WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CMS?
By Glen Graham | June 26, 2008
C.M.S is short for content management system. Content management systems have been around for quite awhile but I have noticed that the buzz has been steadily growing even out side the technology circle. The main idea behind a content management systems is giving clients the freedom to update content on their site via a control panel online from any computer that can access the internet. Often I come across CMS sites that are plagued with bugs and glitches. These bugs can be over come with time and diligence.
It’s totally understandable that today clients are more knowledgeable and demanding. They want more control and freedom to keep their customers a breast of the latest developments with out sending massive email blasts and newsletters to clients. Or constantly having to pay money to a web-designer when they need their site updated.
I have worked with the following content management systems over the years. Joomla,Drupal,WordPress and Typepad . My favorite so far would have to be WordPress. I have found the WordPress community to be a sharing one. The documentation and the forums on how to use some other CMS platforms can be cryptic and even outdated. So far my favorite CMS is wordpress. A buddy of mine told me to try ExpressionEngine so I’m going to check it out download it and see how it functions on my test server I will let you guys know how it turns out. So what is your favorite CMS? leave me a comment.
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
WHY FREELANCERS SHOULD AVOID FREELANCE SITES
By Glen Graham | May 24, 2008
Freelance job sites like Monster and Guru offer free registration where members can upload resumes, unfortunately once you log in with your free account you will discover that you can’t bid on most of the jobs listed on the sites. You will need to upgrade to a premium account to do that.
If you do have the money to pay for a premium account you will notice that people from other parts of the world are under bidding you for jobs and winning clients. Online giants like Monster ,Elance and Guru are not concerned with finding freelancers jobs or matching clients with the best freelancers. They are only concerned with making money off both freelancers and clients.
These sites with hold job leads from freelancers with free accounts, but will allow any freelancer with a paid premium account access to the job leads (whether their qualified or not) The only online site that has been any good in my book is Craigslist. Even though Craigslist is free they run a decent site.( there are some undesirables on there but I must say that they beat Monster, Guru and Elance as far as finding freelance work.
What can we do as freelancers and independent contractors to stop this cycle.
- start a meet up group with freelancers in your areas in various fields
- refer your clients to other freelancers in various fields
- don’t bid for jobs on freelancers sites that are way below the going rate
- share resources with fellow freelancers
- go out and network with people
- create a blog and let your voice be heard
If anyone has any information that they would like to add to this article feel free.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
STARTING AN ONLINE BUSINESS IN A RECESSION
By Glen Graham | April 6, 2008
You’ve probably always dreamed of starting your own online business. But the furthest you’ve gotten were shiny business cards and a myspace page. Why is this the right time to start your online business, with an online business their is no need to pay a sales person to stand around being idle on slow days.
A website is a virtual employee that never takes breaks never gets tired or sick who’s life doesn’t revolve around your business but who’s life is your business 24 hours a day 7 days a week. All of the above reasons means low start up costs and easy to maintain. (notice I said low costs not cheap LOL)
You might be still thinking that this is a bad time to start an online business because people won’t have the money to pay for your services because of the poor economy.
My older brother made a valid point he said “Glen
you know this ain’t a recession for the folks with money. ” He’s absolutely right the people with money are spending their money online at a growing rate, And the people with some money but no job security are looking at other avenues to make money. Perhaps your online business will be able to provide such a service.
below are some companies and individuals who are effectively using their websites as marking tools. You can join this increasing list.
- ABC has a website where you can watch full length tv shows online for free abc.go.com/primetime
I have already watched the whole first season of lost. (each episode has about four 30 second ad slots I wonder how much they charge for those 30 second slots) - Artist Alicia keys has a website and blog where you can keep up with her latest news
buy her music and find out her tour dates. www.aliciakeys.com - photographer Matthew Klein displays his amazing photography skills in his online portfolio www.matthewklein.com
When you have an online business make sure you let you website do the selling for you. If you have a strong website there should be no need to give potential clients instructions when you give them your business card.
Just like an actual sales person once you equip your website with the proper tools and the knowledge of your company it will be easier to convert potential clients in to paying clients.
I hope this article was helpful to those brave souls taking the plunge into the online business. Good luck and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask. I will make every attempt to address any questions in a timely manner.
Topics: my articles | 3 Comments »
Why do people send forwards?
By Glen Graham | March 31, 2008
These days I can’t seem to open my email inbox with out seeing a forwarded message . ( I would say on average I get about 3-5 a week) the topics range from computer viruse warnings to contests, jokes and political news. Not that some of them are not amusing funny or up lifting but I would love to get more real emails from my friends, instead of forwarded messages written by other people.
