our When Your Veteran Spouse Battles More Than PTSD By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:19:38 EDT For many veterans’ spouses, we’ve watched our partners struggle not only with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but with other mental health conditions, as well. Around 80 percent of people with PTSD wrestle with at least one other co-occurring mental health condition in their lifetime.What many people don’t see is the impact PTSD and comorbidity have on vets’ spouses. Full Article
our Add New Effects to Your Design Work with This Creative Toolkit By blog.spoongraphics.co.uk Published On :: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 07:00:12 +0000 This brand new All-Encompassing Creative Toolkit contains a variety of resources that take the hard work out of creating stunning visual effects. From ready-made assets you can copy/paste into your artwork to pro-grade tools that provide the building blocks you need to create original designs, these resources make it possible to create work in totally […] The post Add New Effects to Your Design Work with This Creative Toolkit appeared first on Spoon Graphics. Full Article News bundle deal design cuts
our Could you get PTSD from your pandemic experience? The long-term mental health effects of coronavirus By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Monday, April 20, 2020 - 10:10am Experiencing intense flashbacks, nightmares, irritability, anger, and fear? In the face of a traumatic event like the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s common to feel this way. Full Article
our When Your Veteran Spouse Battles More Than PTSD By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thursday, April 30, 2020 - 12:19pm For many veterans’ spouses, we’ve watched our partners struggle not only with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but with other mental health conditions, as well. Around 80 percent of people with PTSD wrestle with at least one other co-occurring mental health condition in their lifetime.What many people don’t see is the impact PTSD and comorbidity have on vets’ spouses. Full Article
our How to make sure your call to action buttons convert the way you want By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Mar 2020 07:37:59 +0000 You are probably already familiar with the concept of call to action, but if somehow you are new to web design, call to action refers to elements in a page that request an action from its visitors. If you are indeed new to web design, there are high chances that you will neglect this important […] Full Article Blog How-to & tutorials UX Web design
our 5 Important Tips When Building Your First Mobile App By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Apr 2020 07:50:35 +0000 Building a mobile application is a complex process, and mistake can be costly in time and money. To make sure that your mobile app projects are a success, here are a few tips that will be helpful. 1. Plan Ahead When building anything complex, you should never start without a plan. Building a mobile app […] Full Article Blog How-to & tutorials App design Web design
our Land Your Dream Job with Vettery (Sponsored) By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 17 Feb 2020 11:13:30 +0000 Whether you’re an experienced pro or someone new to the industry, finding a great job can be a scary, stressful process. Engineers and designers get inundated with Hacker Rank tests, portfolio requests, and a variety of other queries. Vettery improves the experience for free agents by creating an atmosphere where businesses reach out to you! […] The post Land Your Dream Job with Vettery (Sponsored) appeared first on David Walsh Blog. Full Article Sponsored _HideInContentAds
our Track Your Keyword Placement with Ranktrackify (Sponsored) By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 16:17:10 +0000 I don’t need to tell you how important search engine placement is. You either earn it with quality content, loads of SEO work, paying for placement, or all of the above. And even we you achieve best placement, you need to be wary of your content becoming stale or someone else coming along with a […] The post Track Your Keyword Placement with Ranktrackify (Sponsored) appeared first on David Walsh Blog. Full Article Sponsored
our Nikon D750: Answers to Your Real Questions By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 17:36:43 +0000 Whether you’ve just purchased the Nikon D750 or you’re still in the research phase, you likely already know this is a DSLR with an amazing price point. It’s still one of the top rated cameras, even after more than 5 years on the market. Lightweight and extremely reliable, with excellent dynamic range, the Nikon D750 is a full frame DSLR Continue Reading The post Nikon D750: Answers to Your Real Questions appeared first on Photodoto. Full Article Cameras & Equipment Accessories answers to questions lenses nikon d750
our Tips on developing creative websites that will wow your clients By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:00:42 +0000 Web designers: we’ve got fabulous news for you. With the global market expanding without limits, clients are more demanding than ever before. They understand that the highly competitive business realm requires creative websites. That’s good news: as competition increases, web development projects become more challenging. That’s good news for Be Theme too as it is […] The post Tips on developing creative websites that will wow your clients appeared first on WebAppers. Full Article Best Collections
our 6 Must Have Developer Tools and Services for Your Projects in 2019 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:17:03 +0000 This is it! Your one-stop shop for developer tools and resources. Designed to save you time and money, streamline project workflows, boost productivity, or all the above, Choosing the right tool for the job is never easy for several reasons. There’s a huge number to choose among, you have to know what to look for, […] The post 6 Must Have Developer Tools and Services for Your Projects in 2019 appeared first on WebAppers. Full Article Best Collections
our Need Help Choosing the Right Plugin for Your Website? Check These Options By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 13 Feb 2020 02:30:25 +0000 WordPress is an ideal platform for building your own portfolio, blog, or eCommerce site. It’s packed with all the basic tools you need to build a professional-looking site. Plus, it has tools that can take your web-building skills to an even higher level. Get even more impressive results or add features to a website that […] The post Need Help Choosing the Right Plugin for Your Website? Check These Options appeared first on WebAppers. Full Article Design Tools design plugin tools wordpress
