All Posts 219

Oct 03, 2020 at 10:05 am

Technical Research: Testable Documentation

I've been thinking about documentation quite a bit lately, especially the code-centric type, and how to avoid punishing myself for spending time writing it. Here's the start of my research project to that end.

Aug 30, 2020 at 10:05 am

WordPress Unit Testing Techniques

I've learned a lot about how to avoid common issues and making life writing tests in WordPress a little easier. This post is a collection of ways I've found to accurately and thoroughly test a plugin.

May 17, 2020 at 12:21 pm

How we are teaching right now

This is not a guide on how to teach your child. I have not figured out how to do that with my own, let alone yours. This is just one family's story about trying, failing, and trying again.

Apr 25, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Excellent piece on quarantine coping and much more

Feb 09, 2020 at 6:00 am

Taking WordPress to Eleventy

How I converted 12 years of posts in WordPress to an Eleventy static site ... and loved every minute of it.

Jan 15, 2020 at 7:00 pm

Notes from Rock Your Code Reviews with Dr. Michaela Greiler

Jun 27, 2019 at 6:00 am

Specializing vs Generalizing

Should you specialize and go deep or generalize and go broad? I'd argue they they are two sides of the same coin.

Jun 11, 2019 at 6:23 pm

Improvement as Experimentation

I've gone through many transformations in my life. I have been lucky a number of times in a way that benefited me. I've also been unlucky a number of times that held me back.

Jul 10, 2018 at 7:28 pm

Pitfalls of Being a WordPress Developer

Something happens to you as a developer when you start on and stick with a single platform for a long period of time. As you get better and better at that platform, you get further and further away from the rest of the ecosystem.

Apr 12, 2017 at 4:25 pm

Self-Teach or Go Back to School?

Advice to a few friends on learning web development.

Feb 07, 2017 at 3:43 am

1PPM: month 1 (and 2)

I found a group of folks online who committed to launching 1 project per month (1PPM) and it resonated with me in a big way. This is what I did for my first one.

Jan 24, 2017 at 6:06 am

Beautiful piece about time

Jan 05, 2017 at 10:56 pm

Engineer Support for Content and Communication Rockstars

Regardless of the industry, when people care deeply about what they're making and who they're helping, it shows.

Dec 08, 2016 at 9:16 pm

How I Focus Now

After reading several articles and a great book, Deep Work by Cal Newport, I’m sold: focus is tough, necessary, and at a premium. I’ve been on a month-long discovery process to find how to work more efficiently (in other words: less screen time with more output), produce better, and avoid negative thoughts.

Nov 26, 2016 at 5:47 am

Creativity Takes Time

Nov 21, 2016 at 5:51 pm

Quit Social Media

Nov 16, 2016 at 7:36 pm

Digital Detox

Before this, I wasn’t just losing time, I was actively harming my thought process for the rest of the time that I wasn’t distracting myself. All of this consumption, in the name of doing more and better, was robbing my ability to do just that.

Oct 21, 2016 at 9:36 pm

Gist: vanilla JS animated scrollTo

Oct 09, 2016 at 9:24 pm

Repo: Missed Search Log for WordPress

Concept for a log of search terms with no results on a WordPress site.

Aug 09, 2016 at 6:46 pm

Brewery Site Framework for Craft Beer Branding Gods

In one of those "meant to be" moments, I met the founder and president of the mind-bogglingly talented craft beer agency here in Seattle, Blindtiger. Oceania (Oce for short) invited me down to the office to talk shop and it just clicked.

Jul 01, 2016 at 3:34 pm

Gist: Add custom fields by shortcode

Jun 11, 2016 at 10:55 pm

Community and eCommerce Site for Massive Minecraft Community

8-month engagement to provide engineering, strategy, code review, pair programming, performance reviews, and security guidance.

Apr 02, 2016 at 4:58 pm

Redesign on JoshCanHelp

A few details about the current (5th) iteration of this site.

