3ASWRNXUAHSD

As a proof, this post was the post I made to verify my blog on Technorati.
My Technorati Claim Token : 3ASWRNXUAHS

Edited: November 25th, 2009

5 Qualities that make a Good Designer

Web design stems from graphic design so most aspects of traditional print design apply (apart from the ink and paper). However, there are many unique problems that a web designer faces.

However if you can master the following qualities, you will be in a good position to face these challenges.

1. Be User-Centric
At the heart of good web design is good usability. If a user cannot quickly and efficiently access the information, product or service they have visited for, they will leave with a negative impression of the site and therefore the brand.

Good usability begins with the structure of information. Information architecture is the process of organising information in a logical, intuitive manner so that the user can find their way around the site quickly and painlessly. Get this wrong and the user will lose confidence in the site very quickly. To get this right, you need to step in the shoes of a user and approach the site as they would.

Personas are fictitious individuals who act as stand-ins or ‘archetypes’ of users. Using a variety of different personas for each project can identify patterns and discover what is necessary, what is unnecessary and to differentiate between what is used frequently and what is needed only infrequently.

2. Ensure graphic integrity and originality
Many aspects intrinsic to web design can hinder originality and produce cookie-cutter web sites.

• Templates are used to display content that is dynamic and ever-changing,
• Pages are produced with code that places restrictions on layout not found in print design,
• Technologies restrain the use of typography
• Our carefully laid-out designs can change dramatically on different users systems
• Colours can vary from screen to screen.

So how do we combat this?

3…We Keep learning
The internet changes fast and new developments in web design are being made daily. Its crucial to be in constant touch with new technologies and designs to stay afloat and progress or you risk stagnating. Because of the many challenges faced in the medium – browser inconsistencies, liquid dimensions, accessibility etc – original and creative solutions are discovered all the time and you need to be constantly scouring the web for inspiration.

Stagnation can arise by following flavours of the month and not pushing yourself to discover new techniques. It’s easy to develop a style that you fall back on time and time again. It may save time but you will not be reflecting the brand if every design uses the same style.

4. Remember the Brand
A Web site is an extension of the brand just like the store down the street or the box a product comes in. In many cases the Web site will be the first interaction a customer has with the brand after seeing an advertisement, so it has to compel and reflect the brand’s values.

It is crucial to have a clear understanding of the brand for each project. The personality of a brand can be communicated with sound, animation, feedback and interaction as well as traditional graphic design.

Read the brief, then read it again. Revisit it constantly throughout the design process to ensure to are meeting the clients requirements and expectations.

5. Pay attention to detail
Focusing on “what isn’t right”—can take a design from “nearly there” to “there” and beyond. At times designers present concepts that they believe are 90-100% done. However to the detail-savvy designer, the work appears to be only 50-70% there. You can see the ground work and foundation, but you know it’s just not finished. To take a design to 100% you need to achieve polish and add the touches that will make a design really shine.

The key to embracing details is to think critically about your design. If you think an element isn’t right, try something else until you sure it works. Regardless of how ‘cool’ a particular aspect may be, if it doesn’t serve the design – get rid of it. Never be precious about your designs.

Keep notes while designing—these will form a good basis for a style guide. Consistency displays sophistication and shows that you fully understood and made sound decisions. Consistency should be transparent.

Take regular breaks during the design to step back and take another look. Your own gut reaction will likely be similar to the initial impressions of those who see it for the first time. Always step back and re-evaluate.

Details aren’t easy. They take time and patience, but you’ll be rewarded for your efforts and they are the key to producing something you’ll be proud of.

Conclusion
Web sites are experiences. Not only do we design graphically, but we design user interactions, we design sound and we design journeys.

A Web site isn’t just a two dimensional space rendered on a computer monitor, but a environment that leads a user down a path through space an time, reinforcing brand values.

Edited: July 28th, 2008

The real truth behind SEO Experts

I believe thousands of people get scammed every year by so called SEO Experts. Why? Well, because they can’t distinguish lies from the steel cold truth. Because they are too credulous and there are lots of guys waiting to take advantage from it. And of course, because they want great results with as little expense as possible.