our 20 Minute Tut! Create Your Own Customized Chalkboard Text Vector By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 09 Apr 2020 14:00:00 +0000 In this Chalkboard Text Vector tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a chalkboard vector effect with some gradients, a bristle brush, and some freebies from Vector Mill! This chalkboard text vector effect tutorial is relatively simple and can be applied to many other Illustrator projects. Use this effect for logo creation, back to school backgrounds, […] The post 20 Minute Tut! Create Your Own Customized Chalkboard Text Vector appeared first on Vectips. Full Article Tutorials chalkboard text effect chalkboard text vector chalkboard text vector effect chalkboard vector how to create a chalkboard text how to create a chalkboard text vector how to create a chalkboard vector
our Unforgettable Road Trips in the UK-A new of enjoying your next travel By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 04 Feb 2016 17:35:42 +0000 Scenic Road Trips in the UK that are Worth Capturing by Camera Some people like hiking. Some people like cycling. But, after chatting with online car dealership Carspring, it seems you can have just as much fun exploring your next trip in the complete, climate-controlled comfort of your car. Here we go through the most unforgettable road trips in England, Scotland and Wales. Drives that offer driving heaven, stunning scenery and plenty of fun along the way. All you need is the right company and you are all set to enjoy! England: Road from Glastonbury to Cheddar Gorge – Check out the route here. This route gives you a proper feel of medieval England. Begin deep in England’s spiritual realm on the outskirts of the hallowed town on Glastonbury (Therefore avoid at a certain summer weekend). Start at the Tor on the edge of town, where hippies will tell you ... Read more The post Unforgettable Road Trips in the UK-A new of enjoying your next travel appeared first on Digital Photography Tutorials. Full Article Uncategorized camera compact digital camera Photo Editing photography
our 25 Best Freelance Tools to Enhance Your Business for Free By webdesignerwall.com Published On :: Mon, 05 Dec 2016 13:00:44 +0000 Freelancing can be a tough gig, but there is no better time than a new year to begin building (or rebuilding) a fantastic new business where you can do what you love. Being successful has a lot to do with your drive and passion, but depends largely on your efficiency, workflow and presentation. In this […] The post 25 Best Freelance Tools to Enhance Your Business for Free appeared first on Web Designer Wall. Full Article General Stuff freelance
our Level Up Your CSS Skills With These 20 Pro CSS Tips By webdesignerwall.com Published On :: Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:00:41 +0000 Front-end development is quickly becoming more and more focused on efficiency – faster loading and rendering through selector choice and minimizing code. Pre-processors like Less and SCSS go a long way in doing some of the work for us, but there are plenty of ways to write minimal, quick CSS the native way. This guide […] The post Level Up Your CSS Skills With These 20 Pro CSS Tips appeared first on Web Designer Wall. Full Article Tutorials CSS
our Four Elements of Truly Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menus By webdesignerwall.com Published On :: Wed, 01 Feb 2017 16:00:23 +0000 There are hundreds of ways to create responsive navigation, limited only by your creativity and the boundaries of what CSS can accomplish. Good responsive navigation is a little harder – a responsive menu must become a mobile menu, adhering to the needs and rules of touch-driven devices. Mobile design is rapidly changing, and so the […] The post Four Elements of Truly Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menus appeared first on Web Designer Wall. Full Article Tutorials CSS jQuery
our Blog Project: Your Best Photos From 2017 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 20:14:41 +0000 It’s that time of year again and if you’re a regular JMG-Galleries reader that means one thing… it is time to kick off the 11th annual best photos of the year blog project. This is by far my most popular blog project with hundreds of photographers taking part last year (see Best Photos of 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007). It’s great to see the community of photographers that have developed around this blog project. As always I hope the exercise of picking your best photos helps improve your photography (10 Ways to Top Your Best 20xx Photographs). So without any further delay here is how you take part to submit your best photos of 2016. How to Participate (Read Carefully) Review & select your best photos from 2017. Note: Photo edit carefully narrowing down your results to your best 10 or 5 photos. Reference Pro Tips: Photo Editing with Gary Crabbe for pointers. Create a blog post on your website or a Flickr/500px set containing your best photos from 2017. Complete the form below by Tuesday JANUARY 2rd at 11:59PM PST to take part. The following Tuesday, or thereabout, I’ll post a link to all submitted sites and photos on my blog. Throughout the week I’ll also share the results across all my social media accounts. Spread the Word! Feel free to spread the word of this project on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, photo forums you frequent and/or your blogs. All who are interested in taking part are invited. Loading… Full Article Featured Photography Updates & Announcements Best of 2017 Best of Photos Blog Project
our Blog Project: Your Best Photos From 2018 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 17 Dec 2018 06:47:38 +0000 It’s that time of year again, it is time to kick off the 12th annual best photos of the year blog project. I’m proud to say over the years that hundreds of photographers have taken part (see Best Photos of 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007). It’s great to see the community of photographers that have developed around this blog project. As always I hope the exercise of picking your best photos helps improve your photography (10 Ways to Top Your Best 20xx Photographs). So without any further delay here is how you take part to submit your best photos of 2018. How to Participate (Read Carefully) Review & select your best photos from 2018. Note: Photo edit carefully narrowing down your results to your best 10 or 5 photos. Reference Pro Tips: Photo Editing with Gary Crabbe for pointers. Create a blog post on your website or a Flickr set containing your best photos from 2018. Complete the form below by Friday JANUARY 4th at 11:59PM PST to take part. The following Tuesday, or thereabout, I’ll post a link to all submitted sites and photos on my blog. Throughout the week I’ll also share the results across all my social media accounts. Spread the Word! Feel free to spread the word of this project on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Google+ (even if it is about to die), photo forums you frequent and/or your blogs. All who are interested in taking part are invited. Loading… Full Article Featured Photography Updates & Announcements Best of 2018 Best of Photos Blog Project