Apr 01, 2016 at 4:49 pm

Repo: WP CSV Importer

Apr 01, 2016 at 2:34 pm

Latest Deals Site Built on Rank It WP

A WordPress child theme gone mad! Built-in click statistics, moderation controls, grabbing text and images from submitted links, and expiring content.

Mar 30, 2016 at 3:25 am

8ninths Site Rebuild

Just in time for an announcement by Microsoft about their HoloLens project, we launched a complete site rebuild for 8ninths, focusing on their VR and AR capabilities.

Jan 18, 2016 at 8:35 pm

A(nother) WordPress Starter Template

This theme is an extension of a framework created for a local agency that wanted a way to spin up custom WordPress sites quickly and correctly. It grew into the starting point for all sites that I create.

Dec 15, 2015 at 5:47 pm

Gist: Add a Google RECAPTCHA and honeypot to a WordPress registration form

Oct 22, 2015 at 7:06 pm

Ideas Dump: Part 1

Here are a few things that I think should exist, with my help or without. Make one or make them all, just let me know when they launch.

Oct 19, 2015 at 5:20 pm

Much Needed Inspiration

An incredible movie, a life-changing product, and a quote. Might be just what you need right now too.

Aug 19, 2015 at 7:19 pm

Semi-eCommerce Site for a Local Composites Distributor

This site was a partial migration from a custom PHP and MySQL application that was in dire need of an update. Collaborating with a talented designer, I built a site housing almost 400 products and dominates search ranking for high-value, niche terms.

Jun 19, 2015 at 4:41 pm

Installation Cold Brew: Buzz King

Jun 12, 2015 at 3:49 pm

Lessons Learned in Agency

I've been doing agency development and design work for almost a decade, and customer service for almost 2. But I learned a lot when the tables were turned.

Apr 09, 2015 at 5:44 pm

WP-Drudge on Alan.com

Alan Colmes needed a central hub for his news curation and community surrounding his radio show and books. We've been iterating on this site for a few years and finally settled on a very customized version of the WP-Drudge theme I created.

Mar 23, 2015 at 12:27 am

Become A WordPress Developer Overnight After 4 Months of Work

This is a summary of an email I sent to someone who wants to get into creating custom WordPress themes and plugins. I've been doing this for over 7 years now and would like to think I have something interesting and helpful to say about this.

Mar 05, 2015 at 7:31 pm

Intermediate Sass/SCSS class in Seattle

For web development folks in Seattle who want to level up on Sass, SCSS, Bourbon, and the like, I'm helping to organize an intermediate-level class sometime in the next couple of months.

Feb 17, 2015 at 5:24 pm

Gist: WP-CLI migration from ejunkie to WooCommerce

Feb 09, 2015 at 4:48 pm

Progress In January

Feb 08, 2015 at 4:48 pm

Blue Bottle Giant Steps

Jan 12, 2015 at 3:00 pm

A Few Thoughts on WordPress Performance

"WordPress is a server hog" ... "WordPress keeps crashing" ... "You can't run a fast WordPress site" ... I've heard these kinds of statements over and over for years.

Jan 08, 2015 at 5:43 pm

Rank It WP: A Community Curation Theme for WordPress

My latest shipment comes in the form of a premium theme called Rank It WP. The idea, explained in-depth after the jump, is a Product Hunt-type site in WordPress.

Jan 05, 2015 at 3:01 pm

Systematic Goal Elimination

Scott Adams: "To put it bluntly, goals are for losers. That’s literally true most of the time. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, you will spend every moment until you reach the goal—if you reach it at all—feeling as if you were short of your goal. In other words, goal-oriented people exist in a state of nearly continuous failure that they hope will be temporary."

Jan 05, 2015 at 3:01 pm

Mama Lil's Kick Butt Peppers in Oil

Jan 05, 2015 at 12:20 am

Make Coconut Chips at Home, Then Give Up and Buy Dang

Jan 04, 2015 at 12:12 am

Kina Tonic For A Unique Gin & Tonic Experience

Jan 01, 2015 at 7:24 pm

Coconut Jam, Kopi and Toast, Singapore

Singapore is a magical wonderland of food, architecture, color, culture, and food. And food. Oh the food.

