The Official Posterous Space

This is where we post about new features on Posterous Spaces. You can get a Posterous Space just like this by emailing post@posterous.com or signing up for a new account.

Posterous Spotlight: Ryan Nance

5things

The plethora of information and interesting things to find on the Internet can leave some people with the feeling of information overload. Ryan Nance is an individual who welcomes the Internet's avalance of information.

Ryan created 5 Things I Learned Today to curate the top 5 daily things he wanted to remember from his RSS feed of 6,000 sources of inspiration. 

My name is Ryan Nance and I studied creative writing, wrote poetry and read obsessively, but found myself editing travel websites for a living. My obsessive reading translated into an over-the-top research and reading habit. I began collecting all of the RSS feeds I could possibly manage, sift, and breeze through. 

I was amazed and astounded with so much I found every day. It wasn't information overload for me, it was an overabundance of enthusiasm. I'd share 20-30 things a day with friends via facebook, twitter, IM, email. And there was a day when a good friend told me it was all great stuff, just too much. 

5 things seemed like a good number: substantial, brief, room for variety. And it was a challenge for me. After it became a habit to post 5 picks every day, a friend suggested the video format we then began to explore. Since then we've expanded out to cover events and festivals, art happenings, celebrities, poetry, music and even the occasional podcast. 

Of the nearly 3,000 things that we've found, there are really too many amazing ones. But here are 5 that I can't possibly forget are:

  1. The underwater sculpture garden 
  2. The International Space Station's time-lapse video flying over the aurora 
  3. Photos 'styled' to look like Song Dynasty paintings 
  4. Faces of past and present stars pastiched 
  5. Mini Self-opening origami 

Posterous has been a solid, flexible and easy platform. I began using it because it was light and dead simple. I kept using it because it grew and scaled enough to let me do the things I wanted: embeds, tracking, following, email subscriptions to readers and really sop much more.

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Diptic - The official blog of mobile app Diptic

Humbled MBA - Jason Freedman's lessons learned..and relearned

Mark Mann - New York based photographer

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Jane Kim

Gamlourist

This week's Spotlight is on Jane Kim who is the makeup artist behind The Glamourist, a San Francisco based hair and makeup design business. Jane uses her Posterous Space to share her recent work, tutorials, and personal stories. Our favorite post is her play-by-play breakdown of how her fiancé popped the big question. 

I'm a SoCal native residing in SF.  I love food, fashion, puppies and recently became engaged! I live with my fiancè, lazy dog and a nagging cat.

I've technically been a makeup artist since 2000. I didn't fully launch my business until 2010 when I got laid off from a previous employer. What seemed like the end of the world, at the time, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The business was initially started as a way to supplement my income but suddenly the business took off and I have yet to look back.  

Although being a makeup artist seems like glamorous of painting beautiful faces,  there is a lot that goes on behind the scene to maintain the business.  Marketing is important, building good relationships , providing great customer service and social media has become an integral part of my business. 

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Panama Notes - Logging travel photos for the world to see

Curry Up Now - Indian street food trucks using social media to engage with their fans

Anideo Blog - iOS and Android app development

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: The World of Kitsch

This week's spotlight is on Claire Smyth from Northern Ireland who is a collector of curious things and the curator of The World of Kitsch. 

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I started my Posterous blog as a simple way to share photos of the bizarre bits I'd pick up in charity shops (thrift stores) with my circle of friends. It's grown into something much bigger over the past three years, and now has a worldwide readership.

I feature classic vintage design, good, bad and ugly, as well as innovative products and just plain silly items.

You really never know what will pop up next. One day I'll be sharing images of beautiful retro interiors, the next it will be posts of dogs wearing sci-fi costumes. The key theme is that it will always be something a little unusual and definitely interesting amongst your day's web viewing.

I regularly feature kitsch or unusual artists on my Posterous space, but my absolute favorite has to be Dan Lacey 'The Painter of Pancakes'. He paints Internet memes and news stories, always with the subject balancing a pancake on their head. I was thrilled when Dan painted me last year, obviously including a pancake!

I also adore taxidermy, and have a small collection of stuffed birds and piranhas. I often post taxidermy on my blog, a specialty being stuffed beasts dressed in tiny human clothing. Creepy is another facet of The World of Kitsch.

Thanks to the ease of Posterous The World of Kitsch has grown and led to exciting opportunities. I travelled to London in 2010 and picked up a Cosmopolitan Magazine award for blogging, and in 2011 I was interviewed on BBC Radio about my site.