our Blog Project: Your Best Photos From 2019 By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 17 Dec 2019 06:05:42 +0000 It is time to kick off the 13th annual best photos of the year blog project! I’m proud to say over the years that hundreds of photographers have taken part (see Best Photos of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007). It’s great to see the community of photographers that have developed around this blog project. As always I hope the exercise of picking your best photos helps improve your photography (10 Ways to Top Your Best 20xx Photographs). So without any further delay here is how you take part to submit your best photos of 2019. How to Participate (Read Carefully) Review & select your best photos from 2019. Note: Photo edit carefully narrowing down your results to your best 10 or 5 photos. Reference Pro Tips: Photo Editing with Gary Crabbe for pointers. Create a blog post on your website or a Flickr set containing your best photos from 2019. Complete the form below by Sunday JANUARY 5th at 11:59PM PST to take part. The following Tuesday, or thereabout, I’ll post a link to all submitted sites and photos on my blog. Throughout the week I’ll also share the results across all my social media accounts. Spread the Word! Feel free to spread the word of this project on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, photo forums you frequent and/or your blogs. All who are interested in taking part are invited. Loading… Full Article Featured Photography Updates & Announcements Best of 2019 Best of Photos Blog Project
our What is Our Land For? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Jul 2018 18:52:38 +0000 By Jill Richardson OtherWords Should we graze it, log it, drill it, and mine it? Or should we preserve it, study it, recreate in it, and revere it? The Trump administration accidentally released documents showing that they intentionally underestimated the … Continue reading → Full Article Points of View & Opinions conservation land use national monuments National Parks
our One of Our Last Links to the Wild World is in Danger By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Aug 2018 20:44:19 +0000 By Dan Ritzman OtherWords Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world’s last intact ecosystems, but dangerous oil exploration could soon spoil it. I can still remember the first time I saw tracks left behind by seismic testing … Continue reading → Full Article Points of View & Opinions alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling for Oil ecosystem U.S. Congress wildlife
our Why Is Going Green So Hard? Because Our System Isn’t By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:13:01 +0000 By Jill Richardson Other Words If environmental solutions aren’t systemic, living green will always mean going against the grain — and usually failing. Every year around Earth Day, I’m reminded of papers I graded in an environmental sociology class. The … Continue reading → Full Article Points of View & Opinions environmental consciousness going green government policy
our 7 Steps to Landing Your First UI/UX Job By justcreative.com Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 07:02:04 +0000 UI/UX design careers are on fire, with plenty of competition for jobs. Here's how to differentiate yourself, save time and succeed in your job search. Full Article Design For Students Guest Articles Job Search UI UX
our 9 Ways To Start Promoting Your Content Now By justcreative.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 04:10:18 +0000 Your ability to create and promote content is critical to your business' success. Here are 9 ways to set up a framework for content promotion immediately. Full Article Blogging & Content Marketing Guest Articles Content Content Marketing Content Strategy
our Top 10 Best Courses on Domestika (in English) By justcreative.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Apr 2020 04:37:06 +0000 For those professionals looking to share not only their projects but to connect with other creatives, learn from them, and even find employment in the creative field, a new option entering the English market is Domestika. With its expansive forums and thousands of projects being shared by creatives from all over the world, Domestika is an amazing resource to explore. One of their biggest features is their online courses to help you learn new skills and with that in mind, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the 10 Best English Courses on Domestika so you can jump right in and get started! So, if you’re ready, let’s get started! Bundle 3 Courses & Save 30% (Ends May 6) Domestika are offering a further 30% off if you bundle 3 courses. » Click here to start bundling. Top 10 Best English Courses on Domestika Logo Design: From Concept to Presentation with Sagi Haviv – $19 Transforming your creative ideas into personal projects – $15 Creativity Face to Face: A Playful Collage Journey – $12 Digital Painting for Characters: Color and Light – $14 Creation of an Original Logo from Scratch – $14 The Art of Record Covers: Illustration Meets […] Full Article Tools & Gear Courses
our How To Build a Website That Your Users Will Love By justcreative.com Published On :: Sat, 02 May 2020 03:35:24 +0000 Find out what users love and hate and how to build the best website for your audience. From content and navigation to design and hosting, use our 5 top tips. Full Article Guest Articles Web Design & UX UX
our How to Grow Your Sales and Leads During the Coronavirus Pandemic By justcreative.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 10:16:17 +0000 Try these 10 actionable steps for streamlined, cost-effective marketing during the lockdown. Shed costs and embrace innovation to drive leads and conversions. Full Article Blogging & Content Marketing Guest Articles Content Marketing Marketing
our How To Get Effective Help With Writing Tasks That Will Boost Your Own Writing Skills By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Mar 2020 05:21:10 PDT Writing is a quite ambivalent word. For some students, it causes their worst nightmares to come to mind (or it is just a boring assignment) and for some, it’s the fun way to express their thoughts to... Full Article Review
