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Trends.

Journal Entry: Wed Apr 11, 2012, 5:51 PM

There are a number of trends I'm amused by at deviantART.

Search for draw this again and you see a meme where deviants are showing their progress through the years. Examples:

Draw this again: 2005 vs 2012 by *akreon

Then there's a trend on YouTube where deviants are posting video blogs about their deviantART experiences. I recently caught this one by ~domienikki08 that I was charmed by. She makes great points, too!

In November we published a Journal on #dt's Blog, very discreetly announcing that we've launched a set of API's (Application Programming Interfaces) so that developers out there could make Apps for deviantART.

Even though this was whispered, we're seeing these Apps get some traction. Perhaps it's time to be less discreet.

Speaking of dAmn, I noticed that `Artgerm has a new chatroom that he hangs out in on there called #Artgermination - I've been hanging out in there a bit lately.

Shout out to the folks hanging out in #seniors right now; `capncraka, `DaPineapple, ^anmari, ^Astralseed, ^steph1254, =CRWithers, =dark--lite, =litecrush, =Milotic1406, =prosaix, =Topicality, =Fire-Kitty-666 and even *Thumbbot

Also, check out *CassandraPoulson and *artofant who are hangin' out with us at deviantART HQ working on top secret unannounced projects! Their art is amazing!

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

132 Comments

Mood: Love
Playing: Catan
Eating: Sushi
Drinking: Beer

Quiet.

Journal Entry: Thu Apr 5, 2012, 7:29 PM

I'm drawing every day.

And taking photos every day.

And designing every day.

The drawing usually leads to the designing. Or vice versa.

The photos are just something I can't help. If I miss a shot, but see the photograph that could have been, I get kinda depressed about it. So I just take photos to avoid that feeling. I miss a lot of photos anyway. But I try to remind myself that those were photos just for me. And that's a nice feeling when you can see photos that someone else will never see. Really incredible things happen all around, all the time, so long as you're looking for it. Challenging yourself to see the art out there even if it hasn't been pointed out by anyone but you, for you.

The designing is all deviantART. Plus designing apartments for new friends in town, or helping friends with their apps or startups. Like [link] or something. But usually it's for internal deviantART projects.

Stuff we've been working on forever that hasn't seen the light of day quiet yet. It's coming. I would say "soon," except I don't know what soon means anymore.

It's all gotten so complex to be honest that I find myself writing Journals about it that I never post wondering what people might think. So I post stuff I'm supposed to instead.

This next chapter of deviantART is deep. Really deep. A lot of deep reflections from the world tour to now. A lot of thinking from the ground up, or from the sky down. However you want to look at it.

Nothing we're doing is particularly small. So it takes time.

That's good news though, because the problems in the arts are big. So we're solving the big problems. So the rewards require patience.

This is the deepest moment right at this moment. It's a turning point... Research is done, development is developing and much of it is testing and iterating to a release cycle.

I've been going down to Drink & Draw in Downtown LA on Thursdays to drink and hang out with this really great group of artists. ( [link] ) Last week $pachunka and I brought our sketchbooks and drew interfaces. Really inspiring place for output. I love it there.

I'm thinking of building a deviantART Studio Bus, out of one of those old Blue Bird School Busses. So I can pull up in the thing at devmeets and park it in front of cool comic book shops like Meltdown on Sunset Blvd in LA. [link]

Inside I'd replace all the seats with tables. And on the sides I'd deck it out with art supplies so deviants could come in and draw. Like drink and draw... but on a bus... anywhere.

Would be awesome to bring it to comic-con, too. The thing should be on the road all year hanging out with deviants, at least that's what I'd like. Honestly I'd like to be on it all year meeting artists like on the world tour. But my time is probably best spent back at HQ right now.

Keep watching #hq for those Product updates. We're putting a ton of effort in to those. And definitely read the "Network Articles" that $techgnotic works on for release every Wednesday. They're really setting the tone around here... that most recent one about the Alien Ninja Turtles and how Michael Bay is (imho) screwing up with that crackpot origin story is really enlightening. ( [link] ) We definitely think story tellers on deviantART really have much better ideas about what the future are about.

Working on the 2012 State of the Union. Excited to share a lot of much desired information about where we're headed. It's long over-due..

