Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Diwali in Cleveland

Deepavali, or the "festival of lights", is one of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and others. The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps".


Federation of India Community Associations (FICA) celebrated Deepavali 2013 on Friday, November 8th in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall with music, dance, camaraderie and Mayor Frank Jackson. The Indian flag flew atop City Hall.

More from Diwali 2013 in Cleveland


Are Facebook (or Instagram or …) ads cost effective?

So where does a company put its limited advertising resources? Facebook? Pinterest? Other Social Media?

The Great Lakes Geek asked Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, of Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializing in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing.

Matt quotes a report that only 37% of Facebook advertisers were satisfied and Dave has some concerns about the ads being too targeted and displaying just how much information they have about him. Check it out.

Philippines storm devastation

Dr. Joy Kouns Lewis spoke about the tragic storm devastation in her hometown and surrounding areas in the Philippines. Almost two weeks ago, Super Typhoon Haiyan - called Yolanda in the Philippines - landed in Eastern Samar and Leyte provinces and destroyed much of Tacloban City.


Experts say it was one of the most powerful storms ever to hit land. Thousands are dead and thousands are missing. Local Filipino and other communities are planning events to raise funds to help those affected by this tragedy.

Champion of Immigrants Award

Congressman Dennis Kucinich accepted the first annual Champion of Immigrants award at an event in Cleveland sponsored by the International Services Center.

As its first recipient of this annual award, the ISC selected Dennis J. Kucinich, former U.S. Congressman and Mayor of Cleveland, because of his ongoing dedication and service to immigrants both locally and on a national level. As the grandson of immigrants from Croatia and Ireland, Congressman Kucinich understood the diversity that makes up the ethnic neighborhoods of Cleveland, as well as those in the African American and Latino communities. Throughout his political career he “stood up for the people,” addressing their concerns and problems.

As a Member of Congress, his advocacy for immigrants and refugees helped many come and stay in this country. He also opened doors for bilateral trade with the countries represented by immigrants in Greater Cleveland. He has always put immigration to the forefront of his service to our community and country, and so richly deserves this honor.

Photos and video from the event 


Albanian Cultural Garden Dedication

A delegation from Albania including Fier Mayor Baftjar Zeqaj and the Prefect who represented Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama joined Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Councilwoman Dona Brady and members of the Albanian community to dedicate Phase 2 of the Albanian Cultural Garden.


The ceremony included scattering of soil from Albania and a ribbon cutting.

Photos and videos from the Albanian Cultural Garden event


Happy Thanksgivukkah

This year, on November 28, 2013, two of the most delicious holidays for Jews collide: Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.

This much anticipated day, a day when you finally can eat Thanksgiving turkey and potato latkes at the same time, will not happen again in our lifetime, or even our great-grandchildren's lifetime.


According to the Denver Post, the last time the confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah happened was 1888. This year it occurs Nov. 28, which is the second night of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration. The next time it will occur? Hold on to your dreidels: By some calculations, it won't be for another 79,043 years, thanks to disparities between the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars.

When life gives you Hanukkah on Thanksgiving, make a menurkey. Or a turkel.

Gobble Tov!

Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty,
may your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy
have nary a lump,

May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off of your thighs.


May your Thanksgiving be blessed!!

Best to you and your family

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Is Vine (or Instagram video) useful for business?

I have to admit that watching compilations of the best Vines (6 second videos) can be addictive. Some are really funny. Most are stupid. That's the web.

But is there a business case for Vine?

We use to wonder if messages of 140 characters or less could be productive and Twitter showed us that it could. But a 6 second video?

The Great Lakes Geek asked Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, of Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializing in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing.

Matt pointed out an effective business use and Dave told of the competition with Instagram.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

What went wrong with Healthcare.Gov – web pro’s view

Leave the politics aside because both sides of the aisle admit that the launch of Healthcare.gov was not, let’s say, optimal. 

But whether you are a fan of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – or not, there are things we can learn from professional web developers about this botched launch.

 Dave Skorepa, Chief Creative Officer, and Matt Messenger, Director of Web Marketing, work for Aztek, a Cleveland web design firm, specializes in custom responsive web design and web application development and web marketing. In their 15+ years in business Aztek has completed thousands of projects with more than 600 different clients in nearly every industry imaginable.