our How Important Is A Domain Name For Your Business? By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:41:03 PDT Online representation has a crucial role in planning a business. Today, people turn to the internet whenever they need help, but especially when they want to find certain products or specific... Full Article Business
our Creative Ways To Earn Extra Money In Your Downtime By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Mar 2020 08:31:20 PDT Many people have regular jobs that they love, and which enable them to use their creative skills to make money. This could be anything from coding video games to being an expert in SEO or designing... Full Article Learning
our The Best Way To Improve Your Business Skills By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Mon, 16 Mar 2020 08:40:10 PDT Are you thinking about running a business after getting a degree? This article will help you find the best ways to make your business skills more efficient and useful. The Best Way To Improve Your... Full Article Business
our How Can SEO Help Market Your Designing Agency? By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Sun, 12 Apr 2020 17:28:24 PDT It's unusual, as indeed Google says that in case you've got to enlist an SEO strategy, you ought to do so early instead of late, like when you're appropriate arranging to launch a new site. Because... Full Article SEO
our 6 Ways To Step Up Your Instagram Stories Game By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:45:29 PDT Instagram Stories are an integral part of the platform. Though Instagram copied Snapchat’s concept a few years ago, over 500 million accounts use the Stories feature on a daily basis. Some users... Full Article Learning
our Why Choosing The Best Web Hosting Is Crucial For Your Business By icanbecreative.com Published On :: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 17:49:11 PDT Not many business owners think about hosting when building a new website for their business. But failing to choose the right web hosting can have a great impact on your website and, of course, your... Full Article Learning
our Our WFH Best Practices By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Mar 2020 08:00:00 -0400 Our first remote office opened in 2007 when a designer and a developer left our HQ office and moved to Durham. Ever since we've been fine-tuning our ability to collaborate across locations. Today, we have team members across the country in our four offices, and we have fully remote employees in Charleston, Kansas City, New York City, Dallas, and Charlottesville. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, a lot of people recently started working from their homes across the world, the country, and Viget. We wanted to share some of our best practices for being great teammates and doing great work, regardless of locale, and we’d love to hear yours in the comments. Communicate Often and Write It Down We want every person at Viget to be informed and connected. We do this in a few ways. We have a company Knowledge Base, which contains critical information including HR policies, office processes, brand guidelines, project resources, etc. We also have a well-organized Google Drive that everyone can access. Learn More We're hiring Front-End Developers in our Boulder, Chattanooga, Durham, Falls Church and Remote (U.S. Only) offices. Learn more and introduce yourself. My favorite communication tool we use, however, is our Internal Lab Report. Every week, we create a Google Doc with HR updates, birthdays, upcoming events we’re attending, relevant publicity we or a client received, and timely updates on projects, sales, and recruiting. This report allows the entire team to have the same information, regardless of PTO schedules, and it provides a record that can be referenced weeks, months, or years later. I have also found our Slack habits really helpful. We try to make our availability easily known, mostly via a passive Slack status. We each update our status daily, sometimes multiple times, so people can see if we’re working from home, out of the office for an appointment, in a meeting, or offline for a personal phone call. We also have a few Slack Channels we use very specifically to announce PTO, important announcements, and recently, one that is specific to the updating coronavirus situation. My work from home station. Figure Out Your Boundaries This looks different for everyone and can be an ever-changing target. Understanding your boundaries requires you to be honest with yourself – Are you easily distracted? Can you successfully work in pajama pants? Will your dog actually allow you to get work done? Does working from the couch result in good work, or do you need a designated work spot? For some, working from home requires setting boundaries to ensure the work gets done. For others, working from home requires setting a start and stop times to ensure you don’t overwork yourself. Viget has a flexible work policy, so many of us work from home fairly often and have gotten our routines set up. As such, we have written about this before! Check out Trevor’s article about working remotely.Show Your Face When I first started at Viget, I’d never worked anywhere that used a Google Hangout for nearly every meeting. At first, I was tempted to call into meetings and leave the camera off because I found it exposing. Now, I can’t imagine not using it, and I’ve even embraced it in my personal life with friends and family. I realized the value in face-to-face conversations even in virtual form, the ability to see body language, and the connection you establish when you see each other's faces — even if your hair isn't perfect or you haven't arranged your plants just-so in the view behind you. Whenever possible, use your camera during a meeting. It increases trust, communication, and in my personal-not-backed-by-science-opinion, lightness, which frankly, I think we can all use a bit more of right now. Here's a screen shot from our Saint Patrick's Day Happy Hour. Create Shared Experiences As a company with project teams often distributed across our four locations, cross-office experiences are vital to our culture, and we’ve spent years working to keep our remote offices in sync. A few of our ongoing group activities include a monthly virtual Book Club, our weekly full-team Free Lunch Friday tradition, Donut for Slack, and, of course, our Pointless Weekends. The current global health crisis now requires almost all of the company to work remote, so we’ve gotten creative with our attempts to increase non-project time together, in order to keep up