About Alice Kaiserian

Author Archive | Alice Kaiserian

My 6 minutes and 40 seconds of [local] fame

By on May 3, 2013 in About Us

People think that I am an extrovert, and they couldn’t be more wrong. I’m quite simply an introvert who has gone great lengths to hide her fear of speaking in public. Make it till you fake it, as they say. So when I was asked to participate in a Pecha Kucha Night here on MDI – I thought, oh god. I have to do this or they’ll figure me out.

Pecha What?

Pecha Kucha  is a presentation format created a design firm in Japan to highlight new ideas, without presenters running on and on. You get to present 20 slides for 20 seconds each and then you’re done. Pecha Kucha Nights are becoming very popular events – where people gather to learn more about other folks in their community. The short format is excellent for those of us with short attention spans, and is easier on the presenter as well. The slides help the presenter tell the story – as well as keep to the time limit.

PKslide

Finding a Topic:

I was surprised, and honored, to be included as one of 8 presenters for the first ever Pecha Kucha MDI

When Astra from the Abbe Museum contacted me back in February to ask me if I would present, I assumed they had a particular topic in mind, and that’s why they asked me.
“Nope!” She said. “We just think you’d tell an interesting story.”

Okay. No pressure.

I decided to talk about my career as a special effects artist in Hollywood for 2 reasons.

1) it’s s topic I’m very familiar with, and have some good stories about.
2) it’s something that makes me fairly unique in a small Maine community.

pkmdilogo

Making your slides:

They wanted the slides 2 weeks ahead of time! A brilliant move on their part – because it made me step up and prepare.

Every blog I read about pecha kucha advised to plan out your speech before you make your slides, but I decided to reverse the process.
I design websites, so creating the visual part of the presentation first makes more sense for me. And making the slides was the fun part. Planning the speech not so much. Always start with the fun part.  With every image I added to my slideshow, I thought of another detail I could talk about.   I figure I made about 40 slides more than I needed as I changed my path through my story, but I don’t regret that time spent.

Preparing to speak:

I started by practicing my speech, without visual aids, alone in my car. Then I worried about timing and slides.
Both Keynote and Powerpoint have a timed playback feature so I could emulate the 20 second presentation style. Practicing with timing was the WORST. I stumbled. I mumbled. I would end sentences with “and….. I’ll talk about something super interesting here.” Mostly I feared that I would be like a deer in the headlights.

The solution I came up with was to make a list of 3 bullet points per slide to guide me when I got lost. I’m good at getting lost.
I put little images next to the bullet points in case I couldn’t see the slides during the presentation. I printed out my list and carried it around like a security blanket.
I admit that I made this list 2 hours before the presentation. Last minute deadlines yo!

The Presentation:

Did I mention I was nervous? At 3 am the night before I woke up to the thought “Crap, they’re probably going to record this.”  Just another thing to sweat over.

Then when I arrived at the Library there were at least a hundred people in the audience. At this point I gave up feeling nervous and thought “What the hell, I’m either going to tank or I’m not.” Oh what wisdom comes with age, and a nice glass of spanish red.

I didn’t present until after intermission – another detail I had angst over which turned out to be a blessing.

Seeing the other presentations made me realize a few things.

1) we were all nervous, and all doing this for the first time.
2) the audience was just so happy to be there and loving every word.
3) there could be no failure in that environment.

From the first presenter to the last – everyone had a different style and a completely different topic, and everyone was fantastic.
Every topic presented was interesting and well thought out. The topics were climate change, the love of birds, a a journey through a little town in India, the perfect pie crust, a story of a favorite aunt, a womans fearless journey to Africa, and anecdotes from animated movies. In 6 minutes and 40 seconds you have a chance to get engaged, learn a bit, and still leave wanting more information. It’s like the best date ever.

Our MC was a Lyzz Bien – the most fabulous drag queen MDI or Maine shall ever see, and her thoughtful and hilarious introductions for each presenter tied the whole evening together.

Looking back:

I honestly don’t remember much about presenting, except that people laughed in all the right places, and I didn’t trip on my way to the podium.

