http://erincarter.com/Erin Carter posts feed.en-usWed, 27 Jan 2010 19:53:22 -0500http://erincarter.com/2010/jan/27/3bits-synclost-project/Awesome new project built with <a href="http://processing.org/" target="_blank">Processing</a>. <blockquote>SyncLost is a multi-user installation for immersion in the history of electronic music. From a complex timeline, rhythms and sub-rhythms merge to create new sounds.</blockquote> http://vimeo.com/8978428 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:53:22 -0500http://erincarter.com/2010/jan/27/3bits-synclost-project/http://erincarter.com/2010/jan/8/jump-point-growth/h3. So quiet, for so long As important as sharing ideas is to me, I’ll be the first to admit my public interface for such endeavors has been minimal. Other than regurgitating links on "social networks":http://twitter.com/erincarter from time to time I’ve made little to no effort to publish ideas outside of local conferences and presentations. A lot of this came from a now outdated belief I carried for far too long. It’s a simple idea of there being two distinct types of individuals in development… A) The Talker: those who write from observation of what they see others doing, and B) The Doer: experiencing, evolving, progressing, too busy to write because they’re dedicated to something else. As flawed as it is, for the longest time I’ve been the “B” personality. Although admittedly learning, researching, experimenting, gaining, I’ve done nothing to express my triumphs and follies other than verbally to friends and colleagues. This is the beginning of where that changes. h3. Impact of involvement Those that know me can attest how valuable involvement in local development community is to me. Though sparse at times, the city I live in has a prosperous group of technology enthusiasts and individuals that I am proud to be part of. The last six months has been a journey provide to whats been given to me back to the community. The beginning of this blog is a very essential part of that, personally. In search for other’s of like minds I’ve developed priceless contacts, wise mentors, and endearing friends. I can only hope others have experienced the same. The privileged to be part of a place for professionals like myself to "meet, work, share, create, and innovate":http://okccoco.com/ is a huge part of this acquisition. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to speak a "several local conferences":http://www.extendedbeta.com/, and just as of a couple weeks ago to became the voice of "organization":http://refreshokc.org/ dedicated to refreshing creative, technical, and professional culture of internet professionals in my metro area. h3. Be part of something greater than you can be alone The venture to share my experiences doesn’t come without hesitation, of course. Though the exposure to public speaking is a important experience in my career, I often find myself a bit apprehensive, even nervous at times, when speaking to a group that are genuinely as passionate and interested in a subject matter as much as myself. As I am, this reaction is human. I discovery myself continuously asking the questions “do I really have anything to say that hasn’t been said before” and “what if I feel it’s just not good enough”, as most perfectionists do. Just as challenging as overcoming apprehensions of speaking in front of an audience, the same goes for an audience online. This is the first step towards that goal. Other than keeping a journal of projects, presentations, and events attended I’ve done nothing to colture ideas in a open and digestible format online. During the first week of December I came across a "online movement":http://sitesprint.info/ of designer/developers relaunching their website or blog with a simple philosophy, “There are no awards. There are no prizes. You’re doing this for you.”, which gave me a sense of validation towards actually designing a website or blog for myself _(which I’ve done maybe once my entire career)_. Even though I had a late start and missed the Dec. 15th deadline terribly, the idea of being part of something greater than your own doing was fresh on my mind. About this same time I’ve found momentum gaining on another "project":http://project52.info/ geared towards updating providing fresh content to your website for the upcoming year. Basic primis: write at minimum one new article a week for the year of 2010. This post is the first of my additions to the project. h3. In hopes Being human, I continuously find myself saying “why”, “what if”, “if we could only” when it comes to what’s popular in web application design and development. With passion comes relevance to actions, and is often overlooked in our process. Though I am a web development professional, the content of this blog _(or the current lack there of)_ is not geared towards design techniques, industry trends, or code examples, but more the concepts behind why we’ve made the decisions we make and my personal experiences in doing the same. Come in with a open mind, step away from the deadlines and code, allow yourself to think. Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:45:42 -0500http://erincarter.com/2010/jan/8/jump-point-growth/