Web Design Community Project - webdesign.ie - anyone interested?

[davidbehan]

Originally Posted by figment

I am interested but to be honest just dont have time for the next two months. If it is still in development then give me a shout.

Alan

That's no worries. If there a few people involved in this, the idea would be that it wouldn't take a massive amount of time from any one person.

Dave

[richardo]

This all look like a great idea. [though I notice my name hasn't been mentioned ].

Pity it didn't crop up earlier, as I've had a quiet patch - deliberate, I might add. But the New Year looks like it might be busy for me, otherwise I would be very interested in throwing my hat in.

[davidbehan]

Originally Posted by richardo

This all look like a great idea. [though I notice my name hasn't been mentioned ].

Pity it didn't crop up earlier, as I've had a quiet patch - deliberate, I might add. But the New Year looks like it might be busy for me, otherwise I would be very interested in throwing my hat in.

Hi richardo. Sorry I didn't include your name. Just pulled names off the top of my head that I've chatted with on here. It'll be an ongoing project so if you're interested... it'd be great to have you on board.

[louie]

if there is anything I could help then count me in.
I'll do my best despite the fact that my schedule is very busy, but... why not.

[TheMenace]

It sounds like a good idea folks but in terms of 'showcasing the best of Irish Web design', sadly you'll need to be quite careful how you tread. A similar incentive nearly took off at the start of this year but falled at the final hurdle. The main reason being the sensitivity of some of the people trying to establish it. Essentially, if you want to claim to be in a position to guage the best of Irish web design, then you need to ensure that you're a principal at the very top of your game - otherwise you could find yourself being rubbished by those more experienced, talented, etc. than yourself. And your work itself could come in for some serious criticism. It really depends on how you vet entries. Being exclusionist or judging showcased sites based on subjectivity will not go down well with some people. Being a self-proclaimed authority on Web design is not an easy business apparently!

[richardo]

Originally Posted by davidbehan

Hi richardo. Sorry I didn't include your name. Just pulled names off the top of my head that I've chatted with on here. It'll be an ongoing project so if you're interested... it'd be great to have you on board.

Hi David. Only kidding
I might be able to throw my hat into the coding area, though I am more of a PHP dabbler than ASP.

[figment]

Originally Posted by TheMenace

Being exclusionist or judging showcased sites based on subjectivity will not go down well with some people. Being a self-proclaimed authority on Web design is not an easy business apparently!

A point you made very well at the time
The thing is not to pitch it as an "Authority on webdesign" but instead "Sites we like this week". Same effect but less egos put out of place.

Also be careful that you pitch it as an independent site and not affiliated with any particular business or web firm.

At the end of the day you cant please everyone all the time. Just do your thing, be consistent with how you apply it and stick at it.

[TheMenace]

Absolutely. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and is free to set-up their own enthusiast sites and say what they like, don't like, etc. I'm merely saying that a body or group should be very careful about claiming to vet or guage the best of Irish Web design/development, etc. The subjective "Sites we like" approach is obviously far more diplomatic.

Ironically I do feel that web professionals could do with a representative body/guild of some kind but I'll be damned if I get involved in the politics of setting one up again.

[richardo]

Originally Posted by TheMenace

Ironically I do feel that web professionals could do with a representative body/guild of some kind but I'll be damned if I get involved in the politics of setting one up again.

A good point. The problem is though - what constitutes a web professional? A transition year student whacks up a site for his dad, and gets paid €10 for it - is he then a web professional? Or would it be limited by qualifications? Or portfolios? Or company owners? Or members of IrishWebmastersForum []? A nasty can of worms....

[RedCardinal]

It's a very interesting proposition, but also fraught with difficulty.

Some thoughts:

• As Alan said, don't pitch it as authority, but I think to succeed you must plan on becoming an authority;
• Plan from the outset to be an impartial judge if you are going to evaluate anything, and build this into your processes, which should be completely transparent (multiple anonymous peer review?);
• Make it as inclusive as possible from the outset - make everyone welcome to take part (and I would include purchasers if you intend showcasing anything - maybe guides, tips, a place to source help like EI board);
• Differentiate yourself with at least one element that is unique to the site (and has potential to be newsworthy);
• Define and set expectations early on so that everyone knows where they stand and what the purpose and goals of the endeavour are.

Time allowing I would be happy to pitch in. Would love to see something like this pulled off, but it requires clarity of definition and focus to suceed IMO. Super domain though

Rgds from LOS

Richard