http://www.cocomment.com/comments/risend Copyright 2007 coComment.com 2009-11-25T08:59:14.912+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/images/logo4rss.gif http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1364240&comment_id=25860885 Vinh Le @Cheb: Thanks for stopping by. @liam: Yes, being different is good if you do it in a positive way. @Felix: Yeah, after a basic level of standard is achieved, then it is time to let loose and have some fun. @Syn: Search within yourself! Heh or you can start on paper and create your own beast. @Web: Indeed it caught my eye as well so I used it. 2008-04-27T14:48:29.956+02:00 2008-04-27T14:48:29.956+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1360084&comment_id=25472347 Vinh Le I find that when an article does well in social media, my subscriber count makes an equivalent jump in the number of subscribers. When one particular article did well, I saw a jump from 250 to 600 subscribers over a couple days. I had over 20,000 hits over those two days as well from stumbleupon mostly and the rest were from dzone, del.icio.us, and designfloat. 2008-04-24T01:25:03.126+02:00 2008-04-24T01:25:03.126+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1355527&comment_id=25466776 Vinh Le @Troy: I'm glad you like the sidebar. It is on the seventh version right now, heh. A change of perspective always helps. @Ade: I need more control over my designs so I never liked WYSIWYG Editors. Good luck! @Janko: Hope it helps, tell me how it goes. @Ralph: Why not start now? @Mariyan: Your welcome, and thanks for stopping by. @Jack: It helps at times. @Jason: My design breaks all the time so I suppose it works, heh. 2008-04-21T04:59:42.210+02:00 2008-04-21T04:59:42.210+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1355522&comment_id=25466765 Vinh Le @liam: Thanks. @Jamko: Thanks for pointing that out to me. Fixed. @Simon: Yeah, I tried my best to keep the feel the same. Thanks. @Jeremy: Yeah, I think it is organized a lot better this way. Makes it easier for new or old people to quickly get into it. @Stefan: Thanks for pointing that out to me, I didn't realize that. Fixed. 2008-04-21T04:48:07.922+02:00 2008-04-21T04:48:07.922+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1350510&comment_id=25460664 Vinh Le I use all the first two tools so I can say that they are pretty damn useful. I would add http://www.websitegrader.com/ to it as well. I found it very interesting and it lets you compare how well your site does against your competitors. 2008-04-17T03:44:07.920+02:00 2008-04-17T03:44:07.920+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1349993&comment_id=25460010 Vinh Le In regards to how design impacts social media success, I agree that it has a huge impact and I plan to test it. I plan to create a special landing page that organizes a series of posts I have made in a different design than the rest of my blog and testing it. I think my blog design works fine, but trying to organize the series in the same layout as regular posts I feel would be less successful then if I were to design a special page that is organized a lot better. The trick being that it has to have the same consistent feel as the my blog design, but at the same time be much better at organizing the series of articles so that it increases the number of page views. This is going to be fun. 2008-04-16T18:11:46.097+02:00 2008-04-16T18:11:46.097+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1339551&comment_id=25275440 Vinh Le Great list, there were quite a few I never came across before. But I did have a lot of them already as well. I think you should read doshdosh.com It has great articles about blogging and increasing traffic. 2008-04-09T12:17:50.013+02:00 2008-04-09T12:17:50.013+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1339129&comment_id=25268447 Vinh Le I wonder is it better to turn your best posts into an ebook or just a page on your blog? 2008-04-09T06:04:48.966+02:00 2008-04-09T06:04:48.966+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1339125&comment_id=25268406 Vinh Le In psychology, studies have shown that the first and last things are the easiest to remember. As for the middle, they tend to only remember the most intense emotion they felt during it. They then take these pieces of information and use it to form a memory. Using this in conjunction with a narrow message would be powerful. 