And the best part? So many people approached me afterwards and told me how wonderful it was to learn more about me. I’m fairly new to the MDI community – and I feel like that community expanded exponentially in the space of, well, 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Another best part? This presentation was the first time since I left Hollywood 5 years ago, that I’ve put that experience into one concise story. The career I made as an effects artist was a bittersweet one, and I was so burnt out when I left, that I never took the time to look back on it with fresh eyes. Now I can almost see what other people see, that I had an unusual and pretty cool experience in another part of the world, in a time shaped an entire industry. I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had, and incredibly thankful for the chance to share it with my new friends and neighbors here on MDI. I couldn’t be more pleased that I was included in the first ever Pecha Kucha MDI – and I know I will attend every future event. I can’t wait to see what else I can learn about my new home, and the people who live here.

 

For other  Maine Pecha Kucha Nights visit www.pechakuchamaine.org

 

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A Look Back At 2012

By on January 4, 2013 in Review

2012 was quite a year, so we decided to make a picture capturing all of the big things that happened.

Happy New Year everybody!2012review3

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New Website Launch: Ellsworth Public Library

By on October 29, 2012 in Web/Tech

We were very fortunate to be trusted with redesigning the Ellsworth Public Library’s website.

Like many of the libraries in Down East Maine, the Ellsworth Public Library (EPL) was still running a basic HTML site. When it was built years ago, it was top of the line.

Since the site was built, not only has the library changed, but its patrons have changed too. The typical library patron five years ago didn’t even have a home computer, and now the average visitor to the EPL not only has a computer, but a smartphone, tablet, and or eReader as well. Serving these customers with an old website platform was becoming increasingly difficult.

The library staff really wanted to be involved with their new site so they could easily add current information, and also they wanted their new website to represent the ever changing and growing community they serve.

The old website had about ten static pages, so in that way, it was fairly easy to navigate. But there were some limitations. For example, some pages didn’t provide navigation so you had to use your browser’s back button to find the menu again. Email addresses to library staff were visible on the staff page, inviting spam. And most importantly, it required a knowledge of HTML for any new information to be posted there. Despite these frustrations, the library staff felt that the overall look of the site well represented the library, and they wanted to stay close to the theme.

To stay with the same feel with the website update, a similar color palette was chosen to provide the consistent look:

The old and the new

Homepage 

While the old website was static, the home page of the new site offers four areas for the visitor to interact:

  • Slideshow of images helping users navigate to resources, see event information, and view important content that the library continually changes.
  • News- Updates of library news including upcoming events and new resources
  • Library Resources- Links to some of the library’s most popular offerings
  • Recent Events- Displaying participation and photographs from past events
The new logo that the library had decided on was also incorporated:

 Menus and Sidebars

While the main navigation menu stays regardless of location in site,  the sidebars reflect the area of the library the page represents. For example, if you are looking at the Kid’s page under Youth Resources, the sidebar offers up links that kids or parents will find helpful.

This plan for the sidebar grew as we got to know the Ellsworth Public Library better. With every conversation, we learned more about what information they wanted online, and they learned that there were possibilities that they hadn’t thought of to make their jobs easier. For example, twelve contact forms each get distributed to a different department or staff member, ensuring information gets to the right staff member quickly and efficiently and that they collect the information they need from patrons.

 

 

The primary goal of  the new website is to offer more information, resulting in more pages and in depth navigation.

  • A current events and news area, where the staff of the EPL can post.
  • Online services offered through the library, with links and  instruction pages are provided on how to use these resources.
  • Contact forms on the website, which connect users to the appropriate staff members at the library, streamlining the communication process between patrons and staff.
  • Links to other social media sites
  • Individual department pages
  • Visual elements like navigation buttons that make scanning a page for information easy
  • Current photographs of staff and the library itself

Because the site needed to be interactive, it was build the site in WordPress, which has a very user friendly Dashboard set up. This makes training people (even the so-called non-technical ones) easy, allowing them to make new pages and update existing ones. Like most open sources CMS systems, WordPress has a thriving community of people who are constantly improving the platform. Plugins which allow interaction with other technologies and sites, such as Facebook and Flickr, help keep the time spent on website maintenance down. The library already does a lot of work on these platforms so connecting them with the website cut down on time staff was spent posting information and allows them more time to do what they love: helping library patrons.