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

214 Comments

Chef Nozawa Retires

Journal Entry: Thu Mar 1, 2012, 8:58 PM

Credit: Michael Kovac ( [link] )

My favorite Sushi Chef and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Nozawa are retiring as of yesterday. I was able to deliver this letter to them last night, along with a bottle of champagne. And I was honored to deliver a last toast, and incredibly beyond belief honored to eat the last piece of sushi served by the restaurant. A new restaurant for the sushi chain called "Sugar Fish" (a partnership between Nozawa, and his sun plus another partner) will replace the original Nozawa which has operated from Ventura Blvd in Studio City for the past 25 years. Sugar Fish at this location is scheduled to open in May.

The New York Times covered the closing of Nozawa, known as "The Sushi Nazi" in the following story; "Putting Away His Knife and Those Cutting Words"

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mr. & Mrs. Chef Nozawa,

There is no establishment in the city of Los Angeles that I enjoy more than that of your restaurant, Sushi Nozawa. It is the culture, consistency, service and overall quality that I have come to love over my past 11 years of patronage.

I was 20 years old when I first had your sushi. I was just starting my current business and I had very little money. When I would save a little, I would bring a friend, a date, a business associate, a co-worker, or anyone who I wanted to inspire or treat to something special.

Through the years as my business grew, Nozawa became a tradition and a place that I would bring only the people I cared about most.

But first, I would scold them in the car.

“Now listen, I need you to leave your phone here. And when you walk in to this place you must put your best foot forward. Bring only positive energy through those doors! If he tells you not to dip, you don’t dip in to the soy sauce. We’ll sit at a table and not the sushi bar, so he doesn’t watch you as closely. But if you get me kicked out of here, I’m telling you I’m not sure if we can be friends anymore!”

Of course I’d have a sense of humor in my voice, but I meant it.

Alongside every respectable business owner are very human motivations. Perhaps with Nozawa you have wanted to uphold a tradition set forth by your mentors or your parents. Or perhaps the motivations are deeper. Anything done so well for so long speaks to a different standard and conviction and determination inside of a person, (or a husband & wife!) than is typical.

Part of why I love your establishment is because I share this conviction in my own business. I know how rare it is. And even more important to me than the fish is the aura of discipline and perfection that is present for any visitor who can see it.

Alongside the deeper motivations for a business owner are more superficial ones that help you to celebrate the small and big victories along the way.

For me and for many of my employees it has become tradition to celebrate these moments in my business with you at Nozawa.

People will speak often of the trends you set in Los Angeles to hold sushi to its traditional roots. And how you’ve defended the art & culture of sushi by scolding rude visitors. But it was important to me that you know how clearly your discipline and hard work shines through Nozawa, and has been an inspiration to other entrepreneurs such as myself in the city.

So you can understand how much I respect your work. How much we will all miss it. And what an impact it has made in the local community.

Sincerely,

Angelo Sotira

Co-Founder & CEO

deviantART.com

P.S. My girlfriend and I happened to be at the restaurant when the NYTimes photographer was taking photos for your feature. We were lucky enough to be in the photos, and we view it as an honor to be sitting at the sushi bar where we have been so happy for many years!

Source: [link]

And this is her hand holding my favorite dish, the crab hand roll!!

Screen Shot 2012-02-29 at 3.51.45 PM by +spyed

Source: [link]

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

55 Comments

A Valentine Birthday Wish from +Spyed

Mon Feb 13, 2012, 11:48 PM by +spyed

All of my birthdays have always been about stuff. Stuff I don't want, stuff I definitely don't need. This year for my birthday on Valentines Day I want to focus the love I have from my friends and family to build a WELL in a developing country. They cost $5000. And for the next 20 years this well will provide fresh drinking water to a village.

In Angelo's words...

All of my birthdays have always been about stuff. Stuff I don't want, stuff I definitely don't need.
I'm surrounded by very giving people, and I'm always honored by how gracious my friends are, but when a guy gets to a
certain age, you kinda just buy the video games and books and music right when you want them, you know?

This year, I decided to do something a little different for my birthday. I was introduced recently to a charity
called charity: water, and I love this organization. The people behind it (like Scott Harrison and Michael and Xochi Birch)
are people I've come to really admire for what they're doing. They're very effective in all that they do, and their sights
are now aligned with solving the worldwide water crisis. I've looked closely at the organization, and Scott is very approachable
and open about the books. They're entirely transparent about how things are going, how the money is allocated, etc. and I've
developed a genuine trust in them and how they're doing this.

That's why this year on Valentine's Day (which happens to be my birthday!), I want to focus the love I have from my
friends and family to build a WELL in a developing country. They cost $5,000. And for the next 20 years, this well will provide
fresh drinking water to a village.

