CasJam Blog - Latest Comments

Re: Bought a Netbook. Here’s Why (plus a review)

søgemaskineoptimering — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:55:59 -0000

Bought a Netbook. Here's Why (plus a review). I'm sitting outside the Brooklyn Public Library, on a glorious pre-summer day, typing away on ...

Re: 2010/2011 Reflections and Goals

Brian — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:51:07 -0000

Very cool - yeah, really enjoying Delivering Happiness. A lot of unconventional wisdom... Makes you wish other (big) companies would follow their path.

Re: 2010/2011 Reflections and Goals

Dave Yankowiak — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:59:05 -0000

Awesomeness. Great goals for 2011 and I think partnerships are something I need to pursuit as well. Ironically, I just finished Delivering Happiness and was totally refreshed by all of Tony's different successful and unsuccessful biz ventures. Really good read.

Happy new year!

Re: HTML5 Semantics In Practice

Ed Mullen — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:07:24 -0000

Thanks Brian. Interesting.

Re: Giveaway: WordPress Manual Plugin Lifetime License plus Review [video]

Dave Yankowiak — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:39:30 -0000

Aw crap, how did i miss this contest?! Just realized I hadn't subscribed to the new RSS feed yet - still only have the briancasel.com feed in my Reader account. Just read up on a whole dose of CasJam.com articles - good stuff Brian & co!

Re: The Freelancer/Agency Hybrid Model

Jecosen Jaya — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:58:17 -0000

Good tips for Freelancer! Awesome :)

Re: Freelance Business, Entering Phase 2

Freelance Jobs — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:52:02 -0000

Freelancing had been an option for people who loss their jobs or for those who resign and want to try a new kind of job.

Re: 2009 Freelance Business Recap and Lessons Learned

Freelance Jobs — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:34:46 -0000

In the year 2009 freelance jobs had gain more popularity, I think one of the reason for this popularity is several people loss their jobs and found freelancing as a new way to ear money.

Re: 21 Single Page websites: Elegance and beauty in one place

Free Web Design — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:28:28 -0000

I have recently joined website re design contest from low5studios, To join this contest:

You have to do is fan low5studios on Facebook and submit your worst sites to our Facebook wall. Also one lucky twitter follower will have a custom twitter background designed for them. The contest begins now and ends October 5th. One entry will be chosen within one week of the contest ending. You may also nominate a site.
http://low5studios.com/blog/?p...

Re: My Philosophy On WordPress Theme Options

Brian — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:10:51 -0000

Thanks Jaeselle. It's always a rollercoaster ride when you're first learning how to tweak CSS and HTML. But it's an effort I think is well worth it.

We just began adding a new theme option to our ThemeJam themes where you can add your own CSS styles within the theme options. It's just a textarea to add your own code. Plus we're packaging a blank custom.css stylesheet where you can do so as well.

Re: My Philosophy On WordPress Theme Options

Jaeselle — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:20:51 -0000

I feel as if this article was written about me! (I am the DIY theme lover/buyer/tweaker)!
I have spent 4 days (20+ hrs each day) installing, uploading, watching video tutorials, googling the sh** out of CSS commands, learning basic code.....understanding padding, containers, margins, sizes and the CSS stylesheet like the back of my hand (for a novice). I have learned the value of plugins and jquery lightboxes and =rel links and how to optimize my site for mobile use (iPhone and iPad) b/c i wanted to own my project. I chose to do it this way.

I have gotten as far as I can go and am running into a a few advanced issues cannot even figure out with the footer formatting and jquery sliders (turning off the dynamic part of it and actually loading them) and one of my sections isn't loading properly at all so I'm calling in an expert to spend 2 hours to tweak the rest of it for me.

I'm very proud of what Ive done so far myself. Its been fun and a great learning experience.
ps-and for the record none of my theme options that had drop down of hexadecimal colors & border options, just logo and image placement/linking.

I totally enjoyed this experience and am closer to WP and CSS coding that I ever thought I would get to.

Just to give you an idea of them theme i bought:http://themeforest.net/item/ec...

vs my site as it exists today: http://jaeselle.com

Jess

Re: How Much Business Do You Leave On The Table?

Brian — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:28:48 -0000

Thanks for your comment Jodie. No offense to your employer ...But I'm a Mac guy :)

I have been forced to use Outlook at previous full-time positions, and never liked the workflow. Too many windows, options, buttons, etc. I prefer to keep things simple and more user friendly.

I now use a combination of Google Cal, and Things for Mac (to-do list app).