Nov 18, 2014 at 10:12 pm

Easy Feedback To-dos with Gmail and Asana

I recently needed feedback on a product I'm creating and wanted to figure out the easiest way to get feedback from contacts who were generous enough to give it. Maybe this will work for you too.

May 01, 2014 at 5:53 pm

Programming Sucks

Apr 29, 2014 at 9:45 pm

Connecting Strategy to Tactics

Like a lot of people, I have many, many ideas going on at once and many, many tasks that need my time and attention, both of which are in short supply. Where do I start? What do I do? Where is my direction?

Apr 21, 2014 at 11:11 pm

Why Open Source? Why For Sale?

A question I’m often asked by friends and colleagues is how I decide what I sell and what I give away. There’s no formula but there is a rationale.

Mar 05, 2014 at 11:14 pm

My Favorite Hot Sauce Ever ... This Month

Feb 17, 2014 at 11:16 pm

Redesign, Drupal migration, and WooCommerce to CiviCRM Integration

A massive undertaking: migrate a popular eCommerce site from unsupported versions of Drupal and CiviCRM to WordPress. Challenge accepted!

Feb 01, 2014 at 5:56 pm

I Don't Know What Exactly Makes This So AMAZING but I Do Know I Always Want It In My Mouth

Feb 01, 2014 at 5:50 pm

AleSmith Grand Cru - One of My Favorite Beers of All Time

Feb 01, 2014 at 5:28 pm

There is Cold Brew and Then There is Black Blood of the Earth

Made by Funranium Labs, Black Blood of the Earth (BBotE henceforth) is a very high-quality bottled cold brew that’s clearly made with passion and vim.

Aug 15, 2013 at 5:59 pm

Neil Roseman on conversations/interviews

Aug 15, 2013 at 4:51 am

Ballard to Fremont - Bikes and Brews

A list of the breweries in Ballard and Fremont and a few suggested schedules for the weekend days.

Apr 04, 2013 at 7:59 pm

PROPER Web Development

Feb 18, 2013 at 6:30 pm

Two Worlds, Existing Side-by-Side, Always In Conflict

On how I have made a commitment, each day, to never getting mad, irritable, frustrated, depressed, or negative, no matter what. This probably sounds a little trite to some, maybe totally obvious to others, but it's something I needed to understand. "When the student is prepared, the teacher appears," says Brother Ali .... preach on.

Feb 13, 2013 at 5:50 pm

Tips, tricks, and advice for visiting Paris

These are a few things that we found and enjoyed in and around Paris during our 2 month stay there in 2010.

Aug 14, 2012 at 2:00 pm

Thoughts on Focus

I think a lot about focus, what it means, and how to find it. Focus is something that does not come naturally to most people and can be very difficult when you live an over-connected lifestyle. It’s something that you have to commit to, practice, experiment with, and make a priority.

Aug 07, 2012 at 2:00 pm

Don't Screw Around with Your Finances

Apr 12, 2012 at 11:33 pm

The Right Way Has To Be The "Easy" Way

When you're ready to start using social media, ask yourself two questions: how much time do I have to spend on this activity and what kind of value can I provide?

Apr 03, 2012 at 8:56 pm

My WordPress Developer's Wishlist

I build a lot of WordPress and I use WordPress all day, every day. Here’s what I’d love to see in future WordPress releases.

Feb 26, 2012 at 10:27 pm

Taking Your First Steps on Twitter: The 30 - 40 - 30 Plan

This post is for anyone who just signed up for Twitter and thought, 'OK, now what?' It’s for the businesses and individuals curious about how to get started on Twitter and have fun with it.

Feb 24, 2012 at 4:50 am

Quora: Are CMSs are more awkward than helpful a lot of the time?

It took me a long time (4 years) to get to the point where almost every project I get is built in WordPress and I'll tell you the 3 keys to getting it right, for yourself and with clients.

