How’s your eye? Your eye for graphic design, that is. Whether you’re formally trained or self-proclaimed, the Twing directory is overflowing with graphic design forums that focus on every aspect of good (and bad) design.

Twing’s all for developing your inner artist! Let us help you discover forums that focus on design tools like Adobe products, Quark, and Photoshop. Or let us show you where to debate the finer points of design principles, in forums dedicated to discussions about typeface, printing resources, or photo editing.

Looking for an even more tailored niche? We’ve found forums just for desktop publishing, web design, sign graphics, logo design, scrapbooking, even airbrush art! And no matter what kind of designer you are, you won’t want to miss the forums we’ve found that include design contests, job search, and online critique.

With over 70 graphic design forums in the Twing directory, it’s hard to highlight just a few favorites. So, instead, here are some of the most active in the bunch with links to recent discussions:

• Airbrush Artists’ Resources by Mike Learn
• Graphic Design Forum
• Graphicsteck
• LAYERS Magazine Forums
• TalkGraphics

Pop quiz: What’s the surest way to slim down (and stay that way)? Don’t go it alone! With more than 40 diet and dieting forums in the Twing directory, it’s easier than ever to get involved in a community that gets you results.

For starters, visiting an independent, diet-specific forum is a great way to sidestep corporate marketing promises and talk directly to other dieters about the ins and outs of different eating plans. After all, aren’t the real experts simply dieters who’ve been there, done that…and now live to tell about it? There are forums for carb counters, diet meal delivery programs, Weight Watchers, glycemic index-based diets, Oprah-inspired diets, you name it. And how about those diet pills, shakes, and other gimmicks you’ve seen advertised on billboards and TV: Do they really work? Forums are the place to get honest answers from real people who’ve tried them.

Is willpower your biggest problem? Dieting forums give you a 24/7 place to report your progress, give and get support, and discuss your goals with others who’ve walked in your shoes. They also provide a sounding board for managing weight-loss challenges like medical conditions, binging and overeating habits, body image issues, saboteurs, even vegetarianism.

What’s more, the same forum that stands by you through a weight loss can be there afterward to help you with maintenance. You’ll find yourself debating which skinny clothes to buy, talking about new foods to try, and easing yourself out of the mindset of a dieter and into the mindset of someone who simply eats right.

Ready to get started? Here’s a list of the most active diet and dieting forums in Twing’s directory, plus links to their most recent posts:

• 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community
• Bootcamp Buddies: Weight Watchers Support Forum
• South Beach Diet Bulletin Board
• Raw Food Diet Forum
• Lap Band Support Forum

Where do military members and their families go for information, camaraderie, and support? To online military forums, including the 50-plus you’ll find in the Twing directory.

Active members of the military use online forums to talk about fieldcraft, military weapons, recruiting and training issues, mental toughness, injury and recovery, and more. Forums are also a place to have open and honest discussions about military activism, advocacy, and career progression.

Veterans use military forums to locate old buddies, communicate with their units, monitor veterans memorials, and get POW/MIA updates. They’re also a place to discuss tough topics like post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and agent orange exposure. And forums can help with the practical side of military service, too, by providing answers to questions about VA procedures, disability claims, and other veterans benefits.

For those who are considering joining the military or who are in the early stages of training, forums are a chance to hear what life is like as a soldier, officer, and in life-long military careers. Forums are also the place to talk about preparing for boot camp and what happens during and after basic training.

Still, military forums aren’t only for members of the military themselves. You’ll also find forums for military spouses, parents, and families, where the talk focuses on coping with deployment (before, during, and after), troop support, and grieving and loss. And since no one understands the practical concerns of one military family better than another, there are plenty of helpful discussions about military housing, home economizing, and adjusting to frequent moves.

We’ve listed some of the most active military forums in the Twing Directory, below. The high quality of conversation and advice being exchanged is impressive, so check them out!

• Air Force Enlisted Forums
• Air Warriors
• Armchair General
• Army Cadet Force Forums
• Army National Guard Forums
• Marine Corps Community for USMC Veterans
• Military Significant Other and Spouse Support
• Navy Seals.com
• USMC Hangout
• Veterans Resources.org

For you kids that didn’t catch the original Mission Impossible Series or Tom Cruise’s more recent MI movies, Mr. Phelps, (played by Jim Graves), started with a self-destructing tape. On it, Phelps would be always have the option to reject his mission. He never did of course. And it seems the only thing 23-year-old Michael Phelps is rejecting is his opponents.

Phelps on the Boards

No. He hasn’t switching to diving. But on the Bulletin Boards / Forums, he’s become a hot topic real fast. Neilsen BuzzMetrics’ Blog post has the blogosphere temperature rising on Michael Phelps as well.

You can see how quickly Michael Phelps has heated up the discussion pool across the forums with this Buzz Chart from Twing.com

(Click on the chart for the full size version.)

Find out what people saying about Michael Phelps on the boards. This is likely to only heat up more later today as he goes for Gold number 7. (As I write this, it’s Friday, 8/15 2:00 PM EDT, so by “today” I mean in Beijing where it’s already Saturday.) If he wins the 100 m butterfly, then all that’s in his way is the 4 x 100 m Medley Relay, where he’ll have to rely on his teammates as well has himself as he did in the past two relays. As we know, those turned out to be Olympic Gold and world record efforts.

Scott

Most brand managers are thrilled when some celebrity du jour gets candidly caught brandishing their company’s bling or soft drink or whatever. But what about when the celebrity doesn’t quite match the brand. It’s bad enough, (from Disney’s perspective) for 15-year-old Miley Cyrus, (a.k.a. Hannah Montanna), to be part naked in a photo shoot. (History here.) But at least in that case, Disney can say, “Hey kid, you wanna’ keep earning the big $$$, chill on the Paris wannabe.

These days, between WhateverTube and Twitter and this and that, anyone can be Paparazzi. And anyone can be a spokesperson. Leaving aside outright hoaxes, (like the Janet Hoax where Janet is not really an Exxon representative on Twitter), there’s other real issues.

Porno & Parmigina

The Wall Street Journal has recently recounted the story of super hottie Kendra Wilkonson’s love for the Olive Garden.  The WSJ article subhead, Olive Garden Has Mixed Feelings About Its Biggest Celebrity Fan, says it all. In essence, the company isn’t thrilled given it’s family orientation. Still, it’s not like they want to say, “hey, we don’t want people being happy about our product.” More likely, this is just an annoyance to PR people who answer the call “Hi, what’s your position on this Kendra thing.” The answer, initially, was probably something like, “What Kendra thing.” Or… maybe they were monitoring their brand online and saw it coming.

Now, if they had been using Twing Forum Search to search for Oliver Garden in the forum space, maybe they would have had an earlier heads up. So regardless of how they’d choose to respond, it not only wouldn’t be a surprise, but they might get a sense of what people thought of this.

They might have even noticed a July uptick in their relative popularity and clicked in deeper to see what was going on if they were using Twing’s Buzz Charts.

The Lessons Continue

It’s all very simple. Be aware of your brand in social media or be surprised. It’s always better to have an early read on what’s going on and be able to respond rather than react.

Bottom Line: Your customers are talking. It’s just not always to you.

Scott