Websites

  • November 14, 2010

    Links Round Up for 11/14/10

    Recommended listening for the week: Christina Perri. Her current single is ‘Jar of Hearts’

  • November 9, 2010

    Small Business Websites

    Yesterday I read a very interesting article in the USA Today about the 7 Deadly Sins of Website Creation. The article (actually entitled, ‘What should a small business’ website do?’) talks about just how important a good website is for a small business. After reading it, I couldn’t agree more. A while back the local paper published a story about how the writer was able to set-up a sufficient website for a local business completely free of charge using wordpress.com, and I was pretty appalled at the article. I knew it clearly wasn’t written by a professional web developer, just a hobbyist. In any case, I took this article to my students to see what they thought about it and to get their thoughts on websites in general.

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  • May 19, 2010

    My Interview at FreelanceFuse

    Sam McArdle over at FreelanceFuse was nice enough to interview me about being a freelancer- primarily how I started the business and manage my web development projects. I really enjoyed doing the interview (even if he is a Redsox fan!) and appreciate his interest in my business and freelancing in general.

    From his site:

    The FreelanceFuse mission is to create a resource for readers (and listeners) to understand where successful freelancers come from, where they are right now and where they are going in the future. The idea is to provide stories that are so powerful they inspire up and coming freelancers to quit procrastinating and start doing.

    This is a mission I can get behind 100%. So head on over and check out my interview, along with the others there!

    My Interview | FreelanceFuse Home

  • July 7, 2009

    Burke Website Launched

    Cross posted at Manifest Development

    screenAfter several months of design and development, I am proud to announce the launch of Burke Catholic High School’s new website. Burke first came to me back in November seeking a new, more interactive, easier to update website geared towards current students, parents,and prospective families. In development, I created the first iteration of Minerva CMS, a content management system powered by WordPress and geared towards high schools.

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  • March 25, 2009

    Make Twitter Work for You

    twitter

    I’ve noticed lately a lot of my friends joining Twitter, the very popular micro blogging site. I feel like (and this is by all means non-scientific) interest peaked when Facebook rolled out it’s new design, people called it, “a lot like Twitter” and others got curious. The number one comment about Twitter I’m hearing/reading now is, “I don’t get it.” So to all my friends and those new to Twitter, here’s how you can make Twitter work for you.

    The first thing you need to know is that Twitter is a communication tool. You can use it however you want. I describe it to people like this:

    You know the status update feature in Facebook? It’s like that- but only that.

    The people I describe it to have a hard time finding the use in just that, so here are a few suggestions:

    • Follow people in your profession. This might be easier for me because I am a web developer, but if you know big names in the business you happen to be in, see if  they are on Twitter. They usually post interesting links, thoughts, and tips that can be very helpful to you.
    • Stay on top of the news. I follow CNN News Breaks via Twitter, and have Twitter txt message me when CNN updates, so I get breaking news as soon as it happens. Here is a pretty good list of news organizations on Twitter. Chances are you’re favorite one is also on Twitter, even if it’s not listed there.
    • Stay in the loop with companies and organization you like. Twitter is quickly becoming a services companies are using to advertise and reach new markets. This is most apparent with Skittles, but can be seen by other companies too. Try a Google Search of your favorite companies to see what you can find.
    • Straw Polls. Ask a question, people are bound to answer you.
    • Celebs. I won’t hide the fact that I follow both Shaq and John Mayer on Twitter. They are entertaining, and it’s interesting to get a peek into the lives of people that seem like they are in a completely different world from yours. Here is a list of more celebrities on Twitter.
    • Third Party Services. Twitter was smart in making it so developers can access what they have to provide. This has spawned a number of 3rd Party services that extend what Twitter can do. Check out some of them here or simply google “Twitter Apps.”

    And this is a short list- like I said, Twitter is a communication tool. People are coming up with more apps and ideas for Twitter everyday, and it’s being integrated into more and more well established websites and services.

    If you’re interested, my Twitter username is @jcasabona. Feel free to follow.

  • July 28, 2008

    Cuil: First Impression

    Cuil Result for Joe Casabona

    The buzz today has been about Cuil, a new search engine that is challenging the current champion of the interwebs, Google. Pronounced “cool,” Cuil makes the claim to have indexed more pages than Google, and in a better way too! That’s quite the claim, and IMHO, Cuil needs to heat up a bit (sorry).

    Even though I am pretty biased towards Google, if you’re going to challenge them, you better come up big. Cuil certainly does not. My first search was my name, Joe Casabona. The first five results that came up were comments I made on sites, or my name mentioned on another page. The next one was finally my personal site and Google’s first result, Casabona.Org. But as you can see by the pic on the right, they botched that too. The photo with the result, while it kinda sorta looks like me, is not me. I don’t even host that picture. In a Google Image Search of my name, that pic isn’t in the first three pages. What gives?

    The design isn’t that great either. My eyes bounce back and forth between the columns of results, making it difficult to easily find what I’m looking for. And the site is pretty slow. I understand maybe you’re getting more traffic than you expected, but I’m holding you to the fact that you’re claiming to be better than Google.

    Over all, I didn’t have a great experience with Cuil. Besides, since they are ‘changing search,’ what does that mean for my current sites and the way I Search Engine Optimize?