Feb 15, 2012 at 4:43 pm

How to be a better self-promoter in the creative industry

I was having coffee at a local coffee shop recently and came across one of the worse examples of in-person self-promotion I’ve seen in a while. I wanted to share the experience so you know where this kind of thing can go wrong.

Jan 14, 2012 at 10:38 pm

A Veggie Sandwich

Is there a more polarizing set of words in the English language than “veggie sandwich?”

Jan 10, 2012 at 5:54 pm

Working with a web designer: help us help you

This post is about helping me help you to come up with the best design we possibly can.

Nov 30, 2011 at 10:40 pm

Loopholes and shortcuts, advances and mistakes

Nov 29, 2011 at 6:16 am

Improve Site SEO in 3 Steps: Analysis, Keywords & Monitoring

Oct 25, 2011 at 3:18 pm

Using Google Analytics to determine a new page's performance

Oct 18, 2011 at 1:45 pm

Great Content Is Like a Produce Stand in Paris

You're just another blog out there but with a little creativity and some care for the people coming through, you can be just what someone needs at just the right time.

Oct 11, 2011 at 2:06 pm

Share Facebook Page Items to your Profile

Aug 03, 2011 at 1:55 pm

A Great Facebook Page for a Boring, Niche, or Unappealing Business

Jul 19, 2011 at 1:47 pm

Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Jul 12, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Create your own Social Network or Online Community - 10 tools

Here are 10 tools you can use to create a community or social network online for free (in most cases).

Jul 04, 2011 at 3:46 pm

5 Reasons You Should Fire Your SEO "Professional"

Jun 28, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Creating effective email marketing campaigns

A presentation on creating great email marketing campaigns along with links to other resources.

Jun 21, 2011 at 4:01 pm

I Don't Live the Life I Want (yet)

May 09, 2011 at 3:44 pm

It Actually Happened - GetScientific is Alive!

We set out to build “an online database of learning aids, resources, links, and guides for students and professors of hard sciences” based on our experience trying to find useful resources online during our stint as undergraduate chemistry students.

Apr 12, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Choosing Keyword Phrases for Content Pages

A step-by-step guide on how to choose the right keywords for your site content.

Mar 15, 2011 at 9:00 am

Web Literacy for Business Owners

This is a pool of topics that I consider essential for business owners to understand, the collection of which define basic web literacy for business owners.

Mar 08, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Stoic Technology: Learning to Love Adversity

Feb 25, 2011 at 6:17 pm

Big Step

This is the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to move away from something I really enjoy towards something I expect to enjoy even more. This is also the first time that I won’t have a check appear at a specific time for a specific amount anymore.

Jan 13, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Thoughts on web design and development pricing

Nov 30, 2010 at 4:00 pm

Simple introduction to incoming links

The incoming link concept is one of those things that is hard to get your head around but one of the key concepts of having an maintaining a healthy website.

Nov 08, 2010 at 10:45 pm

Back home and feeling great

Just a quick update for everyone.... we're back on the West Coast after too many trains, a wonderful stop in Amsterdam, a much-needed catch-up with great friends in New York, and 3 flights. We're now safe, sound, and comfortable with friends in San Diego getting caught up and getting our affairs in order.

Oct 25, 2010 at 10:27 am

Staying positive

We are stuck in (beautiful) Toulon because of train strikes (and bus strikes and no rental cars) and this fact makes enjoying this beautiful part of the country more difficult than it could be.

Oct 14, 2010 at 3:28 pm

The Strikes

We saw a strike parade in Dinan, France and it had a good energy to it. People were chanting a bit, walking slowly through the streets, showing their support for the opposition to a change in the retirement age.

Oct 06, 2010 at 8:44 am

Cause for Alarm?

I was informed that Europe was on alert and later learned that the State Department probably would be releasing an alert. A quick news search found countless articles about heightened security, new intelligence, and possible targets.

Sep 24, 2010 at 5:32 pm

Reims - You Want To Go To There

Get comfortable, grab a glass of something cold, white, and bubbly, and let me tell you about our day trip to a great little town called Reims.

