June 25, 2009
This has been a fun and busy summer! Between all the work that’s keeping me busy, I’ve taken some really fun trips to New York City, Skyline Drive and the Shenandoah Mountains, Staunton VA, and other great places.
Here are some quick blips about what I’m working on … starting with Bubbly!
- Fab Apps has partnered with CoolTown Beta Communities for a fun project: Creating a spiffy web-based application called Bubbly that will help cities, towns, and organizations crowdsource fresh ideas and build communities of creative people. Check out CoolTown’s blog for more information about their work.
- Fab Apps is working on a brand new website for the Passionists JPIC effort, which will highlight their important work on U.S. and international social justice and environmental issues.
- Fab Apps is preparing to revamp the Ace Recycling website with lots of new information, because the company has now opened its Richmond, VA recycling facility.
- I’ve been working with Digital Division on their website and social media outreach, as well as working with a few of Digital Division’s nonprofit clients on issues like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and email marketing.
I have also been up to a few other things, but this is a pretty good overview of what’s been flashing across my computer screen lately! Until next time … stay classy ;)
May 14, 2009
I guess it’s been a while! I am really getting tired of this web design. I think I’ve had it since 2006. Hopefully a xiann.com redesign is coming soon. Also, a resume and portfolio update … which is kind of unnecessary, but not keeping them up-to-date could become a bad habit.
So what’s up? I’ve been doing a lot of work with Green America, the Social Investment Forum, and Digital Division recently. More of my clients are interested in social media outreach, so I’m coaching folks on the nuances of Twitter and such a good deal these days.
Wordage.info is doing great! If you haven’t checked out our free expanded thesaurus tool, you should definitely do it now. We have some exciting new developments planned, and just this month, Wordage.info became integrated into the KallOut search tool, a great cross-platform Firefox add-on and Windows tool that you should also check out.
Well there’s some work news. I’m sure there’s more, but you get the idea. (You can find more of my work news on the Fab Apps site.) When I’m not doing that stuff, I’ve been busy drawing, writing, and enjoying the spring. Jim and I just planned a hot summer trip to Miami, which we think is gonna be great!
March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s been a busy month. Here’s a quick update on the latest.
I’m sure I have some more news, but I hope this rundown covers a good sample of the things that are going on.
Also, enjoying the springtime! Even if it is 40 degrees here in DC :)
February 16, 2009
Affinity Lab, the innovative shared office where Fab Apps (my web company) is based, has been getting a lot of press this past week. We were featured in EXPRESS, biggest DC’s free newspaper, and on DC’s FOX 5 evening news. In the FOX news coverage, you can see me lurking in the background a few times. (Steve Waters was kind enough to say I had a few “cameos!”)
In other news, Fab Apps recently contributed a ton of Flash/Actionscript development to the Unison Agency website redesign, which looks and works beautifully. Check it out.
Also, we’re busily humming away on some fun new additions to Wordage.info — so watch this space for updates on that project, plus more interesting developments.
January 8, 2009
It’s the new year! The holidays seemed to go on for a long time this year. Not that I’m complaining … they were relaxing and wonderful!
The latest news is the Green Recycling Network web launch, which I think is a rather nice and polished website based on WordPress as a CMS. Fab Apps designed and developed the website entirely. Check it out.
Over December, Fab Apps also did a lot of work on the online membership system for Social Investment Forum and worked on a project for Unison Agency that will be launching very soon. I have also continued to do some fun work with Digital Division, who later this year will celebrate their 10 year anniversary!
My former employer and current client has, as of January 1, renamed themselves from Co-op America to Green America! I did some work helping them rename themselves (such as creating the morphing logo at the top right when you first visit the website) and will continue to work with them over the new year.
Here in DC, the big excitement is the upcoming Inauguration! It’s going to be like Marti Gras for Washington. It’s the day after MLK Day, and most people get the Inauguration Day off work, so many of us get a four-day weekend. The city should be brimming with visitors, and everyone’s abuzz.
Stay tuned for more news — and have a wonderful 2009!