2008-04-09T05:55:42.145+02:00 2008-04-09T05:55:42.145+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1324981&comment_id=25247660 Vinh Le @Graham: This blog started up about a month ago, that is probably why you haven't seen it before. Glad you found the list helpful. @Christian: Thanks for the suggestion. @etoxin: I hope you enjoy it! @Don: Thanks for the correction. @Libor: Yes, "Learning jQuery" is invaluable. @John Sutherland: I have taken a look at Transcending CSS, but I just didn't like the style. It just didn't fit my learning style. Unfortunately I can't cover every book, but I am glad you brought them up as others might find it useful. Perhaps I can gather a list of books recommended by readers. @Peter: Thanks for the compliment and leaving a random link. @Mark: Thanks for the suggestion. @justafellow: You are certainly right about the list appearing biased because of the affiliate links. @Everyone: I have decided to take the money earned from these book sales and buy books from this list for an upcoming contest to give back to you guys. Look forward to it and thanks for the comments. 2008-04-07T18:38:02.760+02:00 2008-04-07T18:38:02.760+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1324981&comment_id=25199106 Vinh Le @Chris: Yeah, I can definitely relate to going to the bookstore without any real idea as to what I am going to buy or is interesting. And then wasting a couple hours going through bad books. You're welcome. @Rob: Feel free to give me a hard time any time, I noticed that before, but I wasn't sure what was causing it. I will look further into it. Thanks for pointing it out. @kishoreblog: Thanks. Glad you liked it. 2008-04-03T03:14:03.813+02:00 2008-04-03T03:14:03.813+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1327567&comment_id=25150460 Vinh Le Bad blog designs are my enemy. It's good that you aren't one of them or I would have to sling some mud. Good article. Sometimes nothing brings people together better than having a common enemy to fight against. Then all other things they were fighting with between each other disappears so they can focus on the common enemy. 2008-04-01T01:29:02.451+02:00 2008-04-01T01:29:02.451+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1302273&comment_id=25120647 Vinh Le @Everyone: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 2008-03-30T11:46:33.975+02:00 2008-03-30T11:46:33.975+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1324986&comment_id=25120136 Vinh Le @Francis: Yeah, sorting through all the books available can be a pain sometimes, but amazon reviews help alleviate some of the guesswork. Then it is just all about finding the one right for you. @Andy: I agree, some books can be very expensive. I think finding cheap books is always a great thing. For those not taking a class though, the college textbooks can be a bit too wordy sometimes. Thanks for the suggestion. @Jlive: Yeah, it is a very fun and exciting field to be in. That and those who don't keep up get left behind. Which is great for people like us who keep getting better. @yep: Nice, never seen that before. I just bookmarked it and will take a look at what they offer. Thanks for giving us the link. 2008-03-30T11:27:00.962+02:00 2008-03-30T11:27:00.962+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1324981&comment_id=25120126 Vinh Le @Michael M: Your welcome, and thanks for the support. @Vygantas: I have actually just put my order through for "Web Design for ROI." I was reading it in the bookstore the other day. Looks interesting. Thanks for bringing it up. @Joe: Yes you are right. CSS is just a tool designers use and tools change all the time. I never read any of Edward Tufte's books yet, but I will check it out now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. @modernlooper: The missing manual is an awesome series, I liked the "Switching to the Mac" one. I read it when I made the jump from PC and it was very helpful. Looks like I will need to make another compilation in the future. Thanks for your suggestions. 2008-03-30T11:19:21.035+02:00 2008-03-30T11:19:21.035+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1312687&comment_id=24939267 Vinh Le Look forward to seeing how this turns out. I will keep an eye on this. 2008-03-22T19:25:43.408+01:00 2008-03-22T19:25:43.408+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1302273&comment_id=24929537 Vinh Le Thanks for the heads up, apparently when I made some changes it started to bug up again with internet explorer. I should had made a check myself, but it was clumsy of me to not check. I will work on it. 2008-03-22T03:51:46.926+01:00 2008-03-22T03:51:46.926+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1308129&comment_id=24896684 Vinh Le On my portfolio I had a friend draw what I would look like if I was a cartoon character and i got to say that my character has got to be the only asian with a shaved head and wide grin on the internet that good looking. Nice collection of characters (its missing mines tho), I find that characters can make serious topics a lot more playful and fun. That is why I choose to use mines. 