, no new TV shows and my daughters were recently highly disturbed that I had no idea who Lady Gaga was. My oldest almost disowned me when I asked “Twilight? What’s that?”

So what does an uncool, uninformed, disconnected chick like me do when she wants a time out?

YOUTube, of course!

What is YouTube? It is essentially a video sharing site, like one big living room with a million TVs to choose from.

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.

I admit I actually used to think it was a rather trivial concept, no different than being a virtual couch potato. Yes, hours can surely be wasted just like with real TV, but the benefits of what the site offers are rather amazing. I began to realize it’s value when I started looking up CSS tutorials. I then thought, “hmmm I wonder if there are other tutorials I can find here?” Sure enough, I was watching and absorbing hundreds of tutorials on photo retouching, php programming, Joomla, WordPress, and countless other topics. I was amazed, and it’s now the first place I send anyone who has a need to learn just about anything.

But all work and no play, you know the saying! So one day, I was sitting here working and for whatever reason thought back to the Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii performance. Wow, I hadn’t seen that in years. I didn’t have the DVD, didn’t even own the audio CD. Hmmm, how about that YouTube place? It couldn’t hurt to do a search. An hour later I had watched almost the entire concert and happily had Burning Love stuck in my head for a week! Having my thirst for Elvis music quenched, I wondered what else I might find? All curled up in front of the computer, my daughters and I spent the next several hours essentially overdosing on videos. Many took me back to my childhood and teen years, providing a virtual vintage walk down memory lane that I was able to share with them. This You Tube thing was cool!

I explained to my daughters that they truly have no idea how fortunate they are to have some of today’s technology to benefit from. Back in MY day, I remember falling head over heels in love with Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, after seeing the music video for Is There Something I Should Know, that aired one day randomly on TV in the summer of 1984. But because there was no You Tube, no internet, I had to wait 2 months before I even found out the name of the British hottie and my then future husband. Indeed, the web and sites like You Tube are luxuries we kids of the 80′s could then only dream of.

Other uses for YouTube?

News, primetime TV shows, children’s shows, comedy, LOTS of comedy. There are literally You Tube “stars” that have thousands of subscribing fans waiting with baited breath for their next taping and upload. Others like to vlog (video blog), and share their commentary and opinions on a variety of topics. And if you’ve ever made a fool of yourself and have been unlucky enough that it was caught on tape, be assured it’s been posted for the masses so the entire online community can laugh at you.

From the serious, to the silly, to the downright embarrassing, YouTube has something for everybody.

The SILLY

Even the POPE has a YouTube channel!

A few of my own favorites

Michael Jackson – Will You Be There (one of my favorite songs!)
Where else you are going to hear Monks Singing Metallica!??
Enigma – Goodbye Milky Way
I Say a Little Prayer For You (from My Best Friend’s Wedding) (one of my favorite scenes from any movie!)
You Suck at Photoshop (funniest tutorial I’ve ever taken!)
Speeding Painting (Beyonce) - Amazing!

Related Articles:

Follow YouTube on Twitter

Aesthetic Inspirations (Part 1)

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:29:20 +0000

I’ve had a love affair with graphics and design for a decade now. Photoshop has been my faithful friend for many years now. Not a day or two goes by that I’m not creating something. But as any designer can tell you, sometimes the creativity just stops cold in it’s tracks. Some days I’m unstoppable and other days it’s a bad case of Photoshop Block, when I can’t design my way out of a paper bag! Times like that, I decide it’s time for some inspiration, always only a few mouseclicks away. I have a certain style, I guess we all do as designers but I feel like I’m forever trying to break out of it and change it up a bit. There are definite trends in design. Last year it seemed to be everything had to be reflected. I admit I do love that look!

This year it seems to be a retro grunge, with the use of vectors and almost a throw back to the 70′s type of style that’s popular. I love this look too! In my recent explorations to ignite my own creative spark, I’d like to share a few of my artfully beautiful findings and give major props to these exceedingly talented artists, all displaying their work on the awesome Behance.net showcase site.

