Apple Hater Profile 1: The Tech-Savvy Power User
Let’s close our eyes and pretend we are a super geek. Imagine if you have spent your life learning the intricacies of computers. This type of person shuns the mouse in favor of the command line. They prefer to browse the web with a text editor because reading raw HTML allows them to understand what the author really means without the distraction of images. Think of these people as living inside the Matrix. They see 1′s and 0′s where the rest of us are limited by seeing the world in hi-def. This person’s identity is connected directly to knowing more about computers than anyone else. They secretly enjoy the struggles that most people have with computers because it gives them the opportunity to show their expertise. What happens when the mortals stop asking for computer help?

Now, imagine you have all this knowledge and someone tells you that you don’t need it any more. A Mac is a computer that makes all your knowledge, the skills that have defined you your entire life, seem useless. You would take that as an incredible slap in the face. Applications that install with a single click? Rubbish. Programs that are customizable without reading the owner’s manual? What fun is that? Now you are starting to see why an Apple product is so scary to the super nerd. It is not only a threat to the core of their identity, it also takes the fun out of computers. “Easy to use” is not a benefit to this type of user.

So what do you do if one of these hardcore geeks tries to engage you in a debate of Apple’s merits? Here are some tips. First, don’t start insulting the PC or Windows. That’s the first reaction, but won’t work with the geek because you can rest assured he knows volumes more about the PC than you. Any insult you throw at the PC will be rebutted with a response that you can’t fight because you won’t be able to comprehend it. So a more effective response is to say, “I sure do love my Mac, but I can appreciate someone who is an expert on PC’s like you. Frankly, I am just not smart enough to use them as effectively as someone like you.” The point of a response like that is it gets the geek talking about themselves. This is really why they brought up the subject in the first place. Remember, this kind of person’s identity is connected to their PC knowledge so if you acknowledge this they will probably be less hateful towards you.

Apple Hater Profile 2: The Heavily Invested Professional
Our second character has less expertise than the super geek. This is a person who has a substantial investment in the PC. This investment might be money. Perhaps he has spent thousands of dollars on PC’s and upgrades. Maybe the investment is time. Perhaps he has spent hours on the phone with Microsoft’s support team. Or maybe they have gone to training classes. Or maybe they just spend their evenings removing viruses. Maybe the investment is patience. If you have spend hundreds of hours in PC maintenance you have made an investment. It is hard to come to terms with the fact that this time was wasted. In order for you to recover this loss you need to put that investment to good use. Now that you know how to remove a trojan virus from the deepest hidden corners of your computer you need to put that knowledge to good use. If nothing else, if it ever happens again you will be prepared.

When someone has a great deal of time and money invested in something they will be much more likely to defend their PC decision. So if you were to switch to a Mac, what happens to the hours you have spent customizing your machine? What about all the knowledge you have obtained? That investment is gone and you can see why this kind of person would be resistant to Apple.

So what do you do if one of these hardcore geeks tries to engage you in a debate of Apple’s merits? Here are some tips. First, don’t brag about how easy to use your Mac is. This will only remind your opponent about how much time he has wasted. Instead, say something like this, “You’re right, my Mac isn’t perfect. Don’t you wish there was a computer that didn’t require maintenance? If only there was a way to reclaim all the hours we spent on technical support phone calls.” The point is to switch the debate to a subject that you can agree on. Remember, this person’s hatred for Apple is connected to the fear of losing their investment. If you can identify with this person’s pain of time/money lost on computers you might be able to defuse the pending conflict.

Apple Hater Profile 3: A Person Who Struggles with Technology
The third type of person is the least savvy user in the list. They struggle with technology in general and don’t have much patience with computers. If you want to get an Apple hater worked up just tell them how easy it is to use a Mac. While there are things about a Mac that truly are easy, much of using a Mac is just as confusing as a PC. This is an extremely complex machine after all, and without a basic level of understanding about what that machine is doing you are going to get confused. You can only remove so many buttons and eliminate so many options. At some point you just have to know certain things. What is an application? What’s the difference between a folder and a file? What happens when you save something? What is going to happen when you click on that?

