tinym creative

The Resume is Dead or Not

tinym — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:15:49 +0000

Depending on your source, the resume is either dead or it isn't. In the digital age, the value of a good resume is more or less important depending on the job to which you are applying. If you are a content creator it's possible your online profiles and activities are more important than a formal resume. After all, your primary responsibilities will include digital content creation. For those applying for more traditional roles, your resume will be worth more on the employer mental scoreboard. Digital profiles will still need to be neat and tidy, free of embarrassing posts.

If you're looking to increase awareness of your personal brand online I posted a few tips on the Dice Blog Network yesterday. My best advice is to set up a single profile and link to it on each of your social networks. This gives you a simple way to update job titles and featured content once and have it be available everywhere.

Read what others are saying about the value of your resume and social media profiles on my Delicious stack: Resume or Profile?.

Have you gotten a job based on your online work where your resume was more of a review document but not crucial to your hiring?

Stuffed Shirt Placeholder HTML

tinym — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:20:05 +0000

A few weeks ago I created a quick placeholder html file and named it Stuffed Shirt. It doesn't have a lot of features. In fact, it's only a placeholder page made up of blue and white. Enjoy!

Download Stuffed Shirt Placeholder HTML

Super Cyber Monday: Don’t call it that

tinym — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:25:13 +0000

I typically don't partake of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday tradition but this year it's different. The economy has tanked and money is tight everywhere. Instead of watching the neat sales pass by I have decided to post a few here in hopes some of you will save a buck or two on gifts and other regular things you already need. May the savings be with you! I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving

WooThemes

Super duper coupon codes for their super sale - only good through Cyber Monday November 28, 2011

Target.com Specials

Target Super Cyber Monday Deals

Website Hosting Specials

3 Months Free Web Hosting & 25% Off AN Hosting

Gardening Gifts & Supplies

Get 10% off goods at SistersGardens.com - Coupon code 11FALL10
Offer good 11/25/11 - 11/30/11

Amazon.com Black Friday Week/ Cyber Monday Deals

Books
Countdown to Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals - Amazon.com
Shop Amazon's Gift Cards - Perfect Anytime
Get $120 Off Amazon Kindle DX - E Ink Display and Free 3G Wireless

Stock Photography

Free Stock Photos from DreamsTime

Computer Software

BitDefender - 70% Off
Screenshot Studio Pro - 40% Off

These links are from affiliate programs to which I belong. I would greatly appreciate your support this holiday season but you are not required to use these links to get the deals. Some do not require an affiliate link click to process coupon codes, others may. Happy shopping & Thank you!

Summertime Update

tinym — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:27:43 +0000

Several months ago I had an idea for this little site. Hardly anybody visits anymore because, well, I am hardly around myself. My plan was to change the purpose of the site to better fit my needs as a freelancer. My freelance work increased just after this bright idea. Interesting how that worked out. Now that I am working a bit more I have little time to devote to site updates here. I will write here from time to time until I get more time {insert laugh}. I still hold a full time position as a web developer too. My freelance work is split between writing & development. If you happen to know of a project or need a quote let me know. Have an excellent end of July!

Edit: To view missing content from last year until now, see the few things post at my experimental Tumblr blog called tiny bytes. I also wrote a post for Internet Evolution about the future of entertainment.

Steps for Proofing a Web Project

ilovegraphics — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:10:51 +0000

Proofing a web project is an extremely important part of the design process. Grammatical errors in the copy of your website, blog, or digital marketing material (brochures, posters, etc) that you post to your website will lower the authority of your perceived expertise as readers make note of even the smallest errors. Grammatical errors in the coding of a website can cause problems in the appearance of your website as well as in search engine visibility. Here are a few tips for fool proofing the proofing process.

Copy is one of the biggest proofing challenges. It is easy to miss a great number of common errors so extra care must be taken to eliminate them before they are published.

Practice makes perfect. Develop a proofing mindset. Practice extracurricular reading and writing on topics you enjoy. If you have trouble writing when you lack a specific goal, choose a topic that you personally find offensive or annoying. Words will flow easily in a tirade.