The Looking Glass

Good Morning Stranger

ARTWORK 2008

Alcohol Unity

Bowienet

GP Poster

Smashing Magazine 2nd Anniversary Poster

November 2008

VALENDIA

March 2009

Weird Retro Color Trends

Miscellaneouz

Broken Type Experiment

Vinyl Record Font

Rise

Project Love Baby

Afternoon Delight

Artwork 2009

The Margarets: Single Covers

Day to Day 2009

Turn it Up

Speaking of Twitter

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:24:34 +0000

As you may have already noticed by the recent posts on this site, yours truly has been ever so slightly bitten by the Twitter bug. While I don’t consider myself a social networking junkie in any sense of the word, I definitely now recognize the value of this awesome micro blogging mode of communication. So simple, yet very powerful as a marketing tool. Whether you’re tweeting to promote a new piece of software, pimp your themes and designs, writing a book, you name it, Twitter can end up your absolute online BFF.

In keeping with the spirit of the big T, I’ve started offering a few of my own Twitter services, in the form of graphical goodness. If you’re looking to spruce up your Twitter page and low on Photoshop skill and cash, please feel free to check out my absolutely FREE Twitter Backgrounds. There are 100 in total I’ve created but I’m only putting up 20 at a time so be sure and check back weekly. If you’re wanting a more unique solution, in a few weeks I’ll be offering exclusive custom Twitter designs. There’s a brand new site coming for this service so again, stay tuned!

Happy Tweeting & Don’t Forget To Follow Me On Twitter!

Twitter & WordPress

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:19:41 +0000

Not everybody who tweets also runs a website, but if you are a site owner, there’s a decent chance you’re powered by WordPress. There are other frameworks and CMSs of course, such as Joomla, Drupal, Typepad, etc but for those of you who are using WordPress and Twitter, there are many ways in which you can integrate your tweets and more right into your site! Joomla is a wonderfully powerful feature filled CMS, and I run a few sites with it, but for the ease of use and simple functionality, I encourage you to take another look at WordPress for your site needs. Now onto the Twitter/Wordpress love!

WordPress Plugins for Twitter

Twitter & WordPress Integration Guide – Free Download
13 Essential Tools for Twitter Integration
10 Twitter Hacks for Your WordPress Blog

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Beware of Poser Tweeple

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:15:58 +0000

If you’ve been on Twitter for any length of time, you’ve probably by now noticed there’s many celebs also enjoying the art of Tweeting. Some use Twitter to promote their current projects, and others use it to simply be social. This is a new trend for sure. A few years ago, mixing, mingling and exchanging 140 characters or less with a well known person online was fairly unheard of. While it’s nice to be able to log on and see what John Cusack is up to, or catch up on the happenings of the day with Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, what isn’t fun is a 12 year old kid thinking she just had the tweeting experience of her life with the Jonas Brothers, (who do NOT have separate accounts), or following about 20 different Twitter accounts ALL claiming to be a particular famous person. Some are downright obviously posers, but others have been, sadly, very effective and believable. Justin Timberlake had I don’t know how many posers in all, but being a fairly social networking type himself (see Robo.to, his SN site), he finally got on Twitter with a “Verified Account“. Twitter recently began offering a verification process, not for all stars but only for those being impersonated on the micro blogging site. This is a good thing.

I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be impersonated but I laughed out loud at a particular tweet of Alyssa Milano who commented on having found somebody posing as her on Twitter (despite her already being an established Twitter user).

A fake me is following me. I wonder how I’m doing this evening. ~ @Alyssa_Milano

Sometimes a verified account doesn’t always stop these apparently very bored people who have way too much time on their hands. Oh definitely not. Miley Cyrus has a verified account, but at any one given time there are at least a dozen if not more “Mileys” trying to suck in the teen masses into believing it’s her “second account”. Even her dad Billy Ray was not immune and had a handful of posers portraying him. Then the confusion really sets in when all these fake people follow other fake people, likely all ONE person unless there’s some “poser posse” out there somewhere. This truly gives new meaning to the term multiple personality disorder. The entire Cyrus family at one point was all being faked. Billy Ray, once told of his poser, got so outraged for the sake of his fans being deceived that he jumped out of bed, snapped a photo, sent to Twitter and immediately had his account verified in order to stop “RealBillyRay”.