Sep 21, 2010 at 10:25 pm

3 Questions to Answer Before Building Anything Online

Sep 17, 2010 at 7:04 pm

Miles to go before we sleep

Paris is a walking city. Someone told me that before I left San Diego and they were completely correct. If you can’t get there by foot, you walk to the Metro and take the train.

Sep 06, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Slowly but surely, I think we're starting to fit in

With a haircut by a French barber and just enough French to get by, I’m claiming honorary (though temporary) status as a Parisian.

Aug 25, 2010 at 10:10 pm

The unfamiliar and wonderful life we now lead

Let me tell you a little bit about this strange, wonderful, and very Parisian life we’ve made for ourselves here. We live in the 9th arrondissement in an area known as Montmartre (or, as we learned from the owner’s son, “the Nine”).

Aug 24, 2010 at 9:00 pm

5 Reasons Why I Won't Build That For You (it's not just because I said so)

Aug 21, 2010 at 7:24 am

I see London, I see France

Determined to make the most of our time in London, we dug the sweaters and raincoats from the bottoms of our suitcases and bravely ventured into the cold and rain. We did as the locals and drank room temperature pints on mid-afternoon sight-seeing breaks.

Aug 13, 2010 at 11:10 am

Leaving San Diego

I’m sitting here at LAX wondering how I can communicate how intense this last week has been. I don’t think I can ... and I don’t think it matters. Still, let me share what our final week in San Diego had in store for us.

Aug 10, 2010 at 3:36 pm

Confessions from an accidental spammer

Aug 01, 2010 at 7:14 pm

And so it begins - planning, preparation, and PayPal

I decided to start this little travel blog of sorts to share the newlyweds’ adventures across a few different countries. Imagine my surprise when my very private and, at times, very shy wife seemed almost more excited than I was.

Jun 24, 2010 at 10:51 pm

What it means to me to be a free agent

May 27, 2010 at 8:03 pm

A Layman's Intro to the Semantic Web: Web 3.0, ontology, and RDFa

May 05, 2010 at 11:51 pm

Intoxicated by the possibility of making mediocrity hard to sustain (#100ppl)

Apr 22, 2010 at 10:24 pm

Basic Website Analytics for Content Managers

Apr 14, 2010 at 7:07 pm

Making a commitment to better output: NO MORE F*CKING TYPOS

Apr 08, 2010 at 6:45 pm

Working with Greatness: The Processes Behind the Production

Mar 11, 2010 at 9:49 pm

Make it Simple, Focused, High-Performance, and Polished: My Web Philosophy

Feb 26, 2010 at 7:45 pm

Seasonal web traffic: what to expect and how to improve it

Does your traffic dip during the holiday season? Don't freak out, it's completely normal. Here's what happened to me and what can be done.

Feb 19, 2010 at 2:14 am

Essential Hardware And Software for Virtual Employees and Contractors

Feb 03, 2010 at 10:57 pm

Give someone a social hand and write a review

Jan 14, 2010 at 6:00 pm

Improving Website and WordPress Performance with Hard-Coded Share Buttons

Quickly add hard-coded share links badges to your WordPress or static site.

Jan 05, 2010 at 7:22 am

RESPONSE ABILITY: An art project to benefit the homeless around the world.

Dec 30, 2009 at 12:50 am

Insane Ideas Are Life's Great Equalizer

Between amazing web applications, unprecedented communication options, and practically incomprehensible medical technology advances, we’re living in a time of incredible ideas that have come to fruition.

Dec 04, 2009 at 8:48 pm

6 key ways to improve your email communication

Nov 19, 2009 at 11:03 pm

Traditional networking is dead

I think I’ve found my calling: exchanging ideas and talking them through. What’s that pay nowadays?

Nov 12, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Create a simple website with the Google Docs CMS

In attempt to solve one problem, I figured out a way to easily publish and manage data on the web by using a simple Google Documents spreadsheet.

