KBB - January/February 2013 - (Page 16)

WEB SAVVY Mark Johnson, FAIA, AIBD, CKD MARKITECT.me What do you do on Twitter and Facebook? I use Twitter to curate and share content as well as amplify my social media offerings at SlideShare.net, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Flickr, Google+ and YouTube. I’m on Facebook because so many others are, but I nd it’s really stronger for friends and family engagement than business to business. a personal blog. My SlideShare pro le is www. slideshare.net/MarkJohnsonFAIA. I like to read SlideShare’s blog to learn what others are doing to succeed in their social media space. My favorite design industry blog is Formica Group’s Share the Love (info.formica.com/blog). I’ve almost always worked with mass brands and have an af nity for affordable great design. That’s a reason I like this blog. It brings great design ideas and insights to a broad audience. I’ve collaborated with Google SketchUp on various projects since 2006. I like to keep up with the latest on SketchUp, 3D design and affordable CAD solutions at sketchupdate.blogspot.com. How often do you update? I have an approach I call “being there without being there,” only because there is not enough time to do everything I’d like with social media. I use prescheduled e-newspapers to update my Twitter stream automatically when I cannot be there. That takes care of about 25 tweets per day. My most active times on Twitter are when I’m guesthosting or participating in a live Twitter chat with other design professionals. I would update Facebook more often if I had time, but I’ve integrated my pro le with Pinterest, Behance.net and Instagram so that my activity on those sites appears on Facebook. It’s another example of being there when I can’t in order to keep the social media content fresh and engaging. Where are you geographically? I live near Ann Arbor, MI, a great community with all the resources offered by the University of Michigan close at hand. Where are you professionally? I’m an architect who moved to the building products industry years ago, earned a CKD credential while working at Whirlpool Appliances and then moved on to KraftMaid Cabinetry. There is no better way to understand the design community than to walk in its shoes. What kind of phone do you have? I used to own an iPhone but my iPad is so versatile that I traded in the iPhone for a simple Droid. I only use it as a “dumb” phone, not a smart phone. Smart phone screens are too small for me, and my ngertips are too nubby. I must be the slowest texter in the world. When I had to use a company-provided Blackberry, it was torture! What is your Twitter handle? I have two pro les. @MarkJohnsonFAIA is devoted to design, and @MarkJohnsonCKD is devoted to culinary topics. I’m close to 10,000 followers after two and a half years on Twitter. What three blogs or websites do you read regularly for work? Slideshare.net has been my greatest discovery in the last year. It’s the largest website for presentations on the Internet and was recently purchased by LinkedIn. Several of the social media presentations I posted on the site have gone viral. In the rst year, I had over 140,000 views, more than I would ever receive on Are you on Facebook? Yes, I am. My professional pro le is Mark Johnson-markitect. What do you use your iPad for? The iPad 2 is my little buddy and goes with me everywhere. I use it for GPS navigation in the car, email, taking notes, taking pictures (low res), research, keeping up with the news, sharing my portfolio, reading books, etc. I probably use it two to four hours a day. ■ —Alice Liao For the complete interview, go to www.kbbonline.com/MJohnson. Whom do you follow on Twitter? I follow designers, architects and technologists from many areas of emphasis and expertise. I follow a lot of interior and exterior building product makers too, particularly residential. A few interior designer favorites of mine are @PJohnsonInt, @NoirBlancDesign, @courtneymprice and @AndieDay. Some favorite architects are @ Urbanverse, @Collier1960, @RMD_Designs and @ Parthenon1. Two k & b leaders with a technology emphasis I follow are @SketchThis and @Paul_ Anater, both superb at designing with SketchUp. I better not name any k & b designers because there are too many to mention! Is there someone you wish would follow you? Well, @BobVila used to follow me, but it doesn’t get any better than @MarielHemingway. I’m glad to have Mariel as a follower, especially because of her involvement in the kitchen and bath industry. A kitchen designed by Johnson that was also featured on the SketchUp Showcase. 16 + K BB January/February 2013 / www.kbbonline.com / The Of cial Sponsor of KBIS www.kbis.com http://www.MARKITECT.me http://www.slideshare.net/MarkJohnsonFAIA http://www.slideshare.net/MarkJohnsonFAIA http://www.SlideShare.net http://info.formica.com/blog http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com http://www.Behance.net http://www.Slideshare.net http://www.kbbonline.com/MJohnson http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of KBB - January/February 2013

KBB - January/February 2013
Contents
Online Contents
Editorial
Show Director’s Note
KBIS Special Section
Web Savvy
Focus
Trends
Products
Design Feature: A Touch of Glass
Design Feature: Glam Rock
Practice
Ad Index
Favorites

KBB - January/February 2013