Archive Page 2

We are delighted to announce the launch of our first complete iPhone app: “Surf“. Working in conjunction with WaveWatch.com, we’ve developed an iPhone app for surfers. The app features the first ever iPhone streaming surf cams, an intuitive user interface for reviewing current conditions as well as 6-day forecasts.  Surf also features:

• Tide
• Swell & Surf
• Wind
• Sunrise, Sunset
• Lunar Phases
• Weather Conditions

For more information or to download the app, visit the tunes store:
http://iphone.wavewatch.com/download

Continue Reading »

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve been awarded 3 honoree positions in the 2009 Webby Awards. Giant Mag won a spot in the Magazine section as well as in the Celebrity/Fan section along side The Urban Daily.

David-Michel Davies, Webby Awards Executive Director, writes:

As a result of the exceptional quality of submissions this year, the Academy has recognized outstanding entries as Official Honorees alongside our Nominees and Winners. The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 15% of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement. With nearly 10,000 entries received from all 50 states and over 60 countries, this is an outstanding accomplishment for you and your team.

Freelance Camp Santa Cruz 2008 was exceptional, emotionally charged and a total win for our local community. The amount of interaction and support that came out of that event had a direct impact on the rebirth of the freelance / tech community that is rapidly growing in Santa Cruz today. It was a catalyst. If you are involved in the local community, or wish you were, I cannot imagine a more powerful way to get involved. No bar camp in your town yet? Grab some people and start one.
Continue Reading »

About 10 minutes ago, I filled out a survey sent to me by a friend for the Santa Clara Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The goal, as best as I understood it, was to look at personality traits of entrepreneurs. As I often do when asked personality questions, I struggled between providing my default tendencies or my consciously developed patterns.

The survey questions freeze my personality at a specific instance in time. Had they asked these questions while I was in college, during my first company or perhaps when my second company was failing they would have found a very different set of responses. I found myself choosing a number of answers while thinking, “but that is because I chose to change that and now am comfortable with ….”.
Continue Reading »

The Opportunity

We are in the middle of a pretty sweet gig. We’re looking for a Wordpress Plugin Master (no themer this time folks) to join our team on the project for the next 4 months starting now. Help build a high profile full-scale Wordpress suite of 54 sites with elements from various 3rd party web applications.
Continue Reading »

The topic at hand: Freelance Camp!

We are beginning to put together a bar camp in Santa Cruz on the topic of freelancing and running a small service business. This is a community event and we are actively looking for volunteers to make this kick ass. If you can help find sponsors, spread the word, find a venue, get some grub lined up or perform general geekery – let’s talk. Hit me up by email or respond in the comment, add yourself to the wiki, and we can chat.

Freelance Camp: http://barcamp.pbwiki.com/Freelance-Camp

I’ve finally gotten around to generalizing our contract to share with our community. Please be advised that if you use this template, you are using it at your own risk and that we are not responsible for your use of our contract. Also please take it to your lawyer and have it reviewed before you use it (and feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions for improving ours)

Download the Shane & Peter Client Contract…

Continue Reading »

Quite often sales is like dating. The no-no’s in the land of courtship are exactly the same cardinal sins of the land of sales. Talking about yourself through the whole meeting. Never asking any questions about your date’s situation and needs. Taking the time to ask those questions, and not listen to their answers. Thanking them repeatedly in a gushing and desperate manner for meeting with you. Forgetting to make a friend. If you were a gecko on the wall of a meeting where those occurred, you would probably wince, laugh or both. And yet we have all done them.

Peter and I often talk in detail about sales, and yesterday, the conversation fell upon one of the most detrimental sales bloopers: walking away without booking another meeting in your calendar. What is your goal if you go out on a date? Have fun, land another date.
Continue Reading »

As fun as it can be to let a project drag on for eternity, and as much as I thoroughly enjoy working for free, one of the best things I can do for my relationship with my client is to define a clear end point for the project. I need sign off.

The problem, is how do I terminate a project in such a way as to strengthen my ongoing relationship? Continue Reading »

in·tax·i·ca·tion [in-tak-si-key-shuhn]
noun

1. The physiological state produced by prolonged exposure to finances and tax preparation.
2. A sense of enthusiasm, frenzy, or madness arising from fantasies of spending a tax refund.
3. Poisoning by gigantic tax payment.

Examples: The government emptied my bank account, inducing a severe case of intaxication.