As I’m sitting here putting together a presentation for the Creative Arts Forum at Michigan State University, I’m reminded of what keeps me and the Tridea team going. And that’s passion. I can’t imagine trying to be creative and lacking passion. Is that even possible?

Anyhow, I just felt compelled voice my thoughts on that. And if you do nothing else in your career/life, and stay in the same position forever… at least be passionate. It makes work and life so much better, and others feed off of passion. It’s contagious.

I hope the students that I’m presenting to understand the importance of passion. How has passion helped you out in your career/life?

I am a junky for site analytics. I am always intrigued at finding out how people got to my website, where they are clicking, what pages get the most traffic, and so on. It’s very easy to get caught up in wanting to know how many people visit your website, and everyone wants to know that their website is getting a ton of traffic, but there is much more to learn from reading over analytics.

A good example on how you can use analytics is when planning a redesign for your website. Right now, Tridea is closely monitoring our stats to see the what the average screen resolution is on the monitors of our visitors.

From that data, we will be able to decide on what the width of our new website will be, based on the what the average is. That is just one of the many examples that you can get from watching over your site analytics.

One of the plus sides of having analytics on your website, is that there are many cheap, if not free, services available to add to your site with ease. We are currently using Clicky, however, other good ones include Google Analytics (free), Mint ($30/license), and Stat Counter (free version available), just to name a few.

So if you aren’t currently using any analytics on your website, I would highly recommend doing so. The information that you gain from learning how visitors use your site is invaluable. It also helps that they are dead simple to setup as well.

So, when I last posted, I had joined Twitter after a long period of resistance.

Wow, do I regret that now or what?

Within two weeks, I’ve managed to network out farther than I think I could have via any other method (besides SXSW! This Friday! YES!) There is a thriving, tech-oriented, youthful, and professional community out there, just waiting to hear your opinions on what people are tweeting about. I think this is what surprised me most: I really did expect Twitter to be similar to Facebook’s statuses or MySpace’s messages in terms of maturity and relevance. Instead, I’ve found about a dozen new blogs to follow that are very interesting. I’d like to recommend Mike Rickard’s (Re-)Learning Web Design, which gives very in-depth analyses of topics ranging from client-designer preconceptions, to the inherent challenges to the medium. Diego Aguilar’s FlyLyf drips with style – it highlights awesome cars, gorgeous portfolios of graphic design and art, and fashionable apparel.

Another thing I’ve learned is that by taking the extra step to put your honest two cents in on a topic that you know something about, or even just want to learn more about, will garner you more followers. I’ve asked a lot of questions, and it seems people like others who want to learn from them. I’ve linked up with a variety of developers, all of whom have given me some insight that have updated my opinions on a variety of backends. I’ve also sought out user experience and usability analysis experts, and have been shown some really great blogs and posts on related topics.

Twitter rocks. Go figure.

Can you believe it? It’s almost time for SXSW Interactive 2009! (Tweet it as #SXSWi). The Woodstock of web conferences, SXSWi is huge, fun, inspiring, and can be overwhelming, which is why I’m posting some tips for maximizing your time there this year!

Talk to people

This is probably the most important part of SXSWi, in my opinion. SXSWi brings together a lot or brilliant minds in many different creative fields, and it is a great venue to meet people. Meet people you’ve connected with on Twitter. Don’t be afraid to go up and talk to your web heroes and mentors. In Austin, the atmosphere is very friendly and there’s this creative energy that just emanates from having so many great people in one place! So grab a drink, bring some business cards, and don’t be a wall flower!

Eat good food

Sure, it’s a web conference, but it’s hosted in a really great city; Austin, Texas. I would recommend checking out Iron Works BBQ for lunch, where there are many famous Texans pictures on the wall. Try and get there early cause the line gets long…it’s a well known BBQ staple! Another great grub opportunity is Gospel Brunch at Stubbs. John and I walked away from their buffet last year about 5 lbs heavier. Definitely worth it. Finally, if you don’t mind a bit of a walk (or hailing a cab) check out Hoffbrau Steaks for a tasty meal that’s light on the wallet. I always feel like I should have steak and Texas go hand and hand…thus Hoffbrau will get my business again this year!

Plan, plan, plan!

There is going to be a lot of cool programming this year and a lot of great people speaking, so make a list of talks you think you would be remotely interested in. Rank them and put down when and what room they are in. You may walk in to a talk thinking it is going to be great and then find it is lacking 10 minutes in. Don’t waste your time! Hustle to the next one on your list! SXSW packs in talks/panels/speakers in abundance so you should never waste your time on something you aren’t getting value from. Luckily, the organizers at SXSW saw the need for planning tools and built in a schedule picker to mySXSW. Use it!

Drink

Water. Every night before you go to bed. Austin is loaded with great bars and there are tons of sponsored parties so you’re bound to have a drink or two or three…so the important thing to do is hydrate when you AREN’T at the bar. Panels start pretty early in the morning and if you are out late, which is VERY likely, you’ll be able to maximize what little time you spend sleeping by hydrating! I usually buy a 12 pack of Propel or Gatorade (do they just call it G now? What the re-brand?) and drink it before bed and during long panels. Trust me on this one.

Enjoy SXSWi without blowing your shrinking stock portfolio

In these tough economic times, frugality is an important trait. If you’re going to SXSWi then you’ve paid for registration, transportation, and lodging. Might not want to spend a lot more money, huh? Here are some money saving tips:

1. Pack some breakfast bars or roll out of bed in time for continental breakfast! Utilize free coffee wherever you find it.
2. Buy some microwavable lunches and make them in your hotel room. Pack granola bars for snacking during daytime programing. Don’t expect to find too many cheap lunch specials, Austin knows when SXSWi is and prices accordingly.
3. Figure out which parties have open bars and get there early! Lines were pretty monstrous last year and with the economy as it is this year, I highly doubt open bars will last as long. That being said, I spent about $10 on drinks last year, and that was purely toward tips!
4. Plan ahead and allow yourself time to walk places instead of taking cabs. If you have to take one, do so in a group to lower the cost!

So there you have it, veteran tips for maximizing your experience at SXSWi. Hope to see you there!

Okay.

I admit it, I’m resisting Twitter solely because I’m afraid of what people will think if I really tweeted what my up-to-the-moment thoughts and musings were.

JP and Saulter have been pretty insistent on me getting on Twitter, and more than once, JP’s told me about how awesome Tweetups have been. It’s possible I may have fallen victim to the variety of knee-jerk reactions from the initial wave of users who tweeted…well, crap. Since then, though, the community has exploded in numbers and there are lots more mature and professional people tweeting things pertinent to their business and career. Tridea has somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 or 90 people following us, and I’d venture to say almost all of them have some interest in web design, which makes for some really interesting tweeted conversations.

Still not convinced, I went ahead and Googled for benefits of joining twitter, and sure enough, I found some pretty convincing blog posts. Twitips spoke about the ways in which the networks of people that can be tapped into can be to promote your company and also find clients! Problogger espoused on the positive networking aspects along with the ability to keep up to date with your friends and coworkers in a non-intrusive way. Blogger Douglas Cootey wrote about how it helped him with depression and ADHD by finding others with his conditions and helping each other maintain positive attitudes on a daily basis. On the same note, I even found a post on a site called Fat Man Unleashed that also said the ability to reach out to networks of people with similar problems and receive almost instantaneous advice on things like diet and workouts was really helpful.

So with all these positive endorsements, I’ve decided to join Twitter and see what it’s like! Join up with Tridea and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Tridea!