Great Lakes Geek Dan Hanson asked them, from the point of view of web developers, what went wrong with the healthcare.gov launch.


They spoke about the user experience component as well as the back end issues but also pointed out a website that the government did right, data.gov.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Shutdown!

I came across some PCD files and couldn't remember what file format they were. So after a Bing search, I found a website that promised more info.

When I clicked, this is what appeared.




Luckily there were other sites available to determine that the files are Kodak Photo CD files.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Most Valuable Brands

Coke has owned the top spot in the annual Best Global Brands report since inception in 2000. But not anymore.

The new report says that Apple is now the most valuable brand in the world, followed closely by Google.

Coke is now 3rd followed by IBM, Microsoft, GE, McDonalds, Samsung, Intel and Toyota.

So tech companies claimed 6 of the top 10 spots. Not bad. And Cisco is 12, HP is 15, Oracle is 18, SAP is 25 and eBay is 28.

See the report

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Adam Mickiewicz Bust Rededication - Polish Cultural Gardens

Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (1798 to 1855) was a prominent poet, dramatist, essayist, political activist, publicist and translator. He is commonly considered the greatest poet in Polish literature.

 The event featured dignitaries, speeches and performaces from PIAST, the Polish Folk Song and Dance Ensemble of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA).





PIAST group in front of Copernicus


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

3000 videos

I noticed that yesterday I posted my 3000th video on YouTube (the dedication of the new Cultural Garden Kiosk). 

The funny thing is that of all the videos posted the one with the most views is a quickie I did with my black lab Hogan in his pool.  Over 155,000 views from all over the world.  He goes nuts in the pool about ½ way through so it is fun but there is a lesson somewhere here about content. 

Check out Hogan in his pool. 



Friday, May 24, 2013

Fax me Baby


I sent a fax the other day.

That doesn't sound like a big deal but it's been many months since I sent the last one. Being a Geek I used to have a portable fax that could be (gulp) attached to my belt to demonstrate my Alpha Geek status.

Now, we keep the fax machine off because every morning there would be a bunch of spam advertisements and never anything "good."

When I needed to send a quick page the other day and the company just listed their fax number, I plugged in the fax, took a moment to remember that the paper went in face down and top end first and sent it off.

It was convenient and fast but I have no idea what it looked like to the recipient. You can be pretty sure when you attach a pdf to an e-mail.

With a scanner on my desk, the fax has been used less and less. We don't print our fax number on business cards or letterhead anymore. Do you?

Let us know how often you use the fax machine and why. We will publish some of the most interesting comments (anonymous if you prefer).

Leave a comment - just don't fax it.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Cleveland Marathon through Cultural Gardens

Congratulations to the African-American Cultural Garden who showed the most support of all the Gardens as the runners from the Cleveland Marathon passed through on Sunday. They won a $500 gift card from Petitti Garden Centers. Congratulations!


 ClevelandPeople.Com's Debbie Hanson presenting a $500 Petitti gift card to
Carl Ewing of the African-American Garden

The Irish Cultural Garden came in second and won a $150 gift card from Petitti.

What a beautiful venue for a race!




Sunday, April 21, 2013

Being Different - Johnny Wu keynote

Cuyahoga Community College West and the Parma City School District presented the annual Culture Shock on April 18, 2013.

Award Winning Filmmaker Johnny Wu was the keynote speaker.

Wu is the President of OCA Cleveland Chapter and Co–Founder/Executive Committee Chair for the Cleveland Asian Festival among many other titles. Wu's presentation was titled "Being Different.”


See more from the Johnny Wu keynote including video highlights

Culture Shock at Tri-C

Cuyahoga Community College West and the Parma City School District presented the annual Culture Shock on April 18, 2013.

Susan W. Lohwater, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, English as a Second Language and ESL Coordinator, Advisor to International Club & Conversation Connection worked with the Parma City Schools to make it happen.

The event included tables representing various nationalities and cultures as well as multi-cultural performances.


See more from Culture Shock at Tri-C

Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera

Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera performed at the 2013 Culture Shock event which was put on by Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) West and the Parma City School District.



Miss Puerto Rican Image 2012 Aidelis Rivera dancing