the vibes we’ve worked hard to create. What we’ve recently started: Last Weekend this Morning - Monday mornings, we have an optional virtual coffee, where anyone who’d like to chat can join and share the latest gardening lesson or bingeable tv show. It lets us start our week off as we would when we’re all in the office — saying hello to each other.Virtual Happy Hours - We are a company that likes to socialize, and a bit of distance doesn’t stop us. This week, we set up an after-hours Happy Hour for St. Patrick’s Day.Daily Lunch Table- If you’ve ever visited our HQ office in Falls Church, you’ll notice our large kitchen table. We have an informal tradition of gathering around noon to eat together, whether it’s just a couple folks or the whole team. We now do this lunch virtually. So far, we’re mostly taking turns discussing who is eating what, and of course, sharing said recipes. I crowdsourced some ideas from the Viget team, and here are some noteworthy takeaways: "In remote meetings, minimize all your other windows and be fully present. It’s easy to allow your attention to accidentally drift if you see a new Slack channel light up, especially if you’re in a larger meeting. Suddenly, you find yourself multitasking. Treat the meeting as if you were there in person: unless you’re taking notes, minimize your other tabs, and give the conversation your full attention." - Paul Koch “I try to reach out to more folks I don’t consistently work with. Since there’s less interaction in general, I want to be more intentional about staying connected.” - Laura Sweltz “Good habits are hard to form and bad habits are hard to break, and it’s often hard to find the right time to make a change. Most of us are experiencing a disruption to our usual behaviors right now, but that doesn’t have to be entirely bad. Be deliberate now and when this is over, we might all end up with some new work habits worth keeping.” - Emily Bloom “I’ve found it helpful to create a physical space similar to the one I had at work. While this isn’t exactly possible, small things like setting up a laptop stand and second screen make it so I’m less likely to get distracted and wander to the couch or kitchen (aka the snack danger zone.).” - Aubrey Lear “It’s easy to get stuck in one spot all day, so be proactive about moving around, or creating excuses to do so. Whether that’s making yourself a cup of coffee, eating lunch away from your computer, or going for a quick walk outside for some fresh air. This will help reduce the risk of going stir crazy.” -Zach Robbins True to Viget form, our remote work is all about “Progress, Not Perfection.” While remote collaboration is ingrained in our company, we’re looking for opportunities to fine-tune our approach and improve our habits. We’d love to hear from you: What are your best practices? Lessons learned? Full Article Process
our Our New Normal, Together By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:00:00 -0400 As the world works to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our thoughts are foremost with those already ill from the virus and those on the frontlines, slowing its spread. The bravery and commitment of healthcare workers everywhere is an inspiration. While Viget’s physical offices are effectively closed, we’re continuing to work with our clients on projects that evolve by the day. Viget has been working with distributed teams to varying degrees for most of our 20-year history, and while we’re comfortable with the tools and best practices that make doing so effective, we realize that some of our clients are learning as they go. We’re here to help. These are unprecedented times, but our business playbook is clear: Take care of each other. We’re in this together. Our People Team is meeting with everyone on our staff to confirm their work-from-home situation. Do they have family or roommates they can rely on in an emergency? How are they feeling physically and mentally? Do they have what they need to be productive? As a team, we’re working extra hard to communicate. Andy hosts and records video calls to answer questions anyone has about the crisis, and our weekly staff meeting schedule will continue. Recognizing that our daily informal group lunches are a vital social glue in our offices, Aubrey has organized a virtual lunch table Hangout, allowing our now fully-distributed team to catch up over video. It ensures we have some laughs and helps keep us feeling connected. Our project teams are well-versed in remote collaboration, but we understand that not all client projects can proceed as planned. We’re doing our best to accommodate evolving schedules while keeping the momentum on as many projects as possible. For all of our clients, we’re making clear that we think long-term. We’re partners through this, and can adapt to help our clients not just weather the storm, but come through it stronger when possible. Some clients have been forced to pause work entirely, while others are busier than ever. Viget has persevered through many downturns -- the dot com crash, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and a few self-inflicted close-calls. In retrospect, it’s easy to reflect on how these situations made us stronger, but mid-crisis it can be hard to stay positive. The consistent lesson has been that taking care of each other -- co-workers, clients, partners, community peers -- is what gets us through. It motivates our hard work, it focuses our priorities and collaboration, and inspires us to do what needs to be done. I don’t know for certain how this crisis will play out, but I know that all of us at Viget will be doing everything we can to support each other as we go through it together. Full Article News & Culture