So, how can you distinguish the good SEO companies from the fake ones? Well, first of all, learn not to believe in any of the following stories, that the guys from Hobo-Web put together a couple of days ago. I’ll show you only some of the “best” replicas:

• We cannot show you results for clients as it is 100% confidential - so i guess i should take your word for it, ay mate?
• We KNOW how Google works – well, that surely make you unique. Cause i don’t and i don’t think anyone does, not even Matt Cuts… But hey, that’s just my opinion. You’re the big SEO Expert, you know better…
• Toolbar Page Rank Is Everything – Of course it is. And pigs fly. Oh no, wait, they don’t… That means there’s something wrong with your logic? Ironicaly, the PR myth is so deep-rooted. 90% of my clients ask me about it and demand a PR5+ for their site…
• Submit To 75,000 Search Engines - Since Google, Yahoo and MSN have like 95% of the worldwide market, and you don’t even have to submit your site on them, what are all the other 74997 search engine submission worth?
• We don’t rank for any “seo” terms because we don’t want to – or perhaps because you don’t know how to? Hmmm…

Anyway, clients like to see high figures, so you can’t really blame companies for giving them what they want, can you? But in the end, how can you be sure you won’t be duped when looking for the services of a SEO company? Well’ you can’t, but the risks should be minimal if you take these advices into consideration:

• never sign a company that guarantees you results over night. Because we’re talking about a logical and longtime process that can’t happen over night, and which can’t always have the desired results
• don’t fall for the big numbers: 50.000 search engines, 10.000 first positions in SERPs, thousands of visitors everyday, etc etc
• try to work with companies/people recommended by your friends (or by many others on forums, groups, etc)
• ask for previous work references
• make sure you know what you are asking for and what are you expecting to obtain from a SEO company

Edited: February 14th, 2008

On page SEO checklist

This is a short (actually not so short) checklist of ON page SEO factors i look at when someone asks me to analyze a site. There are others too, more complicated ones. I’ve just decided to share with you the basics… And a little bit more. So, enjoy.

The ON page SEO Checklist

1. The arborescent structure
   • depth of the tree (should be at most 3 levels deep)
   • the logic dependence between levels (the child level has to be a particular case of its parent)
   • Existence of broken parts of the tree
2. Link analysis
   • breadcrumbs (the navigation bar)
   • link structure (related to the structural tree)
   • use only absolute links, no relative ones
   • how is the link built (should contain only lower case words separated with “-”; special character and connection words should be eliminated)
   • length of the link (65 characters top is the best)
   • no duplicate links (different links with same content)
   • links should always end in “/ ” (www.mikesquarter.com/article/) due to server loading problems
   • don’t use links ending with extensions (.htm, .html, .php, etc)
   • number of links on a single page
   • title attribute on each link
3. Menus
   • Important keywords in menus
   • absolute text links
   • using Hs where needed
   • Use CSS menus rather than JS or Flash ones
   • use nofollow on secondary menus where needed
4. Indexing and nofollow
   • use robots and index only the important pages (usually search and secondary pages should be excluded)
   • use nofollow internally
5. Semantics
   • Title, keywords and description – unique for every single page
   • using H1 for title, H2 for subtitle, etc
   • using the Alt attribute for pictures and Title for links
   • using Em, Strong, etc to emphasize parts of the text
   • using internal linking
6. Sitemap
   • use a sitemap
   • the standard of the sitemap
   • put in the sitemap only the links you want to be indexed
7. Coding
   • validate your HTML and CSS code (might be impossible to do this, but take care of the important errors. for example, don’t leave opened tags unclosed, don’t use inappropriate attributes for a tag, etc)
   • external CSS
   • try not to use JS, Flash unless really needed. If you have to use it, make sure you have external JS.
   • Don’t use Frames or iFrames
8. Gallery
   • make sure you have a little bit of content on each picture’s page in the gallery. (A short description of the image would do just fine)
   • use the Alt attribute and try to rename the picture accordingly to what you can see in it (actually, according to what you think users will search on Google to find that picture). Be short and descriptive.
   • use proper navigation in you gallery
   • I would not recommend on using Flash or JS galleries, even though they look quite good. That’s if you want your pictures to be found by Search engines.
9. Other problems
   • personalized 404 page returning proper HTTP status code
   • domain canonicalization
   • table less design would be appreciated (not needed though)
   • keep your page dimension as low as you can (many Internet users in the world still use Dial up you know)

Well, this should help you make a decent analysis on your site.

