Startups have realized that design is a key differentiator for their products and a source of competitive advantage.

The titans like Atlassian, Facebook, Google, and Amazon, prioritize design. So they hire worldclass designers and even acquire design agencies.

Those aren’t luxuries most early stage startups can afford. So how should an early-stage entrepreneur think about design during the early days? Where should it be on the priority list? What design principles, tips and even hacks can help entrepreneurs produce excellent and even sustainable early versions of brand, product, experience and marketing?

We’re excited to dive into this with Brendan Mahony, Co-founder & CEO of Contrast, a design tool that connects your code to your designs, making your handoff process easier. Contrast is a Y Combinator S18 alumni.

Join us as we dive into:

• Important design principles

• Form vs. function when it comes to designing

• How to create a design strategy

• Useful tools and resources

• Ways to ensure a good design to development handoff

It's that time of the year again! Although we can't meet in person, the holiday season is the perfect time to get together with friends and family. With that in mind, SMA welcomes everyone to join us online for our annual holiday party.

In lieu of purchasing tickets, we will be collecting donations of any amount that will go to The INN, which is the largest soup kitchen on Long Island, based in Hempstead, NY. The Social Media Association will match donations from attendees to The INN up to $250. 

The INN also provides emergency shelters, long-term housing, and a social services resource center, The center for Transformative Change, where guests can find support with finding housing / applying for benefits / booking medical appointments / collecting mail.

During the COVID crisis The INN has remained opened 5 days a week and is providing over a 1,000 meals a day to those in need.

Their website is https://the-inn.org/

We invite you to join us for a new online event to learn and connect with members of the museums, cultural heritage and DAM community. Learn how today's infrastructure and technology supports art and culture, and how a Digital Asset Management system is becoming the creative link between technology and art.

You'll hear keynotes from the industry's leading experts, participate in panel discussions, and network with fellow professionals. We will address key topics such as Integration with Digital Collection Management and Web CMS Systems, Video, Metadata, Governance, Rights, AI and Machine Learning, Onboarding, Workflow, the COVID response and more.

Never has there been a more vibrant motivation for the museum community to come together, share experiences and celebrate a collective sense of togetherness.

Registration is free for all museum and non-profit professionals and includes:

- 10+ sessions
- Live Q and A - the chance to get your questions answered by the experts
- Access to the online event platform with presenter profiles and networking opportunities
- A museum specific vendor exhibition with 1-on-1 demos
- Roundtable discussions with your community in the lounges
- Recordings of all sessions to view on demand

This event aims to empower you with the knowledge of how DAM systems are transforming the way museum professionals manage rich media files, centralizing assets so that employees can easily upload, share and access them whenever and wherever they need. Find out just why GLAM needs a DAM!

The growth of digital assets has been phenomenal and the pace of growth AND the importance of managing and monetizing those assets is increasing with each passing month. We've seen it all - from slow incremental change all the way to rapid, disruptive, revolutionary change. We've seen it, discussed it, explored its implications and presented opinions on what to do as a consequence.

We embrace the divergence while observing the commonality of learning needs. Our speakers and panelists who are experts and accomplished leaders in DAM have this firmly in mind as they share their experiences with our audience. Their insights are practical; their work is far-reaching; they deal with how digital assets impact everyday business and what must be done as a consequence.

According to a study by Intuit, small business owners with no employees average $44k of revenue per year while small business owners with 1-4 employees average $387k of revenue per year. 97.5% of Black women businesses in the United States do not have a single employee.

Hiring someone to help with your business - whether an employee or a contractor - can feel like a daunting task. After all, you’ve probably gotten used to doing everything yourself and the idea of hiring someone else feels out of reach financially. But the numbers above tell a different story. The reality is, your business can’t afford to NOT hire someone once it reaches a certain stage.

In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to know when to hire your first or next employee/contractor, including writing a job description, creating an interview process, determining salary and rates, and creating a positive work environment.

One out of five businesses fail in the first two years and one of the main reasons why is not having a clear system for running your business. Usually, most of us go into business to solve a problem or fill a need.

We never anticipated we’d also have to be our own accountant, bookkeeper, human resources, insurance specialist, and personal assistant too! This workshop will help you set up your business to run like a machine.

We’ll go deep on topics around cash flow, taxes, invoicing, loans, bank accounts, insurance, retirement, etc. You know, the fun stuff :)

We were all hit hard by the pandemic, but Black-owned businesses were hit the hardest. 41% of Black owned businesses shut down at the beginning of the pandemic vs. 17% of White owned businesses. POC businesses overall have a harder time accessing capital (including those PPP loans), less savings reserves, and are more likely to have funding gaps. The pandemic exposed the racial wealth divide in all aspects of our economy, especially our small businesses. Small business owners are some of the most creative and resilient folks out there. You know because you’re one of them. Through a generous grant, Brunch & Budget has partnered with GA to offer a small business workshop series designed to help POC build financially resilient businesses that can weather the most uncertain times.

In the ever-changing landscape of technology, we are all designers. As designers, we are responsible for creating worlds of experiences, environments, services, and systems that impact millions of people – with lasting impacts.

In the sophisticated world of technology where accessibility is critical to one’s experience, there is more to be done to elevate its power. What else can we do with UX & design to broaden technology’s reach and what are the design solutions we can build into our services and products to make them more consciously inclusive?

Join GA and Product by Women for this discussion where design experts will discuss how we can make technology more inclusive for the blind, deaf and disabled users by designing & building products that level the playing field for all users.

It can be a confusing feeling when you find yourself in a rut. There seems like there's a to-do list of things to do to get unstuck but you can't seem to rally behind any of those things and get started. In this workshop, we'll chat about how to understand the why behind your feelings, where to look when you need extra motivation and how to switch up your habits.

Takeaways

• What it means when you feel stuck
• How to find motivation when you're lost
• Ways to identify your habits and how to find new ones
• How to pause procrastination and check things off your to-do list

Any fans can agree, your playlist is gold and its recommended songs list doesn’t fall short either. But, despite how personalized it feels, it’s not your best friend pouring hours into this hyper-curated mixtape. It’s data science — algorithmically connecting the infinite data points between songs you like (and dislike), artists your friends like, and so on to forecast what you will like. With every skip, save, and share, more data is collected to make smarter recommendations — and keep you listening.

In this webinar, you'll learn from industry experts who have mastered the art of using data to deliver an exciting and unique experience of music en masse. You'll walk away with a better understanding of where data is taking the future of music, how data is empowering artists as well as listeners, and how music uses data to give you a personalized online music experience.