Nov 09, 2009 at 7:27 pm

Succeed by Finding Your Audience

I think the fundamental issue with many, many websites out there is that few people have identified what activities contribute the most to their bottom line.

Oct 27, 2009 at 2:40 am

Do it, then do it better: an iterative mindset

Though I haven’t eliminated repetition from my professional life entirely, I’m aware of something very different at work. Creating websites from scratch can be tedious but it has taught me something critical about iteration.

Oct 20, 2009 at 8:00 pm

Is having your own website a dated concept

For the record, this is one of the reasons I find immense value in Twitter: exposure to a broad range of opinions on an equally broad range of topics. Since this particular option pertained to what I do, I figured I’d chime in.

Oct 11, 2009 at 10:10 pm

Drudge Report template - 3 column link display page in HTML

I started from scratch and made this very simple, lightweight, one-file, one-page site template that mimics the layout of Drudge report with a few extra features.

Oct 09, 2009 at 8:00 pm

What is Talent?

Talent is a funny thing. Being talented in something is a product of chance, practice, both, and neither (these days, I’m leaning much more towards practice).

Sep 30, 2009 at 8:00 pm

New custom WordPress theme and structure at JoshCanHelp

I finally made the time to finish my site’s re-design and re-build. Part of me thought this would be a minor remodel with a new WordPress theme but, in the end, I re-did all of my page content and changed my whole organization.

Sep 03, 2009 at 7:43 pm

Friends: holding you back or helping you?

By the end of my cigarette smoking career, it had taken me about 40 tries to put those damn things down but, one day, for no good reason, I did it. Was it just one of those great miracles of life? Maybe not ...

Sep 01, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Improve WordPress Performance by 36 Percent

I was approached recently by the owner of a popular blog using WordPress. He wanted to know if there was anything he could do to speed up his site. As usual, Josh Can (and did) Help.

Aug 13, 2009 at 9:00 am

Google Analytics Basics

Knowing what pages are the most popular, what keywords people are using to find you, and where people are going paint a picture about your customers.

Aug 04, 2009 at 7:30 pm

3 things that help me to write quality content

I am fascinated by how people are able (or unable) to consume the amount of information that is available on so many topics. I am also perpetually interested in improving my own ability at presenting information.

Aug 04, 2009 at 6:40 pm

Tracking your body data to stay motivated

One of the hardest things for me to wrap my head around when I started to lose weight was how to actually do it. When the time came to get down to business and start losing the chub, I was lost before I even started.

Jul 31, 2009 at 7:54 pm

Web strategy and resources links for July 31st

Jul 31, 2009 at 5:57 pm

I am an FFK... nice to meet you

FFK stands for Former Fat Kid. If you were fat in a previous life and have certain tendencies that make it tough to maintain weight loss then you’re an FFK.

Jul 24, 2009 at 7:00 pm

9 Great Web Strategy Links for July 24th 2009

This week I’ve got some great links about SEO, Twitter, and marketing. I save and send out a lot of links during the week and I like going back through them and explaining why I think they are important.

Jul 23, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Searches on Delicious are more powerful than you think

I talk about Delicious.com a lot because I’ve found it very critical for my own web strategy and organization. Saving links is incredibly easy and I LOVE being able to share categories of links with people.

Jul 17, 2009 at 6:41 pm

Web strategy links and Resources for July 17th

These are links that I’ve saved on Delicious or sent over Twitter since last Friday that you might find useful.

Jul 10, 2009 at 9:01 pm

Trying to learn Photoshop? Here's what to concentrate on

With all the tutorial sites out there these days, the problem isn’t finding something to learn, it’s figuring out which skill to concentrate on.

Jul 10, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Josh Can Help: Helpful web strategy links for July 10th

Every Friday, I’m going to collect the best links I’ve saved and sent out and list out the ones I think the are the most useful.

Jul 01, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Tooting my own horn - Email marketing presentation

I just recently gave an hour long talk on email marketing titled '6 Questions to Ask Before Sending an Email Campaign.' I thought I’d toot my own horn a bit and post the feedback that I got.