our Together We Flourish, Remotely By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 09 Apr 2020 08:00:00 -0400 Like many other companies, Viget is working through the new challenge of suddenly being a fully-distributed company. We don’t know how long it will last or every challenge that will arise because of these unfortunate circumstances, but we know the health and well-being of our people is paramount. As Employee Engagement Manager, I feel inspired by these new challenges, eager to step up, and committed to seeing what good can come of this. Now more than ever, we want to maintain the culture that has sustained us over the last 20 years – a culture that I think is best captured by our mantra, “do great work and be a great teammate.” As everyone is adjusting to new work environments, schedules, and distractions, I am adjusting my approach to employee engagement, and the People Team is looking for new ways to nurture and protect the culture we treasure. The backbone of being a great teammate is knowing each other and caring about each other. For years the People Team has focused on making sure people who work at Viget are known, accepted, and cared about. From onboarding to events to weekly and monthly touchpoints, we invest in coworkers knowing each other. On top of that, we have well-appointed offices where people like to be, and friendships unfold over time. Abruptly becoming fully distributed makes it impossible for some of these connections to happen organically, like they would have around the coffee machine and the lunch tables. These microinteractions between colleagues in the same office, the hellos when you get off the elevator or the “what’d you get up to this weekend” chit chat near the seltzer refrigerator, all add up. We realize more than ever how valuable those moments are, and I know I will feel extra grateful for them when we are all back together.Until that time, we are working to make sure everyone at Viget feels connected, safe, healthy, and most importantly, together, even when we are physically apart. We are keeping up our weekly staff meetings and monthly team lunches, and we just onboarded a new hire last week as thoroughly as ever. There are some other, new ways we’re sparking connections, too. New ways we're sparking connections: Connecting IntentionallyWe are making the most of the tools that we’ve been using for years. New Slack channels have spun up, including #exercise, where folks are sharing how they are making do without a gym, and #igotyou, a place where folks can post where they’ve found supplies in stock as grocery stores are being emptied at an alarming pace.Remote Lunch TablesWe have teammates in three different time zones, on different project teams, and at different stages of life. We’ve created two virtual lunch tables, one at 12PM EST and one at 12PM MST, where folks can join with or without their lunches and with or without their kids, partners, or pets. There are no rules or structure, just an opportunity to chat and see a friendly face as a touchpoint to your day.Last Weekend This MorningCatching up Monday morning is a great way to kick off your week. Historically, I’ve done this from my desk over coffee as I greet folks coming off the elevator (I usually have the privilege of sitting at our front desk). I now do this from my desk, at home, over coffee as folks pop in or out of our Zoom call. One upshot of the new normal is I can “greet” anyone who shows up, not just people who work from my same office. Again, no structure, just a way to start our week, together.Munch MadnessYes, you read that right. Most of the sports world is enjoying an intermission. Since our CEO can’t cheer on his beloved Cavaliers and our VP of Design can’t cheer on his Gators, we’ve created something potentially much better. A definitive snack bracket. There is a minimal time commitment and folks with no sports knowledge can participate. The rules are simple: create and submit your bracket, ranking who you believe will win each snack faceoff. Then as we move through the rounds, vote on your favorite snacks. The competition has already sparked tons of conversation and plenty of snack hot takes. Want to start a munch-off of your own? Check out our bracket as a starting point.Virtual Happy HoursSigning off for the day and shutting down your machine is incredibly important for maintaining a work-life balance. Casually checking in, unwinding, and being able to chat about your day is also important. We have big, beautiful kitchens in each of our offices, along with casual spaces where at the end of any given day you can find a few Vigets catching up before heading home. This is something we don’t want to miss! So we’re setting up weekly happy hours where folks can hop in and say hi to each other face-to-face. We’ve found Zoom to be a great platform so we can see the maximum number of our teammates possible. Like all of our other events, it’s optional. There is also an understanding that your roommate, kid, significant other, or pet might show up on screen (and are welcome!). No one is shamed for multitasking and we encourage our teammates to join as they can. So far we’ve toasted new teammates, played a song or two, and up next we’ll play trivia. At the end of the day, we are all here for one reason: to do great work. Our award-winning work is made possible by the trust we’ve built within our teams. Staying focused and accountable to ourselves and our clients is what drives our motivation to continue to show up and do our best. In our new working environment, it is crucial that we can both stay connected and productive; a lot of teammates are stepping up to support one another. Here are a few ways we are continuing to foster our “do great work” mantra. New ways we're fostering great work: Staying in TouchThe People Team is actively touching base with every employee. Our focus is on their health, productivity, and connection. These 1:1s have given us a baseline for how we can provide the best support for our team, from making sure they're aware of flexible work options to setting them up with the tools they need to be successful. We’ve delivered chairs, monitors, and helped troubleshoot in-home wifi issues. We are committed to making sure every Viget is set up for success.Sharing is CaringWe’re no stranger to remote teams. We have four offices across the U.S. and a handful of full-time remote folks, and we’ve leaned on our inside experts to share their expertise on remote work. Most recently, ourData & Analytics Director, who has been working remotely full time for five years, gave a presentation on best practices for working from home. His top tips for working from home include: Minimize other windows in remote meetings.Set a schedule and avoid midday chores.Take breaks away from the screen.Plan your workday on your shared calendar.Be mindful of Slack and social media as a distraction.Use timers.Keep your work area separate from where you relax.Pretend that you’re still working from work.Experiment and figure out what works for you. Our UX Research Director also stepped up to share her expertise to aid in adjusting to our new working conditions. She led a microclass on remote facilitation where she shared best practices and went over tools that support remote collaboration. Some of the tools she highlighted included Miro, Mural, Whimsical, and Jamboard. During the microclass she demonstrated use of Whimsical’s voting feature, which makes it easy for distributed groups to establish discussion topic priorities.Always PreparedHaving all of our project materials stored in the Cloud in a consistent, predictable way is a cornerstone of our business continuity plan. It is more important than ever for our team to follow the established best practices and ensure that project files are accessible to the full Viget team in the event of unplanned time off. Our VP of Client Services is leading efforts to ensure everyone is aware of and following our established guidelines with tools like Drive, Slack, Github, and Figma. Our priorities are that clients’ needs are met, quality is high, and timelines are honored. As the pandemic unfolds, our approach to employee engagement will evolve. We have more things in the works to build and maintain connections while distributed, including trivia and game nights, book clubs, virtual movie nights, and community service opportunities, just to name a few. No matter what we’re doing or what tool we’re using to connect, we’ll be in it together: doing great work, being great teammates, and looking forward. Full Article News & Culture
