Category: professional activities

“Google strikes again! Pin what!?  Just when you thought you had it down. Gmail, Maps, Google search, iGoogle home page, gadgets, even games and utilities. Then Google comes up with Google + (plus) and it gets even more involved. Hangouts, Photos, a news feed, Circles! What can we make of all this?  Pinterest has been appearing more and more as something to consider if you like graphics and sharing your likes online with others. Ever notice the tiny little “P” shaped logo on websites and wonder why and if you would ever “pin” something? Even though I’ve been “pinning” for a while, I am curious how much more I can do and how I can personalize this to make it more interesting. We at BCUG are certainly curious about its usefulness and how much fun it can be.  So the question for October’s speaker is – What do I make of these web-based services, and how and why would I use them? Where do I start to integrate these into my online experience?  Enter John LeMasney, our featured speaker. At our general meeting this month, John will update us on two new services that have emerged and that are free and, yes, somewhat useful. We have all heard him talk on various interesting topics including his year-long creative 365 project as well as enjoyed his expertise in applications like Sketchup, Gimp, Inkscape. In addition, John has been a regular and exciting speaker at our Graphics Workshop, where he has instructed and introduced us to programs that work with video, graphics, and online freebies. This writer can attribute many explorations into artwork and free games and apps to John, who is overly generous with his time and talent. He is supportive of BCUG and we are grateful for his participation in our programs through the year.  He’sthe Manager of Educational Technology Training and Outreach at Princeton University where he is responsible for training and presenting to faculty and students about the effective use of technology for communication, work, teaching and learning.  John has a BFA with honors from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He is extremely creative and always has good ideas to convey. He also holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (communication) with honors from Rider University.  Let’s make a date to be at our general meeting on October 19 to greet John and learn about two new useful web-based activities – Google Plus and the new popular Pinterest. You will come away with a clearer idea and new knowledge about Google + and Pinterest and how they can be used.  Not only will we be ready to join Circles and participate in a hangout, we will honestly be able to say Happy Pinning!” (http://www.bcug.com/speakers/2012-10-spkr.html)