( i’m not knocking any one for sending them but to me it’s like getting a card from a close friend with their signature and the generic message from the card author.
After a recent discussion on blogcatalog.com http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/why-do-people-send-forwards
I decided to let all of my friends know that I don’t really like forwards and would prefer personal emails. Wish me luck 
Any one have any thoughts on why it seems people are sending more and more emails like this?
Topics: random thoughts, my articles | 6 Comments »
ON BEHALF OF ALL FREELANCERS ON CRAIGSLIST!
By Glen Graham | March 17, 2008
DEAR : SMALL START UP COMPANIES and NEW BUSINESS OWNERS
- We know you have a small budget (tell us what it is. It would be a good idea if you price other designers in the same caliber so you know what things cost.)
- Please spare us your sad stories and we will spare you ours. ( If you got screwed by your last designer move on and stop looking for bargains.)
- Stop wasting our time and yours ( just tell us what you want created stop mentioning programs you don’t know jack about)
- Stop asking us to work for free or pennies
- Don’t tell us how simple the project will be.( And we promise not to tell you how easy your job is )
- Stop buying those stupid 20 dollar templates from templatemonster.com and asking us to fix them.( if you don’t like them the way they are don’t buy them)
- Stop lying about how successful your company is, if your making money here’s a novel idea spend it. STOP BEING CHEAP!!!)
- Don’t expect students to develop your sophisticated sites for a serious business. (If you were having open heart surgery would you request a student doctor?)
- NO! we don’t want a percentage of your company and we don’t want to be your business partners! (50% 0f nothing is nothing)
- Please don’t beg us to work for free and try to phrase it as a business opportunity. ( To add insult to injury you ask for resumes and references. Talk about a choosy beggar LOL)
We look forward to working with you guys once you cut the B**S***
Technorati Tags: freelancer problems, craislist drama, cheap clients
Topics: B** S***, my articles | 12 Comments »
HOW ONE OF MY WORST JOBS INSPIRED ME…
By Glen Graham | March 13, 2008
security guard mayhem
One of the worst jobs I ever had was about 9 years ago, I was a uniform security guard for three weeks at a store called Scoop located in New York City. ( I don’t think there is any thing wrong with being a security guard) How ever I detested wearing those tacky blazers and those awful stripped ties that seem to be the universal outfit for many security companies.
on the first day of Christmas
Any way one year I found my self unemployed around Christmas time and at the time the security job was the only thing I was qualified for. I remembered being paid a staggering 8 dollars and hour.
women love a man in uniform
My uniform consisted of one wrinkled double-breasted
polyester and wool burgundy blazer 2 over sized grey flannel pants 2 white shirts and 2 blue and white rayon stripped ties. The store I was working at felt like 80 degrees inside. To make matters worst I was stationed in a display window at the front door under a powerful display lamp, that made the temperature inside the store feel ten degrees hotter.
hell on earth
I asked the manger could I move from under the lamp and he said” no by the way stop leaning on the wall!”. I felt the puddles of sweat start to accumulate under my arm pits, knowing I could not remove my blazer I tried to focus on something more pleasant when I felt a sharp pain in my lower back, the result of standing in one place for eight hours with a 30 minute lunch break.
I for got to mention that the high light of my day was greeting every customer as they entered the store, and holding the door as they left telling them to have a good day, before feeling the draft from the cold air smacking me in the face each time. ( what great memories)
a small promise
I remember zoning out and making a promise to my self that this would be the last time I would work for any one else. Every day I wake up that I’m self employed doing the things I love is a blessing. I’m not in the web design profession to get rich, but I’m not in it to be a starving artist either .So I could work for free but I would end up back at a store like Scoop. ( not an option) I hope that potential clients think of this the next time they ask me or any other freelancer to work for free or for pennies.
While this was not the worst job I ever had it was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak. The way I was treated made me feel sub human however, it also inspired me to fight for what I want out of life, because I realized that no one is ever going to just give it to you. Every day is an uphill battle that I enjoy.
Technorati Tags: self employed, worst job, Scoop nyc, bad security guard position
Topics: my worst jobs, B** S***, my articles | No Comments »
WHY YOU NEED TO OWN YOUR BLOG PART II
By Glen Graham | March 9, 2008
This is the final installment “why you need your own blog”.