our Should you use Userbase for your next static site? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 08:00:00 -0400 During the winter 2020 Pointless Weekend, we built TrailBuddy (working app coming soon). Our team consisted of four developers, two project managers, two front-end developers, a digital-analyst, a UXer, and a designer. In about 48 hours, we took an idea from Jeremy Field’s head to a (mostly) working app. We broke up the project in two parts:. First, a back-end that crunches trail, weather, and soil data. That data is exposed via a GraphQL API for a web app to consume. While developers built the API, I built a static front end using Next.js. Famously, static front-ends don’t have a database, or a concept of “users.” A bit of functionality I wanted to add was saving favorite trails. I didn’t want to be hacky about it, I needed some way to add users and a database. I knew it’d be hard for the developers to set this up as part of the API, they had their hands full with all the #soil-soil-soil-soil-soil (a slack channel dedicated solely to figuring out our soil data problem—those were plentiful.) I had been looking for an excuse to use Userbase, and this seemed like as good a time as any. A textbook Userbase use case “When would I use it?” The Usebase site lists these reasons: If you want to build a web app without writing any backend code. If you never want to see your users' data. If you're tired of dealing with databases. If you want to radically simplify your GDPR compliance. And if you want to keep things really simple. This was a perfect fit for my problem. I didn’t want to write any more backend code for this. I didn’t want to see our user’s data, I don’t care to know anyone’s favorite trails.* A nice bonus to not having users in our backend was not having to worry about keeping their data safe. We don’t have their data at all, it’s end-to-end encrypted by Userbase. We can offer a reasonable amount of privacy for free (well for the price of using Userbase: $49 a year.) I am not tired of dealing with databases, but I’d rather not. I don’t think anyone doesn’t want to simplify their GDPR compliance. Finally, given our tight timeline I wanted nothing more than to keep things really simple. A sign up form that I didn't have to write a back-end for Using Userbase Userbase can be tried for free, so I set aside thirty minutes or so to do a quick proof of concept to make sure this would work out for us. I made an account and followed their Quickstart. Userbase is a fundamentally easy tool to use, but their quickstart is everything I’d want out of a quickstart: Written in the most vanilla way possible (just HTML and vanilla JS). This means I can adapt it to my needs, in this case React using Next.js Easy to follow, it does the most barebones tour of the functionality you can expect to get out of the SDK (software development kit.) In other words it is quick and it is a start It has a live demo and code samples you can download and run yourself It didn’t take long after that to integrate Userbase into our app with more help from their great docs. I debated whether to add code samples of what we did here, and I didn’t because any reader would be better off using the great quickstart and docs Userbase provides—they are that clear, and that good. Depending on your use case you’ll need to adapt the examples to your needs, for us the trickiest things were creating a top level authentication context to manage users in the app, and a custom hook to encapsulate all the logic for setting, updating, and deleting favourite trails in the app. Userbase’s SDK worked seamlessly for us. A log in form that I didn't have to write a back-end for Is Userbase for you? Maybe. I am definitely a fan, so much so that this blog post probably reads like an advert. Userbase saved me a ton of time in this project. It reminded me of “The All Powerful Front End Developer” talk by Chris Coyer. I don’t fully subscribe to all the ideas in that talk, but it is nice to have “serverless” tools like Userbase, and all the new JAMstacky things. There are limits to the Userbase serverless experience in terms of scale, and control. Obviously relying on a third party for something always carries some (probably small) risk—it’s worth noting Usebase includes a note on their pricing page that says “You can host it yourself always under your control, or we can run it for you for a full serverless experience”—Still, I wouldn’t hesitate this to use in future projects. One of the great things about Viget and Pointless Weekend is the opportunity to try new things. For me that was Next.js and Userbase for Trailbuddy. It doesn’t always work out (in fact this is my first pointless weekend where a risk hasn’t blown up in my face) but it is always fun. Getting to try out Userbase and beginning to think about how we may use it in the future made the weekend worthwhile for me, and it made my job on this project much more enjoyable. *I will write a future post about privacy conscious analytics in TrailBuddy when I’ve figured that out. I am looking into Fathom Analytics for that. Full Article Code Front-end Engineering
our "What is deceptive, especially in the West, is our assumption that repetitive and mindless jobs are..." By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:30:00 -0700 “What is deceptive, especially in the West, is our assumption that repetitive and mindless jobs are dehumanizing. On the other hand, the jobs that require us to use the abilities that are uniquely human, we assume to be humanizing. This is not necessarily true. The determining factor is not so much the nature of our jobs, but for whom they serve. ‘Burnout’ is a result of consuming yourself for something other than yourself. You could be burnt out for an abstract concept, ideal, or even nothing (predicament). You end up burning yourself as fuel for something or someone else. This is what feels dehumanizing. In repetitive physical jobs, you could burn out your body for something other than yourself. In creative jobs, you could burn out your soul. Either way, it would be dehumanizing. Completely mindless jobs and incessantly mindful jobs could both be harmful to us.” - Dsyke Suematsu from his white paper discussed at Why Ad People Burn Out. Full Article Dsyke Suematsu