2008-03-20T06:39:28.156+01:00 2008-03-20T06:39:28.156+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1307583&comment_id=24885162 Vinh Le There are lots of good information online these days as well that can help you if you are trying to make small changes or do small websites. Professionals are important though when the project is much larger and you want to be doing something you love rather than something you have no clue about in order to save some money. 2008-03-19T21:59:11.740+01:00 2008-03-19T21:59:11.740+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1302303&comment_id=24814540 Vinh Le I find that website consulting is a nice change of pace from designing and coding by yourself and it can be a whole lot of fun too. I started doing informal website consulting a while back and found it to be a nice break because it lets you talk about what you love. I also find that sometimes clients ask questions that you don't know, which helps you figure out where your knowledge has gaps. I am now thinking about offering it as a service in the future. 2008-03-17T11:32:49.967+01:00 2008-03-17T11:32:49.967+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1302273&comment_id=24814520 Vinh Le Well, your blog's design is amazing so it is a great example to use. Thanks for stopping by Pasquale. 2008-03-17T11:18:38.206+01:00 2008-03-17T11:18:38.206+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1301457&comment_id=24808749 Vinh Le I think it also depends on how much time it takes you to compile the links. If it is taking up too much time that you can be using for writing more articles, then making it once a month might work out better. But if it doesn't take much time, I don't see the reason for stopping it just because it constitutes 25% of your posts. I find it useful and thanks for linking me. (Slips 20 bucks over) 2008-03-16T21:36:33.521+01:00 2008-03-16T21:36:33.521+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1299350&comment_id=24791921 Vinh Le Mimbo Pro is a great example of how you can do so much with so little. Nice article, you did a solid job of explaining borders and background to new users. 2008-03-15T13:03:54.665+01:00 2008-03-15T13:03:54.665+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1294687&comment_id=24759379 Vinh Le I find that too many different applications tend to annoy me more than help me and like you I tend to go back to using individual applications or websites than tools that try to organize it all into one place. But, there are some tools that really do help and make it easier to stay organized. I think it just depends on what your needs are and if they would actually save you time or not. I find google's home and it's ability to add tabs and rss feeds very useful to find new and interesting topics, like this post. Bene: I was forced into facebook as I found it is hard to connect to certain people without it, because well that is their main and often only program they use to stay connected to others. 2008-03-13T16:02:49.031+01:00 2008-03-13T16:02:49.031+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1286745&comment_id=24679594 Vinh Le A blog's design is so important that I focus pretty much all my time on writing about it, helping others design their blogs better, and improving my own skills in designing blogs. It is a careful balance between being innovative with your design in terms of breaking the mold yet still being highly usable and functional. 2008-03-08T01:42:44.110+01:00 2008-03-08T01:42:44.110+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1278825&comment_id=24653777 Vinh Le That's awesome Smiley, I can't wait for CSS 3 to be more widely supported so that it will be easier to implement things across different browsers without breaking like it does now. I'll keep your suggestion in mind for my next tutorial. 2008-03-06T19:01:15.759+01:00 2008-03-06T19:01:15.759+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1278825&comment_id=24644876 Vinh Le Thanks for the feedback my friend. I will be sure to be more detailed in my next tutorial. I might even do a video version so it will be easier to follow. 2008-03-06T00:41:17.276+01:00 2008-03-06T00:41:17.276+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1283568&comment_id=24643128 Vinh Le I will second what robojiannis has to say, I believe they will certainly be mistaken for ads and ruin the whole point of using it. 2008-03-05T22:17:16.860+01:00 2008-03-05T22:17:16.860+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1278825&comment_id=24585618 Vinh Le Good eye, thanks for the feedback. I guess I need to triple check before I post instead of double. 