web design Archives - Daniel J. Lewis

Why I don’t participate in LinkedIn Groups anymore

February 27, 2015 by Daniel J. Lewis 15 Comments

I'm withdrawing from all LinkedIn discussions and have ceased interacting in LinkedIn groups. Why?

Two words: email notifications.

No, it's not that I hate receiving email notifications for discussions in LinkedIn groups. It's that the emails are now next to useless.

Not long ago, discussion notifications would contain the full text of someone's discussion comment.

Clicking “Comment” would take me directly to that comment on the LinkedIn discussion page, making it really easy to continue the conversation.

Now, discussion notifications barely contain any text from someone's discussion comment. Even this text is confusingly buried under the heading and description of the discussion. It's practically as small and insignificant as the post meta info!

Additionally, clicking “Respond Now” doesn't take me directly to the comment, anymore. It now takes me to the top of the discussion, so I have to scroll down to that specific comment. What is there even to respond to?

Even worse, LinkedIn discussions are now lazy-loaded via Javascript. That means content doesn't load until I scroll down to it. So if a discussion has a lot of comments, I have to scroll down, wait for content to load, scroll again, wait again, scroll, wait, scroll, wait.

GAH!

Seriously, this killed my enthusiasm for participating in LinkedIn discussions—I can't tell what someone said from the tiny excerpt of their comment, and I can't quickly get to their full comment.

This has made me cease all participation in LinkedIn discussion groups (even discussions in which I previously participated).

What do you think about this change?

Yes, I bought the new iPad

March 18, 2012 by Daniel J. Lewis Leave a Comment

It was always my goal for my freelance web design business to be profitable enough so that I could buy a new iPad when they we available. Business is going well, but not that well.

So why did I buy an iPad (that I happen to be using right now to write this post)? Let me take you back to November, last year. I'm an avid reader of several blogs about Google's Android operating system for smartphones, because I have an Android-powered HTC ThunderBolt. One blog hosted a contest for a Kindle Fire. I won.

But after several months, I never received my prize. Other prize-winners had receive their even-bigger prize packages, but I and couple others were still waiting for the UPS truck to bring our token of happiness. It never came.

Then they finally emailed and offered an Amazon.com giftcard in place of the Kindle Fire. I gladly accepted and promptly received a $300 giftcard for a $200 Kindle Fire. The extra was to make up for being late and help me enjoy my new tablet.

With some quick bouncing around, I decided to put the $300 toward what I actually needed more than the Kindle Fire I wanted. That's right; the iPad is a need more than a want.

I went to Walmart about fifteen minutes before midnight to wait in a long long of nobody for the new iPad. They ended up not having the 64 GB that I wanted, so I later returned what I did buy. Instead, I bought the model I wanted from Target and saved 5% by signing up for their Target Red Card.

I've already put the iPad to work testing responsive web design, mobile-friendly live multimedia, and chat room capabilities. It's proving a very valuable tool.

But it's also a distraction (I'm DanielJLewis on GameCenter!).

I paid someone else more than I paid myself

March 12, 2012 by Daniel J. Lewis Leave a Comment

In June, 2011, I gave my two-weeks notice at my full-time job. I trusted that God would continue to bless in the direction He seemed to be blessing, so I stepped out in faith with a time-limited savings account.

My last paycheck arrived in early July, and I made only $497.50 that first solo month. I knew that would happen, but I was still nervous.

Now, eight months later, I just mailed a check to someone for more money than I made in my first month.

I'm thrilled!

As a freelance web designer, I offer a referral fee to anyone who sends a new client my way—10% of the client's first project. Several of my friends, current clients, and fellow podcasting professionals know about this and refer people to me.

When I wrote the 10% referral check to one friend, I watched my account balance drop, and I was so happy because I knew that it represented a recent major success in my business.

My client is happy because they got a fantastic website (with responsive web design, too!). My friend is happy with a far check he barely had to work for, and I'm happy because I got to do what I love and pass on the blessing to others!

You're welcome to also partake in this joyous exchange! Just let me know whom you're referring and I'll let you know how things go and you can expect a check.