November 20, 2006

Karl  Heerdt, Horseshoe Falls (detail). Oil on  canvas over panel,  14 x 11 inches.  © The Artist http://www.karlheerdt.com

Who could have imagined ten or even five years ago that the word "Google" would be so ingrained in our vocabulary? We use it as a noun to refer to the company and website. It's a verb when we're looking for something on line. And it transforms into an adjective when we talk about making our sites more search-engine friendly or "Googleable." (Heck, my spell check is even okay with that word!)

But Google is much more than a search engine. There are all kinds of cool tools there but you may not be aware of them. This past week, NPR ran a story about employers who were Googling prospective employees and also their images at http://images.google.com . Unfortunately, the Web doesn't know how to keep secrets and all kinds of frightening old photos from 10 or 15 years ago at frat parties are showing up. Not a good first impression.

Do you know where you are online? Not only can you go to the Google Images site above and pull up your images on the Worldwide Web, you can also use Google Alerts to see where you might be popping up. You select the name or search terms and Google sends you a report when it shows up in their search engines. For instance, I have alerts set up for "art marketing," "Alyson Stanfield," "artbizcoach.com" and several others. I found an article online about one of my recent workshops because of the alert I had created.

You might want to set up alerts for:

• Your name (and variations and misspellings of it)

• Your competition (keep an eye on what they're up to!)

• Your niche market ("healing jewelry" or "corporate art" or "public art")

• Your medium or particular interest ("New England landscape painting" or "contemporary quilts" or "pet portrait artist")

• Your location ("artist in Illinois" or "Chicago art")

You can also establish alerts if you have an exhibit or show in a particular area and you want to keep tabs on something there. I do this when I'm presenting a workshop and want to be more in tune with what's going on in the location I'm visiting. I'll get alerts for "Delaware art" or "Washington artist."

If you put your alert terms in quotes, it will deliver citations only with the full search term. If you leave the quotes off, you'll get all kinds of responses with your words appearing in no particular order. For instance, "New England landscape painting" might reveal an article about a "New England landscape" businessman that also does some house "painting" on the side.

Google also lets you select how often you receive the alerts (as it happens, once a day, or once a week).

You'll get the hang of it. Google Alerts are free and you can change or cancel them any time you like.

ACTION STEPS TO TAKE

Know This...
Google Alerts help you keep an eye on breaking news of interest to your art career.

Think About This...
If you don't have Google Alerts in place, you might miss something.

Do This...
Get Google Alerts and tailor them to your art career. Just go to http://www.google.com/alerts to create your own.

How have you used Google Alerts? Tell us by leaving a comment on the Art Biz Blog: http://www.artbizblog.com

Read and listen to the NPR story mentioned above

Heard on the Art Biz Blog

I received a number of comments about artist portrait photos.

From Shelley Lieber:
"I'm not a photographer, but my husband is and I've learned a lot of good tips. Keep your chin down and look up at the photographer. That positioning hides your neck and will make your eyes look bigger and helps prevent that closed, squinting wrinkle. (If possible, have the photographer positioned a step above you, which results in an attractive angle.) Pay attention to your surroundings. . . . "

From Richard Yeager (who has a nice photo posted on my blog):
"Casual, informal portraits feel better than the posed portrait studio type. They end up looking more like high school yearbook pictures. Use available light, either indoors or out. Outside overcast days produce a more even, flattering light than overhead direct sun, which makes eye sockets look like black holes. Avoid direct flash on camera. It's the most unflattering light of all. Caveat: A good professional photographer can do all the things I don't recommend, because s/he will know how to compensate."

Read about the smARTist Telesummit, a seven-day virtual event coming up in January.

Read more at http://www.artbizblog.com