Pemaquid Communications

There’s no question that Internet Explorer 6 has replaced Netscape 4 as the most reviled browser known to Web development. Just do a quick real-time search to see how Web designers feel.

There’s a lot not to like. To name just a few short-comings:

• It doesn’t render the transparency of Portable Network Graphics (*.PNG files) properly, requiring a browser-specific filter
• It doesn’t render a lot of the latest CSS declarations

(I could go on and on, but why relive the agony?)

This means that Web designers need to invest extra time making sure IE6 renders their creations properly, and that makes us, um… cranky, and rightly so.

Some designers actually seem to be personally offended by people who use IE6, and want to force them to switch browsers by denying them access to their Web sites if they use IE6.

This approach is miguided and does not take into account the fact that many people cannot upgrade because they access the Web from corporate IT environments that only support IE6.

Other designers are bewildered that some people would continue to use IE6 when other options exist. The reason has to do with usability, and is best characterized by the phrase “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it”. In other words, people who use IE6, many of whom are non-technical, get along just fine, thank you, sending email and surfing and purchasing with adequate security. These folks have no incentive to switch.

It’s hard to get angry with people for that.

Designer Andy Clarke recently considered the options regarding the IE6 question and proposed a Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS file as a solution. Basically, Clarke, says, serve up a plain jane style sheet that allows folks with IE6 to view a Web page’s content, but conveys the message that their browser is not up to par in terms of rendering its layout.

Some top flight designers have adopted this approach, as Jina Bolton did recently when she redesigned her personal site, Sushi and Robots. UIE6 has popped up on a couple of sites here in the Portland area as well.

So, has the time come to employ the Universal Internet Explorer 6 CSS more routinely? The answer depends on the audience for your site as well as its content.

A quick spot check of W3Schools browser stats suggests that roughly 10% of all Internet users view it through IE6 (about 4% of the visitors to this site use IE6).

If your site caters to the general public and traffic analytics show one in ten visitors are using IE6, I’d say the time has not yet come for you to switch. You’re still better off employing progressive enhancement techniques in your CSS to serve up a design that still looks sharp, if not a pixel-perfect clone of what’s seen in other browsers.

If 4% or less are using IE6, and you’re not conducting any e-commerce, I’d say you’re safe giving UIE6 CSS a spin.

But if you do use UIE6 CSS, make sure you check to see that things are rendering properly. Sometimes goodies like jQuery, bereft of the CSS used in other browsers, leave the interface looking a little messy and content unreadable. Yep, I’ve seen that on at least one local site-that-shall-remain-nameless.

Remember, IE6 users are people too. They deserve a great (if not pixel-perfect) user experience like everybody else.

Next week we’ll be talking about Pemaquid’s current approach to handling CSS for IE6.

Have any of you out there used UIE6 CSS? Let us know how in the comments.

Last week, Pemaquid’s first intern, Jordan Warren, officially became Pemaquid’s new Creative Services Coordinator, and we are really jazzed about it.

Jordan’s responsible for managing all the “air traffic”: working closely with our Clients to make sure we’re meeting their needs and that they always understand the status of their project. She also works with the creative staff and subcontractors to make sure that your friendly neighborhood Webslingers understand what they need to do to get the job done right.

Have a question or concern about your Web site project? Jordan’s your gal.

Jordan and I met in April, when I gave a guest lecture to her e-commerce class at the University of Southern Maine. Afterwards, she asked if Pemaquid provided internships. She said she wanted to learn as much as she could about Web design and usability and didn’t care if she got paid.

Music to my ears (the part about learning all she could).

So I signed her up as our first intern, and the rest is recent history. Jordan has read the books, written the blog posts, set up the Delicious links for other aspiring Web designers (and learning in the process) and coded the HTML, CSS, PHP and SQL. She even set up Pemaquid’s Facebook fan page.

When her internship ended this past September, Jordan stayed on as a part-time designer. As she finished up her final semester, she has gotten to know many of our Clients quite well.

And the word, from at least one last week: “We like Jordan”.

That rocks. Jordan’s cheerful disposition, ingenuity and attention to detail are making a positive difference. That’s the kind of person we want to have around.

Please help us in congratulating Jordan on her new gig. We’re eagerly looking forward to great things from her in 2010!

The year 2010 will be to some extent about recasting Pemaquid, or at least my perspective. The Web has changed a lot I first went into business in 2002. Then, people used Dreamweaver to edit the Web and Netscape Navigator 4 to browse it. Now they use WordPress and… IE6 (if you know what I mean).

So this seems like a good time to rededicate this blog to two individuals who have been influential in bringing it into being.

The first is Jeffrey Zeldman. As the author of Designing with Web Standards, publisher of A List Apart and one of the most important voices on best practices in Web design, I’d been an admirer for some time. Then I had the opportunity to meet him at South By Southwest in March 2007. I mentioned how I felt my business was ’stuck in neutral’ and seemed to be adrift after some early success.

“Do you have a blog?” Zeldman asked me.

“No,” I replied, “I’m not sure I have anything original to say.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he told me. “Just say what you think needs to be said. And, after all, it’s searchable.”