I'm going to spend my birthday itself marketing and promoting this cause to raise the $5k, and if I get there then charity: water
will build a well in my name. If I get to $10,000 I'm going to build a well in deviantART's name for another village! If you'd like to
see the effort in action you can follow it here: mycharitywater.org/angelo31

100% of the money donated goes to the well. We'll be able to see the well on Google Maps, or go visit it one day if we want. I'm really
excited to share this organization with you and to bring you all along on my journey to fulfill this birthday wish!

Every day we lose 30,000 people to dirty water. We need a lot of wells and we're going to make a difference here with 1 more.

I'm posting this here on deviantART mostly to tell you about this amazing cause, and if you like it perhaps on your birthday you'll follow my lead and donate your birthday too!

Just visit www.charitywater.org and pledge your birthday. I can't describe what a great feeling it is knowing that the people
I love and care about are banding together for this great cause. If your friends are at a loss as to what to get you for your next birthday, what greater way for them to make a
difference in the world than to help out the 1 billion people who really need clean drinking water?

If you feel like contributing to my cause you can do so on my charity: water page here: mycharitywater.org/angelo31 --
Either way, let me know when you pledge your birthday by sending a note and I'll either contribute or help you spread the word about your charity water birthday!

Donate for my 31st Birthday »

Angelo Sotira
Co-founder & CEO of deviantART
+spyed

1,181 Comments

Do you like the Art I like?

Journal Entry: Mon Feb 6, 2012, 7:20 PM

What makes you like the art you like?

I think it's some of the same stuff that attracts you to people or not.

Here's a snapshot of some of the art I like.... is this a frequency that appeals to you? Did you view these and feel a trance coming on?

Or did you just glance over it...

Let's talk in the comments, I have some instructions at the bottom of this post.

Never-ending twisted ways... by `MichelCh

Rise With The Fallen chapter 2 by ~DamageCult

Little Gothams Annual in whole by *duss005

If this is your vibe.... link me to more stuff like this you love!

If not... make your own Journal like this one and paste the link here! I want to see what you like and I bet a lot of other people do too!!

-- A

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

91 Comments

Incredible SOPA Response

Journal Entry: Wed Jan 18, 2012, 9:34 PM

I've been watching the SOPA response on deviantART all day, and needless to say the level of discussion being had about it is at an all new level from what I've ever seen around here the past decade or so.

When you guys rally, it's quite a sight. And I do mean a sight...

These are screenshots just taken from the front page of dA. And with every reload of our NEWEST submissions...

... there is a seemingly endless stream of these DEVIATION CENSORED deviations, just about all of them opposing SOPA and PIPA.

It's always mesmerizing to watch our community in action, especially when armed with a cause.

I am certain you are being heard. Even Google has taken notice,while the discussion rages on at over 21,000 comments and I would estimate just as many blacked out deviations!

As a side note, I've been giggling all along at the name of these two bills. I'm half Greek, fluent in Greek, born in Athens and I visit about twice a year... so I mean.. I'm truly fluent and truly half Greek. My point is that in Greek....

SOPA literally means "Don't speak."

And PIPA literally means "blow job."

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

343 Comments

Pure Joy

Journal Entry: Sat Jan 7, 2012, 4:55 PM

This year (2011) for the Holidays I followed Bentley on a great adventure. He'd seen me stressing out all year and he finally put his paw down. I canceled the plans I had originally made. And he made me follow my heart. Even though I had my doubts.. It turns out, Bentley is wise.

Off we were to Mammoth Mountain, on some last minute plans. The type where you know things are being rushed and so they won't go well. But Bentley had faith. So first he enlisted my Mom, $jeanpat because he prefers when she feeds him. She gives him too much in his bowl!

And Viktoria *o-KUKLA-o plays with him in the mornings if I'm still asleep, so she's pretty key to having fun.

And $chris keeps the evening games of Settlers of Catan going until the wee hours, so no one interrupts him (Bentley) when he's sleeping!

And $pachunka certainly needed to be around for snacks.

Not that $chris isn't useful for this too.

Now, Bentley is ADDICTED to lights... lasers.. flash lights... etc. So he forced us to get in the car and go to town to hunt for well lit trees and decorations!

And he was content! It's just that his content face looks a little melted.

At night, we snuck Bentley on to the slopes for a hike without permission. It was devious, but totally worth the potential trouble. He chased the flashlight half way up the mountain with us. Millions of stars illuminating the snow.

So after much consideration...