Jun 24, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Website performance and health reports

Without close monitoring and regular reporting, websites run the risk of losing traffic, accumulating errors, and becoming difficult to search.

Jun 18, 2009 at 6:30 pm

What Is Web Strategy?

I've realized in the last year that my passion is centered around the web and how people connect to one another, use simple online tools to solve their problems, and create a name for themselves or their business in a way that was never possible before.

Jun 12, 2009 at 6:00 pm

How I explained WTF Twitter is to my Dad

My dad and I have been working on a plan for a website to promote his business valuation report for a few months now. The site that inevitably came up that was Twitter.

Jun 04, 2009 at 9:42 pm

3 MORE Important Questions to Ask Before Sending Company Email Marketing

On Monday, I posted 3 questions to ask before sending your email campaign. Today, I’m going to finish up this thought with three more questions.

Jun 01, 2009 at 7:17 pm

3 Important Questions to Ask Before Sending an Email Campaign

So you want to send an email campaign. Well, guess what? Everyone else wants to send an email campaign too and that includes spammers, your competition, and others that deign to make your email marketing harder than it already is.

May 28, 2009 at 11:19 pm

What Kind of Tech User Are You?

While I was on the Pew Internet Project site, I took their “What Kind of Tech User Are You?” quiz. Not surprisingly, I got an A.

May 18, 2009 at 6:00 pm

StumbleUpon: You Disappointed Me

Poor usability abound but, for some things, there are no excuses.

May 11, 2009 at 6:00 pm

The three things every business owner needs to understand about web sites

I find myself often explaining how a website works, what is needed to get one on-line, and what needs to be maintained. About half of the information I give is good to know and the other half is vital to protecting your business, your brand, and your security.

Apr 30, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Pleased To Announce a New Client Website Launched: EMASPro.com

I’m very excited to announce the culmination of a lot of planning, design, and coding. The site emaspro.com went live on Monday night without any major fiascoes, issues, meltdowns, or problems.

Apr 21, 2009 at 4:27 pm

You can't go wrong with Fused Network hosting for small businesses

I have a fairly broad experience with shared hosting companies. Some are faster than others, some have goofy control panels, some have terrible service, and some are, well, pretty standard. Fused, however, is different.

Apr 13, 2009 at 7:00 pm

The Search for a New Cell Phone

What do I replace my HTC Hermes with? Nokia E71? Blackberry Bold? Samsung BlackJack 2? Samsung Epix? Motorola Q? Samsung Propel?

Mar 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm

"What is expected of a designer?" on LinkedIn

Mar 23, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Using the social technologies of the web effectively while staying out of trouble

Mar 11, 2009 at 7:00 pm

My Answers for the 7 Questions to Ask a Social Media Expert

7 questions to ask a social media consultant before you hire them and my answers as a social media participant.

Mar 02, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Path forward: How Josh Can Help Plans and Approaches Building a New Web Site from Scratch

When I create a website, I have a plan but it might be good to share this with everyone who is curious about what goes into building a web site from scratch.

Feb 19, 2009 at 5:57 pm

Information Reservoirs (or) How I Keep Track of a Large Amount of Incoming Information

Feb 16, 2009 at 5:10 pm

Craigslist feeds blocked from Yahoo Pipes via 403 error

It looks like Yahoo Pipes, the incredibly amazing feed/data aggregator/sorter, is being blocked by Craigslist via a 403 Forbidden error.

Feb 11, 2009 at 4:00 pm

Facebook Group vs A Blog: What's a Company to Do?

I was having a virtual conversation with a colleague last week and the topic of Facebook group pages versus blogs came up. I wanted to share this conversation because I think it’s essential to exchange ideas like this, especially ideas that pertain to experimentation and exploration.

Feb 05, 2009 at 4:55 pm

Website page titles - how to pick one and what they are for

Sometimes it’s the things you don’t see that make the biggest difference.