We’d like to thank Charlene and the rest of the staff for being a pleasure to work with. Nicole and I enjoyed learning more about the library’s resources, in particular the digital ones. Congratulations EPL on your new website!

Do you want to know more about your website options? Here’s our short guide on different kinds of websites. Want to support the great work of the Ellsworth Public Library? Like them on Facebook or join them on any of the other social media sites they are a part of.

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Early to rise makes you technically wise

By on April 27, 2012 in Web/Tech
7:30 am, Wednesday April 25. You were probably still in your PJs enjoying your morning coffee while 30 MDI business owners were filling their bellies with eggs and their heads with knowledge at the mini-tech boot camp sponsored by the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. David Charron of Comp-u-sult and Nicole Ouellette of Breaking Even Communications were on hand to give a lively and informative discussion on what you need to know to keep your business current with computer applications and online marketing presence.
David started with key points on how to manage your data and your computer. Wondering what the Cloud is? David explained that the Cloud is just the internet – and it is actually safer and more economical to have your data backed up online with a third party company such as Mozy or Carbonite. The sites are encrypted for protection, and your data is safely stored offsite.

Also discussed was the importance of strong passwords. “Everyone knows about using 3s instead of Es, you need to be more stealthy now.” David recommend using pneumonic that only you will know. “my dog barnaby jones like ice cream cones”  would translate to MDBJLICC.

David talked briefly about how all those pesky software update reminders you get, are actually software companies trying to protect you from malware. Software manufacturers and hackers are constantly leap frogging each other with updates, and if you have the latest software, you computer is the most secure. As well as updating your software, David talked about the importance of maintaining a clean computer – defragging, emptying the garbage, and scanning for viruses will make your computer happier and faster.

Both Nicole and David then discussed ways to manage your files and information in a way that you and your co-workers have easy access to information. Google Apps is an easy, free, software bundle – available on any web browser, that you can share and co-author documents, spreadsheets, calendars, and more. Google Drive is now combining the features of Google Apps and File Share servers like dropbox: for more details, this is an excellent article: http://www.mercurynews.com/larry-magid/ci_20488331/magid-taking-google-drive-spin

After this discussion of computer and data sources, Nicole stepped up to talk about how to reach customers who are savvy to the internet, and interest them in your business. Traditionally business spend big dollars advertising on television and print media, but with the internet you can reach more of your target audience, and for less money.

Nicole talked about the importance of having a mobile section of your website. People over 50 are the highest growing market for smartphones, and 50% of American adults have already have one. In an area like Mount Desert Island – which largely depends on tourist dollars – making your website accessible to potential customers who are traveling and depending on their smartphones, is certainly going to help your business.

Facebook as a marketing tool was discussed at length. As Nicole pointed out – your website is a static location that depends on people taking the initiative to visit it. A Facebook page allows your business to interact with people on a daily or weekly basis, depending on how often you post updates. Nicole recommends no more than 3 posts a week for business since more information could overwhelm fans.

She also explained the difference between a personal Facebook profile and a business page. Facebook business pages offer a great opportunity for you to access data about your customers  such as age, location, and common interests. A Facebook page also offers your business another opportunity to show up in a google search. Win win win.

Nicole then talked about the new Facebook Timeline, and gave a quick tour of what it has to offer including designing the cover image (the large scale photo on the top); customizing the display of applications installed on the Facebook page; creating milestones that illustrate the history of your company, and being able to ‘pin’ important news to the top of your page and have it remain for up to a week.

She then spoke about some new social media kids on the block, Fiverr, Pinterest, Kickstarter, and Google+. She pointed out that right now Google and Facebook are the A game, but things change very quickly and it’s important to keep up with the ever-changing world of online networking.

To close the meeting, a brand new Kindle Fire was raffled off, and awarded to Sheila Ward from the Inn at Bay Ledge.

By 9 am everyone was happily sipping coffee and congratulating themselves on how smart they were for learning how to use technology more effectively in their business and personal lives.

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