We had an epiphany about Bentley's vision to bring us here..

... this mountain fueled us with happiness! ...

... and prepared us for the coming year!

So on our drive home, we took it easy.

And we were sure to let Bentley run around the desert to smell new smells...

And slide around on frozen lakes a bit!

On behalf of all of us who went on Bentley's Adventure...

We found something on our trip to Mammoth we thought we'd share with you..

First, that $chris is a strapping young lad.

Second, that not all Irishmen can handle their beer and don't get to enjoy frozen lakes on the drive home!

And third, that if you wet your butt sitting on the ice..

While squeezing Bentley's Chups..

That when you get up and spark up your 2012..

Even if your rear is a little wet from the ice...

Life is at its best when spent with great friends and loved ones ...

... who'd even let you dry your butt on them!!

Cheers to 2012!!

Many exciting updates to come! [The HQ one is next!]

From Bentley, $chris, *o-KUKLA-o, $pachunka, $jeanpat and I!

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

85 Comments

Core $Staff Tradition of Crazy Parties Upheld

Journal Entry: Fri Jan 6, 2012, 5:41 PM

Our core $staff works really hard all year under unusual conditions to keep deviantART well-oiled. Unusual circumstances because we're spread out all over the planet, and don't get to hang in person enough! For many new team members this was also the first time we were meeting each other.

So when we get together for the holidays each year... the release valves open up and pent-up energy turns in to hardcore party...

^ $pachunka & $LMRomero on the holiday party boat, floating around Marina Del Ray in style.

^ $randomduck going from our live forum conversations to dinner sporting Russian comic heroes on his shirt.

^ *o-KUKLA-o claiming her spot.

^ Don't mess with $draweverywhere's ideas for muro.deviantart.com PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, or he'll knock you out in front of $drigh and $rdonaldson right here and now!

^ $dxd clearly amused by his first #hq experience.

^ $pachunka occasionally busts some MJ in moments where it could be particularly awesome. Well done, sir.

^ Quack.

^ $raincoastchris & $rdonaldson could either be in the film Snatch in this photo, or they're just inventing new algorithms and insanely awesome topic browsing for deviantART's next version along with $mccann. EIther/or.

^ Beat this photo of $codenamepanther. That's right, she's gonna love that I posted this.

^ #dt rolls like the Usual Suspects crew.

I didn't take nearly enough photos because I was so focused on the team, but there are more below for you to enjoy!

More Fantastic Photos by $TheSmallWonder on dA

Some More Sta.shed Photos by $Knightar

On the Wednesday of our holiday park week, we had a night where VPs and Managers presented their departments' work for the year. It was a jaw-dropping experience for all. Not only the quality and quantity of effort by each group, but the inspiring combined effect of what was actually accomplished in 2011.

In 2012 we want even greater transparency from our team for the community. So much happens in a week that this is an intense task in itself.. so I'm happy to report that in 2011, nearly 40 new people joined the team and are quickly coming up to speed to help deviantART achieve even more for you. More about that soon... but you can rest assured that clean and crisp communication to the community is a continued top priority for us this year.

More photos.

^ This cow!

^ This COW. Really wanted my attention.

Is that a... .... ...

^ Of course I made a super llama out of clay for our art class held by $jorobins. What did you expect?

Cheers to 2012, everyone!!!

-- A

p.s. for my next post, which topic would you like to hear about? #1, #2, or #3.

#1. Bentley's Adventure with his Monkey

#2. Who is Dylan?

Or,

#3. What's it like being back at #hq after the Holidays?

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

105 Comments

Regarding SOPA and deviantART (update)

Journal Entry: Wed Nov 16, 2011, 7:41 PM

Our view at deviantART regarding SOPA is that it's probably a bad idea. There should be better ways to deal with mass infringement on the Internet than this. This bill in our view can be seen as a threat to the open Internet itself and this is very hard to digest or support.

I personally have found information at the EFF and at Public Knowledge to be very helpful in understanding what is at stake.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION AT WWW.DEVIANTART.COM/SOPA

UPDATE: Thanks for the link, Google.

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

1,767 Comments

Journals: The Tweaks We ALL Want

Journal Entry: Tue Nov 1, 2011, 3:40 PM

Well, that didn't entirely go as planned.

There are a few issues with the Journal implementation, but there aren't any issues we can't easily fix. And we got so much great feedback, that we now clearly understand some things we didn't before. The best part is, we're going to get the best of both worlds for Journals. All of the benefits of the deviation system for Journals, with all of the resolutions that were vocalized as concerns.