So, I jumped on the blogging bandwagon, after arriving fairly late to the game, and though I’m usually skeptical of the intrinsic value of new trends like Twitter and Facebook, I’ve made a more concerted effort to be an early adopter and figure out how new Web technologies will affect how we interact.

My second rededication is for Zack Gaulkin. I worked with Zack at MaineToday.com back in the early naughties when sock puppets ruled the Earth and people still used the phrase “New Economy” to describe what was happening online. The Web was a creative free-for-all, and I would love to brainstorm with Zack, and we’d come up with all kinds of whacky ideas – and could try them out. The whole Web was our laboratory.

I’ve mentioned Zack before on this blog. He’s passed on, and I miss his creative energy and playful spirit.

In many ways, these are two people worth emulating. If I remember to ask myself “WWZD?” (”What Would Zack – or Zeldman – Do?”) I’ll probably be able to stay on the right track.

When it comes to 2009, one thing’s for sure – there was never a dull moment. In fact, it had more ups and downs than the SooperDooperLooper. I like excitement, but I’m hoping 2010 will be a year of steadier, more balanced growth.

The year started off with, shall we say, a “subdued” business climate. Then in January two long-time collaborators decided to go their own way and haven’t looked back. No calls, no emails, no coffee, no beer, no lunch. (I blame myself). For someone who went into business in part to try to build a better kind of workplace, that one still hurts bad. Real bad.

In February, with the commercial real estate market being what it was (at a low ebb, that is), it was time to head downtown and see if I could score some office space. I got very lucky and hit the jackpot with a top floor space at 28 Maple Street, formerly occupied by Lapchick Creative. I couldn’t rent the entire floor space, but worked out a deal w/our landlord, Portland Pie (Best. Landlord. Ever.) to rent part of it and then see if I could bring in like-minded creatives to fill it out as a coworking space.

I had heard about the idea of coworking, through Twitter of all places, and in April it became a trending topic in Portland, thanks in part to a great article in The Switch by Avery Yale Kamila. Then Space Gallery held a Jelly – a coworking open house of sorts – and we followed suit (we hosted Jellies on a monthly basis throughout most of 2009 and we intend to continue this year). Our space now has four full-time members, two part-time members and a funky name – Wycwah (you’ll have to ask a member how we came up with that one). You can follow Wycwah on Twitter, naturally.

In February, I decided to try a NoonHat lunch, organized by the folks at Portland Greendrinks. There, purely by chance, I ran into Sheila Reiser, a gal who was in-between jobs and to some extent was trying to find herself. Needing a Creative Services Coordinator, after the departure of an aforementioned collaborator, I decided to take a chance, and hired her.

Here’s the thing you need to understand about Sheila: she didn’t have a computer, a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Her mobile phone was an ancient model, and I don’t think she sent very many text messages outside of those we exchanged. Quite an unusual hire for a company that does Web design and development.

What Sheila did have, however, was a keen interest in typography and a can-do, supportive attitude. She was not in this game of life for the money (she had turned her back on her career as an officer in the Coast Guard – she graduated from the Academy), she actually wanted to help Pemaquid make a difference, and see if it was in any way fulfilling for her. She had a courteous, military bearing, but was not “professional”. Refreshing, just right for Pemaquid (courteous but not “professional”), and a very good fit as it turned out.

In March, I caught another break, bumping into Jordan Warren, while giving a presentation on e-commerce to her class at the University of Southern Maine. Jordan quickly became Pemaquid’s first summer intern, and the experience went so well that she has continued on as a part-time employee, and she’s doing a bang up job as my Humble Apprentice. When Sheila left in mid-December, Jordan assumed her role as Pemaquid’s new Creative Services Coordinator. You will be hearing much more about her soon enough.

In June, Pemaquid was nominated for one of the first-ever entreverge awards by a Client, Curtis Picard of the Maine Merchants Association. We were nominated for advancing the idea of coworking in Portland, and we were lucky enough to be one of five companies (out of 50+ nominees) to win. Winners have access to an Advisory Committee that includes former governor Angus King, Idexx founder David Shaw and David Swardlick of Swardlick Marketing Group. Happily, one of our Clients, Gabrielle Melchionda of Mad Gab’s is also an advisor. Over the coming weeks, I will be writing about my experience with entreverge advisors.

My entreverge has been wonderful, and has quite possibly saved my business. It’s mission – to celebrate and promote good, creative business ideas and innovation here in Maine – is something that should be supported year after year. Kudos to Johann Sabbath and the folks at Propel for bringing it to life.

I’ve met many wonderful folks through coworking, and many through social media connections. Portland has many wonderfully talented “digital creatives” and I’m hoping there will be many opportunities to collaborate in the coming year.

Like a lot of folks, I’m looking forward to a better 2010, but there’s definitely going to be a lot of very hard work to be done to be successful. The business of Web design continues to evolve, forcing those of us in the market to adapt quickly. The economy still isn’t exactly rainbows and unicorns like it was a few years ago, and competition for the best gigs will be tough.

But bring it on. I’m convinced you learn much more about what your business is made of during the tough times, because you’re forced to be more introspective about what you need to do to be successful.