Boyink! - Spring Forward on the Web

I’m pleased to…..

No, that doesn’t quite cut it.

That’s how I start many of my announcements here and this one deserves a different introduction.

I’m still quite amazed that I get to sit here and type this.

You see - a few weeks back I had this idea that maybe there would be enough people interested in learning ExpressionEngine in a classroom setting that I could successfully put together a class.

Then I met with the local CollectiveIdea guys who had successfully done some Ruby on Rails training through their Sessions offering.  A collaboration was borne out of that meeting and the wheels were rolling with a venue and a schedule.

Some discussions with Leslie at EllisLab led to the notion of EllisLab and EngineHosting possibly sponsoring a seat.  Leslie had the idea to reach out to the EE Professional Network with the idea of possibly a few of them sponsoring a second seat.

The response was nothing short of amazing and humbling all at the same time.

Within an hour we had sold out of the first round and had to expand the program.  A day or so later and we had enough support to cover not only two seats for the class but 4 nights lodging for those people as well. 

So - I’m much much more than pleased.  I’m excited, humbled, and not just a bit nervous to announce the availability of two scholarships for the upcoming Train-ee Classroom ExpressionEngine Training.

Details and instructions for the scholarships are available here.

Once again, my personal thanks to everyone who is sponsoring.  I’m looking forward to playing host in my hometown, and showing some folks how to work with ExpressionEngine.

We just returned from the final night of the local county fair.  We had a quick bite to eat at a food tent, and next door was a booth for this local campaign.  As I looked at the large poster and t-shirts people were walking around with I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Here’s the deal—Ottawa County, MI (where I live) is dry on Sunday.  Well, sort of.  You can buy hard liquor at a restaurant, but can’t pick up a 6-pack of beer from the local party store.  The law is a vestige of the conservative Christian heritage of the area and the desire to keep Sunday set aside as a holy day.

I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other on the actual issue.

What I was just amazed by was the marketing campaign.

You see - if they are successful in getting the issue placed on the ballot, Michigan law requires the proposal to be written such that if you want to change the law to allow Sunday beer and wine sales, you have to vote “No”.

But No is so…...negative sounding.  You certainly don’t want make posters and t-shirts and website banners with the word No in big honking letters, right?  So let’s do that spin game where we try to say the same thing in a more positive light - so hence was born the “Say Yes to Sunday” campaign.  The image I have here is the one they have on all posters and t-shirts.

So what?

Look at that image for the 3-5 seconds you’d see it on a poster or t-shirt.

The final call to action (“Vote No on November 4”) is almost invisible on this design, lost in the the Yes language, and casual viewers of it will walk away with completely the opposite understanding of what they need to do to support the campaign.

This campaign is effectively eating its own tail. 

This week is the 50th Anniversary of the Ottawa County Fair held here in Holland, Michigan.  Part of the fun is a classic county fair exhibit area where you can enter everything from your prize tomatoes to table centerpieces to artwork and photography.  I entered eight photos across several different categories in the Photography class and a sculpture into the Adult Fine Arts class.  Judging was last Saturday, and I finally got the chance to go there last night to see how they….uhh…fared.

Continue reading…

I recently took part in a Q&A session put forth by a business trade magazine for West Michigan. The print version of the article arrived at my door last Saturday - and the online version is out today.  The questions are all around technology as it applies to West Michigan - and it’s good to see that all three people questioned were positive about it overall.

I’m excited to announce that - through Train-ee.com, I’m offering the first “open to the public” traditional classroom training for ExpressionEngine.

Well - at least it will be traditional in the sense that there will be four days spent in a classroom learning EE hands-on from an experienced professional, with the ability to ask questions and interact with others in the room.

That’s where any similarity to off-site training you’ve had in the past will (hopefully) end. 

The first difference is the location.  This class will be held in a vacation destination - a scenic resort town nestled close to Lake Michigan and renowned for it’s beautiful sunsets, clean beaches, bikepaths and a historic downtown with home-town coffee shops and microbreweries.

The second difference is the venue.  We’ve all suffered through training in an instantly forgettable generic space.  Through Train-ee you will learn ExpressionEngine in a brand-new, funky, hip and green hotel located within walking distance of restaurants and shopping.

The third difference is the after-hours activities.  Rather than leaving you to while away the evenings alone in your hotel room we’re planning a number of events to get you out to experience the area and hang out with the others in the class.

For more information on the location, venue, course content, and schedule/cost please visit the new Classroom Training page on Train-ee.com.

If you have any questions not answered by that page please feel free to contact me directly via either Train-ee or Boyink.com

Sign up now - the conference room is only so big!