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Sparkle (0)
Okay, so I know that, as a Contributing Editor for Technology & Web, I'm probably expected to write about things like Open Source Software, computers and, I don't know, rocket science ... but for my first post in this area is going to be on whiteboards.
Yes. Whiteboards. Dry-erase. The pre-blog blogs.
We just covered our office with 96 square feet of Melamine whiteboards and now have walls we literally write on every day. I've never experienced dry-erase like on these boards. You write, it's there. You erase, it's gone.
Really gone. No ghosted leftover text needing a lifehack -- leastways not in my experience. No need to get out some special solvent (costing $7.95 plus tax). On these boards, it is dry, and it does erase.
My business partner, Katherine, who's one of those people who reads chemistry books for pleasure, tells me that Melamine works because most of the ink on the board really isn't there.
Look at this extreme-close-up image. The white parts, I'm told, are what constitute the surface area where ink can adhere. The ink is easy to wipe off because it's not really saturated on the surface, but merely deposited on the tips of the molecules of the surface itself.
Anyway, all I know is that these whiteboards we have nailed up on the walls all over the office are better than any of that overpriced soft plastic junk they sell in office supply stores.
And, excuse me ... it's cheap! $13 for a 32-square-foot sheet.
Forget Office Depot. Go to Home Depot, and get yourself some Melamine boards. (And get your friend with the pickup truck to help, because they come in 8' x 4' lengths.)
Tangents:
- Kevin Kelly's Cool Tool blog post, Marker Board Walls
- Whiteboards Central blog. Yes, there is a blog all about whiteboards. And you thought your blog was obscure! (Their expert opinion seems to be to skip Melamine and spend a magnitude more on porcelain. Of course.)
- Rapid Intellect's Case Study: The Color Purple on the Whiteboard
- Lori Richardson's Be a Change Agent in 2006, who urges using whiteboards to write goals
- Albuquerque Business Journal's profile of Sigcom Inc.'s Terri Kim, who has a whiteboard in her office
and, finally....
- Topless Programming's WhiteBoard -- part of a geek site, believe it or not, which describes itself thusly:
This site was born from a conversation of frustration. Plans for solo ventures were expressed.
In a flippant remark, I said, "and it will be all women".
Then a pause. "And it will be called Topless Programming".
Another pause. "And subtitled, the Hooters of Programming".
So the spark. What results in still in development. I did get to thinking about what "Topless" could be about. Boys can go topless too. And need to.
With some thought and research, I realized the site could also include a broader theme of women in technology. Additionally, as a general protest of the male geek dominated programming culture. There is a serious need to get more voices into the arena.
So news, discussion and rants within this area. That's what this site is. Bras optional.
