Programming insights to Storytelling, it's all here.
This short article was originally posted on April 21 2011 on my old blog which is now defunct. It is the only one I can still access via archive.org. So enjoy.
Ignorance is bliss. Especially when you are new in a field. Most people that are just getting started in web development want to change the world. But then they hit a wall and ask the more seasoned developer for help, those make it their mission to crush their dreams.
I have always been a big fan of JavaScript. The moment I discovered that I could use alert() to debug, I fell in love with it. That was many years ago, when I was still telling people to fire up internet explorer, notepad and get started. At lot has happened since. I find myself more reluctant to just recommend JavaScript to new developers now.
Working on a project for a long time but afraid to publish it on the web? Don't worry you are not alone. The majority of us have projects that are resting in the tomb we call repository. Just when the project is almost ready, we lose interest. No, we don't really lose interest. We find another project to work on so we don't have to deal with the problems of publishing.
In my brief time in college, I have learned a few skills that allowed me to launch myself into a career. I have learned programming and started working in the field in a short time span. There are lot of practical things you can learn and use right away. But if I have to tell you which subject was the most iinfluencial in my career, no doubt it will be Art.
If your answer is a derivative of "it's complicated" then you have a problem. I recently contacted the owner of a website that I found fascinating. He posted a few things on his blog then went silent for a long time.
In December of 2010, I was running dangerously low in funds. I hadn't found work in a while. A while being weeks. I was freelancing. My main source for income was Craigslists. Some gigs offered 200 dollars for impossible jobs, some were wittier and offered 20 dollars an hour for 3 hours of work for a 40 hours long project. I couldn't live in this unpredictable pattern of inconsistent jobs. I had to get out. I had to find a nice secure job.
In the past few years, I been have working on creating and maintaining websites. I grew tired of it. Not because the task is boring. I love programming. I would do it just for fun. But the reason why I create website has changed. Maybe it's because I grew up, or maybe it's just that I don't like creating the same thing over and over. One thing for sure is, I will not be working on someone else's poorly executed idea. I will work on my own poorly executed stuff.
In the last few years, the whole idea of privacy is being taken to a whole new level. We hear online and on TV that everything we do is monitored. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter house some of our most personal things. Would you let anyone read your Facebook private messages? Or even worst your email. No you wouldn't want that. Even if you have nothing to hide. The most important data these companies value however are not your midnight chat logs.
When I started working in a big company, I had my own space. I had plenty of time to myself and privacy. Every worker had his own cubicle. When I had a question for the lead developer, going to his cubicle seemed like entering his house.