2008-03-04T03:41:19.597+01:00 2008-03-04T03:41:19.597+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1279140&comment_id=24582874 Vinh Le I agree with most people here in terms of the responsibilities of a person who holds the title of web designer. When I offer my services as a freelance web designer, I only offer those of designing the website and coding it. While I like to believe I know above average cause I worked hard on it in the past in developing back ends, increasing functionality with javascript/AJAX, and improving the SEO of a website, I do not offer these services to clients unless they request it and I feel like doing it. I tend to only do them for my own sites or a small handful of clients as it is not something I like to do for every website I work on. That is a personal choice in my opinion and if its not in the contract, I am not responsible for it. 2008-03-03T00:42:53.901+01:00 2008-03-03T00:42:53.901+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1278825&comment_id=24582372 Vinh Le Thanks for the feedback Alison. I was afraid at the beginning that I would spend too much time explaining steps that people already knew, but I will try to be more detailed in the future so that no steps are left out so they are more helpful. 2008-03-02T19:11:12.201+01:00 2008-03-02T19:11:12.201+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1275281&comment_id=24566872 Vinh Le I can't agree more with the need to separate yourself from the others and show that you actually know your stuff. It is also fun and a nice change of pace from web designing and coding all day. I think for people who want to go into blogging, they should grab a good book on blogging or find a blog on blogging to get a better understanding of it. But they shouldn't hold off from blogging, get a quick installation of a blogging platform up with a basic template and start blogging right away. As time goes on, they can decide on designing a better blog or focus on different topics. Once again, nice article. 2008-02-29T00:11:18.226+01:00 2008-02-29T00:11:18.226+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1267482&comment_id=24409965 Vinh Le I apologize, but I apparently didn't tag my links right. Here are the correct links for the two articles and my portfolio. Please edit my comment, thanks. Articles: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/the_perfect_portfolio/ http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/portfolio-zen-1/ Portfolio: http://www.vinhlewebdesigner.com 2008-02-24T10:02:47.460+01:00 2008-02-24T10:02:47.460+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1267482&comment_id=24409961 Vinh Le Great article, I don't think there are enough articles on this subject out there. I had just recently finished designing my online portfolio and I did a similar research study, but on a much smaller scale. I probably scanned only about under a 100 portfolios to see what other people did and noticed similar things you did. I then read all the articles I could find on the subject of creating online portfolios. One which has already been mentioned by Matthew Smith a few comments above. Two other great ones are: I would like to think that I managed to reach the goal of displaying my work and information in a way that is usable yet still beautiful, but I did get a comment recently that it was hard to navigate from the portfolio section to the contact section. I remedied this recently by adding a quick shortcut to it after each work. If you guys could, please take a look at my portfolio and tell me where I can improve further. Thanks. 2008-02-24T09:59:05.095+01:00 2008-02-24T09:59:05.095+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1267043&comment_id=24409241 Vinh Le I will answer from a web designer's perspective. Every 6 months or so I think I would have improved a whole lot in terms of skill in graphics design, coding, usability, and new techniques so I would consider that a good time to redesign the blog and update it to showcase my improved skills and other things I have learned along the way. I am in the middle of redesigning my blog as speak as well and the project excites me as there are so many things I would like to do in terms of graphics and increase functionality. Good article by the way. 2008-02-24T00:09:09.351+01:00 2008-02-24T00:09:09.351+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1267030&comment_id=24409222 Vinh Le All those areas are very important, especially if you are a freelancer working by yourself. I find in my experience it is a good idea to have a general knowledge in each area and that it is very important to specialize in only a few else you risk being really good at nothing and just average in a bunch of different areas. The areas I like to specialize in is designing and marketing/communicating. Then would come coding css/html and coding in more of the backend languages like javascript and PHP. Other than that, the other stuff I am average at, but I am always trying to get better. Thanks for the post, I will go through them. 2008-02-24T00:03:05.881+01:00 2008-02-24T00:03:05.881+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=risend&conv=1168400&comment_id=24409195 Vinh Le testing 2008-02-23T23:52:46.169+01:00 2008-02-23T23:52:46.169+01:00