If you are the kind of person who struggles with technology a Mac can actually be more confusing and harder to use. This is especially true if you are switching from a PC to a Mac. What happens when the things that you barely understood to begin with change or disappear. Put yourself in those shoes and you can see how an Apple hater is born in this situation. “You said it was going to be easy! It took me three days just to figure out that I didn’t have to run an installer!” Rather than baptizing this person into the Apple cult you have instead created a PC user for life.

So what do you do if one of these techno challenged people tries to engage you in a debate of Apple’s merits? Here are some tips. First, don’t talk about how easy to use a Mac is. Instead say something like, “Isn’t it frustrating when something you just learned gets changed? I hate that. I guess that’s the problem with technology. It is always changing and it is hard to keep up with it all.” By switching the conversation onto something that addresses the person’s core fear (having to learn yet another technology) you shift the debate away from Mac vs. PC and onto the less volatile subject of technology in general.

Apple Hater Profile 4: The Budget Conscious Bargain Hunter
Not everyone can afford a PC. Even though the price of an Apple is cheaper than any comparable PC on the market, they are not cheap. Imagine if you can’t afford an Apple. Even if you are open to the idea of a Mac, it is hard to justify. It seems ridiculous. Thanks to the high resale value of a Mac, even the used models on Ebay go for more than the computers on sale at Best Buy. There are no sales for Apple products. If you are looking for a bargain on a Mac, they don’t seem to exist. If you are the type of person that loves a bargain, thrives on sales, or just needs to save money you will never ever be rewarded by an Apple product. Hence, many Apple haters are born based on price alone.

So what do you do if a bargain hunter tries to engage you in a debate of Apple’s merits? Here are some tips. First, don’t tell them that Mac’s are comparable in price to PC’s, that is just pouring gasoline on the flames. Instead, say something like this, “I am lucky I was able to buy a Mac. They sure are expensive and I wish they could drop the price so more people could afford them.” Since this person isn’t fundamentally opposed to owning a Mac, you might be able to turn this person into a Mac fan. By acknowledging the high price up front you can prove that you have the same concerns as this person. From there you can answer questions about why you own a Mac despite the cost.

Apple Hater Profile 5: The Non-conformist or Trend Averse
There is a perception that Mac users are just trying to be trendy. This is the type of person that hates fanboys of any kind dismissing devotion to a single brand as a serious character flaw. They typically don’t trust corporations. They might be the kind of person that believes huge companies like Wal-Mart, Apple, Microsoft, and McDonalds are seriously damaging to the world. If the person is tech savvy they will be deeply devoted to open source software and might be running Linux rather than Windows. They might be a hacker type that builds their computers from scratch. If they aren’t tech savvy then they probably are more opposed to the idea of the Apple brand than they are to any technical objections. They hate the Apple ads vehemently. They might own an iPod out of necessity, but you can rest assured that you wouldn’t recognize a single band in their playlists.

This might be the hardest Apple hater to debate. If someone hates you just because of the logo on your laptop, what do you do? If you know enough about Linux or open-source software to bring up that subject, you might start there. The only thing that this person enjoys more than ripping on Apple is bragging about what they use. They would love to convert you to their cause, so if you can show interest in what they are in to, you might be able to deflect the Apple hatred. The same could work with music. Rather than saying, “How can you hate Apple and still carry around an iPod,” you could show interest in their music and get them talking about what obscure band they discovered before anyone else.

Hopefully this look at the characteristics of the average Apple hater will help you avoid conflict in the future and might even save some relationships. As incomprehensible it may seem for someone to hate Apple products, these people are acting in a predictable an rational manner. Learn to identify what actually makes these people tick and you open a door that would otherwise be slammed in your face. As always, this is easier said than done, but I think it is worth the effort.

1. A problem solver is reacting to mistakes that have already been made. A problem identifier can see potential mistakes and eliminate them before they become a problem.

2. A problem solver looks good only when things go wrong. A problem identifier’s work may go unnoticed because their work isn’t accompanied by calamity.

3. A problem solver is threatened by creative, untested ideas because they can’t apply their pre-determined formulas to fix problems they haven’t fixed before. A problem identifier can confidently embrace bold ideas without fear because they can address problems on the fly.

4. Problem solvers are by definition looking for opportunities to do damage control because this is their opportunity to shine. Problem identifiers hate damage control because they see it as the result of poor planning.

