Today I had the pleasure of giving a talk to members of the governments e-communications network, part of the larger Government Communication Network. In the first of a series of events, the group invited a number of people from the web design community to discuss the subjects of accessibility and blogging. Along with Joe Clark, Alastair Campbell, Patrick Lauke and Tom Coates, I was given the honour of being asked to speak.
One of the great things about being a freelance web designer is the ability to turn down projects. I've come across a few projects recently that sounded interesting but made me feel nervous. It wasn't any one specific thing; rather a series of small little things that set my internal alarm bells ringing. As such I've written up a list of bad project warning signs. Individually none of these signs should be deal breakers. However put a few of them together and it may be worth thinking twice about taking on that project.
Good things come in small packages and I believe the ideal size for a web team consists of around 5 people. To start with you need somebody to bring in the business. This person obviously needs to be a good salesperson, but not in a pushy, telesales kind of way. They need to be confident and charismatic, comfortable presenting to the board or mixing at networking events. As they will be dealing primarily with other business people, it helps if they come from a business background. However they still need to have a solid understanding of the web.
Most mature industries have pretty fixed job titles and roles. Take the construction industry for instance. You've got Architects, Engineers and Draftsmen. You've got Electricians and Carpenters, Bricklayers and Plumbers, Foremen and Site Inspectors. Each one has a defined role and if you met one down the pub, you'd have a pretty good idea what their job entailed. The movie industry is the same. Every film will have a Director and a Cinematographer. There will be Producers, Actors, Special Effects people and Stuntmen. Each person knows roughly what the other does and how all the roles fit together to produce a great – or not so great – movie.
After SXSW Interactive wrapped up, most of the "BritPack" headed off home. However I decided to make the most of my time away, so arranged to meet up with my girlfriend for a long weekend away in New York. I've always wanted to visit New York, but despite all my travelling, it's a place I've never managed to get to. New York is one of those big cities–like London, Sydney or Hong Kong– that you absolutely have to visit at least once in your life. We live in an age where American popular culture has penetrated the furthest reaches of the world, and New York takes centre stage in our collective consciousness. It's one of the places that you've seen so many times on TV and in the movies, you feel you know it, even if you've never been there before. It didn't disappoint.