Monday of next week, we're going to release the following changes so that everyone can SMILE!

When you go to publish a Journal, you'll be able to Submit your Journal to your Profile just as you did before the changes. The Journal will go out to your +Watch list, display on your Journal tab and on your Profile Page (if applicable.) There wouldn't be a +Favorite button unless you Submit to The deviantART Journal.

That's right! You'll also be able to publish to The deviantART Journal, (aka. The Journal Portal) and if you'd prefer not to, then you don't have to. This would be much like publishing a News item in the past, except a whole lot more people will be able to see it than before because of how much better this system works when you want your Journal to really be seen!

And lastly, you'll be able to publish to your Groups with Sta.sh Writer.

What if you want to post to your Journal, The deviantART Journal (category), and also to one or more of your Groups? Easy, just check the places you want your Journal to appear.

What if you want to post JUST to your profile and +Watchers? Then check ONLY "My Journal" and be sure everything else is unchecked.

If you want to post JUST to a Group, you can do that too! The post will still be in your Journal Tab. It just won't be "Featured." Think about how Featured and UnFeatured deviations work in your Gallery -- it's a lot like that.

Here's a silly diagram I whipped together in deviantART Muro for fun:

So there you have it! No muss, no fuss. We're gonna be just fine. We want you to be happy. We're not here to be jerks... just tell us what you need, and we're here to serve!

Now... we're going to announce 3 different big features to the whole site in a big, big way, and we need your support as they go out 'cause they were a whole lotta work to build, and we think you're really going to love them once you get to use them!

Keep in mind that all new software needs a bit of time to settle. It's like a new house resting on its new foundation. But with a little time, it'll settle nicely and become an old reliable friend you like to turn to. We're committed to quality, and we use these features ourselves. If they don't work, we get just as grumpy as you!

Sta.sh

2GB of space for ALL!
10GB of space for Premium Members!

The best file storage and publishing platform for us creative folks is out for all of us to use! And the best news is, it's in constant development all year round to add all the things that would make it even better as time goes by.

Sta.sh Writer

The Easiest Tool for Writing Stuff on the Web!
And Super Easy Access to All your Sta.sh Files while you Write!

You don't have to use it, but it's in your Sta.sh if you want to upgrade your writing style. This handy tool is producing the very Journal you're reading now. Adding the dorky images above was as easy as adding the one below. I just clicked the photo, and there it is.

The deviantART Journal

See what's Happening in Our Humble Massive Community at deviantART!
And +Favourite it if you want to show support.

This awesome development got caught in a whole bunch of unintended negativity. So, let's take another look at this great new feature that not only brings to light the awesome (and sometimes gross, hehe) matters going on in the community giving power to our members, but lets you Super Browse through them like pages in a Magazine!!

In review!

Lots of great things happened! See above for GOOD! Overall, some unintended things happened, which taught us how to make things even more good! Enjoy this weird pacman-like graph. haha

Thanks for your support always.

Sincerely,

A Team Who Loves You Guys Like Crazy, and Want Nothing But Great Things for YOU and deviantART.

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

338 Comments

Close to Announcing Great Resolution

Nov 1, 2011, 12:34:52 AM by +spyed
Journals / deviantART, Inc. / Tech & Features

Obviously we don't intend to leave you hanging!

Due to halloween some pretty key folks are trick or treating with their kids and stuff this evening so I couldn't publish a really terrific resolution to the Journal issues we've been having until tomorrow. Family comes first folks!

I can say the following with confidence: Everything everyone wants, with the added benefits that come with the deviations platform will be released very soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the really crazy journals showing up in the footer.

Oh, btw, because of the new Journal portal we learned we were having a bit of a spam issue, with a few bots posting to the network mostly to spike their google pagerank. Which is silly because we've set the pages to be ignored by the google spiders... so what these spammers are doing is all for nothing. But we'll root them out within a couple of days as well and ultimately really clean deviantART up.

For the record.... the community is using Journals at a much higher rate since the release! Journal posts are up over 40% which is nice to see (unrelated to the Spam stuff) and hopefully renewed enthusiasm in this area will up the quality of the posts for the directory.

And, we'll be making a full site announcement about Sta.sh, Sta.sh Writer and The deviantART Journal shortly... Sta.sh is already up to 140,000 active users in just a couple of days of release prior to the Hot Topic going out about it. Nuts!!

Real update to post in about 12 hours to stop the sadness and madness. (Yes, Personal posts will be Personal!)

