Zach Attack

Freelance Freedom

Zach — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:37:45 +0000

Since I started in the web design industry, I’ve definitely had some interesting experiences working on projects and met a number of clients. There have been some pretty funny stories along the way, some of which I’ve shared with colleagues in the industry. The people at freelanceswitch.com had the idea to create a comic strip from the perspective of someone like me. Well, to be exact the main character is a freelancer, but every new comic hits close to home. If you’re in the web design industry this comic is a must read every week!

Freelance Freedom

Judd Apatow TV Shows

Zach — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 01:33:21 +0000

I love the Judd Apatow produced shows Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks. Freaks and Geeks is probably my favorite show of all time. We can all agree they were canceled prematurely. Recently there was a reunion with the actors and show creators where they talked about some of the behind the scenes stuff and what the characters be doing now.

‘Freaks & Geeks’ and ‘Undeclared’: Where would the characters be now?

Donut Games

Zach — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:47:26 +0000

Donut Games produces some quality iPhone games. They have some of the best free games, usually puzzle based with good replay value. Below is a link to their website along with three of my favorite free games I downloaded from them.

DonutGames.com

Jungle Crash Land
Traffic Rush
Rat On The Run

Google Chrome

Zach — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:05:50 +0000

I’m a big fan of most of the stuff Google puts out, so naturally I was intrigued when I heard they had developed a web browser. I downloaded it a few weeks after it came out and have been using the browser ever since. The final verdict you ask? It’s great! The design is clean and simple, web pages load quickly, and it doesn’t crash nearly as often as IE or Firefox. Below is an article that talks about how it compares to the other browser and the potential for the future. One thing I would like to see is more support for third party plug-ins similar to Firefox. As a web developer there are a number of nifty browser plug-in’s to facilitate web design and SEO which are not currently available through Chrome. Regardless, this browser is a great starting point and I look forward to seeing how they integrate it with their new web based OS coming out later this year.

Google Builds a Better Browser

Download Chrome

UPDATE

It looks like Google Chrome has enabled pug-ins! You can view them here: Google Chrome Extensions

10 Web trends to watch in 2010

Zach — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:07:23 +0000

Below are the 10 Web trends to watch in 2010 as reported by Pete Cashmore in an article on CNN Tech. The most interesting trend was the last one about fame abundance and privacy scarcity. He said “We’re all reality stars now, on Facebook, Twitter and all the myriad online outlets where we hone our personal brands.” I never thought about social networks from that perspective, but that is a big draw for a lot of people with websites like Facebook and Twitter. You know the type, people that update their status on an almost hourly basis mostly with a five or six words about what they are doing. I’m sorry, but seeing someone is “bored and watching TV” is not the reason I’m on these sites. These people either don’t know how to use social networks properly or love the fact that they are updating their “adoring followers” with the minutia of their day to day lives. Reality TV has really messed up the way a lot of people think of the world. It makes you think that you could be on TV and be a celebrity when in reality nobody cares.

Real-time ramps up

Location, location, location

Augmented reality

Content ‘curation’

Cloud computing

Internet TV and movies

Convergence conundrum

Social gaming

Mobile payments

Fame abundance, privacy scarcity

1. Real-time ramps up
2. Location, location, location
3. Augmented reality
4. Content ‘curation’
5. Cloud computing
6. Internet TV and movies
7. Convergence conundrum
8. Social gaming
9. Mobile payments
10. Fame abundance, privacy scarcity

How To Persuade Your Users, Boss or Clients

Zach — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:47 +0000

This is a great article that reinforces the overall attitude I try to use when selling or working with clients. My dad has worked in sales for over 30 years and coached me up on many of these same techniques. The two main points I most identified with were “Be Personable” and “Be Open”.

