Archive for the 'Web design' Category

A nice little nod from ma.gnolia

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 29, 2008
in Social media, Web 2.0 and Web design
. 2 Comments

ma.gnolia logoOn 15 February 2006, Jeffery Zeldman and the thought-forward folks at Happy Cog helped to launched ma.gnolia, a then-new social bookmarking tool.

Me being the all-important web prof that spreads the occasional DWWS love to my students immediately fell in love with its utter simplicity. Coupled with finding similar sites like digg and del.icio.us far too yucky for their time, I signed up for my own ma.gnolia account five days later.

And just five days ago, I received a warm note from Larry Halff, ma.gnolia’s founder, that I shall now appear as a Featured Linker on the site.

Dino Baskovic, one of the newest Featured Linkers on ma.gnoliaSmall honor? Perhaps in the grand scheme but to me it’s huge. All for sharing with you those bookmarks I feel are worth a damn on the site, this blog, Facebook, FriendFeed and I suppose Twitter.

There’s even a nice little blog post about me and my newest esteemed colleagues in the newest “Featured” ranks.

Hey, it may not pay, but it’s a living. And thanks again, Larry!

Banner ads still work?

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 14, 2008
in Web design
. 7 Comments

They must. And I hate Old Spice…

http://www.oldspice.com/doubleimpact/?banneractuallyworked

Also makes for the funniest URI parameter query, ever. Though Norelco did have a jump on this sorta advertising last year, really, as did Cavemen. Where’s the originality?

And eyes off that horse, ladies.

Facebook is hiring web designers

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 8, 2008
in Social media and Web design
. 6 Comments

As I rest up from the last couple months of an unplanned, uh, sabbatical shall we say, I’ve had a few former students reach out to me in need of work.

The global economy is what it is. But there’s hope from at least one source. Facebook is hiring!

Facebook is hiring web designers

So apply already. Good luck, and many, many return emails, thank yous and blog posts forthcoming, promise.

Web design links that matter

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 24, 2008
in Lawrence Tech and Web design
. 14 Comments

High FidelitySince I began teaching “Web Site Design” at Lawrence Tech, I’ve researched a bazillion (or so) web design sites.

Web sites about web sites, if you will. Thousands abound, though most are crap. You’d be shocked at how many these so-called “sources” still carry a torch for Dynamic HTML, ignore open web standards in favor of vendor-locked drivel or give honest SEO pros a bad name.

Never mind the foolish attempts to monetize social media. Tsk, tsk.

Having tossed those bad apples, I’ve sampled the good ones with my students. Some of the better sites have come and gone—forgotten classics such as Webmonkey (long abandoned by Lycos) and Builder.com (which redirects to a distant cousin Down Under). Charity Kahn, if you’re out there: we miss your “Stupid Web Tricks.”

Anyway, I was asked the following a few weeks ago by Tim M., one of my students:

“Could you share with us your most favorite web design sites?”

Sure, I thought. I’ve been meaning to publish a complete list of my personal favorites to share with my class. This will be simple. It wasn’t.

Continue reading ‘Web design links that matter’

Wii the people

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 8, 2008
in Social media and Web design
. 3 Comments

Wii the peopleLike so many of us stumbling social media types, I like to publish my online status updates. In my head, I think you’re riveted by blow-by-blow minutiae such as “Dino likes hot coffee” or “Dino dreams about delicious bacon” or even last week’s shocking revelation that “Dino is all out of Powdered Toast.”

I’m still not sure why I bother to actively update my status, let alone multiple ones on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and (for nearly a decade) AOL Instant Messenger. Perhaps sadly enough, I tie these and many more together using FriendFeed. Voyeurism in reverse? Or am I just doing my job playing cyber-alchemist?