Edited: February 14th, 2008

Team Inertia – The Office of the Week

On the 6th of September 2007, the relative calm and serenity at Team Inertia Technologies (TI) Web Studio was shattered by besieging Radio Indigo Personnel. Claiming we were their  chosen “Office Of The Week”, and as such, that we were entitled to Big Breakfast at their expense – they then left – only to return with a lavish feast of sandwiches, patties and  of course, coffee, all courtesy Cremeux, Panjim’s most-loved patisserie (Chef Vincent, You Da Man!)!

So much food, so little time! But being the supreme professionals that we are, we soon regrouped our composure and like any IT process here at TI ensured that the food got the  attention it deserved and more! Howzzat for Delivering Outrageous Value!!

While conversation flowed, eased no doubt, by the copious amounts of coffee, that life-blood of the IT industry, being dished out we soon realized that these Radio Indigo guys  weren’t too bad. In fact, anybody who introduces themselves with food can’t be all that bad, can they? A little funny, more than a little crazy perhaps, but definitely not ALL 
that bad… With breakfast winding down, we soon heard the RJ of the Hour, Jolene announcing all over the airwaves to all and sundry, that Team Inertia Technologies IS “The Office  of the Week”!

Now don’t get us wrong, we completely agree with their conclusions, in fact we wouldn’t have blinked if they had to declare us “The Office of The Year” (only extreme modesty  prevents us from claiming any further…). Jolene does her usual song n question routine and while Vernon rallies back with some intellectually stimulating answers, Shaan and  Sujjo nod their heads very soberly in agreement (off the air, of course), and the rest of us take full advantage of the fact that there are now 3 people less at the food…

So after the initial shock of the sudden announcement, the miraculous appearance of food (isn’t there a line in the Good Book extolling those who “feed the hungry” ???), the 45 
seconds of fame and all that, all that’s left is for Mark & Sherwin to click a couple of group photographs and bid a teary-eyed goodbye to us as they make they way back to their HQ  and do whatever it is they do back there.

All in all it was a win-win situation for both parties, Team Inertia and Radio Indigo. They got to meet us and know first-hand what an amazing group of individuals we are, blessed  with talents of no mediocre caliber not that we’d EVER boast about it of course, (being so humble and all remember?) thereby enriching their own lives, because “greatness, no  matter how brief, changes a person” – Gene Hackman (The Replacements). What about us, you ask, how did we benefit? well, we got fed didn’t we?

But seriously, an awesome day, begun in so fine a manner and shared with awesome individuals, with some SERIOUSLY awesome food, what else can a “humble” man ask for?

Edited: September 7th, 2007

Managers and Team Leaders: Are you struggling to get your people to work together more productively?

Are you frustrated with the quarreling, turf wars, and endless delays in decision making in your workplace?

Are you a manager or team leader—executive, manager, front line supervisor, technical manager, or project manager, etc. — who realizes that excellence is a journey, not a destination, but are:

Going to work really shouldn’t be a pain in the rear. An enjoyable and productive workplace is one where people communicate effectively, cooperate in achieving common goals, and commit to doing what’s necessary to get results. People enjoy working where they are challenged to use and improve their skills, and where they are recognized and rewarded for doing good work. It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it?

So why do organizations struggle with creating and achieving excellence in their workplace?

Because most organizations are so caught up in the daily grind that they overlook their opportunities to transform their workplaces into centers of excellence. They get caught up in getting through the crisis of the day instead of addressing the real causes of their problems or preventing problems in the future. Although they have good intentions, they don’t know how to put out the fires and get their people to work together more productively.

Consequently, people get frustrated. Instead of working together as a team, they promote their own agendas, protect their own turf, and resist change. In some cases, cynicism sets in and drags the rest of the organization down.

Promoting excellence in your workplace starts with transforming your mindset and the mindset of your people.

To achieve and maintain excellence, you must change how you think about your work processes, your people, and the results you want to achieve. You must transform your workplace on three levels: personal, interpersonal, and systemic. You must change how people think about themselves, how they interact with each other, and how your work systems support or impede the achievement of excellence.