Take a break to clear your mind. After the copy for your brochure or blog is written and before you begin the proofing process, take a walk outside if possible, clear you mind, or even wait until the next work day if possible. Fresh eyes have a better chance at catching errors that tired eyes miss.

Develop a list of words that you commonly misspell. A spellchecker will miss mistakes like using "you" instead of "your". Use the find function to search for all instances of the commonly misspelled words in your document and replace those that have been used incorrectly.

Proofing the code of a newly designed website is another challenging undertaking.

Spelling errors in hidden text can decrease your search engine visibility. A professionally designed web page has text in the way of unique tags for both title and descriptions of each image, including a logo used in the title. Misspellings or coding errors may not cause visible errors in the image itself. While most viewers only see the image, search engines and audible text browsers for the vision impaired use the underlying text to find the page in a search or to create a verbal description of the page. Make sure to proofread the coding of tags to avoid this problem.

Special characters commonly used in copy are not reproduced consistently in every computer or browser. These include fractions, quotation marks, em dashes, and more. A professional designer will replace these characters with code that will reproduce accurately across all browsers and computers. (This is also a concern in printing brochures, posters, and other print materials. Your designer needs to know what font characters your printing company can accommodate.)

Taking the time to edit and proof your website is just as important as the writing of your copy. Make your copy as flawless as possible and readers will easily view you as an expert in your industry.

Tracking Client Data

tinym — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:45:31 +0000

If you're a freelancer or a lone developer, you may find yourself with a heap of client login information and a less than perfect storage solution. I am such and have found myself in this very spot. I tried different record keeping methods over the years and have not found one I like much. I have tried keeping a master spreadsheet, then completing one for each client containing this information to combine with other help docs. This proved to be a bad match for me. I have added login information to client accounts using Google Docs but not every client does. I have kept individual txt files within the client's project folder on my local machine, it works ok, but I want a better way. I have found plenty of invoicing, time tracking, and host management web services I like very much. Client data tracking doesn't seem to fit in so easily. I have thought about using pen & paper but I really don't want to. Maybe I'm just not looking at the common spreadsheet with eager eyes...

This is the part where I ask the great question: How do you track and store sensitive client information (i.e. account logins)? Should I be using a CRM to track clients from quote to project completion, adding login details to this system?

Web Developer may be Available for New Projects

tinym — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:00:34 +0000

In an attempt to be both clever and interesting (?!?), I purchased a 60+ character domain name. I have a few uses in mind for the future. For now, I'm would like to take a few seconds to introduce it [pause]

Ready? Go: WebDeveloperAndInfrequentFreelancerMayBeAvailableForNewProjects.com

Fully coded project to arrive @ this nifty domain in the future. Stay tuned.

Free Weekly Task Calendar

tinym — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:00:56 +0000

chore chart

I've been looking for a cute and useful chore chart for use at home with the family for a while now. I haven't found one I like so I decided to try creating my own.

While I had multiple family members in mind, you can use this calendar however you like. It has the days of the week printed across the top, and space along the left-most column for names or tasks. Each day has a little bit of writing room when the calendar is printed on 8.5x11 paper. Get the biggest writing space by printing on 11x17 paper. The calendar is saved in color but prints well in black in white too.

Download Weekly Chore Calendar 300kb [pdf]

Curly background image available at sxc.hu
Font available at fontsquirrel.com

This item cannot be sold in any format without prior consent from it's author as well as the background image creator. By downloading this calendar, you agree not to sell this item or claim it as your own.

Get to Work in 2010

tinym — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:00:39 +0000

Congratulations, you've made it to 2010. Now what? Don't give up.

Copyblogger's Jonathon Morrow writes candidly about his own life, struggles, and the value of fighting for your ideas.

Read at Copyblogger: On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas

What Matters Now

tinym — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:00:39 +0000

Seth Godin has released a new, free, ebook perfect for your 2010 forward-looking time. Maybe you have a few hours off from work, or if you're lucky it's days or weeks... In true viral Seth fashion, this 82 page book is totally free to download and distribute. Comprised of 200 word helps, hints, and hooks from seventy well-known (famous even) big thinkers. You may be familiar with some of these folks: Tim O'Reilly, Gina Trapani, Dave Balter, Jason Fried...[and more, more, more]

Download What Matters Now [pdf]