See! This is me ! I just snapped this picture. Please block the real billy ray cyrus. It is a fake ! - @BillyRayCyrus

Yes. There is a poser ! Elvis said” Imitation is the highest form of flatery”. But that was before Twitter. This scumbag is a fake!!!!!!!! ~ @BillyRayCyrus

Even though some celebs have made it crystal clear that they don’t use Twitter, it doesn’t seem to stop the posers. For instance, Vanessa Hudgens, impersonated heavily on Twitter, confirmed, along with Zac Efron, that they do NOT use Twitter during an interview on the red carpet of an award show, and on Ellen. A few posers tried to explain it away that they didn’t want too many people knowing about this “private account” (with the celeb’s name and pic splashed all over the page), and a few others simply said she “changed her mind” and DOES tweet now.

Sometimes the internet can be a wonderful globally “together” place and other times the fact that anyone can hide behind their computer screens beneath the veil of anonymity, really breeds a sense of distrust and asks the wonderful age old question … “WTF???”

So bottom line, while Twitter is clearly addressing the issue and at some point fake tweeps will be a thing of the past, in the meantime, if the account is NOT verified, while this does not at all mean they aren’t the real deal, use caution. Don’t go around bragging to all your coworkers that you just had the most amazing tweet session with Robert Pattinson of Twilight (who, as of this writing, does NOT use Twitter).

If you think you’ve found a poser and want to do something about it, I recommend contacting TweetFakes, and Valebrity, who make it their business to verify and report on who’s real and who isn’t. Be careful yet AGAIN though, as there are some posers out there so hell bent on gaining your belief and trust, they will even create a similar Twitter account that by all appearances looks like it’s there to BEAT the fakes for the sole purpose of

Twitter Birdy Obsessed?

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:11:45 +0000

Birdies, I see birdies, they’re everywhere! No, thankfully we’re not talking about an Alfred Hitchcock flick and the feathered flock is friend not foe, but they ARE swarming, all over the net. Who’d have guessed back before the internet went all Web 2.0 on us that one of the main mascots of the new technology era and social networking craze would be a bird for the now insanely popular Twitter micro blogging service. As a graphics designer, I gotta admit, some of the illustrations out there are ridiculously adorable. And while I am a designer, I’m not much of an illustrator, so I often find myself in awe of what new creations I see come along.

If you’re just dying to get your hands on a few of these freebie birdies for your own Twitter endeavors, I’ve compiled a list for you! Thanks to the artists for sharing their talents and offering their Twitter goodies for free!

An interesting sidenote, the actual bird used on the Twitter site was licensed from iStockPhoto.com for around $6!

The bird on Twitter

Twitter Client Apps

Darlanne — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:09:07 +0000

If you haven’t jumped on the Twitter train yet, then this post will probably not interest you. Then again since quite a few of my recent posts are Twitterish in nature, you may just wanna hit the x now ha! It took some time indeed, but I’m able to say with certainty at this point that I’ve finally been bit by the Twitter bug. I’ve been a member for a year now but only recently finally really started seeing the value of what this nifty little social networking service has to offer. So what better than Twitter? How about some helpful resources and tools that make Twitter itself better? Sound good? Read on!

In this post, I’m going to address the topic of Twitter clients, which are applications that provide an alternative to tweeting directly from the Twitter.com website. There are a gazillion to choose from but after trying out about a dozen, there were two that won in my book, hands down.

Tweet Deck

Gotta have it, can’t live without it. I’ll even go as far as to say that I didn’t get nearly as involved in my tweeting until I installed this beautiful little Adobe Air desktop application. It stacks tweets into columns, completely customizable with as many columns as you can imagine needing. It looks rather like a deck of cards, hmmm Tweet”deck”! Oh and it’s 100% FREE.

It also features a powerful search function, a terrific way to filter out results for quickly narrowing down tweets, and my favorite feature, Groups. When one has hundreds of followers, it’s near impossible to keep track of who’s tweeting what. I use this feature to create Groups and open them in columns. Wanna know what’s being said about something in particular on Twitter? Create a column for that keyword and voila! In addition to all this, NO manual refreshing, all tweets come in automatically in real time.

TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with what

My Social Butterflies

Darlanne — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:35:31 +0000

They really aren’t kidding when they say Web 2.0. Even compared to just 5 years ago, the internet is a shadow of it’s former self. The term social networking began with sites like MySpace, and while every networking site out there has it’s positive purposes, for a parent it can be worrisome. My two daughters are taking after their mom in the sense that they love being online, though they are far more of the social butterflies than I have ever been. My oldest is 18 now, and has taken up blogging on her own sites, Tweeting and making commentary videos on YouTube. While she doesn’t love the MySpace/Facebook sites too much, she does actively participate in the similar MyYearbook. Since she started online a few years ago, I’ve always been the “in your face and all up in your business” type of nosey mom, and I believe it has to be that way to ensure their safety. She has come to appreciate this, though, as we now deal with her 10 year old sister wanting to Tweet and make Bratz doll videos on YouTube. Now she understands to a certain degree that uneasiness, herself being fiercely protective of her sibling.

Nielsen Online shows that: Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email, Member communities are visited by 67% of the global online population, time spent is growing at 3 times the overall internet rate, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time, PDF, Nielsen Online, March – Web Strategist

The internet can be a wonderful place to learn a skill, perform a job, broaden technical horizons, but it’s too easy to let it replace real life. This is very unhealthy for anyone, especially kids who begin to define themselves by whatever identity they’ve formed online. Moderation is key, and a healthy balance between the cyber world and the real world. There’s dangers of course in both, but it’s too easy for a stranger to figuratively step right into your child’s bedroom and compromise their safety, as a parent becomes lulled into a false sense of security.

I’ve worked online since 1999. Prior to that, I worked outside the home all my adult life. I don’t regret it, as it allowed me to be here for my girls growing up. However, while I encourage my daughters to know the net, understand what it can offer them, I also want them to understand what it can’t offer them, and what drawbacks exist. A lot of life can go right by and be missed when one lives online. This isn’t what I want for them. My oldest is a gifted writer. My youngest is a talented artist. I want them to pursue these skills and make the most of them, but I have to be honest, perhaps even a bit hypocritical when I say, I’m not at all okay with too much emphasis put on the web as a way of life. With the popularity of sites like YouTube, all but offering an instant “stage” for whoever wants to become a star, it’s my belief we are raising a new generation of narcissistic individuals, with all the emphasis on “me me me”. The internet is truly a new beast compared to old school circa 2000, when “social” still meant real world activities.

With my oldest, I make my views very known and while she’s an adult now (*sob*) and can make her own decisions, I always sigh a bit of relief when I overhear her repeating some of the same words of wisdom to her sister, that I’ve tried to instill in them both. Face it, having kids forever changes how we view the world. Adding in the element of the internet, which is now a way of life itself, isn’t always very comforting. Talk to your kids. That sounds cliche by now but there is no better way to protect them than old fashioned communication (that doesn’t involve texting, chatting or tweeting!). Discuss with them, their activities. If they’re younger, enforce strict rules as to the time they’re allowed to spend online, where they’re allowed to visit, and be very watchful of their activities. If you sense something is off, you’re probably right. Don’t worry about insulting them or invading their privacy. It is your job first and foremost to protect them.

In ten years from now, who knows what Web 3.0 will be like. For all it’s exciting possibilities, I guarantee there will still be the downsides and it’s up to us as parents to meet those challenges and guide our kids along the information super highway (that term itself NOW old school). So no matter what it is, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, or an old fashioned chat room, knowledge is power, and passing that knowledge on to your kids can only help keep them safe.

Also, if it’s a pretty day outside, the birds are singing, the sky is blue, encourage them to step outside and away from the computer. We didn’t have the internet when I was a kid and while there are certainly perks and upsides that my kids have to enjoy in the form of all the new technologies, I almost think I was the luckier one. There was a beauty in the simplicity of what life used to be, long before the internet existed.

TIPS

Nielsen reports that Social Networks 68% more popular than email 65% (but not by much), Nielsen, Cnet, March 2009 – Web Strategist

Collection of Social Networking stats for 2009 – Courtesy of WebStrategist.com