Matt Way’s Blog » archive for 'Neat Stuff'

Furthering Education

  • December 17th, 2007

Well, after going such a long time without posting. I figured I better post about what I’ve been up to the last couple of months.

For the most part, I have been pretty busy with work on websites, graphic design, and adding content to my site. However, I have managed to squeeze in some additional education.

Adobe has been heavily promoting Actionscript 3.0. In case you aren’t aware, Actionscript 3 is the programming language used by Flash CS3 and Flex. (both of which are Adobe products)

I have been hitting the books to familiarize myself with this language. I am pretty excited about Actionscript 3.0 since it allows me to do all kinds of neat stuff with Flash. However, up to now I have been really wanting Adobe to include functionality for interacting with the file sytem. I perceive many benefits to having this functionality as it would allow me to build great applications for the desktop.

Now maybe I’ll be able to complete that project I’ve had rolling around in the back of my head. Anyway, nothing too exciting. I just thought I’d write a post today.

The Pain of a Sprain

  • September 19th, 2007

They say a sprain is worse than a break when you are talking about ankles. While I do not know if that statement is true, I do know that a sprained ankle is no fun whatsoever.

My Sprained Ankle BruisingAbout two or three weeks ago I was playing basketball with some friends at the park. Well, according to my wife, I can’t do anything without going all out. That is definitely what happened here. We were just shooting around and I went for a rebound I shouldn’t have chased and stepped on the edge of the court. My ankled rolled and I sprained it.

Just so you know, pumping your fist in the air repeatedly doesn’t always mean you’re celebrating a great play. I know because after this event, my grimmacing face was red and my arm was going about twenty pumps-a-minute but there was no joy, I guarantee you that.

Since I love playing basketball - which, by the way is the only reason I play it, because I stink at it - I kept playing anyway like an idiot.

If you’ve never had a sprained ankle, I can tell you that it hurts in more than just your ankle. My foot, toes, leg, and even my hip hurt from this injury. My toes turned black and my foot puffed up like a chubby baby’s leg.

Anyway, it’s virtually healed now and I can walk without a limp but it will still be a while before I can put any kind of a strain on it. I can tell you this, next time I play any sport, I’ll remember what my wife is right about a lot of things and I won’t fueling my activity with effort in the absense of moderation.

Down Right Comfortable

  • September 6th, 2007

Do you live in a region of the world that is cold? Do you appreciate having a lightweight, soft cover when you sleep? If you said yes to one or both of these questions, you may find my first post on my newest blog interesting. It is an article on down comforters.

I didn’t realize there was such a list of things to consider when purchasing down bedding. I learned a lot and thought I would share it with you guys.

Websites Should Have a Purpose

  • June 16th, 2007

It seems to be the same old dilemma. Each time I meet with a new client one of the first things I like to ask them is “What is the purpose of your site?” Nearly everyone gets a look on their face like I should already know the answer to that question. After I patiently pause for a few seconds they usually say something to the effect of “to make  more money with my business”, or “to make my business seem more professional”.

Another one I ask is “What group are you looking to target with your website?” Nearly all of them answer “everyone”. These questions, along with others will generally give me a good idea of what to expect from the client. This is helpful because it serves as a sort of compass to help determine how much help they will need in coming up with ways to help the visitors.

In order to have a successful website, the site owner has to realize that the goal is to fill a specific need that a certain group of people have rather than to fill a self-centered need that the majority couldn’t care less about. Let’s look at an example.

Branson Condo Information

There is a real estate team in Branson that seems to have come up with a great tool that I think is a nice example of our topic. It’s basically a Branson condo information research tool  and we’ll look at why I said it is a good example.

When you land on the home page you’ll notice that the site is built around a program that organizes information regarding condominiums in and around the Branson area. The first thing I noticed is the map that has all the condo complexes mapped for me (the visitor) to browse through.

When I find an area I like, I can click a pushpin to get a pop up balloon with some basic information in it - including the address. Inside that balloon there is a link to more details. It’s at the end of this link that the real stuff I (the visitor) am interested in.

Detailed Condominium Real Estate Info

Once I click the details link, I get a page that is chock full of sales information on condos in the Branson Tri-Lakes area. There is a list of units that are currently available as well as sales history on past units.

The rest of the site is your standard realty information, nothing real special. The main benefit to the visitor though is obvious. They get to look at a variety of condominium complexes and see which ones might be what they are looking for.

There is no doubt that this site was built with that purpose in mind. On top of that, the site isn’t going to interest “everyone”. Only a select group are going to be shopping for a condo.

In short, the more site owners think about the purpose of their site before it is built, the more success they will have once it is completed and marketed.

Blogs and Sites

  • July 19th, 2006

I am very new to the blogging world and I have started offering to set up blogs as part of the websites I design for my clients. This post covers why I like using Wordpress for a blog CMS.

Going to Press

I have “skinned” a few content management systems (CMS) in the past, but never have I had such an easy time integrating them into an existing design as I have had using Wordpress. I don’t know if it is because it is that much easier or I have just gotten better at analyzing the code. One thing is for sure, I like this CMS enough to use it exclusively in my designs.

Another thing that is appealing to me is that there are so many free templates available for this CMS. This makes it much easier to get a variety of options from which to begin the customization process.

In short, I love it! Press on!