Thanks to all of those who attended the Imulus 3rd Thursday presentation on HTML5 last night. We had some great discussion and topic review. Today we’ve placed the presentation website live at http://html5.imulus.com.

Here are the additional links that got mentioned during the meetup.

• The League of Movable Type
• Font Squirrel @fontface typefaces
• Hot Shoo imagery
• Border Radius quick grab site
• CSS 3 generator / quick code creation
• HTML5 for Web Designers — A logic and semantic based review of HTML5

This should be everything that was covered, however, if you find something missing feel free to add a comment with a link. We’ll jump on it ASAP.

Updates: A few more HTML5 resources in the list.

For those responsible with switching sites from one server to another there’s a sure-fire way to quick propagation. It’s done by lowering the TTL (time-to-live) settings from a typical default of either an hour or day, down to 5 minute intervals. I’ll show you how.

First gain entry into you DNS server. In this example I’m using GoDaddy’s Total DNS Control (even though the UI is terrible).

Click on Advanced Mode, change the dropdown for TTL to 1/2 hour. This is the lowest GoDaddy goes but other interfaces, like Probind allow you to drop the intervals by manually entering an number. When finished click OK and you’re done.

I suggest starting the process about 1 week before the site is ready to go live. That gives servers across the web ample time to update their caches in advance of your update. Make the IP change when you are ready to update the server IP and you’ll notice a much quicker transition.

BONUS TIP: Also, we HIGHLY recommend using the free OpenDNS service. This system is a savior for giving us almost instantaneous ability to view DNS changes the moment they happen.

My long time friend Erik Reagan (@ErikReagan) runs a website by the name of TextMate Tips. It’s a useful resource for keeping up to date with interesting TextMate hints, shortcuts, and utilities. Further, the site is open for contribution and is always on the look out for new and interesting TextMate uses.

If your a fan of TextMate you should definitely check it out and maybe give it a bookmark if you’re feeling extra generous.

For a more basic reflection tutorial find it here. To start, paste your image into a new Photoshop file. Be sure to leave some room at the bottom for your reflection.

To make the photo appear to be receding back, transform the top layer by selecting Edit > Transform > Perspective.

Select one of the corners and drag up enough to make the photo look like it is receding into the background (don’t overdo it) Once you’re done, hit RETURN.

In order to complete the perspective, you need to scale the photo so it doesn’t look stretched. Select Edit > Transform > Scale.

Select one of the side handles and drag over enough to make the photo look like it has maintained the original proportions (once again, don’t overdo it) Once you’re done, hit RETURN.

Next, duplicate the layer your image is on by right clicking the layer and select: Duplicate Layer.

Now select the bottom layer, and under edit > transform> Flip Vertical.

Use the selection tool and move the image down so that the bottom corner of the top layer is touching the top corner of the bottom layer.

With the bottom layer still selected, transform the bottom layer to match the edges of the top layer. Choose Edit > Transform > Perspective. Select the side handle and drag it up till the edges are touching the top layer.

Still using that same bottom layer, create a new layer mask.

Select the gradient tool, and make sure that your foreground color is black and your background color is white. In the gradient options, select linear foreground to background.

Make sure you still have the mask layer selected (you will see lines bordering the corners). Hold down shift and apply a gradient from the bottom of the canvas to the top of the bottom image (make sure you do this in the middle of the canvas.

Apply an opacity to your bottom layer (and crop the canvas if you’d like), and you’re done!

More reflection tutorials to come. Stay tuned.

How do you manage a Twitter account on behalf of a brand, product or service?

Lately we've been managing more Twitter accounts on behalf of our clients. Everyone seems to be jumping on the Twitter bandwagon (for good reason) but most aren't sure how to climb aboard. I've put together this "Brand Voice" document to help agencies and companies figure out how to frame the conversation of managing their Twitter account(s).

I'd really appreciate any additions, changes or deletions that you may have:

Characteristics

1. Please describe the product or service in less then 140 characters.
2. Please describe the personality of the product or service in terms of a human voice? (conversational, warm, casual, friendly)
3. How does this voice talk about the competition? (friendly, aggressive, indifferent)
4. What will be the general message of this voice? (customer support, informational, industry news and events)

Audience Profile

1. Please describe the ideal community composition?
2. Is there a difference between how product or service is perceived by a current customer versus a potential customer?
3. Are there application where you would like to see the product or service more widely used?

Management

1. Will other parties, or the company be interested in managing the account(s) along with Imulus?
2. What is the companies’ position on following people? (Follow all or follow us; follow those who are interested in our topics; or follow those who send us Tweets)
3. How would you like us to balance the follow / follower ratio? (1:1, more followers; follow more)
4. If a topic or question escalates to a point where we can’t find an answer or proper response, who can help us within the company?

Content Resources

1. Where or who should we look to at the company to provide us with the most current news, events and inside information?
2. Which websites do your customers frequent?
3. Can we alert your Twitter community of upcoming news before other outlets are made aware? If so, how much lead time can we usually expect?
4. How frequent would you like to see updates to the account(s)? (Once a day, 3 times a day, throughout the day)
5. What keywords would your audience be using in day-to-day conversation around your product or service

Final Thought

I'd be neglecting my duties if I didn't point you to this tutorial on "How to Use Twitter for Marketing and PR". The simple truth is you can't look at Twitter as another marketing channel; a megaphone for your company to spout garbage to the world. Rather, I suggest tweeting with the mindset of having coffee with a new friend or acquaintance. Don't begin by telling them how great you are. Ask questions; really immerse yourself in the conversation, but also know when to shut your mouth.

Good luck, please pass over the recommendations for improvement!