Re: How Much Business Do You Leave On The Table?

jodie_microsoft _smb — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:24:49 -0000

If you’re using Outlook and don’t plan on budging, you can set up reminders, alerts and e-mail templates to keep you on top of your tasks. You may also find some other tips and tricks that can help you manage your day/time. This link should help: http://office.microsoft.com/en...
Regards,
Jodi E.
Microsoft SMB Outreach Team
v-jodie@microsoft.com

Re: iPad Review, 1 Week In

mike — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:37:25 -0000

Nice review! Check mine at the below link..

Gear Lust (part one) iPad –first impressions

http://mousejockey.wordpress.c...

Like so many other Apple users I’m enamored with each deliciously-designed product that they release. But I understand what they are doing to us – they are changing the way we think, compute, consume and buy. As a futurist and early-adopter of most technology I’m ok with these changes. But Apple seems to be single-handedly launching us into new markets long before the public knows what to do with them. On one hand it’s the entrepreneur’s dream to have a new wild-west to conquer. But as consumers we are easily tricked into putting money back into Apple, AT&T and so many other companies’ products to feel like we are on the cutting edge of technology in this brave new age of computing. My first impressions of the iPad are exactly these thoughts. It’s not a matter of is it cool (it totally is) or do I want one (couldn’t wait.) It does everything I wanted and more. It’s got a few limitations I find frustrating. But once I got my hands on it I was drinking Apple’s kool aid once again and didn’t put it down for about 14 hours. Below is a brief review of the product and some initial impressions of the philosophy behind the technology, some questions about productivity and some excitement about the possibilities.

Re: My Interview on Anywhereman [VIDEO]

Dave Yankowiak — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:40:51 -0000

You did a great job, Brian!

Re: The Art of Guest Blogging

Karla Campos — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:22:07 -0000

I really enjoyed reading your article especially since you emphasize the importance of delivering a top quality guest post.

Re: WP Bids… Coming Soon!

Guy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:40:34 -0000

You could always build in with this... http://www.elliotcondon.com/wo...

Nothing better than going to a quote when a job is completed and flipping it from quote to invoice.

Re: WordPress Theme Development Process

Brian — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:28:15 -0000

Thanks for your comment Ally. Those are generally my starting point. Other templates somewhat vary by theme, but I commonly include archive.php, category.php, search.php, 404.php, plus a few custom templates for unique home page layouts, full-width layout, etc.

All of that said - I think it's important to only include templates that are truly necessary in terms of design and usability. If you can cover most of the above with a nicely designed index.php, great!

Re: WordPress Theme Development Process

Ally — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:15:41 -0000

Brian,
This article has been extremely helpful! Thanks for sharing your process.
Just wondering, apart from index.php, header and footer, what other template files would you always code? Or does it vary by theme?
Thanks again.

Re: WP Bids… Coming Soon!

iaan — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:26:37 -0000

Looks great! Been waiting for this one ;)

Re: WP Bids… Coming Soon!

Design Informer — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:49:59 -0000

Interesting idea. Can't wait to see the final product.

Re: The Art of Guest Blogging

Joseph McCullough — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:36:36 -0000

@Tim

When you feel like you have something worth saying, then you're ready to do a guest blog. If you can provide a unique perspective to a commonly discussed topic, that's just as good. Don't doubt yourself!

@Brain

then click through your byline, and follow your feed (that’s 3-4 actions) are highly interested in your content

This is EXTREMELY true, and I'm glad you pointed it out. Quality visitors are more likely to discuss your blog and potential link to you.

And I agree that one should definitely hold their writing to hire standards when guest blogging. You might even consider letting a friend/follower in your blogging circle proof read it.

Re: The Art of Guest Blogging

zofiamachnowski — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:36:21 -0000

Indeed, I was one of those people who found you thanks to one of your @mashable appearances ("How Freelancers..." http://bit.ly/bhO1qz)

But ultimately, it is your WP work/expertise and unique human touch in your blog posts (including comments replies) & Twitter what makes me stick around...

And your baseball tweets...;-)

Re: The Art of Guest Blogging

Tim Mahoney — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:13:00 -0000

Hey Brian - I guess I had considered asking people if I could post, but it makes more sense to seek out blogs that are actively allowing people to at least submit articles for consideration. Thanks!

Re: The Art of Guest Blogging

Brian — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:28:09 -0000

I started submitting guest articles about a year ago (see them all on my publication page). The first one I did was for FreelanceSwitch. They have a guest writer submission form, which invites anyone to submit. I suggest finding blogs that openly encourage guest author submissions (which is very common).

The other tip is don't underestimate your expertise. Write about something simple or introductory. Remember that just because it's easy for you, doesn't mean there are many people out there who are still just learning and hungry for this info.