5. Problem solvers see job security in things that routinely fail. Problem identifiers will never make the same mistake twice.

6. Problem solvers can identify blame quickly (as long as it isn’t their fault). Problem identifiers can identify mistakes just as quickly, but use these moments as teaching opportunities for the team.

7. Problem solvers love the postmortem because they are good at pointing fingers in hindsight. Problem identifiers have sought out feedback throughout the process and rarely learn much after the fact.

8. Problem solvers prefer problems that they know the solution for. Problem identifiers love new problems because they lead to new insight.

9. Problem solvers don’t see the status quo as a problem that needs to be solved. Problem identifiers resist the status quo because it is the equivalent of stagnation.

10 Problem solvers need conflict and failure to maintain their comfortable existence. Problem identifiers need new challenges and become uncomfortable when things become routine.

11. Problem solvers don’t speak up until the problem is obvious. Problem identifiers have deep insight into a project and can articulate the implications of subtle adjustments within the plan.

So the next time someone asks you whether or not you have good problem solving skills tell them no. They will undoubtedly be surprised by your answer and ask you why. You can answer confidently that you specialize in something far more rare than problem solving. You are a problem identifier.

Here’s the short story:
My site got hacked. I started getting charged way too much for bandwidth overages. Customer service was bad and failed to find a solution for me. I signed up with Dreamhost and have been more than satisfied so far. It gets technical after this, but you can keep reading for the full story…

Long Story:

1. Media Temple Exploit #1026
First off, I was on a gridserver (GS), so I can’t vouch for any of their other hosting packages, so keep that in mind as you evaluate MediaTemple. Their other services might be better. This is what happened to me…

Last November my site was the victim of a major MediaTemple hack. A large number of WordPress powered sites were affected by the exploit which added code to .htaccess files as well as index files. Bad news. While nothing was permanently damaged and no data was lost, the fact that so many MediaTemple accounts could be compromised so easily really makes you question the security of their whole operation.

The other thing that was strange about the MediaTemple hack was how they handled their PR throughout the ordeal. MediaTemple has a “system status” section on their site so that anyone (customer or not) can see what issues they are working on at any given moment. This is brilliant. It says to people, “No, we aren’t perfect, but as you can see we fix things as soon as we can.” It builds trust and makes you wonder what is really happening at hosting companies that aren’t so transparent. But when the MediaTemple hack happened, the response was slow. The argument could be made that this was for security reasons. Maybe. But it really seemed like they were covering something up. I got emails informing me that they would be changing my passwords, but it took a long time to get things under control and you can see that issue #1026 has several long posts on their site outlining the whole thing.

But accidents happen, and I wasn’t going to let one incident kill a relationship that had up to this point been so stellar. So I stuck with them.

2. Slow Sites
My sites started getting sluggish and unresponsive in March. Font Burner was practically unusable taking a minute to load the homepage at times and sometimes being down completely. Then at times it would work just fine. I haven’t gotten any explanation for this, and never found anything wrong with my files that would cause such sluggishness. This may seem like an unmeasurable thing, so let me reassure you that this isn’t just a passing observation. I use tools like yslow and caching tools to make sure my sites are as fast as possible. I have worked on sites hosted through most of the major hosting companies, so I know the difference between a poorly optimized site and a slow server like GoDaddy (AKA slowdaddy). For whatever reason, MediaTemple was regularly slow. This is something that isn’t supposed to happen on a gridserver. That is the main benefit of being on the grid compared to other shared hosting options.

3. GPU Overages
It was about this same time that I started receiving my first notices of GPU overages from MediaTemple. At first it wan’t very expensive, but each month it slowly increased. Granted, my Font Burner website is a bandwidth hog that was built to support hotlinking to the fonts I host there. As more and more people use Font Burner, my bandwidth will obviously increase. I accept that. But as I researched GPU usage and optimized my site, I learned some interesting things about MediaTemple. Let me explain…

The GPU itself is a unique measurement invented by MediaTemple. Here’s a link to their GPU FAQ’s. Basically, this is a measurement of the amount of their server’s processor your site is using. Since the gridserver distributes the load of your website across a grid of machines, they chose processor usage as a way to identify the heavy users. That’s fair. If you are using more than your share of the grid, you should pay more. But the thing that is deceptive about MediaTemple’s marketing that this is strangely absent. You don’t see it mentioned in their description of the product. All you see is “100gb of storage, 1TB network traffic, 100 domains, etc.” The catch is that you will hit their GPU limits way before you ever get anywhere close to using that much storage, traffic, or total websites. So the $20/month cost is very misleading.

