Six Revisions features Shane’s list for Santa

Thanks to Shane’s hard work, my Christmas list is almost complete.  With a few changes, additions and omissions, I’ll be ready to pass my list on to Santa.  Having trouble coming up with your list?  Check out Shane’s, and inspiration will flow.

Shane is featured on Six Revisions with a list of “25 Awesome Gift ideas for Designers & Developers.”  The gifts range from $4 to $1,199 (for those who love me most and only want the best for me).  My favorites include the Moleskin Notebook ($12), Paper Email ($4), Lynda.com subscription ($375) and Threadless monthly t-shirt ($200).

Below, Shane answers a few questions about blogging and success.

When did you start Three Styles?
I am not sure of the exact day, but my Analytics started tracking visitors on August 10th, 2009.

How often do you update your own blog?  How much time weekly do you spend?
I try to do at least one post a week.  This keeps consistency and it also allows me to go more in-depth in that specific post. I spend about 2-7 hours writing each post depending on how in-depth each one is.

How did you end up writing for Six Revisions?  How did it feel knowing you were going to be a featured writer?
I was given the opportunity to write for him because I was proactive in getting my name out there.  One of the first tutorials I did for my blog was how to create a CSS Drop down menu, so I went out on a limb and contacted a few big blogs to see if they would  like to use my tutorial.  None of them used it because I had already posted it on my blog and they like original content, but he read through my tutorial and enjoyed it and right then and there gave me the opportunity to be a guest author.  He said I really like your work how would you like to write for Six Revisions.

I was extremely excited that he gave me the opportunity to become a featured writer.  I probably looked like a little boy about to get ice cream when that email came through.

Who came up with the topic?  How did you choose your list.  Do you have any PC alternatives to the Mac programs you suggested?  Some of us aren’t so lucky to have a Mac and we (I) feel left out.
Jacob (Six Revisions owner) and I had been emailing back and forth about a layout post I was doing for him and I had an idea that I decided i’d pitch to him.  I asked him if he’d be interested in a christmas list for web designers and developers.  He sent me an email back saying thats a great idea lets get it done quickly so people have time to shop.

As far as choosing the items on the list goes I took a lot of the items that I use or would love to have and just went through Google to find pictures and information.

PC Alternatives:
Textmate Alt:  http://www.e-texteditor.com/

Do you read the comments and find the tweets?  How does it feel to be read by many?  Any especially interesting comments you’ve read (if you read them)?
Oh yes!  I love to read the comments because thats why I do it.  I have learned a lot of what I know today from current design blogs.  So I decided to take that step to make a difference in other peoples lives just like they’ve done for mine.

I can’t describe in words how great it feels.  He has close to 42,000 subscribers, wow… just blows my mind.

Here are some comments that I enjoyed:

• “This is a great list, I want to send it to my family.  Thanks for the post Shane.”
• “Love the list! Perfect for the geeks in the house. Will reference on our Geek Gifts show on Tech in Twenty SV.”

A lot of them took the time to see who wrote the article and thanked me in the comments.  I love it!

What’s it like seeing your picture?
Haha, well I’m not big on pictures but in this case I’ll have to get over it.  It is nice seeing it hopefully this will lead to more articles on more and more blogs until Shane Jeffers and Three Styles becomes a “household” name in the design blog community.

Any advice to the aspiring blogger?  Social networks (such as digg, bump, etc.)?  Do you think they are important to your success?  What do you attribute the success you have found to?
My best advice is to not give up and push yourself to a higher level each and every day.  Like I said above, I would not be where I am today if I didn’t want it and strive for it.  I wouldn’t have half the HTML or CSS knowledge I have today if I just went through my classes and learned a bit.  It’s all about personal study and the attitude that your going to be the best (while staying humble as well).

Yes social networks are extremely important in the world of blogging.  I currently use Designbump, Designmoo, Delicious, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg and a few others.

I think the biggest reason I have been successful so far is because I am providing quality content that users find helpful.  There is still a long road to be traveled in this department and hopefully in the future my blog will gain the same success as his.