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

shellsalad - even a non-foodie needs to eat

The Five-0s - Fan blog dedicated to Hawaii Five-0

Art Swap! - Artist & Illustrator of Things Chimerical 

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Ankur Bhatia

There's no shortage of iPhoneographer's using Posterous Spaces to share their beautiful photos taken from their devices. Ankur Bhatia's daily photoblog gives a glimpse of his own world through the eye of his iPhone. Ankur sheds some light on shooting techniques and his own preference of 3rd party camera apps.
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Introduce yourself!
During office hours I am a software engineer who works in New York while at other times I am a random guy in Jersey City who loves to walk along the Hudson river waterfront, shoot pictures and enjoy life. 
Your pictures are really impressive, care to share any secrets?
I prefer taking photos with 3rd party camera applications since they allow a broad range of features which are not yet available on iphone's shipped camera app. For example, I use Pro HDR for daytime shots since it takes multiple exposure shots allowing the details from a bright background to be captured just fine. I also use Camera+ when I need to shoot multiple shots quickly and slowshutter for night shots since it allows long exposure and slow shutter speed.
For post processing, I try several apps and my favourite includes Camera+, Filterstorm, Photo Fx, PS Express, and ColorEffects. As far as creativity goes, every person has his own taste and every photo is creative in one way or the other. However I would mention the below points:
I - If your eyes like it, its a good composition to shoot.
P - Play with the photo. During post processing try multiple apps on same photo to create different versions and see what works for you.
H - Hesitate from shooting - Never. Remember once the moment is gone and you did not shoot, you may regret later. So go for it!
O - Observe your surrounding as anything and everything around you could be the subject of your next shot. 
N - Numbers. Don't restrict yourself to taking just one shot. Take multiple shots with variance. Keep the decision to pick your best shot to share for later. Believe me, all photographers have some terrible shots in their collection. Its just that other's have not seen it.  
E - Entertain yourself while shooting. If you get bored, don't shoot and take a break since your photos too will reflect the same.
What other Posterous Spaces do you enjoy reading?

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

earthfaves blog - your favorite places network

making more dots - Exploring the Adjacent Possible (or something...)

img of a... - a happy camera owner

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Andrea Bianco

This week's Spotlight is on Andrea Bianco, a freelance illustrator and concept artist. Previously a programmer, Andrea's mix of programming and visual arts has brought him to web design and game development. 

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How would you describe your artistic style?

 I'm still in the middle of developing a personal and coherent visual style; I’ve no hurry and I’m not even actually looking for a personal style, I’m sure it will come with time and experience! Right now I prefer to study a lot and keep improving. I especially love to study the Italian masters like Michelangelo, Pontormo, Caravaggio, Parmigianino, Boldini, De Nittis, Fattori, and of course the nature and the people around me.

Your bio says that you are a kick-ass guitarist, who are some of your musical influences?

Ahah, well "kick-ass" was quite ironic, I admit it! I actually started studying guitar 14 years ago and it's one of my biggest passions. I play many kind of genres and I especially enjoy progressive rock, some avant-garde and a bunch of the many directions of jazz. A list of guitarists that are influencing me would take a book or so.

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What inspires you?

 I'm a very curious person and I find inspiration in everything around me, especially in the production of the artists I admire. Some of the artists that are especially inspiring me in my growth as a concept artist and as an illustrator are Jean Giraud, Hugo Pratt, Magnus, Craig Mullins, Brom, Rainart and Sparth, but there are literally hundreds of impressive folks out there! I’m also inspired a lot by my favorite directors, like Tarkovskij, Fellini, Maro Bava, etc.

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Pixel Radio - A photographer's photo journal

actionbar - Android UI design tips 

Monster Munch - Great bites in and out of Hong Kong

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Hannah Keys

Hannahkeys

In the spirit of making New Year's Resolutions, this week's Spotlight is on Hannah Keys, author of the blog Stop Being Crap. Hannah shares humorous insights like 'Stop Celeb-Obsessing' and 'Stop Impulse Spending' in an attempt to get her readers to take a hard look in the mirror themselves and ask, "How can I better myself today?" Hannah's blog acts as her own mirror, letting the world take a part in her own journey of self-improvement.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I'm a 25 year-old that's slightly obsessed with self-improvement. I also happen to be a New Zealander - we're so laid back we're practically horizontal - so I'm cutting against the grain somewhat. I'm attempting to live my life with some serious accountability while poking fun at myself along the way.

