Learn the Skills: Infographic Design for Dummies

Infographics require a lot of creative thinking, design knowledge, and some practice.

But what if you’re just getting started and are looking to build these skills? Well, we have the guide for you. That and more in today’s Social Media Roundup:

DIY Infographic Design

An infographic about making infographics! How meta! http://t.co/tsm2nRSq  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab)

— Elizabeth Engel (@ewengel) December 7, 2012  (opens in a new tab)

Don’t know the first thing about Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign? There are tools out there that can give you a leg up, fortunately. LifeHack offers a few useful ideas on this front, along with some tips. “Don’t just slap useless numbers on a chart,” writer Liz Seda explains  (opens in a new tab). “Your infographic needs to have a clear and strong beginning, middle, and an end. It must read like a story, not like an excerpt from a trivia book.” She also suggests a few tools to get you started, including Piktochart  (opens in a new tab). (As a guy who has a graphic design background, one tip I’d add: Don’t lean too heavily on these tools; nurturing the talent is totally worth it, too.) Have you tried your hand at creating infographics before? How’d you do? (ht @ewengel  (opens in a new tab))

How to Lose Friends & Disengage People

http://twitter.com/djmcknight/status/277104103161724929

A bit of snark to end your week: According to The Demand Perspective’s Andrea Pellegrino, there are a lot of ways to make your members feel less welcome. With tongue in cheek, she offers seven  (opens in a new tab). Here’s a sample from #2: “Every member wants to be treated like an anonymous face in the crowd. So, don’t address them by name, or target your messaging to them based on their needs, interests, or history with your organization,” she explains. “Call them ‘Dear Member,’ or ‘Dear Renewing Member’—or better yet: ‘Dear Friend.’” Hit a little close to home? Check out her entire piece, which has more snarky zingers like that one. (ht @djmcknight  (opens in a new tab))

What are you reading today? Let us know in the comments.