Tech & Chicago (intersection of tags)

My photo of the tulips with a Harris Shutter is currently the “top post” for the Instagram hashtag #colurfultulips. Pretty neat. As much as I rail against Instagram, their “top post” feature is pretty nice. Search for a hashtag, and…

To be fair, it wasn’t my tulips that were banned. It was my self-promotion. Let me explain. Today I wrote a really nice positive post about how the tulips are blossoming in Chicago now. The vibe is totally happy and…

[Update: Apple has explained they do have a heated roof. Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune reports: “The roof has a warming system that’s built into it,” Apple spokesman Nick Leahy said. “It needed some fine-tuning and it got re-programmed…

I love having several fictional Twitter accounts–the Death Star librarian, an Ewok, a baby Ewok, extreme croquet player, and so on. These fun accounts can work in tandem for some pretty silly responses to tweets. The Chicago Tribune digital editor…

Every week I check a bookmarked Flickr search for street art Chicago. Even though I try to make the search exclude graffiti, I still end up with mostly graffiti images. Every now and then there might be something remotely interesting…

An impressive show was put on by this year’s batch of BFA students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The expansive seventh floor of the Louis Sullivan Building on the State Street housed more than 300 artists’…

Ever want to get inside the artwork at an art museum? Now you can! Several people on Instagram and Flickr have demonstrate how they interact with artworks in museums. These seven methods are collected under the hashtag, #GetInsideTheArtInstituteofChicago. A clever…

Every day Flickr ranks the top 500 photos posted to popular photo sharing service. 1.4 million photos are posted to the service every day, so to be ranked in the top 500 is quite an achievement. In 2014 alone, I…

Standing silently with other commuters at the bus stop. Only when the bus arrives, it’s not a bus, but a giant claw machine! The two dollars you slide into the bus vendor box gains you admittance inside the claw machine.…

The Art Institute released an app that explores nine artworks on display in the modern wing. Each artwork has several mini factoids and videos uncovering specific details about the background behind the work. The free app, “A Closer Look in…

I’m extremely honored that the Yahoo Creative Team asked that one of my photos be included in the 10-year Flickr anniversary video! Here’s their request: I immediately thought they would want to use one of my most popular photos, like…

Can you do this in Instagram? Put notes on top of other people’s photos? No. You cannot do that in Instagram. But you can do it in Flickr. There’s many different ways you can ask your fans to leave notes.…

The wonderful community news website, Everyblock was shut down by NBC News today. Everyblock was the epitome of community reporting and discussion. You want to talk about your neighborhood, Everyblock was the place. Why was Everyblock shut down? Poytner published a…

Who speaks words like a poet? All comment given by bernawi of flickr is like a prance through the drewdrops of morning on the windows of perception. to find the true nature of things, it will break the ice of…

You know what is a great motivator to get your goals done for 2013? A community website called 43things.com. Add your goals to a list. Then you can write entries about your progress in each goal. There’s thousands of people…

A big congratulations to local Chicago website, thisiscolossal.com. Christopher Jobson announced that his website of “art & visual ingenuity” is able to support his family full-time. The artwork featured on thisiscolossal is truly amazing and inspires me everytime I visit.…

Flickr determines the most interesting images by a combination of views, comments, and favs. Here are my ten most interesting photos from 2012. Along with each photo I give one photo technique that helps make the image interesting. Nostalgia with…

Don’t call it Willis Don’t call it Macy’s Don’t call it U.S. Cellular But why? Gapers Block sells a five-pack of “Don’t call it that” buttons. The tagline is “Buttons for true Chicagoans.” To complement this pack, I would like…

A group called “Chicago the Beautiful” is producing thousands of of free art to distribute for the public. The name of the project is called “The Free Art Machine.” There are plenty of ways to participate. 1) Be a part…

Apple purposely creates long lines for the iPhone. No duh. They’ve been doing this for years. Just now people are starting to realize this? Just look at any day in the Apple store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. They always underman…

Oh the print publishing world, often they just don’t understand the digital world. Lovers of paper and ink. I come from that world. From 1997-2007 half my job was designing for print and working with printing companies. The other half…

Social Media Week is in Chicago (and 13 other cities worldwide) on September 24-28, 2012. It’s full of great talks. Here’s the ones I’m signed up for: Tue, Sep 25 8am-10am

Looking for interesting podcasts? My girlfriend was asking for podcast recommendations. Here’s my list of podcasts that I listen to regularly. They are sorted by which ones I listen to first. ChicagoScope Podcast My friend Leigh’s podcast. iTunes description: Audio…

It would be cool if there was a public way for people to read books at the windows of these unused storefronts. Books would probably be too long, so perhaps one-page articles or stories. Maybe even a short news story…

Walgreens writes some unrelevant posts on their wall. I am starting a project where I write silly responses on their wall. What sort of silly stuff am I writing? Find out on my Google Plus post, “Unrelevant Facebook posts?” (if…

Does anyone know of any chicago-related playlists on youtube/vimeo of short films done by Chicagoans? or even films about chicago? I also asked this question on Chicago Magazine’s Google Plus.

Is Google Plus worth using? Most people respond, “I already have Facebook.” Yes, but consider you can use Google Plus as a complement to Facebook without going into social media overload. Facebook is a place to share what you are…

Let’s admit it. The Pace bus service in Chicago isn’t really all that popular. You always see only one guy riding on the bus, Mr. Pace. Here’s seven suggestions on how Pace can improve their bus service. 1) Pen cups…

While looking for more art podcasts, I found three audio podcasts that I’m going to bring into my mix of podcasts. How about you give them a try too? ————— Art Talk KCRW Edward Goldman offers impassioned views on what…

I’m pretty sure that I’m the one who make Apple’s Softbank server die today during the iPhone 4S launch. And I’m serious. I know this probably isn’t true. But I do half believe it. Today was a great lesson in…

Be boldly simple. That’s my sticky note memorial I wrote for Steve Jobs. Lots of people wrote things like “Steve Jobs changed my life.” “I have a hole in my heart.” Do you really? The man is a great thinker.…