What made you start "Stop Being Crap"?
I started 'Stop Being Crap' after endless conversations with my girlfriends about how they 'really should get to the gym sometime this month', or 'need to start working on their chihuahua bedazzling business idea at some point'.
We give ourselves so many excuses as to why we're not the person we want to be, and I realized that I was a prime example of this in action. There are so many things in my life I give in to, waste time on, or negatively impact my health and happiness with (as well as a bunch of super important things, like not being 'gangsta' enough), and I'd had enough. I told myself - the only way I was going to be a better person was to first, stop being crap. 
What other Posterous Spaces do you enjoy reading?

I'm a bit of a fashion fiend, so I love the Rachel Zoe Report, and Everything Popular is Wrong is a favorite.

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Peter Belanger - A behind the scenes look at a photo studio based in San Francisco, CA.

Brand Zero - Craft, design, and production.

You Kickstarted Me - A photo project profiling successful Kickstarters projects and the people behind them.

Want to be featured? Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Robert-Paul Jansen

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Robert-Paul Jansen is a photographer based in the south of the Netherlands. He captures the world around him to share in his aptly titeld photoblog, things I see. Interestingly, all his post-processing of his images is done on his iPhone and sent from the Posterous Spaces iPhone app.

What kind of photography are you interested in?

I love looking at photography in general, but I prefer landscapes and street photography. Photography is a tool to capture the world. You create history.  

That’s what I love about it. I also love looking at old photographs and see what living in those times was like. Not only the subjects and surroundings on the photos are different, also the material and look of the photographs themselves change over time.

What's in your photography toolkit? 

I use two cameras, the Nikon d5100 and the iPhone 4. Mostly I go out with both of them and decide which one to use for a specific shot. Sometimes I use both and make the decision at home, while processing.

I also have a monopod and tripod and us ‘the Glif’ to be able to use my iPhone on it to shoot panoramas, hdr photos or film. 

All my photos are processed on my iPhone. With the new iPhone 4s it’s more and more possible to process my 16MB photos from the d5100 on it. 

Why did you choose Posterous as your platform of choice?

I have tried Posterous and tumblr since I started using the iPhone to take and share photos. I made the decision to stick with Posterous exclusively in the beginning of this year. Why? It just worked. One of the things I like about Posterous is the autopost feature. It just saves me a lot of time.

All my posts (photos) are shared automatically on twitter and facebook. And I’m thinking of adding flickr and Picasa to the autopost as well. The photos on Facebook are put directly on my timeline as if I have uploaded it directly to Facebook while other services put very tiny thumbnail in the timeline . With Posterous autopost you get a nice looking photo. Autosharing on twitter adds the tagging which I love as well. 

What are some of your favorite shots?

Its really hard to pick my favorites. Each and every photo has a story behind it. But to show three:

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Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Gym Hero Blog - Gym Hero is an iPhone app to track and document your workout routines and fitness.

The Oregonian - Photos and thoughts from The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon.

Perpetual Sandwich! - (a chronicle of sorts)

Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Roam.

Roam

This week's Spotlight is on Gibrian Foltz, an artist sharing his latest pieces of art in his Space titled 'Roam.' 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a self-taught artist from the New England area, currently working with stencils, spray paint (trying to branch out into other mediums), and paper collage. I create multi-layer stencil portraits. I used to create intricate surreal paper collages, mostly from old books, and lately I’ve been experimenting with turning these creations into stencils as well. 

When did you start creating artwork in layers?
I have only recently started creating the layered artwork. I’ve been at it now for about a year and a half, having previously been occupied with paper collage. I realized that the skills I had developed would translate well into the creation of stencils. I enjoy doing the portrait work, but I feel that I need to incorporate the paper collage style in order to arrive at something unique.

Do you sell any of your artwork? 
I certainly do! I do commission work (friends/spouses/children/or even pets) and offer to sell my other pieces as well. 

What is the longest time spent on one piece of work?
The paper collage work would take me weeks to complete one piece, with the longest probably pushing two months. In terms of hours, it’s hard to say. One of the positive aspects of the stencil work is that it generally takes me less than a week of work to create one, and then the painting process is rather quick. Now that I am working with collage again, I’m finding that the longest step in the process is wandering through old books and actually creating the collage before converting it into a stencil.

 

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples: 

Kiph - Reject the ordinary.

Bimshare - The easiest way to share your building model online.

Lost, Now Found - A fascinating and odd collection of things people usually discard or forget found years later.

Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!