November 30, 2008
November has been another action-packed month. I can’t believe it’s all but over. Here are a few random updates:
Hmm, that’s just about all the news I can post here for now. Meanwhile, we’re also preparing a new website for the Green Recycling Network over the coming weeks, and there are some secret projects in the works too! Good times.
October 17, 2008
Hi there! It’s time for another quick update. I have been juggling several projects lately with what has become my usual six or seven active clients at once. Here are some highlights:
The November elections are on their way and Washington, DC is practically on fire! I’m pumped, this is one exciting month. Stay tuned for some more website launches and news!
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August 21, 2008
So far, it’s been busy and exciting summer. Fab Apps has beta launched its free word discovery tool, Wordage.info, which uses open source thesaurus and dictionary databases to provide a new kind of word reference tool. It’s been an auspicious beginning. We’re getting really good feedback on the service, and received a small mention in the September 2008 issue of Men’s Health magazine, on newsstands now. Check out the beta at Wordage.info and let us know what you think!
Also, the Elements Beta Community, of which I’m a founding member, was featured on the front page of the Washington Post on July 27. There’s even a photo of Neil Takemoto in the Affinity Lab office space that we share. Check out the article!
In other news, I’ve had a fabulous summer. In between a lot of hard work, I’ve been boating, swimming, sunning, beaching, and generally having a wonderful time. I could go on … but I need to get back to work :-)
May 8, 2008
Wow, organizing a web portfolio of my work since 1997 has been a big job. I finally opted to just upload some pics to my Flickr account in an effort to get this moving. This is a work in progress, but check it out: Christian’s selected web portfolio 1997-2007
So far, this has been a busy year. To name some of the things that have been going on with Fab Apps:
- We launched a lively Socially Responsible Investing Jobs Board on the Social Investment Forum’s website, in addition to enabling e-commerce on the Forum’s website to power online donations, publications orders, and online events registration.
- We’ve launched our first Facebook app, an “I Voted” sticker for your profile page.
- We helped the Environmental Working Group distribute their first viral Flash widget for their campaign website, PetsForTheEnvironment.org.
- We are just weeks from launching a web design and total web content rewrite for the OMI USA’s Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation effort.
- We have located our office at Affinity Lab, a fabulous shared office space in Adams Morgan, full-time.
- But the biggest news is that our free tool for word discovery, Wordage.info, will be ready for the world in just a few weeks!
In addition to my work with Fab Apps, I have been continuing to work with web design firms Digital Division and Unison Agency.
There you have a good bunch of work news. In my personal life, Jim and I have moved from Northern Virginia to Washington, DC. I have grudgingly given up on kung fu classes for now, because the school isn’t near where I live anymore. But I have been drawing a lot, nearly every day, and experimenting more with the charcoal techniques I learned in a drawing class earlier this year. Good times!
January 11, 2008
Welcome to 2008! The year where I officially acknowledge that the 2000’s are nearly over. The winter weather here in Washington, DC is the new status quo — balmy days and April showers. After having a great holiday season, I’m enjoying being back to work.
Already this month, I wrapped up a large front-end HTML/CSS/JavaScript page build project for Voice of America News with Digital Division. The project was very challenging, and involved developing web templates that will work in more than 40 languages, including languages that read right-to-left like Farsi, and targeted browsers as old is Internet Explorer 5.5 (released in 2000) for older computers in the developing world. This project had been ongoing since at least summer of 2007, and was a coordinated effort between me (the technical lead and project manager), two other web coders, quality assurance testers, and VOA’s in-house design team. I learned a lot from the project, and I’m happy with the results, too! When the full website launches this year, I’ll be sure to post about it.
I also started a new Fab Apps strategic web redesign project for a faith-based social justice and environmentalist group, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Office. This group lobbies for many important global issues here in DC and elsewhere, and works particularly on affordable heath care, international debt relief, climate change, and others. We will be creating a more effective, friendly, and easily-updated website over the next two months.
In addition to this and other client work, I’m still working on creating software-as-service web applications. The pace on this stuff is admittedly slow, because it’s self-funded by my client work. I look forward to saying more about this publicly within another month, and hope to speed up the overall development time on these projects as they gain momentum this year.
Writing this post, I’m reminded that I also need to update my outdated resume and portfolio. Stay tuned!