Happy Halloween folks!!

98 Comments

Won A pumpkin carving contest!!!

Journal Entry: Mon Oct 24, 2011, 2:47 PM

I won the pumpkin carving contest that I enter each year. Check out my winning pumpkin... uhh yes, the concept is not entirely original, but I think it's an improvement on the idea...

Enjoy!

-- A

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

65 Comments

My Recent Faves

Journal Entry: Thu Oct 20, 2011, 7:32 PM

Here's some faves that I wanted to share.

This post was made with Writer in under 30 seconds.

TMNT #3 Portfolio Plate by =Kevineastman

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

50 Comments

Quick Update on Life

Journal Entry: Tue Oct 11, 2011, 1:54 PM

Flew to NYC, it was a great experience. Wedding was nice, and t was nice to see old friends. On the way back we went through a tunnel at the airport from terminal C to terminal A and this is what it looked like. I wish I had video as this was insane.

Anyway. I'm leaving today, headed for a conference in Mexico to represent deviantART. I go every year, and it's nice to connect with other CEO's. I think of it as CEO therapy and I think all the other CEOs view it similarly. So we had baseball cards made for an app for the conference, and here's the photo I used for mine.

<da:thumb id="149624" stash="1"/>

292044 212205675510951 2122054 by +spyed

I meant the first one not the second one. I ripped the second one off the Internet somewhere, I realize this is controversial, but given the image I couldn't control myself. Down to credit the author if anyone knows who it is.

Good times, anyway. Our Sta.sh Writer is really coming along. The community is going to love this, no question, it's the equivalent of deviantART MURO for Writers in this literature community, or for folks who love to update their journals! Best software of its kind on the web, hands down.

What more.. what more.. OH!! I'm looking for a newfoundland puppy for my best friend... check out Lance, for example. Westminster Best of Breed for 2011. Totally blown away by these pups!!

Have a nice day

-- A

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

53 Comments

dT @ Army Barracks Developer Offsite

Journal Entry: Tue Jul 19, 2011, 2:58 PM

Some of us arrived here Thursday, and some on Friday of last week, but it's now 5 days in on Tuesday for the dT Developer offsite. It's being held for a total of two weeks at an Army Barracks that we rented near the ocean and it has kicked off brilliantly.

We're sleeping in a huge room full of bunk-beds, and meeting up at 8am for breakfast till 9, watching presentations in a round table format and being assigned day long and two day long development sprint projects that we present in the evenings. After an exhausting day we eat dinner, or smaller groups rock climb, mountain bike or otherwise during sunset and eat dinner afterwards. Followed by camp fires, games of Warewolf/Mafia, nerf gun battles, catch, drawing, playing music, flying r/c heli's, building legos and hanging out.

We're allowed to build anything, but everyone is choosing to build apps for dA or to use dA as a playground for development.

None of these may release to the public, or all of them may. Things like... email & ftp support for sending files to Sta.sh, revamping drawhere.com, building CodePLZ.com for emotes, plz and large full-thumb emotes, live commenting via dAmn on dA, Live dA activity map in HTML5, SitBack in HTML5, Internationalized Muro, and a touchscreen optimized dA discover mode.

I'm working on CodePLZ with $knightar, $20after4 and $DEVlANT. Hints: [link] & [link]

Wish us luck!

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

62 Comments

Mood: dA Love

Hello from beautiful Greece!

Journal Entry: Fri May 27, 2011, 3:34 PM

Just landed in Greece from a 25-hour door-to-door journey for a little family business. Kinda jetlagged, but it’s good to be home. And anyone that knows me knows it won’t be long before I start getting twitchy to answer emails and check out my message center...and of course show my family the latest and greatest updates to deviantART!

You might have read my recent journal about my cousin and his awesome trip across the Sahara on motorcycles... so I’m dying to hear more stories about the crazy trip straight from the rest of my family.

But work continues while I’m here. If you watch our #hq blog, which any savvy deviant should

you’ll see that crazy features and improvements have been rolling out in the last few weeks. Badge toggling, emoticon adding, forum improvements...and a fun distraction last weekend at a devMEET in LA. But still, lots of work and serious business during the week!

I look forward to catching up on everything here in Greece, and it’s always a little sad to leave...until I remember all the fun stuff that awaits me back at HQ.

The weekend has just begun for me -- and those in America have a 3-day weekend for Memorial Day. Any interesting plans for this weekend?