our 5 Essentials To Create Your Own Website Presence By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 15 May 2019 18:45:21 +0000 Only a website that has a well-established presence can stand out on the internet. Business owners and individuals hire web designers like yourself to create website presences for them. In order to prove yourself, you need to establish your own presence online first. Get to the point where you can showcase your own website during […] The post 5 Essentials To Create Your Own Website Presence appeared first on Bittbox. Full Article Culture
our Winding road of open-source webOS By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:21:14 +0000 HP continues to divulge bits and pieces of a road map for the ill-starred and nearly-orphaned webOS. The company has followed up its December plan to release webOS mobile platform and development tools with a proposed timeline, with a full release set before year’s end. Some people see a life for the associated Enyo JavaScript Read the rest... Full Article Front Page Mobile WebOS
our Vert.x ramblings: Asynchronous network, your time has come By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:00:24 +0000 With the debut of Vert.x, the asynchronous framework is reaching an inflection point, suggests Andrew Cholakian. With Vert.x, the software is packaged together in such a way as to be extremely practical, he states. For some JVM zealots, Vert.x may meet needs recently and apparently addressed by node.js. Vert.x is an asynchronous application server – Read the rest... Full Article Front Page Node
our How to Add a WordPress Author Box to Your Blog Posts By wphacks.com Published On :: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000 So you’re interested in adding an author box to your WordPress blog? Well, you’ve come to the right place. An […] The post How to Add a WordPress Author Box to Your Blog Posts appeared first on WPHacks. Full Article Tutorials start a wordpress blog wordpress author box
our How to Set Up an Email Address for Your Website Domain Name By wphacks.com Published On :: Mon, 09 Mar 2020 08:00:00 +0000 Creating a new website can be overwhelming for some people. This is especially true when creating a website as a beginner. […] The post How to Set Up an Email Address for Your Website Domain Name appeared first on WPHacks. Full Article Tutorials domain name email marketing wordpress website
our METAL INJECTION LIVECAST #541 - Thank You For Your Cervix with STRAY FROM THE PATH's Tom Williams By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2019 01:08:04 +0000 On this week's episode, we were joined by Stray From the Path guitarist Tom Williams. We talk about band's recently... The post METAL INJECTION LIVECAST #541 - Thank You For Your Cervix with STRAY FROM THE PATH's Tom Williams appeared first on Metal Injection. Full Article Metal Injection Livecast
our Walking Away and the Ethos of Open Source By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:42:36 +0000 Every time we contribute to an open source project, in any way, we are answering an important question: Why don’t I walk away and start a new fork? I’ve been working in and with and around open source software for the better part of 15 years, and over that time I’ve seen the rise of […] The post Walking Away and the Ethos of Open Source appeared first on MOR10. Full Article Open Source
our Value Neutrality and the Ethics of Open Source By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Mar 2020 18:32:37 +0000 2019 was the year of the “ethical source” licenses – or ‘open source with a moral clause’ licenses. It was also the year many in the open source movement labeled any attempt at adding moral clauses to open source licenses not only made them not open source licenses, but were a dangerous attack on the […] The post Value Neutrality and the Ethics of Open Source appeared first on MOR10. Full Article Ethics Open Source
our The Best Free Zoom Backgrounds to Make Your Video Conferencing More Fun By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 06 Apr 2020 17:14:51 +0000 If you’re a remote worker, you may have plenty of experience with video conferencing as a way to communicate with clients, team members, or other colleagues. But with millions of additional... Click through to read the rest of the story on the Vandelay Design Blog. Full Article Featured Galleries
our How Much Does It Really Cost To Produce Your Favorite TV Show? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 30 Dec 2019 18:58:53 +0000 How Much Does It Really Cost To Produce Your Favorite TV Show? infographic compares the cost to make the show to their ratings on IMDb. Cashnetusa.com comes to the conclusion that, while Game of Thrones paid out the big bucks and received the huge ratings, it isn’t always necessary. Peaky blinders received great reviews and spent 10 million less per episode!Our new guide to the cost of producing the best and worst rated shows on TV in 2019 reiterates this sense that it’s not always the size of your production budget that counts, but what you do with it. The costly robots of Westworld are rivalled in ratings by the non-union zombies of The Walking Dead for a third of the price; Lost In Space was just as mediocre as the decidedly more earthbound NCIS: New Orleans.And in the short-term, with the complete series rating hovering around 9.5 on IMDb, Game of Thrones still manages to top our new table as both the highest rated and highest costing show. But when you consider the bitter taste on the tongues of millions of disappointed HBO subscribers, would a more thought-through finale have been a better investment than all that extra cash? Or are GoT fans just sour because (as experts suggest) they’re going through an end-of-show ‘break-up’?This infographic design does a lot of things right:Good scatterplot data visualization to illustrate their dataData points are clearly identified with data titles using proximity, not connecting lines necessary. This can often be a design challenge!Sources clearly identified with links so anyone can look into the dataUse of Creative Commons to protect the infographic and encourage sharingThe text on the infographic landing page includes the clickable data source links and a methodology description.Found on Geekologie.com Full Article