Archive for the ‘Web & Technology’ Category

Working in technology, I’ve had to interview alot. Probably more than the average bear given my penchant in the past for working at venture capital funded companies and start-ups. As anyone who has worked at dot coms or consultancies knows, sometimes good ideas do not translate into good revenue for myriad reasons.

Anyway, as I got older and moved up the food chain, just having a job wasn’t good enough. Even earning more money at the next place could be secondary to what the boss was like, what software development methodology they used, where they were located, comp time, and the list goes on…

One of the most critical things for me deciding on whether a company would be a good fit was “How do they value their employees?” Interviewing goes both ways, meaning, in general, you are on your best behavior but so are they.  Finding a job is a chore, but it can be just as much a chore for a group to find the right candidate for a slot. So rarely in the interview process do you find anything but “happy” people. Some are more candid than others, but mainly it’s best foot forward on all accounts.

So how do you know if the company treats it’s employees well and values them? Is the place full of disgruntled people or happy workers?

1) Is the position well paid?
If the company is paying a salary that is at the median or above for the position in your market, they are likely serious about hiring someone who is well qualified. A larger investment in you can signal that your co-workers are also well paid. Being well paid completely eliminates much of the basic negative energy in a company.

2) How much are they willing to kick in for benefits?
Are the benefits modern? To me, modern is:

• 401(k) with a decent percentage of company match
• a vesting schedule that is less than 5 years
• health care for you and your family that is affordable
• at least 2 weeks vacation, a few sick days and common holidays off
• company sponsored continued learning - like seminars, classes or even conventions and trade shows… something that gets you out of the company to interact with peers once a year

Things that say “we value you” even more are bonuses, stock options or incentives above your salary.

If many of these benefits are less than the above or aren’t even available, do you really want to work with them? I realize very small companies have a hard time providing all of these things, but discuss the fact that they don’t exist with them and see what their plans are for either getting you these things or extra compensation to make up for them. But if a company has more than 1000 people and the above is not true, by my experience, they do not value their employees and you will be treated as such. The employees will also know they don’t get these things and others do and it makes for alot of griping.

3) Are the vending machines full price?
Vending machine companies provide kickbacks to places where they sell - many times as high as 30%. Having a high percentage kick back is one of the reasons a public place like a golf course or mall will select a vending company. It’s a very commoditized business in some respects. However, a company can waive this kickback in order to provide the employees with products at essentially cost. If the vending machines are in places the company controls, like the break room where the coffee is, they likely brought the vending company in themselves and control the contract.

Bottom line, if you are paying the same cost as you would at the mall for a soda, the company is likely getting a kickback. That means they are making money off of their employees!  I would contend that any company who looks at their employees as a revenue stream does not value them much.

4) Look at the physicals of where you’d work.
This is so important. Is there enough parking close to the building? Do the cubicles look newer and offices look freshly painted and clean? Do the people you meet have personal affects on their walls and desks? Does it smell funny? Is it too cold or hot? Are there burned out bulbs? Do the chairs look old or new and are they comfortable?  Are the restrooms dirty?

All of these things can tell you alot about how people think of themselves and their work place. It also tells you that the company is willing to invest in things that keep people happy at work. Which brings me to what I like to call…

5) The “toilet paper test”
Giggle all you want, but let’s face it, there are few things more personal than using the restroom and few things where comfort can be directly impacted. It may sound rediculous, but if a company has prison grade toilet paper, they are only interested in cost. Nothing says “I don’t care” more than single ply 40 grit sandpaper delivered via giganta-huge monster roll. However, if there is soft, better toilet paper someone actually took the time to think past simple cost and the company likely has a philosophy of doing so for all the other little details one can expect at work. 

Good luck with any job search you do and make sure to always stop in to the restroom.

This is probably one of the best Flash pieces I’ve seen in a while: nano.swf courtesy of: http://digg.com/general_sciences/Nano_this_is_really_cool

Informational, incredibly elegant, really very amazing. Whoever created this should be very proud of themselves. Enjoy!

I came across this gem courtesy of Digg: YouTube - Google Maps

I *love* Google Maps. Hell, I love Google. Their Street View feature blew me away when it first came out; this video is a riff on the level of data they have. Hysterical and well done.

I know some folks that are starting their own businesses and will be need of design services—identity, Web site, marketing collateral, etc. Having worked in and around design for the last 7 or so years, I can see this process from both sides of the fence. Luckily, I’ve worked with some really talented folks and have also done my fair share of design myself, so when I look to start new projects I know that I have resources at hand.

But what if you don’t? What if you’re starting up your business, need a corporate identity designed, and don’t know how to go about doing it?