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

98 Comments

Mood: dA Love

deviantART CEO ridiculed in comic

Journal Entry: Fri May 20, 2011, 3:07 AM

This Journal is a Hot Topic

by:

Angelo Sotira (aka +spyed)

Co-Founder & CEO of deviantART

I'm closing in on 11 years of running deviantART and if there's one thing I know for sure it's that when you guys are right, you're right. And that at dA, ego and our own sense of self worth comes second to how much we care about deviantART and our collective love of what we represent together. Prepare for me to be humiliated.

Before we get started, here's to fulfilling my promise to publishing the deviations made by *akreon and =tanathe to the entire community for all to see, no matter what they were, after we invited them to get an inside look in to deviantART HQ and our operations.

and maybe another

cuz they're kinda scathing!

Some of you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about. So let's skip to the punch line and then talk about how we got here:

This is the latest of four Comics coming from *akreon and =tanathe, who originally published this first scathing comic in December as a deviation, and captured my team's ($) attention:

After the community launched this first comic to deviantART's front page with 17,500 favourites, we took a moment to consider it internally and we decided to invite these two deviants to HQ to get an insider's look. All the while we were fully confident we could either show them the brilliant reasons for things, OR we could listen and make things better immediately or soon.

And that's what happened. We bought *akreon AND =tanathe plane tickets, arranged a stay at a hotel near HQ, and last month they came to Hollywood, California from Poland to hang out with us and talk shop on behalf of the community.

Their second comic tells this story much better:

But their third, intended for Mature Audiences, sparks the beginning of the humiliation...

Meanwhile, back at #hq, we listened and posted the following blogs, each inspired by the deviations and journals written by *akreon, =tanathe and the comment responses to their deviations and journals.

What's up with birthday notifications?!

(April 5th, 2011)

Enhanced deviation view has arrived!

(April 20th, 2011)

Minor enhancements born from community feedback!

(May 6th, 2011)

And now we've arrived to the big comic above that was posted earlier today (or yesterday by the time you read this), where after all our time together, it would seem that these girls completely took advantage of the fact that I promised to post whatever comic they made in response to their trip, to the whole community! And they used that knowledge to completely humiliate me! When I saw the thing, my blood boiled, my heart rate went up and I started getting really upset!! Take a look:

LLAMA EMPEROR????

LLAMA EMPEROR!!!!!

Listen man, I like llamas as much as the next guy, but to be called a LLAMA EMPEROR in front of MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, or else be accused of not keeping my promises is HUMILIATING! You hear me *akreon!, =tanathe?! HUMILIATING! Below the belt! Outrageous!

Especially after the fact that we are listening, we've already implemented many of the changes you've represented to us as important as per the links above. And we're working diligently on major releases, some of which we showed you and some we still have concealed.

Now, I don't buy that things are as bad as you make them sound in these comics. I think deviantART and our members represent the finest community on the Internet of any kind. I find a common bond and dedication among us that out-shines any negative thing anyone could possibly say. But I agree, we could be even better and we will be even better.

So I hereby accept your challenge. With all my heart I accept your challenge, on behalf of myself and $mccann and the "amazing team" (your words) behind us.

I'll even take it a step further and accept your humiliation, and commemorate it with these emoticons added to the official emoticon library:

A sign you can use to zap my emoticon or those of our staff when we aren't doing the right thing, when we aren't serving you well, and when we need to listen closely. Use it wisely.

Meanwhile, I believe that the journal of =tanathe addresses these matters in greater depth. And while some of the feature representations aren't exactly accurate, I'm going to point the entire community to your Journal as a first hand account of what you witnessed, so long as everybody understands that these are not official announcements and everything will most certainly be addressed so that there isn't any confusion prior to, or during releases. However, our team is not yet ready to address these releases. So please wait for official announcements about these features before addressing the Help Desk or our other teams.

I humbly hand over my dignity to this post with this

situation, but even so, I want to thank =tanathe and *akreon for the excellent example of HOW to communicate with our team ($) well. This series of comics isn't necessarily balanced or completely in tune with the whole community, but its delivery was powerful and hopefully inspiring to other members of dA.

We encourage you to use DEVIATIONS and garner support through our FAVOURITES system to get your issues heard if you can. It's not the only way, but it sure is effective..

tl;dr;

Thanks for your support everyone, I'm going back to #hq to kick some butt and build some awesome with the finest folks I've ever had the pleasure to work with.

