February 20, 2008
A Mile Wide and a Mile Deep
I’ve been in the web site making business now for almost eight years (_and I still don’t know whether to write it as web site or website_). It’s crazy how much it has changed and evolved. It’s a constant effort to be up on the latest code framework or programming language.
Keeping up with it all is sort of like trying to be the pitcher, the batter, the catcher, and the umpire at the same time. Right now I have close to 100 web/tech blogs that I follow in Google Reader, which currently has 484 unread items. Ouch!
In most other fields you get the option of specializing. Some web professionals do specialize. Some are designers. Some are front-end coders. Some are back-end programmers. Some are information architects. Some are content managers. But many, many, many web professionals are expected to be a mile wide and a mile deep, even if those are unrealistic expectations.
For most of my career I’ve worked on sites where my hands were the only ones stirring in the pot. Consequently, I’ve not been able to specialize in any one area. I’ve had to do it all. Design graphics and layout. Organize content and information. Write big and little chunks of copy. Have good marketing ideas. Write HTML/CSS code that works in all browsers. Enhance the UI with Javascritpt. Program the database and server-side interaction. Setup Content Management Systems. Optimize for search engines. Protect from malicious hackers. Employers and clients have expected me to know how to do all that.
I sometimes get asked if I am a designer or a developer. I suppose I’m both. I’m creative and analytical. My left brain and right brain both need the stimulation. If I spend lots of time on one of those to the exclusion of the other, then I start itchin’ for a change. If I could go back to the start and specialize in something, I probably wouldn’t. I have no doubt that I could be a better designer or a more efficient programmer if I lived and breathed either of those two.
That being the case, I still don’t do everything related to the web, there are certain things that I have intentionally stayed away from:
(1) Flash. Flash is a great tool for videos and small interactive portions of a web site, but an entire site built out of it is more of a hindrance than a help. Very few experiences are really enhanced because of their use of Flash. (2) Web server administration. There are times that this would be good to know, and I might eventually have go back and learn this one, but for now, I’m not going into these murky waters.
(3) ASP .NET – These are the server-side programming languages for sites that are hosted on Microsoft Windows servers. PHP is the equivalent on a Linux server, the open-source web server operating system that continues to make major strides in the web hosting world. So for now, PHP is my programming language of choice.
(4) Ruby on Rails. This is another open source programming framework. I’ve dabbled in this, but still have yet to jump in with both feet. This is one that I would like to befriend in the coming months though.
I know Tiffany feels the same way with everything she has to know being a mom. Let me ask you, do you specialize in something, or are you required to be a jack-of-all-trades?
4 responses so far ↓
1 Matt Donovan // Feb 20, 2008 at 10:57 am
I can definitely relate. Recently though, I’ve had the opportunity to focus a lot more in design. I’m still often elbow deep in code during the evening hours, but from 9-5 I’ve been pretty much focusing on layout and visual design for the past 7 months or so. It’s been such a positive thing as I feel I’ve grown considerably in a relatively short period of time.
2 Yannick // Feb 20, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Yeah, initially when I started out, I attempted to be a Jack of all trades. Now, I’m not really required to do design as much (at times I still do a little). I’ve been leaning more on the programming side of things lately. PHP is my language of choice as well, though, just like you I hope to dabble with RoR or Django.
3 Nathan Smith // Feb 20, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I suppose I’m a jack of all trades. I too have stayed away from .NET and hope to eventually be at a company that doesn’t use it extensively. In my experience, .NET tends to be at odds with Web Standards.
I too have focused more on PHP, because it’s just as capable (if not more so), more wide-spread, and free from licensing restrictions. I have lofty goals of eventually becoming Zend certified, but we’ll see how that pans out. I’d like to get a bit more savvy in Flash in the future too.
4 Heather // Feb 28, 2008 at 9:35 am
Jack-of-all-trades, no doubt. And as overwhelmed as I feel by that most of the time, I really think that’s the way I like it. My brain would get too bored if it did one thing all the time.