XHTML/CSS provide a better MTV experience

While scoping Simple Bits the other day I saw that the new MTV.com has officially launched. Granted, I was a huge MTV fan growing up. The web experience though, for years, has simply sucked. Engineered predominantly as a Flash based broadband beast, it kept a lot of dialup users from enjoying the experience (i.e. ME).

Fortunately Dan Cederholm and Simple Bits have put the power of XHTML and CSS to use and have really cleaned up MTV.com. No more do I have to wait 5 minutes for anything to load. It's clean, it's simple and it still has that MTV feel. Great job guys!

Plain and simple - web standards the evolution of keeping things simple is finally getting some mainstream attention. What is even more astonishing is that there are a lot of people that don't even realize it.

School nearing year's end

2006-2007 proved to be quite a year for me.

Then again, I'm glad to see it gone. Just one more semester and I'll have my Bachelor's of Science in Media Studies - Web Design. Then - its off to a career.

One wonders how time can pass by so fast. The fact of the matter is, we have no conscience of time when we are having fun.

Thanks to everyone for making this a memorable year. I shall now go slave in the libraries so that I will perform nicely on my exams & finals.

Good luck to you all!

Why I would be an effective web candidate

Typically I never have a problem finding inspiration to write an article. In this installment I will discuss some of my positive points on why I feel employers should look into me for their companies.

Web Design and Development isn't "work"
I think this is very important with the success of hiring efficient and effective employees. Personally, I do not see web design or development as "work" or a "job". Not to say I don't take it seriously, that is not it at all. The fact of the matter is that I can wake up each and everyday and not feel drained from it. I LOVE what I do and that is why I want to make it a career one day.

Knowledge Junkie
This is very important in my industry just because technology and the way society uses it is constantly changing. I adore learning new techniques and methods of implementation. It is nice to keep up to date with new software too because it keeps you one step ahead of the game. I must admit - I am guilty of spending more time in my university's library reading material related to my field rather than what relates to my homework.

Honest About What I Know - And What I Don't
This is a very important trait in anyone, in any field, and in any location. Nothing will drive a person up the wall more is when they find out someone has lied about their abilities. It saves a lot of time, money, and stress when you are just straight forward about something being outside of your abilities.

Challenges are nice
I feel I am at my best when I am challenged. We all are. If you have no challenges laid in front of you then you will only accomplish what you KNOW you can do. Challenges arise, they take us out of our loop and we see exactly what we are made of.

Top 5 Reasons I blog...

Thanks to Chris Pund, I will be posting the top 5 reasons I blog.

Networking
This is pretty much a gimmie. With a blog I can keep people up to date with my adventures and also add feeds from people I've come across at conferences, college, and more.

Decloud my brain
For those that know me, I'm a thinker. I enjoy writing various articles just to relax. By writing these, it also allows me to discard information that I don't necessarily need to retain. It also helps me to remember certain things.

Finding resources
I wouldn't be half the web nerd I am without RSS Feeds, bookmarks, and blogs that combine all of the above.

Test ideas
Post an idea. See how long it takes your friends to laugh or pat you on the back.

Keep others up to date
Okay.. its obvious. But really - think of how much time it saves just to send the news to one area and let people come to that area. It's practical for time management.

Okay.. that's not really five, but it encompasses a lot of the reasons why I blog. What are your five reasons?

A must read from the Tech events

I forwarn, this is a very upsetting, yet uplifting article. To say my emotions were not stirred would be an understatement.

This is a story from one person that was in one of the classrooms...

http://colmanfamilyupdates.blogspot.com/2007/04/details.html

Interviews - the dynamics

How exactly can you survive an interview these days?

I've been through my fair share of job interviews and all of them really have had their perks and unique traits. I've had various settings, including over lunch, e-mail, phone, and directly in the office. Today I personally finished a phone interview with Webmail.us and it was probably the most professional I've experienced to date.

This company means serious business and they really read your resume. To me this shows importance of who they employ and that they really take the time to make the right decision. The contact that I was interviewed by was very professional, was respectful of what I was wanting to accomplish and asked me one thing I have yet to hear during an interview - "What do you want to achieve in the next few years?"

With this I have been motivated to write 5 job interview tips that I feel made this interview a success.


1. Do your research
I feel that the person that interviewed me was impressed that I had prior knowledge of the company and what exactly they represent, their employees, and the products they developed. This is essential to both you and your employer - its best to know what you're up for.

2. Always have a Plan B
Believe it or not, I was going for one job and the interview was directed into another job more suited to my talents. Always be ready for discussion on topics OTHER than the job you've placed your resume in for. You'd be surprised what may come up!

3. Just relax
I personally caught myself getting overly nervous during the first few minutes of the interview. Once I took a few deep breaths and seconds to reflect I was on the go. Remember - it's just an interview - not the end of the world. The company is getting to know you, not judging you.

4. Check your resume not once, not twice, but at least three times.
Commonly people use a resume for various job applications. I personally tailor my resume for the jobs I go after. This time around I unwittingly forgot to put my phone number on my resume. This was a huge goof on my part but fortunately my interviewer was cool with it. Other tips for this include:

• Keep it to one page minimum if you are just out of high school or college
• can be more than one page if you have a doctorate or lengthy work experience
• Spice it up - don't use a typical Microsoft Word template - you want to grab their attention
• Use relevant experience. Just because you worked at McDonald's doesn't mean you didn't gain experience that could be used to treat customers effectively.

5. Be confident of your abilities
This occurs sometimes with the best of us. No matter how experienced you are, you could feel that you don't make the cut. Remember - if they've taken the time to pull your resume and interviewed you, then you definitely have something to say about yourself.

Virginia Tech Tragedy

Last Monday changed my life forever. Never in a million years could I have imagined something so terribly cruel could happen – let alone fifteen minutes away from me!

Someone I used to play basketball against in high school was killed. A few friends of my friends were killed. It is eerily awakening how many close ties people had with the horrific events and they may not even realize it.

Trying to cope with it all has been tough, especially with the final week of classes and exams peeking up. I’m not even at Virginia Tech and its stressful for me – I can’t even imagine the real Orange and Maroon feel.

One way to help out and relieve the stress was the development of www.rememberhokies.com . This is not the official memorial web site for the horrific events that occurred at Virginia Tech. This is however my way of providing a resource for those that has been apart of these incidents and as a way to remember those 33 students and faculty that were tragically killed.

To all of the Hokies - hold your heads up high and proud. Remember those that have unfortunately fallen. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever in the future we shall all walk hand in hand as HOKIES.