Given the bites above, maybe I just need a more balanced breakfast. But if you insist on a steady diet of Dino, then who am I to refuse? I’m a ham and I know it. What I didn’t know, nor ever expected, was your fascination with my recent purchase of a Nintendo Wii:

Continue reading ‘Wii the people’

Sucka Free SEO

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 2, 2008
in Web design
. 1 Comment

On the next 106 & Park: will.i.am, Lil Wayne, Wu-Tang, web standards…

He calls himself m0serious, a.k.a. the Poetic Prophet, the SEO Rapper—though he rhymes about more than search. I honestly thought this would be a mildly amusing web spoof, but it’s actually quite good. I even showed this to my class earlier this evening, and they gave it their props.

If you’ve gotten this far and still aren’t sure whether to click play, then read on (thank you, Tasty Blog Snack):

Continue reading ‘Sucka Free SEO’

Spring break in sun-filled Southfield

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on March 12, 2008
in Lawrence Tech and Web design
. 1 Comment

This post is for my Spring 2008 “Web Site Design” students.

Spring break in sun-filled SouthfieldI couldn’t let a Wednesday pass without taking up your evening for a brief while. Tough love, I know. But it’s why you pay me the big bucks.

We’re halfway done, and finished with the code portion of our course. Well, not really finished—you have two projects to go, and I’m almost certain the last two exams will test your markup mettle.

Still, it’s not all tag soup. We’ll now begin to focus on the “rest” of web design: look and feel, usability, making servers your willing slaves. Before we launch into the second half, I leave you now with some coding tips to help you throughout the remainder of the semester and well into your careers…

Continue reading ‘Spring break in sun-filled Southfield’

Grande Yukon

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on March 7, 2008
in Communication, Lawrence Tech, Social media, Web 2.0 and Web design
. 0 Comments

A newly renovated Franklin Hall, a fresh blanket of snowSince Starbucks still finds it necessary to charge for wi-fi, I am posting this from home, hours after having left Kent. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I pay for a drop of wireless.

I now return to Lawrence Tech, where the wi-fi is deliciously free to use. Today’s YouToo Social Media Conference and Boot Camp at Kent State gave me a much needed boost as I aspire to offer a course in blogging this fall, if not next spring. Of course, I’m still waiting for this spring to arrive. My keyboard is practically frozen as I type.

Rounding out the rest of the day’s highlights:

  • People that never podcasted did so in under 15 minutes.
  • Sage Lewis gave a luncheon sermon that effectively restored my faith in SEO. This was probably a good thing, as former classmate Stefanie Moore and I delivered a primer on SEO do’s and don’ts later in the afternoon.
  • Our day ended with a panel discussion on social media’s impact on the presidential election. Half a million Facebook friends for can’t be wrong, or can they?

I am told that video from throughout the conference will be available online, as will most of the presentations. Brief snippets of mine follow…

Continue reading ‘Grande Yukon’

Good to be back

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on March 6, 2008
in Communication, Lawrence Tech, Social media, Web 2.0 and Web design
. 2 Comments

After nearly a two-year hiatus, I’ve decided to relaunch the “LTU Web Design” blog.

Dino BaskovicI suppose the guilt of presenting at a social media conference back at my alma mater in Ohio got the best of me. Thanks, Bill—the itch to blog is back.

That, and after having registered for one of those fancy ISSN numbers, I feel I owe it to you the taxpayer. Well, at least to my students at Lawrence Tech. They pay some hefty tuition to hear me ramble for three hours each week, so the very least I can do is put my money where my mouth is….

As I did in early ‘06, I’ll continue to focus this blog on web design, social media and communication. My previous foray was probably too formal in retrospect, and a tad preachy. Us web standards-types tend to be a bit into ourselves. Starting with this post, I’ll lose the tie and blog about what makes web design in the modern era so great, and why I have so much fun with it as a practitioner and a professor.

If I do my job well, you may learn something along the way. Heck, I’m still learning as I go.

Until next post, catch me on LinkedIn and Facebook, or this Friday night at Ray’s where I’ll talk more about last year’s massive web crash…

Continue reading ‘Good to be back’