Shane is president of OSWM.  Read Shane’s featured article at http://sixrevisions.com/resources/25-awesome-gift-ideas-for-designers-developers/.  And while you’re at it, why not add Three Styles to your Google Reader (or RSS feeder of your choice) to catch more helpful tutorials and articles.

Got another question for Shane?  Why not add it in the comments?

No Club Breaks This Week

There will be no club breaks this week, so we will not be having our club meeting.  We hope you all have a great rest of the term and good luck with finals.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of the leaders via email or Gmail chat.  We are always willing to assist you in any way possible.  If you still need webspace, PLEASE email Myrnalyn at myrnalyn21@gmail.com by the end of the fourth week of any term to receive your settings by the beginning of next term.  You NEED to get your portfolio up on the web and on the OSWM site.  Employers are indeed looking at our website, so you can definitely get great opportunities during your time at ECPI.  You can keep your webspace up until 6 months after you graduate.

See you all next term!

OSWM Meeting Minutes from 11/18/09

Date:  November 18, 2009
Time:  10:17 AM – 10:49 AM

Overview/Announcements:

• New opportunities are available for OSWM Members.  There are about ten projects in waiting for members to volunteer for.  One in particular is from a gentleman willing to pay by hour and has a possible job opening for full-time employment for those who know how to use Joomla, an open source content management system.  For those interested should contact one of the leaders.

   

• The need for portfolios was once again stressed.  Without a portfolio, most employers will not even set up an interview, nevermind hire someone.

   

• A new section has been added to the OSWM site.  The Dev Spotlight is dedicated to web development companies in the Hampton Roads area.  We list information about the company, their history, portfolio, and more in hopes that it will inspire OSWM members to find a niche in the web development business and to excite us about the potential places we can work.

   

• There is also a new OSWM page in which members can now log into, which will soon be fully customizable.  It features available projects, tutorials, current contest information, member information and links, and an area to cast your opinion anonymously.

   

• ECPI is now using social media networking like Facebook for advertisements.  We will be using design applications and the right sidebar advertisements for not only ECPI but also OSWM advertisements.  Those who are interested should contact Mat Howard at hipfunkyjive@gmail.com.

   

• More workshops are soon to come on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and HTML to WordPress coding.

   

• The OSWM Hallway Board Contest has ended.  Only five entries were submitted.  The winners will be announced and prizes will be handed out at the next club meeting.

Meeting and Wednesday Workshop TODAY!

Although it is short notice, we will have our meeting TODAY in room 402 at 10:15am.  We will be discussing the winners of the billboard contest.

Also, the Wednesday Workshop will be in room 402 TODAY from 1pm to 3 pm.  Once again, so sorry for the short notice!

Resources Available at the ECPI Library

Do you need to learn a little more about XHTML before your big final? Are you in need of some cool CSS ideas or some Photoshop tutorials? Well why not check out the library right here on the ECPI campus?

There are a lot of books and magazines that can provide web design students with a lot of information and hands-on training. Best of all? All of these books are available for you to use for free! Cool huh?

You can also find school textbooks in the library – so if you know you will be having a certain class (Javascript anyone?) in a term or two (or ten) why not stop by and check out the textbook you will be using in class?

A couple reads I recommend are “The Zen of CSS Design: Visual Enlightenment for the Web” which is a great book on good CSS (cascading style sheet) design that includes some gorgeous ideas (and how to DO them!) and any of the “Dummies” series (there is a “Building Websites for Dummies” book!)

Also check out the magazine section where you will find “Mac World” and “Photoshop Creative” – I know that “Photoshop Creative” is a pricey magazine (much like “.Net Magazine”) and it’s great that it’s sitting in our library (CD included!) I would recommend bringing in your flash drive and saving some of the CD tutorials – they will come in handy!

The officers and advisors of OSWM want all of its members to be SUCCESSFUL! We hope you take advantage of all the resources you have at your fingertips!

OSWM Team Bulletin Board Design Contest

In our continuing efforts to develop student related activities for OSWM, we are pleased to announce an opportunity to create eye-catching designs to advertise OSWM to current and prospective ECPI Web development students.