Edited: September 4th, 2007

Designing Your Site for Web 2.0

Have you heard it? There’s a buzz like never before on the Internet. Everyone is talking about Web 2.0. If you’re like many people, you may think it’s a marketing gimmick and quite an overused statement. If so, you would be at least partially right.
Fortunately, there’s another side to the story. Underneath all of the chatter is a concept that is even more powerful than the hype that surrounds it.
The concept of Web 2.0 started as a conference brainstorming session between O’Reilly and MediaLive International. During their discussion, they analyzed the companies that had survived the dot-com collapse. Interestingly enough, many of these companies had quite a few things in common. Was there a connection? Was the dot-com crash a turning point for the web? O’Reilly and MediaLive believed so. And therefore, Web 2.0 was born.
So, what is it?
Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 as:
“The term Web 2.0 refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online. In contrast to the first generation, Web 2.0 gives users an experience closer to desktop applications than the traditional static Web pages. Web 2.0 applications often use a combination of techniques devised in the late 1990s, including public web service APIs (dating from 1998), Ajax (1998), and web syndication (1997). They often allow for mass publishing (web-based social software). The concept may include blogs and wikis.”
There is no official standard for what makes something “Web 2.0″, but there are certainly a few common attributes that often describe this new culture of transformation.
You can see many of these concepts in sites like Flickr, del.icious, Wikipedia, Amazon reviews, and the eBay reputation system.
Web 2.0 is built on a system of collective knowledge. It provides a social fabric for the Web, empowering the individual and giving them an outlet for their voice to be heard.
However, we have only seen a small glimpse of the effects of these new transitions. Del.icio.us and Digg are just the beginning of what will soon become a much more interactive Web.
Each day there are a variety of new online applications being released: online spreadsheets, online word processing, to-do lists, reminder services, and personal start pages.
In addition, many of the changes that are evident in the world of Web 2.0 can be seen through common design practices. Old-school HTML was full of boxes and square tables. Today’s web designers are rapidly moving away from boxy designs to flexible curves. When designing for today’s Internet, it’s all about rounded designs, nice big text, gradients, glassy effects, and bright colors.
Rounded Corners:
Let’s face it. The days of good ‘ol tables and square boxes are good and gone. The Web 2.0 era has ushered in the pleasing sight of rounded corners.
Unfortunately, many web masters have spent unending hours trying to obtain perfectly rounded corners. Their pain and suffering has led to a number of tutorials that will help us bypass the grief.
Below are some links to tutorials that will get you started creating your very own rounded corners:
http://www.webcredible.co.uk
http://www.alistapart.com
http://www.web-20-workgroup1-swicki.eurekster.com
Nice Big Text:
Have you ever been to a web site where you could barely read the text? Well, join the club. Fortunately, times have taken a turn for the better. With Web 2.0, oversized fonts have come into style. You can start using plenty of oversized text to make important messages stand out. Of course, you don’t want all of the text on your web site to be supersized, but make sure that the most important text on the page is bigger than normal text.
You can see some examples at:
http://www.corkd.com/http://www.blurb.com
Gradients:
Gradients are another popular design element of Web 2.0. This is especially true of backgrounds. A common background used today has a gradient at the top, fading down to some other color that continues throughout the background for the rest of the page.
For a complete tutorial on how to create this type of effect, go to http://www.photoshoplab.com.
Colors:
Web 2.0 sites are strongly defined by their colors. They nearly always use bright and cheery colors – lots of blue, orange, and lime green.
They also often include large, colorful icons, sometimes with reflections and drop shadows. To see some samples of how web sites are effectively using bright colors, check out:
http://www.9rules.comhttp://www.iconbuffet.comhttp://www.linkedin.com
Other common design characteristics include the use of tabs, reflections, glassy effects, large buttons, and big text boxes for submission forms.
Sites that are embracing Web 2.0 can also often be identified by their tag clouds. If you have traveled the web much in the last 6 months, then you have surely seen tag clouds. They are used prominently on del.icio.us, Technorati, and Flickr. A tag cloud is basically a visual depiction of the conent on a website. Often times, more popular tags are shown in a larger font.
Why not add a tag cloud to your own site? Not only do they look cool, but they also provide your visitor with a search tool that helps them to find your content quickly and easily. You can create your own tag cloud with a very simple service called Eurekster Swicki. This is a community-based search engine that creates free tag clouds for web sites.
Although we have discussed many of the design elements associated with Web 2.0, this change is much more than just an aesthetic transition. Web 2.0 is essentially about a transition in the way we experience the Internet. The new Ajax programming base allows web masters to create an architecture of participation for their users. Web 2.0 refers to the ongoing transition to full participation on the Web.
Your web site can be so much more than an information resource. Your web presence is a place. With the proper programming skills, you can create a virtual world complete with an online shopping mall that compares prices from a variety of merchants, looks for potential coupons, and displays Amazon reviews.
In addition, traditional desktop applications are rapidly becoming available online as a service. Why not offer your visitors the ability to create their own to-do lists, online note pads, reminder services, and personal start pages?
Create an experience, not just a site.