Feb 02, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Free software and websites that really, really, really help me

The following computer-based implements have become so essential to me that I would pay good money to keep them. They happen, however, to be completely free.

Jan 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Creating a functional, useable, linkable website: start and maintain a blog

Jan 21, 2009 at 4:38 pm

Advice to a client: don't just have a great idea and act on it – remember the bottom line too

Jan 15, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Creating a functional, useable, linkable website: write a few articles

Jan 12, 2009 at 5:00 pm

The Mad Printer... an interesting coffeeshop activity

Jan 09, 2009 at 6:00 pm

You want to create a website but why? Make sure you can answer that question...

Jan 05, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Josh Can Help brings you: 2009 Technology Resolutions

Dec 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Getting started correcting your search engine problems.

Dec 12, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Search Engine Optimization as a metaphor for life

Dec 08, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 6 of 6)

Dec 05, 2008 at 9:00 am

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 5 of 6)

Dec 04, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 4 of 6)

Dec 03, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 3 of 6)

Dec 02, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 2 of 6)

Dec 01, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Curing Underemployment (or) Josh’s Six Step Plan to a Great Resume (part 1 of 6)

Nov 24, 2008 at 6:00 pm

My New ASUS EEE 1000H (or) How my life just got a whole lot more productive

I’m not the type of person who needs new, cool things all the time. But one device recently has changed what I do so drastically that it’s my obligation to talk about it.

Nov 20, 2008 at 8:00 pm

Beginner Exercises to Learn PHP Programming

I’ve been on a quest to try my hand at a real programming language. I get the feeling that I’m really going to like what I learn.

Nov 07, 2008 at 5:00 pm

The Worst Possible Way to Work (or) How to Find a System That Works for You

I’m going to share with you how I work. This method would/will drive certain people nuts. This method is not foolproof but none of them are.

Nov 04, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Spam: what is it? what does it do? why am I sending it? who cares?

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague recently about what constitutes spam email and how we could go about avoiding it.

Nov 01, 2008 at 7:25 pm

How to be an old(er) undergraduate or How I learned to accept what I've been given

I've been thinking about my past as a student and how far I’ve come as a person. I wanted to share a bit about what I’ve learned as the oldest dude in my graduating class (except that other guy).

Oct 27, 2008 at 8:06 pm

A beautiful day, a piece of pressboard, some Montana Gold, and an illustration

I finally got around to throwing up some paint in my graffiti class. It had been a while since I last held a can and, because the last go-around was so disappointing, I was afraid it might happen again.

Oct 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm

Good advice to a client about building a blog from the ground up

My honest take on starting a blog from scratch. Do it because you like it and don’t assume you don’t like it because you have no idea what you’re doing.

Oct 20, 2008 at 4:00 pm

What to do with great ideas (part 1)

Oct 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Considering a career in software, development, or digital design? Listen to the professionals at Microsoft.

Oct 10, 2008 at 6:00 pm

What to do with downtime: slow-going tips post #1

Oct 03, 2008 at 8:45 pm

Fresh cards from Fresh Impressions in Florida

Oct 02, 2008 at 6:00 pm

This, a typical week

I have been talking recently (more in person than anywhere) about being a generalist and what that means to me. I am, in every sense of the word, a generalist, a mash-up artist, comfortable between groups than deep within them.

Sep 30, 2008 at 6:00 pm

W3C Schools (via JCH) Beginner's Course in HTML for Emails

I bring to you the W3C (via JCH) Beginner’s Course in HTML for Emails. A list of classes on the W3C site along with instructions for how to use it.

Sep 26, 2008 at 5:00 pm

Password storage done right

It took me long enough but I’m finally implementing a password safe and I’m choosing KeePass.

Sep 24, 2008 at 4:01 pm

How to make a Technology Taming Plan

If you like learning how to use things and do it quickly then maybe more time should be spent picking things up, playing with them, and deciding whether or not to use them. If, like most of us, you have limited time and want to simplify your daily life, it’s time to make a Technology Taming Plan.

Sep 22, 2008 at 8:14 pm