Posterous Spotlight: Paul Shipper

Paul_shipper

This week's Posterous Spotlight focuses on Paul Shipper who is a freelance designer, photographer, and illustrator based in New Zealand. He runs PS STUDIO DPI and has worked professionally for clients large and small across the globe. His specialties include photography, creating illustrations for film posters, book covers, and brand designs for companies.

Paul manages multiple Spaces to share the right content with the right people. His clients visit his work blog, family and friends visit his personal blog, and only a select few can view his private wedding Space.

How did you first get started with Posterous?
I found Posterous some years ago when I think It was just getting going. I kept seeing it in different places online as people we using it and some companies I liked were using it and I wanted to know more. It seemed like it was the solution I had been searching for... I sent my first email to post@posterous.com and the rest, as they say, is history. 

To you, what makes Posterous Spaces stand out from other publishing platforms?
There are so many options out there when it comes to starting a blog and I have tried a lot of them. I was using Blogger for some time before Posterous and let me tell you, that was a frustrating time trying to keep that thing updated!

Posterous for me was like a breath of fresh air, the company was really thinking outside the box, and it excited me... To publish from a single email was one thing, but then to be able to push that info to other services was simply mind blowing! I am very proud of how my Spaces look.

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You own multiple Spaces - do you find it easy to manage and share to each one?
Absolutely! With a quick email, a post online, using the Posterous Bookmarklet or with the incredibly awesome iPhone app now it's a cinch! I have my personal space which I upload a lot of family pics to as well as things that are of interest that I want to keep apart from my work space, most of that gets done from my iPhone using pics I have taken using the built in camera. Like wise if I want to share a document, a pdf, video or mp3 file it just works!

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Was it important to keep your wedding Space private?
Keeping the wedding space private was a personal choice that my partner and I made to try and make the experience of an invitation even more special for the guests we are inviting. It's a truly great thing to be able to share such an important and exciting occasion with the friends and family you love so much.

We are both from the UK and so a lot of our guests probably won't be able to make it to our big day and this was a way to get them involved 18 months prior to the wedding. They can see what we are up to, subscribe to updates, check out the venue, register their up to date contact details to our database, post a comment and engage with us in the hope of making them feel part of the preparations for our most special of days. 

Do you see yourself creating any more Spaces in the future? Private or public?
Yes! It's so easy to make lots of other spaces, and I intend to. I already have a little known space called 'pianomuse' in which I post music I have composed. It's very much just a hobby of mine. When I'm not creating visually, taking a break from the drawing board, I like to sit at the piano or my Korg keyboard and make music.

Aside from creating beautiful illustrations and designing, what are some other things you enjoy doing?
Seeing the World, going for walks/hiking, watching movies, listening to music, going to concerts, playing the drums, singing, reading art, design and photography books, hanging out with the woman I love and of course, my little girl...

Thinking about creating a private Space? Here are some ideas to get you started:
  • Sharing baby or family vacation photos
  • A classroom blog
  • A personal journal or diary
  • Keeping in touch with your group or club
  • Your wedding website

Already running a private Space? Let us know for what reason in the comments!

Want to be featured in our Spotlight series? Let us know

Posterous Spotlight: Romantic

Romantic

Andrew Writler is a curator of beautiful imagery and hails from Ukraine. He has strong interests in poetry and cinema, and is constantly inspired by Daniel Kehlmann, Bernhard Schlink, Lars von Trier, Jim Morrison and others.

Why the Space name 'Romantic'?
First time R.-posts were only messages in my Twitter-account (now I don’t use it). I had posted cute photos with girls, landscapes etc, that’s why now the blog is named «Romantic»; «R. is your life», to be more precise.

How would you describe your Space to someone?
One sentence is enough: R. it’s easy way to improve your mood and realize that happiness is almost close. 

What is your process in finding your photos?
I have read more than 500 photo-blogs in a RSS-reader, it’s ~ 1000 photos every day (not as much as it seems). I view photos while I’m watching some boring movie or just when I have free time.

How would you describe the style of your photos?
I think we can call it «an intelligent romantic style with the madness», but not always.

Check out these other Posterous Spaces examples:

TESTIGO FOTOGRÁFICO - Photgraphy by Roberto Carlos Sanchez

The Official Postagram Blog - Postagram turns photos from your phone, Facebook, or Instagram into photo postcards for you and your friends.

body by Jon Trevor - A ‘celebrity fitness guru’ 

Submit your Posterous Space to our inspiration center!