4. Expensive Excessive Charges
At $0.10 per GPU it doesn’t sound that expensive if you are going over your GPU limits. Trust me, it adds up. If you are 3 GPU’s per hour over your limit it will cost you $50 per week. That is what you would pay for their Dedicated Virtual server for the whole month.

So I prepared myself for the ever increasing GPU usage that I would be using by optimizing my sites. Again, I learned some interesting things about MediaTemple. The main cause of GPU usage comes from your error pages, specifically the 404 pages. These pages are hogs because they redirect you to an error page any time a url is typed wrong, of from clicks on links to pages on your site that don’t exist. The first thing MediaTemple recommends is to fix broken links or create files at the location where you get the most errors. Here is a link to their GPU tutorial.

So I went about fixing my broken links and creating files in places where I was getting excessive error pages. I had a uniques situation here because of how Font Burner is setup. If you are one of the 12,000 people who have downloaded the Font Burner WordPress plugin you had to manually enter the name of the font you want to use into a box in your WordPress admin. If you make a mistake (capitalizing the name for example) this will create a link on every page of your site to a file that doesn’t exist on my site. It’s inevitable, and there isn’t much I can do about it. It happened on a dozen fonts or so, so I simply created fonts at those locations and with those names. Problem solved. Actually, no. Not at all. Read on.

5. Disappointing Customer Service
I fixed many links and dramatically corrected the errors found in the GPU tool that MediaTemple provides. This had almost no impact on my total GPU usage. I was very surprised by this, so I called them. Up until this call I have only talked to competent helpful people at WordPress. This call was different. The guy reassured me that if I had fixed the 404 errors, I should be seeing a drop in GPU usage. I took his word for it and gave it some time to see if thing leveled off. They didn’t. So I called again and got the same answer. This person even told me that he saw a dip in my usage. It wasn’t until I got off the phone that I realized that he was looking at the current days usage. For the current day, their stats are about 12 hours behind. Since his reading was only a few hours into the new day, he thought I was below my limit. In fact I was almost at the limit just from the time in the middle of the night when my traffic is the lowest. Terrible analysis.

I commented on the support ticket. Silence. For days.

I tweeted about it and started asking people for an alternative to MediaTemple that they recommended. I was surprised to get a response from an MT worker through Twitter. They promised to look into it if I DM them my account number. So I did. Silence.

So I began the process of moving web hosts. I was looking at GatorHost, Bluehost, and Dreamhost. I decided on DreamHost because I liked how they let you move to a VPS if I needed to upgrade. I chatted with their support team on their site and was satisfied with their answers. I liked their control panel (almost as nicely designed as MT). The price was less than MT and they got lots of good praise from bloggers. Their customers are as loyal and vocal as the MediaTemple people. I found some negative reviews, too, and carefully measured the pros and cons.

I began moving my websites over and recreating databases. I was transferring files and setting things up pretty steadily for a few days. It isn’t an easy task, and not something I would have done if I could have stayed with MediaTemple. I had everything transferred over when I finally got a response on my open support ticket from MT. They said they would pass my issue over to someone else who could advise me about upgrading or something.

After my DNS switched over, I closed my account with MT once I was sure I had everything I needed from them backed up. I got a phone call from someone at MT while I was at work. I asked them to please call back because I really wanted to talk to them. The gal said, “sure,” but the phone call never came.

Happy With DreamHost
So now, I am done with MediaTemple and so far every thing is going will with DreamHost. One of the bonuses of DreamHost is that they make it really easy to host Google products like gmail, google calendar, etc. on your own domain. Loving that. I haven’t had to upgrade to a VPS yet, surprisingly. The speed of my site has been satisfactory, and I haven’t noticed any sluggishness. I hesitate to give them my full endorsement having only used them for about a month, but so far I am impressed. Perhaps, I was just a bad match for MediaTemple because of my unique Font Burner needs. If you are thinking about switching hosting companies, you can save $50 from Dreamhost if you use the promo code “adrian3″ when you sign up for a year. I will check in on this post again after I have been a DreamHost customer longer. Hope this was helpful to you!