The contest is tailored to encourage teamwork. All team members that contribute to the project must be listed as a team member.

Students are encouraged to be creative; we are looking for unique, informational, and original designs that best represent OSWM and its members.  Feel free to experiment!

Contest Requirements:

1. Only OSWM members are eligible to participate.
2. Teams consist of 4 members.
3. Teams are welcome to submit 2 entries.
4. Typographic based design
5. Design must be able to fit a bulletin board that is 3h X 4w or 4h X 5w.

Submissions:

Entries must include the following:

• Team Members names
• 1 or 2 entries in a .PSD or .AI file format
• All entries should be sent to lanaeharris@gmail.com

Deadline:

Deadline for receiving entries will be Sunday, November 1, 2009 @ 10pm.
Voting and Judging:

All entries will be posted on the OSWMs website and given an identifying name or number; no names will be posted with entries.

Faculty members will view the entries and pick the best three entries.  There will be a prize for each winning team.

Groups:

Group 1

Matt Howard

Christine Brandt

Joel Stoy

Ben Sebrell

Group 2

Richard Robinson

Rubye Snodgrass

Keeoyna Bradley

Kate Eldrich

Group 3

Shane Jeffers

Mary Pruter

Richard Blake

Renee Brown

Group 4

Myrnalyn Castillo

Lindsay Montgomery

Jennifer Gorski

Samantha Arias

Group 5

Tonya Macionis

Richard Peterson

Matt Cimo

Chelsea Ruger

Group 6

Jim Burns

Daniel Richard

Tess Fadri

Heather Speaker

Group 7

Daniel Burke

Ashley Princeton

Vincent Jordan

Typographic Resources:

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/10-web-typography-rules-every-designer-should-know-2/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/20/typographic-design-survey-best-practices-from-the-best-blogs/

http://www.creativity-portal.com/becreative/activities/typartgraphy.html

Examples (just to get that creative thinking in motion…)

Adobe Boot Camp: A Crash Course for InDesign & Flash

“Join us this November for a first ever Adobe Boot Camp brought to you by AIGA Hampton Roads. We’re breaking apart from our past overview formats and diving into much more detail this year with an all day crash course on InDesign & Flash CS4. Come hear from local experts Sean Cooke (InDesign) & Benjamin Mace (Flash) as they walk through examples of multi-paged print layouts and transform them into interactive content for the web.

Choose from either a full day option covering both suites or pick a 1/2 day session that appeals most to you. Snacks and drinks will be provided during breaks and a catered lunch will be served for attendees selecting the full day of sessions.”

ECPI students get huge discounts since it will be held at the school, so make sure you sign up in time for the early bird tickets!  For more information, read up on it here:

http://www.aigahamptonroads.org/events/68

Club Meeting and Wednesday Workshop

Just as a reminder, the club meeting will be on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 from 10:15am to 10:45am in room 402.

Also, we’ll be having our Wednesday Workshop on October 14, 2009 from 1pm to 3pm in room 402. We’ll be working in Photoshop! Come join us and bring a friend if you’d like

Sumo Paint

“Sumo Paint is a full featured photo editing / painting application, which works right in your favorite web browser! The application can be used in Windows, Macintosh or Linux operating systems. The only requirement is the Flash Player (which usually comes preinstalled in any OS).”

Check it out here:  http://www.sumo.fi/flash/sumopaint/

Logo Design Contest Winners!!

I just wanted to thank everyone who participated in the logo design contest.  It is very exciting to see a business man like Eric get excited about the services we offer.  The contest was very succesful and we couldn’t have done it with out you guys.
 
I also want to congratulate the winners of the contest!
 
 
1st Place : Mat Howard $200

 
2nd Place : Jim Burns $100

 
 
Please don’ be discouraged if you didn’t win.  Hopefully we were all able to take something away from Eric’s critiques so we can improve our performance in the next contest.
 
On a lighter note check out the projector disaster at the Announcment
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ePXdQuaU8
 
 
Thanks again everyone!!

 

–Shane, OSWM President