Forget about all the other concerns that we all may have with the country right now, and lets look at who is the best Presidential Candidate for our industry.  Everyone has their own reasons for voting or in too many cases not voting but there is one thing that the readers of this blog and myself have in common.  We all work in the web industry.  Whether we are web developers, designers, seo’s, markerters, etc…  The internet is our ‘domain’ (get it) and we have to protect it, do what’s best for it, and promote it.

Let’s start off with a very important topic, Net Neutrality.  Net Neutrality is supported by Obama and it’s designed to keep YOU in control of what you see and do on the internet.  Broadband Carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, etc…) are attempting to take that control away from us and start charging website owners for preferential placement.  Essentially the broadband carriers want to create a highway where sites will be delivered to your computer much faster then other sites.  If you can’t afford to pay the extra fees to be on this highway your website will be left out and be delivered at much slower speeds.  This will limit what we can see and do and literally discriminate against smaller companies. Net Neturality is VERY serious, it’s the way the internet has worked since it started and we have a responsibility to protect it’s integrity.

For more information on Net Neutrality follow these links:
http://www.google.com/help/netneutrality.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=faq

If you haven’t guessed by now this post is promoting Barack Obama and while the following topics may not be a threat to our industry like Net Neutrality is, they do bring up some solid points.

For the first time in presidential history we have an opportunity to vote someone into office who really gets US (see what I did there, us and U.S.).  Obama is the first presidential candidate to really utilize the internet, social media, and viral marketing to deliver his message.  Obama has a website dedicated to delivering his message and raising money by blogging, podcasting, and streaming his speeches live to everyone who wants to listen. He has 1,904,236 supporters on Facebook, 83,783 followers on Twitter, and 545,756 friends on MySpace.  Even Michelle Obama has 116,469 supporters on Facebook. McCain has a presence in social media as well but it’s much smaller and more retalitory then innovative with 539,224 supporters on Facebook, ??? followers on Twitter and 101,740 friends on MySpace. Obama is on countless more sites and has also accumiliated 16,432,938 views on his YouTube channel. I can continue down this road for days, but I’ll save you from that.

We need to invest in infrastructure, we gotta rebuild our roads, our bridges. We have to build broadband lines so that every community in rural America can get the internet at high speeds. We gotta invest in new electricity grids so we can get that new energy from wind farms to population centers from solar panels to places that need them. – Barack Obama at the Jacksonville Florida Rally 9/20/08

So what’s the point?  The point is that Obama is apart of the internet community, he utilizes it for his message, and his fundraising but he also uses it to connect.  The connection he has made with his supporters through online media is revolutionary for a Presidential Candidate.  Obama understands the importance of internet freedom and online communication.  He’s backing Net Neutrality and will continue to support the web industry as President.

Hopefully this post will convince you to go out and vote for a candidate that will protect the integrity of our industry and will continue to support our growth in the future.  I have a surplus of examples why Obama is the best candidate for President but this website is not the correct forum for them, but I welcome any and all of your opinions via comments.

How do you have time for it all?

This is a question I tend to get a lot and it’s because I appear to stretch myself very thin. I work full time for Neal Advertising which results in 40+ hours on average per week; I am a professor at Johnson & Wales which includes teaching, grading, running clubs, counseling students and meetings. I co-own a freelance web development firm called Seed Seven. I’m in the process of developing a blogging community called WFABI and I run this website. Not to mention conferences, rss feeds, magazine articles, twitter and other social sites. These jobs and responsibilities don’t even include my personal life.

At home I’m a Dad, a husband, a homeowner, a handyman and dog walker. My son is 10 months old and he is fantastic but he’s also a lot of work. So how do I get it all done?

Well first off I don’t get a lot of sleep. As I write this I see the time is getting closer and closer to midnight. I’m probably going to hit the sack around 2 am tonight. As much as I like to avoid working late I still do it because I enjoy it. The web industry is very unique and I think that web professionals are a special breed. We continue to strive to improve our selves in an ever changing industry. The technologies change more frequently then in the medical industry. As a web professional slowing down leaves you at risk of being left behind.

The second piece of the puzzle is setting priorities. My priorities dictate exactly what I’ll accomplish on a daily, weekly and annual basis. It’s very important to take the time to sit down and evaluate everything you need and want to accomplish and then literally list them in order of importance. By doing this I’m able to logically and accurately decide on what to do and how long to spend on it. The highest item on that list is being a father and husband. I tend to my families needs first after that is my full time job at Neal Adv and so on down the list. This may sound extremely anal but I even add tv, and video games to the list. It really helps me make the choice between going back to work or playing Star Wars Unleashed on the Wii.

As a web professional I have to find the time to continually improve my skills, contribute to the community and learn from other professionals. At the same time I have to make time for my family and private life. It’s very hard to do it but setting priorities is a great way to accomplish that goal.

How do you find time to accomplish all of your goals?

I became very aggravated with the fact that I couldn’t find this skit anywhere on YouTube or other sites. Every clip I saw was of a news station covering the skit. I finally stumbled upon the video here “The Huffington Post”.  I put it on my site to offer it to anyone who wants it.  I don’t want to write a post that has nothing to do with web building so… “Meta Tag!” that’s webby enough… Enjoy.

Does Adobe release versions of their software too often?

It’s hard to answer this question and in some cases it may not even seem worth a post. My concern is the extremely high cost of software and the inability for freelancers and small firms to stay up to date. It may just be “Darwinism” at work where the stronger design/ad firms will prosper because they have the client base to fund the best computers and software but where does this leave the little guy?

Adobe CS4 is rumored to release in October which is just around the corner and only 18 months after CS3 was released in April 2007.  The cost of a the web suite will be over $2,000 and in most cases that’s more then the computer it’ll be running on.  This means that everytime a small firm wants to add an employee not only are they paying for salary and benefits but they have to pay close to $5,000 if not more just to get them started.  This can make it very hard for a small company to expand and grow not to mention an aspiring designer.

I am a Professor at Johnson & Wales University and one of the biggest problems my students face is the inibility to work on their projects from their dorm or home.  They can’t afford the cost of a Creative Suite along with tuition and other expenses.  This leaves them with two options, one they only work in the school lab or two they download an illegal version.  Student copies are available but at about half the cost but Adobe doesn’t allow you to publish the work.  We all know that an aspiring designer or developer needs to spend every waking minute perfecting their talent.  As it is I’m up to about 2am most nights working on deisgns, writing code or improving my techniques.  The second option of downloading an illegal version is done much more frequently then I would like to think.  I absolutely do not endorse the downloading of illegal copies of Adobe Software but some of these students are left with no choice.

There is a balance that can’t be reached between the rising costs of Adobe Software and the increased downloading of illegal copies.  Adobe will continue to increase the cost of their software to counter the loss of sales through distribution of illegal software and downloads will continue to increase because individuals are not able to afford the rising cost of Adobe Software.

On top of the current problems Adobe may be releasing versions of their software too frequently.  Adobe may be intentially leaving features out for future versions and increased sales.  Most firms and web/design professionals will want to purchase the latest version of Adobe to ensure their ability to stay “on top” of new technology.  I think Adobe should spend more time perfecting their security features to prevent further downloading of illegal copies and offer some free feature updates.  Loyal customers who have spent thousands of dollars on Adobe software definitely deserve some free upgrades to their software and shouldn’t have to continue to spend a great deal of money every 18 months.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?