Sorry for the long delay I meant to post this follow up article to part one “why you need to own your blog” a few days ago but I just moved in to a new apartment and won’t have a steady internet connection til sunday in the mean time i’m pirating my neighbors signal ( I hope he/she is not reading this LOL)
worth the investment
people are afraid of the unknown so they let myth lies and rumors govern their decisions. I have had clients tell me that hosting their own blogs would cost too much money. thats just not true. You could set up a self hosted blog for under $200 usd. (that’s if you set up everything your self) You could hire a designer to customize a theme for you if you have a decent budget.
investing in your blog
Starting a blog is like any business venture if you have the time and money to invest then you should do so. Putting a little money in to your blog will attract quality clientèle. If you blog for fun their is no harm in having your blog hosted on a free service. But if you have a professional blog for your business it’s time to to go invest in it.
if you decide to go independent
If you are planning to host your blog on your own server leave me a comment if you have any questions. I will answers questions as promptly as possible. I will answer questions to my subscribers first of course.
Topics: my articles | 1 Comment »
WHY YOU NEED TO OWN YOUR BLOG PART I
By Glen Graham | February 25, 2008
but it’s free
Big companies like Google have taken notice of the blogging phenomenon and have invented ways of taking advantage of the momentum. One way is by letting members create free blogs hosted on their servers. We all realize some times getting things for free can come at a price. All of the reasons for not having your blog hosted on a free service is buried in the terms of use section.
Reading the fine print
Most people don’t read the terms of usage section for anything free, big companies are counting on that. Below are a few things that I have taken out of the terms of usage section of free blog sites like blogger.com , blogspot.com and live Journal.com. I picked these three as examples because they are popular among new bloggers. (Google owns blogger.com and blogspot.com I just found that out by doing the research on this article.)
Terms of usage for Blogger.com and Blogspot.com
- Google may, in its sole discretion, modify or revise the Blogger Content Policy at any time, and you agree to be bound by such modifications or revisions.
- You agree that Google has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any Content and other communications maintained by the Service.
- Google retains the right to create limits on use and storage at our sole discretion at any time with or without notice.
- Google may, in its sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, terminate the Service, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account.
- In the event of termination, your account will be disabled and you may not be granted access to your account or any files or other content contained in your account although residual copies of information may remain in our system for some time for back-up purposes.
Terms of usage for livejournal.com
- LiveJournal reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice at any time.
- You agree that LiveJournal, in its sole discretion, may terminate your password, journal, or account, and remove and discard any content within the Service, for any reason
- By using the Service, you agree that LiveJournal has the right to run such advertisements with or without prior notice, and without recompense to you or any other user.
- You also understand and agree that you will not obscure any advertisements from general view via HTML/CSS or any other means.
This concludes Part I of a two part series “Why You Need To Own Your Blog” I will be posting the second half next week. I will be providing solutions for taking control of the situation.
Technorati Tags: free hosting, blog traps, blog spot trouble, problems with blogger, self hosted blogs, independent blogs
Topics: my articles | 10 Comments »
Latest News
By Glen Graham | February 19, 2008
Find out how to rent ad space
You can advertise your website or blog on The G&R Group Web Design Blog.Find out how, by visiting
the Advertise Section.
Breaking news
One of my past clients is featured in the New York times. It feels good to see a previous client that
I have done work for pushing forward to reach their goals.Read the New York Times Article
see website I created for client skellyvisioninternational.com
Recent webdesign projects
www.paulbehnen.com (portfolio site for a creative director)
www.povertysthread.com (urban clothing line)
www.vedazzlingaccessories.com (designer handbag reseller)
Topics: The Gnr Group News | No Comments »
UNITY POWER MIX- FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD FROM THE G&R GROUP
By Glen Graham | February 17, 2008
memory lane
Below are some songs by various hip hop artists that have had a positive influence on my life. For black history month I thought it would be cool to shed some positive light on hip hop. I remember when I was first introduced to hip hop, many of these young artists gave inner city youths like my self the hope that young black men and women could have a powerful impact on our communities.
Download: The G&R Group Unity Power Mix.sitx (for Macs)
Download: The G&R Group Unity Power Mix.zip (for Windows)
free gift
Today I express my self through web design, but back in the early 8o’s the only black people I saw on tv like me were athletes and rappers, I gravitated towards rappers because sports was never really my thing. Below are a list of hip hop songs new and old that give a positive message of hope. download the tracks from the links below. There are no curse words on any of the tracks enjoy.
Download: The G&R Group Unity Power Mix.sitx (for Macs)
Download: The G&R Group Unity Power Mix.zip (for Windows)
Topics: my articles | 4 Comments »