And apparently I can now herd llamas with my newly found super power, known as "blue zappies," which is how I described the lightning hands to $starvingartist so he could make the new emotes…

BTW, the code for them is : empllama : and : emplllama : lol

p.s. yes. much sarcasm.

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

4,920 Comments

Mood: dA Love

How on EARTH does THIS happen?!

Journal Entry: Tue May 10, 2011, 5:41 PM

How on EARTH does THIS happen?!

As two crazy dudes...

Go from Athens, cross Morocco.... down through the Sahara...

... on KTM motorcycles... for a month!

And encounter all kinds of trouble!

This is happening RIGHT NOW. Keep up with their adventures on:

The West Sahara Project

p.s. one of them is my cousin.. and I'm so proud and simultaneously jealous I'm not with him on this one!

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

95 Comments

Mood: dA Love

Let's See How our new Writing Engine Works

Journal Entry: Mon Apr 25, 2011, 12:05 PM

This is a test journal, coming off of our new writing engine. I'm currently editing everything you see in-line.

Let's see how it goes.

Firstly, I'm gonna try bolding stuff. Yep. Bolding Stuff. Then I'm gonna slanty I. Slanty I with Bold right there.

Add some U with an under-liney.

then I'm gonna link to Muro. Cuz linking to MURO is FUN.

Add an image?

From my Gallery.

You know, this image was never appropriately explained. This is literally a drawing made by a real live Llama and her Daughter Llama. I opened up Muro on my iPad 2, and put the iPad in front of these two llamas... and the big one sniffed the iPad, and then began to draw with her Llama nose!! Even baby llama got involved.. and we have the whole thing on Film... I can't wait to get the footage on DA.

Seems like this is working... fairly easy to use, but I'd still like to be able to resize the images, so I'll go check to see how that's coming along.

Hope to have this new writing engine out to you guys soon! It'll make posting to deviantART wayyy more fun.

-- A

+spyed sense:

i really need to change my signature.
it's been simmering in lame for way too long.

Ninja image created by *wildlifehoodoo

111 Comments

Mood: dA Love

Austin, TX on the Map as Truly Devious City!

Journal Entry: Mon Mar 21, 2011, 7:23 PM

This is your captain speaking.

(For those who don't know, Angelo Sotira, aka deviantART's CEO.)

I just wanted to report on the truly devious nature of the folks in Austin, Texas, USA for those who weren't aware of this fact.

On March 9th, 2011 we held the most epic of deviantMEETs there, and I promised a site-wide blast about it. In the spirit of bringing deviants closer together all over the world, here I am keeping my word. Now, you realize this gives ALL OF YOU quite a bit of leverage for a side-wide HOT TOPIC'd blast when we hold a deviantMEET in your city, amiright?

Check out these shots…

Organizing this shot is always a treat, where I get to crowd-control and organize everyone into the frame. I love it! I did it in 10 cities for EPIC deviantART World Tour photos in 2009 with $Heidi. She and I were hardcore reminiscing about it after this shot… We need to get out there for another World Tour; we miss you guys!!!!

Deviants came from all over the state to hang out with us…

…and when deviants get together, they do what deviants do… I LOVE walking around watching deviations of all types being made there and then…

A whopping 17 members of staff came out to represent, perhaps the most staffed deviantMEET outside of Los Angeles in the history of deviantART! We all got on stage and introduced ourselves, and then I addressed the topic of… WHY LLAMAS? Haha, you shoulda been there!

So much fun!

`phlezk was so cool, man… He hung out and took photos and really made himself available, we really appreciated it!! From left to right:

$Heidi $chris `phlezk °matteo +spyed

The Bolt, aka $chris.

$scir filming the Meet with Corey. Thanks so much, man!! $scir makes all of our killer videos like the About Us stuff, plus the Version Release videos and the Portfolio, Groups, and other ones if you've seen them! Canon 5DmII on a killer rig!! omg!!

The One... the Only… $laurenkitsune with her pigtails… haha

It was °matteo's birthday! So we got him all kinds of

w00t!

At the end of the meet, ~AstroRobyn and I sat down to sketch. I drew some abstract stuff, she drew me!!

~AstroRobyn

Big thanks

to `StJoan who is AMAZING for working with the entire deviantART team to organize such an epic deviantMEET!!

And thanks sooooo much to all the deviants who traveled far or came out to support us. You guys are always inspiring and truly delightful to hang out with. We're looking forward to the next one!!!

Meanwhile, Austin, you guys are truly devious! We hope you'll continue your deviantMEETs in Austin! Check #Texasdevmeet for updates!