Print Can Be Art

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My last two posts have been very iPad centric and have projected that tablet computers like the iPad improve the e-reading experience enough to accelerate the trend away from printed publications.

Print is not going away.  But I predict a steeper decline in the quantity of utilitarian printing. There will be fewer printing jobs and smaller printing jobs where the primary purpose is the transmission of purely informational content.

But print is more than content. Print can be art!

The story of a wedding day!  A celebration for a special friend!  A blank wall or an empty coffee table! These are events that cry out for a beautiful printed book, card or poster.  On the right paper with the appropriate finishing and binding, print can touch hearts.

How has your heart been touched by the art of print?

Pinhole Press Specializes in the Art of Print

Flipboard Fanatic

I am a Flipboard Fanatic.  

Flipboard is a free app for the iPad that aggregates your Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader feeds into fast, fun and easy-to-navigate electronic magazine. If your work or hobbies involve research, this app will change your life.

Back in February, I posted The Blogosphere and Twitterverse which advocated letting your friends on Facebook and Twitter find information for you. By following the right people, you can discover interesting trends and identify opportunities before they reach the mainstream news.  On the other hand, following a Twitter timeline filled with cryptic comments on indiscernible links is a tedious task.

Flipboard exposes your Twitter content by opening each link and displaying a few paragraphs of each article in attractive magazine style pages with four or five article per page. Photo links are also opened and the photos are interspersed with the articles on each page.  Touching any article opens up the full article and the option to open the original source.

Flipboard also makes it easy to join the conversation. You can like, comment and share content on Facebook or Tweet, reTweet or quote Tweets on Twitter. Since the app aggregates content from your Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader feeds, it is a great way to share content discovered in one stream with your friends in another.

Although this post reads a little like advertising copy for Flipboard, I have no association with the company.  I am just a big fan.

What are your experiences with Flipboard?  What iPad app have you found to be life changing?