I try and relate to people in general as much as possible when interacting. It’s important to show your interest in what they’re interested in. When someone brings up a topic that gets them fired up, ask questions to dive deeper. Asking questions is a big part of sales. Questions help you outline what a client is looking for. Questions you ask in initial meetings can help down the line if the client is unsatisfied with the results produced from your partnership. In these cases, it’s important to remind them that you asked and followed exactly what they wanted to get to where you are today. From my experience sometimes clients are dead set in there thinking and it’s your responsibility to make their ideas become reality. That’s not to say you shouldn’t interject with your opinions and expertise during initial conversations where you are outlining the scope of the project. Instead of blatantly telling them their thinking is flawed, try to ask questions that ultimately lead to them agreeing with you. For example if you are trying to explain that Search Engine Optimization is key to any website redesign you could ask the following questions: Would you like to increase traffic to your website? Are you looking to get more targeted traffic to your website? Would you agree that the leads you are getting from your website are inconsistent and aren’t being closed at a rate you are happy with? Now you have raised three concerns the client has and already have them agreeing with you. All you have left to do is tell them how to fix a problem they just admitted to having.

As for being open, I try to be honest in all facets of my life, including business. Most people respect and appreciate honesty. I have been pleasantly surprised at how understanding people can be if you admit your mistakes. This also applies to times when something goes wrong that is not your fault. For example, I’ve had issues in the past where a server will go down and in turn take a client’s site down. Always try and give the client as much information about the situation as possible. Remember, this website is important to them and may be their only means of income. Give them accurate information so they can make educated decisions about how they should move forward with their day to day business.

Learning to sell and clearly get your ideas across is an ongoing process that you need to continue to develop. Learning from past experiences is key to finding out what works for you. If you are just starting out in sales or working with clients try using some of the principles and techniques in this article. They are effective and will help you succeed in your future business interactions!

How To Persuade Your Users, Boss or Clients

Microsoft: From Trailblazer to Tailgater

Zach — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:34:14 +0000

It looks like Microsoft is trying to steal some of the mobile phone market share away from the iPhone. They released their new mobile OS and are trying to mimic some of the things the iPhone does such as it’s App Store (Windows Marketplace). When did Microsoft change from a trailblazer to a tailgater? They seem to only put out products based on ones already developed and successful. Examples include the Xbox (PlayStation), Vista (Apple’s OSX), and Zune (iPod). I’m all for competition in the tech industry, but I feel like Microsoft is making the moves of a company much smaller. They should be pumping money into research and development to come up with the next wave of cool gizmos and programs instead of playing catch up. It makes you wonder if Microsoft has fallen because of the departure of Bill Gates and in turn if Apple will be able to sustain their momentum once Steve Jobs is gone. My guess is that in 10 years Google will overtake both of them and we’ll all be running Chrome on our computers and using the new release of Android on our phones.

Microsoft’s Windows phones hit the market

AT&T’s iPhone MMS Carrier Update Is Live

Zach — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:26:44 +0000

It’s official! AT&T has finally released the update to allow MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) on the iPhone! All iPhone users with the 3G or 3Gs models can send pictures and video via text til your their heart’s content. Click on the link below for instructions on how to update. Now if only AT&T would allow tethering…

AT&T’s iPhone MMS Carrier Update Is Live

If Famous Graphic Artists Were Web Designers…

Zach — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:32:03 +0000

This is a great article about what some of the most influential artists of the past would create if they were working in today’s digital landscape. The part I found especially interesting, is where it talks about the motive of financial gain that is almost always present when great art is created. Today’s websites and print ads are mostly created for the purpose of selling a product and in turn paying the creator. I never thought about the fact that even great artists like Michelangelo were driven, in part, by the same financial gains. One of the main reasons the Sistine Chapel commissioned Michelangeloto paint Scenes from Genesis was to bring in more people and collect more tithes. That reminds me that art and technology will always be changing, but some things will remain consistent for all generations.

If Famous Graphic Artists Were Web Designers…

5 Steps to the Perfect Web Designer Resume

Zach — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:27:32 +0000

I recently took some time to update my resume to make it more professional. I hadn’t updated it for over a year and the information was not indicitive of my current skillset or experience. After spending some time searching on Google for other web design resumes I found a great article that talks about how you should structure your resume.

5 Steps to the Perfect Web Designer Resume

Below is a link to my website’s resume page as well as in PDF format. Any input or suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated!

Resume Page

Resume PDF