In honor of Blog Day 2008, here are a few blogs that employees here at BigforkWEB enjoy and encourage you to read.
Jana – Project Manager
Neither of my favorite blogs are ‘work related’ and in fact, they are both a direct result of my human need to take a breath that’s not about computers, technology and websites now and then.
I stumbled across a blog one day completely by accident, and was promptly hooked on www.thinksimplenow.com . Reading this young woman’s blog about taking a “Clarity Day” gave me a true “A-HA moment.” Turn off the cell phone, the laptop, the television. Unplug. Write. People watch. Walk the dog. Breathe. Why do we need to be reminded to do these things? When you become a technology addict, you forget the clarity that comes from a day without wireless behavior.
Though I count myself truly blessed in my work environment (modern office space, casual dress, music on the PC, a positive and inspiring boss, co-workers I truly love and respect, oh and Colter Coffee in the pot, just to name a few perks) I experience cubicle syndrome as often as the next person. www.travelblog.org is my escape to the places I’ve always dreamt of going, as well as places I never before considered. Just land on the Home Page, pick a country, and dream.
Carrie – Web Developer
If you’re a web developer you’re probably already familiar with the blog A List Apart. The contributors of A List Apart are web designers, developers, and programmers who are constantly developing code and design standards that will make the web a better place. For clean solutions for sticky problems, search through A List Apart.
I’m mainly a web developer, but I do occasionally create designs for the web. One of the difficulties I run into when designing is choosing a color palette. My favorite colors are brown, reddish-brown, and greenish-brown; sometimes it can be difficult to let go of my favorite colors and design for a clients needs. If a client wants a red and green site, but you don’t want it to end up looking like Christmas, Colour Lovers probably has a palette to match your needs. At Colour Lovers people from all over the world post palettes that have been inspired by nature or the stains on their coffee mug.
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/
Dani – Creative Director
The blogs that I have chosen to recommend are those of 2 of my web idols, Jeffrey Zeldman and Eric Meyer.
I had the astounding experience of meeting both of them at An Event Apart conference last year in Seattle. Those 2 days, they went from average Joes on the street to celebrity icons, surrounded by a sea of black-frame eyeglasses wearing, Mac laptop holding, Internet Explorer hating, web freaks who flocked to shake the hands of the amazing Zeldman and Meyer! It took me a bit of liquid courage at the conference after-party and the push of a fellow developer, but I now have a photo to prove that I have indeed met the 2 web geeks who I truly look up to and aspire to be like in my web career (proof (http://www.flickr.com/photos/goingtocalifornia/615980817/)).
For those of you who are not giant web nerds like myself, Jeffrey Zeldman is a tremendous and inspirational leader in web standards. He reminds those creating websites that people are going to be using them and therefore, people have to be able to understand the architecture and find what they are looking for with ease. He is an advocate for creating accessible websites for all users, including those that have to use assistive devices to access a website.
Eric Meyer is another of my geek heroes. He has been at the forefront of showing developers the amazing potential in style sheets and how CSS can greatly benefit your site.