Complaint 1: “What happened to the rounded corners?
I can appreciate a gratuitous rounded edge as much as the next designer, but let’s break this down. What happens when you eliminate all edges from a cube? Answer: you blur the boundaries between the edges. In other words, you start to lose the sides. The old design really just has a front side. The sides, top, bottom, and back are all a perfectly rounded curve. That would be fine if this object could exist completely without buttons, speakers, ports, or a headphone jack. These are all areas where flat objects are coming into contact with a rounded surface. This causes design flaws. For example…

Plug your headphones into your iPhone and run your finger across the area where the two meet. Your finger (and jeans, or shirt, or anything else that comes in contact with this point) will catch on the edge. Functionally, this is dangerous because it increases the likelihood that your headphones will get disconnected. Visually, it creates a hole that exposes the underside of the headphone cord.

The same can be said about the buttons. Have you felt the vibrate on/off switch? Feel it. Right now. It’s pretty rough. The same with the main power button on the top. Being placed on the highest point of the rounded edge only accentuates this because it puts itself out there just begging to get bumped or catch on something.

Connect your ipod to the usb cord. Just look at it. Does that connection look well designed to you? No, it looks clunky and awkward. Very unApple when you think about it.

Flat sides on the new design addresses these issues. Now things can connect to it snugly and firmly. It doesn’t have to apologize for having a top and bottom, they are right where they should be. It doesn’t have to apologize for having buttons now, either. Having curves for the sake of being round isn’t enough to make something well-designed. Things need to have purpose, and now they do.

Complaint 2: “Why two buttons for volume up/down? I thought Apple was anti-buttons.”
I would be surprised if anyone really loves the current unibutton. If you do, please explain it to me. Currently you have an awkward large button thing that to my touch doesn’t feel that great. Apple has alway been great about getting buttons to feel really great. They have the right amount of resistance, and the feedback is pleasing. I can’t say I get that from the current button. Obviously, I don’t know what the new buttons will feel like, but they look right. They are small, slightly raised, and I bet they feel more like a button than the current version.

Not sure about the vibrate on/off button. This seems like it should be a switch, not a button. The jpg looks like a button, so I am not sure how that will work. More than anything else, this is what makes me think that this might be a prototype that could change dramatically before it hits the shelves.

Complaint 3: “I see a seem, I see a seem!”
The reason I embrace this is because I have a major complaint about the iPhone that is purely functional. I would like to know that if I needed to, I could open it up and replace the battery. I have no idea how I would crack my iPhone open without damaging it. Seeing a seem makes me think that maybe this thing could open up without damage or special tools. I kind of doubt that Apple will make it that easy, though. Wouldn’t it be great if you could upgrade your memory, swap out the battery, and replace the SIM card easily with just a small screwdriver? I would gladly accept a small seem in exchange for that functionality.

Complaint 4: “The back is plastic!”
If you look side by side, the new iPhone actually has more metal showing. The current phone has a thin aluminum rim on the front that looks more like decoration than serving any practical use. Now that the steel is firmly on the sides it has purpose. It looks like this thing is reinforced. It says that despite having a plastic back, it is solid steel all the way through. The seem actually reinforces that feeling. It makes it look solid and substantial. Would I rather it had a solid aluminum back? Well, yeah, but that isn’t a fair criticism when the existing iPhone has more plastic than this one.

So count me as one of the few who really hopes this version makes it into the hands of consumers. It will be interesting to see how this plays out…

1. In Search of a Truly Creative Occupation
2. Fine Art in Museums: Tigers in Zoos
3. Invisible Artwork: If we ignore it maybe it will go away
4. Art is Communication, Getting Yelled At by Art Is as Much Fun as Getting Yelled At by People

“It is a certain kind of educated, intelligent and intellectually hungry person that seeks out and enjoys encountering things and people that challenge their own culture. To have any hope that the general public would embrace this practice is foolish.” – Jason Simanek

I am debating whether the population of people who embrace “a challenge to their own culture” is growing or shrinking in response to the internet age where everyone is networked together. On the one hand, people are connecting with people far different from themselves that they never would have encountered in the past. But people are also digging deeper into communities of like minded people. Is it better to be loosely connected to a physical community centered around ancestry and tradition or is it better to be tightly connected to an online community that passionately supports your obscure interests? There are pros and cons to both I suppose and a healthy person would benefit from both.