I subscribe to a billion different sites via RSS, one of them being LogoBlog.org. Recently they posted this article: 6 Things to look for in a Logo Designer » Logo Design Blog, which shares some good insight on how to sniff out potential designers.

One critical thing that I would add: once you find a good designer, don’t smother them with your direction. Everyone now knows that “micromanaging” someone is a surefire way to stifle their motivation and creativity. But I find that clients in design projects frequently don’t realize how their insistence on their vision is another form of micromanagement.

When I get my car worked on, I don’t stand under the chassis and nitpick everything the mechanic is doing. I’ve found a good mechanic, I trust him, so I let him do his work.

The same holds true of graphic design. You’ve evaluated candidates’ work, you’ve chosen the designer you believe can create something good for you, now let them work. Sure, your input is critical for them to understand your business, your market and what your looking to achieve. They rely on you to inform them and get them up to speed as quickly as possible. But once they have their information, let them go! Trust them!

The unfortunate thing about graphic design—as with music—is that everyone has an opinion. However uneducated or ill-informed they are, they have developed an opinion over time and feel entitled to it. Worse, when commissioning a graphic work, some people feel the need to step up their critical input, in order to feel like they are in charge of the design project. This can be disaster—especially when they have no design training and an uncritical eye.

I like food. I eat at restaurants all the time. I even cook for my family. But I am not a chef. When I go into restaurants, I realize that the person that developed the menu and oversees the kitchen is a trained professional—an expert—and I should let them prepare for me the meal as they envisioned it.

Let your designer design. Don’t knee-jerk them into compromising their vision. If they’re good, chances are they will have methods of dealing with your controlling efforts anyway. And if they’re good, they’ll come up with something that is beyond anything you could ever have imagined yourself.

Story goes that Mark Twain once read his own obituary and stated, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” (Although I like the bastardized quote in the title better…) Same can be said for paper books.

I remember several years ago article after article saying how paper would be rendered obsolete. Remember the paperless office? That was a joke. I worked for a client who once made me print out and file every email I had in my inbox and sent folder. Hilarious! However, I’ve heard from friends that they’ve had to do the exact same thing. I shake my head at such things but so it goes. Anyway, the same was said as online retailers, or eTailers (*snort chuckle* I love made up words), were heralding eBooks. Think of the fabulous things you can do with an eBook? You can read it on your PC, your Blackberry, PDA, your Dick Tracy Watch, the head of a digital pin…All in all it will kill the paper book.

Well it sure looks like paper books are doing fine thank you. Paper book retailers are struggling at the moment, as all retailers are, but they certainly haven’t gone away and the sales of eBooks, while not bad, have not overtaken or killed paper books by a long shot. Even books that should be purchased as eBooks - like O’Reilly books on coding and books about Usability - are better in paper.

So with that in mind, here are the 5 reasons I think eBooks suck:

5) Can’t lay in bed with an eBook.
Who wants to curl up with a cup of tea and your PDA or laptop? Ever tried scrolling or paging while laying on your stomach or side in bed? I’m getting a cramp thinking of it.

4) My eyes! My eyes!
Talk about a headache…staring at a tiny screen for hours at a time? Sheesh.

3) eBooks look terrible on a coffee table and are lousy coasters.
Think of all the things paper books do that aren’t about reading. They double as coasters for your drink, press flowers, look good on your bookshelf. Use my laptop as a coaster or to squash a bug and you will see me angry…you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry. It’s also hard to pick up someone’s PDA and look at the pictures of gardening while waiting for them to get out of the bathroom.

2) Paper books are status symbols, whether it’s read or not.
Laying about the house a book says “I am reading this and I’m important.” The cover alone says something about you and what you find important. Now I’ve never read a book by Lee Ioccoca but own one. I have lots of good sci-fi books on the shelf like Snow Crash, Hyperion, Ender’s Game and Neuromancer. (All of which you should now go get and read.) When you meet a new person and come to their house and they give you the dime tour, don’t you pause at the bookshelf? Seeing what they have there instantly connects you to something about the person. For instance, if they have Mein Kampf on there, you know to immediately “get a phone call from a dying relative” and “postpone” dinner - forever. But if they have books you’ve read or know, you can say “Hey did you like this?” and pull it off the shelf and hold it up and thumb thru it… Which brings me to…

1) Paper feels good.
Face it, paper is tactile and we like touching stuff and fidling with stuff. Holding a book, putting a book mark in the pages, creasing the binding, even smelling the ink. No matter what happens, there is comfort in touching stuff. We could probably manufacture some kind of Thinsulate body warmer made of a polymer, but would it replace Grandma’s knitted afghan? Same with paper books. It’s also terribly hard (and probably illegal) to file share an eBook. Not so with paper books. In fact, lending a book helps build that common bond important to any friendship.

Books are the comfort food of knowledge. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.