About The AuthorKim Roach is a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews and SEO-News newsletters. You can contact Kim at: kim @ seo-news.com

Edited: August 28th, 2007

The Sun\'s Back!!!

YIPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

The Sun\’s finally back after 4 continuos days of rain!!! and its back in its full splendour!!! Like they say, things are not gonna stay gloomy all the time, there will always be light at the end of the gloom!!! Indeed its like a joyous beginning to the weekend, Yup, psyching myself to enjoy the weekend!!! Ive gotta wash my car though!!!! Last washed on Sept 11 9:30am, Got Dirty by Sept 11 10:45am. So I was in no mood to wash it all over again, Been driving a lil bit fast in the last few times, Either have grown in confidence, or the warranty time is over!!!!!

Ani kitem khobor, Well Goa\’s only IT Peripherals Exhibition ECAP 2005 got underway yesterday, its really sickening to know that the IT Sector leaders can\’t build a platform for entreprenuers like us, to showcase our skills, we are still stuck up with the Hardware than actually the stuff that run it. Ok, Guys dont interpret that in a double meaning!!!! My mind\’s not yet working overtime!!!

Nimannem Kodem, Well to conclude, our tryst with the Government Departments continue, just gave a small demo to one of the higher ups in the Govt, and got the response i expected, he\’d throw the idea out, as he would not have people to man it. Its really pathetic to enter these department, At one side, we say we are progressing, by getting IFFI, Biotech Park, SEZ into Goa, but if you still have freaking load of files n paperwork and freaking govt attitude, i dont see anything great happening. After seeing some governence in the last 3-4 years with Parrikar around, it really sucks to see the Congress as the helm of affairs, Like pointed out by the State BJP President, the only thing the govt has doen in the last 100 days, is reverse whatever good work the BJP has managed in the last few years, Some of the major achievements of the Rane Sarkar include a major Garbage problem with no solution, just more garbage about a solution and of course DENGUE, thanks to the overall stench of the garbage and the state of affairs in Goa.

Well, Susegad Goenkars will never awaken, they\’d rather crib and gossip about it (JUST LIKE HERE!!!) than get up and take a stand!!! Wot to do, if you ever raise your voice, you are condemn, if you dont, you are condemned!!!

Happy Weekend Mates!!!!

Edited: September 23rd, 2005

"Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. ”- Romans 5:3-4

Good Day to You

Well Its been raining n raining for the last 3 days now, and its kinda getting to me. Been stuck indoors for most of the time and its putting all my outdoor work for a toss. Well have to show more patience, as one of my friends said, it can never stay dull in Goa…..

Well had a lousy day yesterday, and i could not find a reason why. Had to do a little screaming n begging with the Guy upstairs to gimme some rest and solace. Found an apt verse of the day for today

“ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. ”- Romans 5:3-4

Story of my life, i would say……

Well gotta go.

Adeus

Edited: September 23rd, 2005

Titbits from the Fifth Floor

Hello Brethren

Greetings from not so Sunny Goa, Well its been raining in spats every now and then, the retreating rains are getting a lil annoying now. Lucky for me, most of the time im in front of this PC doing my work. Had a hectic day yesterday, i like the time when i can be a lil creative and try out a few things. Since the advent of broadband, it is now possible to slowly increase the graphics of sites and be ensured that people will be able to see it.

Well, i am kinda excited about this seminar that happens on Friday, it deals with RFIDs or Radio Frequency Identification. I am keen that Sujjo attends it as it can give us a little technical knowledge of the same. Well if we are allowed to provide technical advice to our clients, then this would be one of the emerging options that we can suggest and if we can implement the same, it would be splendid.

Yesterday was Abbe Faria’s 250th Anniversary Celebrations Commencement, A documentary was staged at 6pm next to the statue. I have not much info about the same, as somehow I’ve not been a great fan of history, Maybe someone can shar more light about the same. About the producers of the documentary, One is a prominent English Professor and the founder of the Mustard Seed Art Company, Isabel Santa Rita Vas and the other is a noted clown, im sorry Florist, im sorry Publisher, im sorry, God knows what he does, Cecil Pinto.

Well Im back to work, Catch u guys later

Edited: September 20th, 2005