In general, I have more hope in the public than I think I have ever had in my life. One of the exciting things about the age of the internet is that the population of “intellectually hungry” people that you describe is exploding. While the walls of our homes may not reflect it, the population of artists has exploded thanks to the internet and technology.

Most people can afford a computer that makes it relatively easy to create something. Sure, the first thing they create with these machines is a video/photo/blog about their cat, but nevertheless, this has huge implications. It has changed the general public from a passive participant in our culture into an active member who is adding to and shaping the world. Now, rather than copying the rich “culture makers” sense of art, each person can define the meaning of their culture individually. And is it any wonder that the walls of most people’s homes isn’t where they choose to display their work? Now you can share your creations online with people who might actually appreciate what you are doing. The walls of the home seem pretty limiting by comparison.

So now we are shifting into a creative culture that encourages participation. We are all asking ourselves these questions: “Now that I have these tools, what should I create? Who can I share my creations with? Now that I have found a community of people who share my passions, what can I contribute? How can I improve the work that I am creating? How can I help others improve their skills?” In addition, people are forming opinions about things that they never would have thought about before.

“Only recently has the general public had the free time and money to attempt to emulate the rich by thoughtfully decorating their homes with the mass-produced copies of images that have already been defined as ‘good art’ by rich people in the past. Its as though they have a nostalgia for someone else’s past. They’ve replaced what was most likely their own relatively simple but rich folk art tradition with thoughtless, mass produced imagery.”

There is an article in Wired this month called “The Great Cognitive Surplus” that talks about how differently people are spending there time compared to a decade ago. Clay Shirky makes a great statement that, “When someone buys a TV, the number of consumers goes up by one, but the number of producers stays the same. When someone buys a computer or mobile phone, the number of consumers and producers both increase by one.” I think that the general public is shifting from a population that spends their free time into a population that uses their free time. (On a side note, the other voice in that Wired article is Daniel Pink who has a great video on YouTube talking about “the surprising truth about what motivates us.”

Five years ago it was almost impossible to connect with people who would stop and notice my work. The best I could do was offend a few people in the middle of a small town in the middle of Nebraska. Today I can share pinhole photos with hundreds of like-minded enthusiasts who appreciate what I do without giving me strange looks. These people are invested in the same kind of work and willing to contribute to my improvement.

Admittedly, I am blurring the lines between traditional artists (Warhol, Pollock, etc.) and people who just like to create things – whether that is open source software, Widipedia entries, blogs, or whatever. The internet isn’t going to transform everyone into artists and there are plenty of downsides to what the internet has contributed to society. But overall, I think it is an exciting time to be alive.

Since I have so much invested in Font Burner it may come as a surprise that I would embrace Google’s system, a direct competitor of Font Burner. Actually, I am thrilled that there is a new (and arguably better) solution to the dilemma of limited type options on the web. I believe that the font industry monopoly is at best selfish, and at worst damaging to the internet as a whole. Now that there is an open source option in which Google picks up the hosting tab, hopefully more and more font designers/foundries will loosen their grip on their typefaces.

When I created Font Burner two years ago I wanted to do anything I could to help expand the options for type on the web. While I am proud of the popularity of Font Burner, it has grown into a service that has stretched my resources significantly. The hosting move I made last week was a direct result of Font Burner and the hosting requirements it demands. Font Burner users generate over one million page views each month, and that bandwidth is steadily growing. With over 11,000 downloads of the Font Burner plugin for WordPress, the demand for alternative font options is obviously high. In attempt to meet this demand I also released an update to the Font Burner plugin that allows users to “self-host” their fonts. This should help keep my Font Burner servers fast (and affordable) along with reducing the risk of service outage for WordPress users. But enough about Font Burner…

Frankly, the Google Font service has several advantages over Font Burner (and the sIFR technology it uses.) First, it is easier to use. Just add a line of code to your web page, and then start using it in your stylesheet with standard css. You don’t have to convert fonts into swf files. You don’t have to mess with writing javascript. You can use it for body copy. You can style it with CSS. The fonts are hosted by Google. It loads quickly. And it is just going to get better.

