Month: September 2007

  • September 27, 2007

    The Student Freelancer

    classroom

    Over at FreelanceSwitch they have a nice write up on Student Freelancing. As all I’ve really known is student freelancing, I could really relate to this. If I could take one tip from the article to really pass on to other student freelancers or students who want to, I would say this:

    You know what? I’m proud to be a student. I’m proud to be studying something I really do consider a benefit both to myself and society. My clients know that. They know I’m a student and sometimes I don’t have time to do some of their projects. What they also know that I’ll try. As I said before, be honest with your clients. There’s a good chance they also went to college, isn’t there?

    When I first started I was always worried that because I am a student, my clients might look down on me, or try to take advantage of that fact. And you will have those people; except those people will try to take advantage no matter what the situation. Most clients understand that you are a student and are very understanding of deadlines and balancing their work with school. That said, you shouldn’t take advantage of their kindness, because they will also remember that.

    The hardest part is definitely the balancing act, which I feel I’ve mentioned here but is worth reiterating. You need to gage your semester and see what kind of workload you will have as to not over-burden yourself. There will be times where you want to take on one more client, but you may have to put it off. What I am doing now that I am a little older and somewhat established is taking on one or two underclassmen that I think will do a good job. I teach them what I know and send a few jobs their way. That way the client gets the work they need done and you network a little for the future, while giving someone else a good opportunity they may have not had otherwise. College is the best place to network and I suggest everyone take advantage of that fact.

    So am I glad I freelance as a student, even with my free time doing a disappearing act and the stress piling up at times? Absolutely. I have gained a lot of professional experience that I otherwise would not have, and that will help me when I do get out into the real world.

  • September 18, 2007

    Good Things from Google

    Google Presentations

    I know I have been skimping on the posts a little lately, but things are really starting to move with school and the business. Hopefully I’ll be able to write some cool things about what I am doing in grad school. Right now however, I want to talk briefly about 2 things from Google.

    The first is pictured above, and is new to Google Docs today. Presentations have been added to the Word and Spreadsheet support. And from what I have seen already, it looks awesome. You can create new ones or upload current ones, and the interface is pretty easy. You can also share a URL with people to view the Presentation online, and it tells you who is doing so. I will play with in more to review it in depth when I get some time.

    The second is Google Checkout, which I knew about and signed up for, but didn’t really use. I still use PayPal as my online payment method. Well, I did until yesterday. My friend Dan informed me that Google Checkout doesn’t (Does Not) take out a cut from invoices and money requests. That is completely awesome, because when I am requesting money from clients online, the PayPal fees can get a little pricey. It also seems it offers the functionality I was looking for to use in another project. Excellent!

    In the coming weeks I will [hopefully] be looking at these in more depth to write a review on them, but for now I suggest you take a look and let me know what you think!

  • September 10, 2007

    Music- Fall ’07

    Paramore

    I didn’t write too much about music over the summer due to the fact that I was not really impressed by any new music out there. I did see some kick ass concerts, starting with Incubus and ending with the incredible Projekt Revolutions Tour (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM). However, my summer of no new music is made up for in the first two weeks of school.

    Up first is Paramore and their awesome album, Riot!. I am no music reviewer, but they have an awesome sound, and the lead singer, Hayley Williams, has a fantastic and very controlled voice. She is like Avril but with talent. This very young band (the oldest member is 21, Hayley is 18) has some great raw talent and writes some fantastic songs. I listened to their single, Misery Business, and was hooked. You can see just how good they are by checking out their acoustic performances on YouTube.

    Monty Are I

    Up next is Monty Are I and their CD, Wall of People. This band came to my school the first weekend, putting on a really great show, especially considering most of the kids there have never heard of them, myself included. They were energetic and funny; oh, and they rock. They’ve got a great sound of intricate guitar riffs- the classic rock ones, which are highlighted by keyboards and trumpets. Their songs Dublin Waltz and Between the Sheets really showcase this. Another great song is Only the Weak. They introduced it by saying, “This song is about weight lifting and fighting Russians” (a Rocky IV reference) and I think you can really tell they were going for a “Rocky-esq” song. It’s got the build up of songs like Hearts on Fire and Eye of the Tiger, but of course with their spin. Overall, a very enjoyable CD .

    These two bands, along with Rise Against, have really impressed me and I have been listening to them non-stop. They were definitely worth the musically dry summer.

  • September 1, 2007

    How to Develop a Website pt. I

    Design a Website

    Over the summer I did a good amount of web design. I have been developing websites for almost 7 years now and have been inventing and reinventing my process as I’ve gotten older, more mature, and a better developer. This summer I got to evaluate my process to see what I should change about it- how I can make it better. I’ve come up with a five step process to take me from start to finish. Number one, Planning, is by far the most important part.

    A problem I often run into is that user requirements, what a client defines as necessary for their website, change a lot. Recently one client I was working with changed the entire scope of the site, changing the necessary information being posted on it and thus changing just about everything about the site. That is why it is critical to nail down the details as much as possible before any coding starts. Sit down with your client, face-to-face when possible, and ask them to describe in as much detail as possible what they want their website to accomplish. Take down notes and write any of your questions or thoughts down. Then try to formulate something for them. This doesn’t have to be on the spot, and probably shouldn’t be. Schedule a follow-up meeting to make sure you interpreted what the client said correctly.

    At the follow-up meeting, propose something. Most clients will not be computer savvy and will rely on your input. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions as to what you think will work or more importantly, what won’t. They see you as the expert (because you are) and the input is usually welcomed and valued. It’s also important at this follow-up to make any final pre-development changes and tie up lose ends. Add the proposed website/requirements to a contract and both of you sign it and initial each page.

    Once this happens, and you have requirements nailed down and decided on, it’s time to move to part II- the mock up.