Pemaquid Communications

Last week we asked other Maine Web designers to Twitter some words of advice for our intern, Jordan Warren. What we got was good advice for any Web designer at any level. A sampling:

Wendy Clark – @wending (Senior Web Designer at MaineToday) – “Occasionally leave the computer for your education and inspiration. Visit the PMA or local galleries once a month.”

Tim Shackleford – @fiveleafdesign – “Always be learning, test early and often, and surround yourself with people smarter than you. You’ll learn alot.”

Dan St. Peter – @danstpeter – “Listen to and learn from the experts you meet. Study http://www.smashingmagazine.com and other great online resources.”

Maggi Blue – @magpiecreative – “Don’t over think it…it only gets you in trouble.” (Don’t overthink, Jordan, but please do think.)

Ellen Kanner – @ellenkanner (Kanner Kreative) – “Firebug plugin for FireFox. period.” (We got her squared away with that on day one, Ellen!)

Calvin Gilbert – @calvingilbert – “Create libraries of frequently used code snippets and site templates… and listen to Rob.” (Listen to Rob? Smart man, that Calvin.)

You can find all these “tweets of advice” on Twitter, tagged as #4Jordan. Thanks to the folks above for taking the time to share insights based on their experiences.

So what advice do you have for Jordan? If you’re a Web designer here in Maine, we’d love a quick comment. No matter how insignificant you think it might be, it’s a gold mine of knowledge for her. Help her get better, faster.

She’d love to hear from you.

Four years and one week ago Zack Gaulkin was killed in a car accident on I-95 while on his way home to Kennebunkport. At some point each spring since then I catch myself thinking about Zack, who I worked with at MaineToday.com during the year 2000 in the midst of the ‘dot-com’ bubble and what was then called The New Economy.

Zack was a lot like me, I think – mid-thirties, each with a young family, each deeply involved in online publishing and excited about all the new and crazy things that were happening online in general. Zack, who was MaineToday’s Online Editor, was technically my boss (I was a Content Developer), never made me feel that way. We were more like peers. We would have long conversations about where we thought the ‘Net was headed next and how we could take advantage of them for MaineToday (or for ourselves). In a sense I felt we were kindred spirits, and since his passing I haven’t found many people who are tuned to the same wavelength.

Though I don’t think I could ever say we were close enough personally to be considered good friends, we did have that bond, and I miss that. I miss him.

Zack passed away before blogging became fashionable. Before social networking. Before this buzz everybody is calling ‘Web 2.0′. It’s too bad. He would have loved it. I’m sure he would have absolutely loved having his own blog, and with his quick wit at the keyboard he would have been spectacular.

So, as I rather awkwardly make an attempt to put my own blog together, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate it to his memory. As I post, I will try to think to myself ‘what would Zack do?’.

It is interesting to imagine him being the next person to submit a comment.

I remember a conversation not long before I left MaineToday. I told him though I had worked as a reporter and now w/t/Portland Press Herald’s online group I didn’t consider myself a ‘journalist’. I was more business-oriented, I said.

“Oh no,” said Zack. “You’re definitely a journalist.” I disagreed…then.

But now, I think he might have been right.