The gorilla in the room is TypeKit. While some people have embraced this service, I haven’t. The reason is because this is a business venture. Unlike the free open source service of Google, Typekit uses commercial fonts with expensive monthly fees. While there are many commercial sites that may benefit from this service, it is not practical for the average website owner. Paying to use a font on your website (that you may even own already) is ridiculous. I can’t endorse a service that adds another middle man into an already overly complex and expensive system.

So, I really hope that Google Fonts takes off. I hope that the assortment of fonts grows steadily. Knowing Google, it will be the standard in no time.

As soon as I heard Google’s font service announcement I started working on a WordPress Google Fonts Plugin to make it even easier for WordPress users to take advantage of the Gooogle font service. My plugin will be available in the WordPress plugin directory as soon as I get it approved. I will add the link here the instant it goes live.

The reason I have been silent lately is that I have been finishing another chess project that I will hopefully be announcing soon. It is a service that makes it really easy to share chess games with friends using Facebook and other social sites. It has been a fun project and I can’t wait to get it launched. Again, stay tuned.

The other big news is that I just completed a switch to a new web host. If you have been experiencing any outage on this or any of my other sites I apologize. I am moving from Media Temple to DreamHost. I will hopefully post a more detailed comparison of the two companies in the near future, but to make a long story short, Media Temple has been hitting me really hard with GPU overages and it didn’t make financial sense to stay with them. Not to mention they allowed my site to get hacked. And my sites have been intolerably slow. Yeah, I am not a happy camper. However, things are good so far with Dreamhost.

That’s all I can say for now. As always, thanks for stopping by, and next time I will have a real post and not just more teasers. I promise…

Warhol’s fascination with the notion of celebrity is simply one chapter in a body of work that explores dehumanization, consumerism, cultural desensitization, and materialization – all very “American” virtues. His charismatic life was so intertwined with American society that a study of Andy Warhol becomes a sociological commentary on American culture itself. Warhol recognized his connection saying, “I feel very much a part of my times, of my culture, as much a part of it as rockets and television.” In many ways Andy was the American dream. He overcame poverty, physical flaws, and pathological shyness to become the king of pop culture. But Warhol’s story is even more than a rags to riches tale. Andy Warhol packaged himself as a product for consumption just like the cans of soup and bottles of Coke that he painted. Andy Warhol’s life was just as much a work of art as his paintings.

Pick any of the many books written about Andy Warhol and you will observe that nobody really ever has a solid grasp on who he actually was or what he was trying to do. Was he the voyeur he claimed to be or critic of the culture he commented on? Was he sincerely promoting beauty of ordinary objects or was he showing the absurdity of consumerism? Was he really callous towards life and death, or was he pointing out how valuable our lives should be? Was he a shy socialite or a cunning businessman? Was he the ultimate hipster, casually dismissing the importance of his art, or was he a philosopher with a firm grasp on art history? To fall for any single side of these arguments is to oversimplify his art. His popularity can be attributed to how easily it is for anyone (from art critic to blue collar worker) to add their own meaning to his work.

Andy, the non-stereotypical artist
Even if we have deep respect for art, most of us also carry a negative stereotype around with us about artists. Have you ever listened to an artist gush about their work talking about things that couldn’t possibly have any relevance to your life? You probably rolled your eyes and questioned the sanity of this person. When a person’s words don’t align with their artwork and the art fails to connect with the audience you have a recipe for irrelevance. That is the real genius of Andy Warhol. His artwork could be appreciated by almost anyone. When questioned about the meaning of his work he could have said something like, “I feel that the pressures of society have polluted the beauty of the common object irrevocably and I want to represent the impact that the ordinary has had on the bourgeois blah blah blah.” Instead he let his artwork stand on its own merits and allowed the audience to decide for themselves what it is all about.” That’s why Andy’s most memorable quotes are contradicting thoughts like:

“I’m afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning.”

“In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.”

“I am a deeply superficial person.”

“I never wanted to be a painter; I wanted to be a tap dancer.”

“It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.”

The exception to the self-contradicting element in his work is his least successful work done in the 1980s. His portraits of celebrities were not very well received and are criticized for being too commercial. The irony of course is that this was exactly why Andy chose this subject matter. It was the same reason he painted Coke cans and soup labels – celebrities are also products of American consumerism. Nevertheless, Warhol’s work in the 80s does feel less timeless than his earlier work and there is truth to the notion that Andy was existing more and more as a business man and less as a pure artist. Had he not died in 1987 it is interesting to speculate about whether Warhol’s work would have continued towards the “business” side of the spectrum or if he would have regained a second wind and taken his art in a brand new direction.

What if Andy Warhol were still alive?
The thought of Warhol living in 2010 is worth a couple final thoughts. I joked with a friend recently that had he been alive today, Andy Warhol would most certainly have been a judge on American Idol. This position would give him the ability to single handedly dish out fame to people neatly packaged in fifteen minute packages. What else would Andy be involved with if he were still alive?

Perhaps Andy’s blog would be regularly updated with long posts about his cats and other less than fascinating insights into his life. The posts are tediously detailed and never talk about art directly. It is unclear whether Andy writes these posts himself or if he has assistants that help with the writing.

Andy Warhol wouldn’t have a twitter feed, instead favoring a more visual micro-blogging format. Andy Warhol’s flickr stream would be massive with photos of everything he consumed. The photos would be neatly categorized into collections like shoes, candy, weapons, condiments, and toiletries. All his photos are uploaded at high resolution and are released under a creative commons license that requires only that his name be displayed prominently with the reproduction.

What else do you think Andy’s life would include if he lived today? A reality show? Product endorsements? I am curious what you think, so please leave a comment if you have more ideas.

I am lucky to have an assortment of art to cover the walls in my home. I don’t own a Pollock or a Warhol – most of it is work done by friends or myself. On the rare occasion when we have guests over, I think it is interesting to give people a tour of the house and see what artwork – if any – people respond to. If the home is the “natural habitat” for art, then perhaps the response people have to art in this context is more authentic than it would be in a museum. Here is what I have observed…

When confronted with art unexpectedly, most people will say something safe like, “Did you do that?” or “I love all your artwork.” They are very careful to avoid directly interacting with the art on my walls. The exception is photography, especially photos of our family which aren’t art at all. These responses sounds like, “Look how young you guys were,” or “what kind of camera do you have?”

If “religion and politics” are the top two topics that people try to avoid talking about in polite conversation then art has to be a close third. I think art is intimidating to non-artists. That is the only way to explain the popularity of mass-produced reproductions and non-interactive visual junk. People are afraid of empty walls – but they are just as afraid of walls that make any kind of statement. Paint it beige and hang a Georgia O’Keefe print and nobody will ask any questions.

A few years ago I had an art show where I created prints of different faces of Jesus Christ that I scanned and enlarged from old Sunday School posters. (Thank you for coming to that show, Jason, by the way. It meant a lot to me to have you there.) Anyway, one of the more memorable pieces from that show was a 4 foot wide print of Jesus with a crown of thorns and a somber expression. Needless to say, it has made quite a statement hanging above our dinner table in the kitchen. The surprising thing is that this print hasn’t started any real conversation outside of Betsy persuading me to move it down to the basement. Perhaps, the subject matter is too intimidating. Frankly, I think it is kind of funny to sit under a 4 foot photo of Jesus’ face and pretend it isn’t there. That metaphor might be stronger than what I had in mind anyway.

Sometimes “art” feels irrelevant in the same way that I struggle with organized religion. People just prefer to ignore it. I think that is sad, because both art and Christianity have the power to rise above the mediocrity of everything else. It is much easier to ignore the meaningful things in life and embrace the “safe” stuff. As a result the kitsch rises to the top and things with substance get attacked – or worse yet ignored – because these things are uncomfortable. The people who create and have passion for them seem absurd because they have the guts to be different. People don’t have time to wrestle with deep thoughts when there are simpler ways to entertain themselves. Why would anyone want to stifle an endless stream of gratification by confronting things that aren’t easy to understand or appreciate?

With that I will toss it back to Jason’s blog. This one ended on a dark note, so next time I will try to focus more on the positive, I promise…

In Search of a Truly Creative Occupation

Fine Art in Museums: Tigers in Zoos

I hope you enjoy our thoughts, and watch for me to post the next chapter in the conversation soon…