CWCONLINE v2003b

for chris's sake, I just want to say that we aren't against you or anything, but they are right. Unless your site is purely personal, take down the bio. Instead of getting across the message of professionalism it rather labels you as an amateur. And to be frank, people coming across your site who never have met or knew you, and only know of from the site, just won't care. I don't think many of them would even read the bio. Look at some websites from some of the real pros...none of them say they are the best or that they are incredible or anything. Sure they sugar up their services and such a little, but not to the same point. Whether you wrote it or not, it shouldn't be there unless your site is for nothing but personal business. If there was somebody in need of purchasing a service, they don't want your life story, they frankly don't care what you have, don't want to know what you have, where you've been, etc... All they care about is that you can give them real results in a decent timeframe, and that's it.

converge: Oh, ok. I'm sorry, TRUST me, I know the feeling o_o (ask NL :P )
But I don't agree with you or Pganguly's opinions on ADD; however, I don't disagree. I really have no say on the matter, seeing as how I don't have any affliction or knowledge of these afflictions as such, and also becuase my friends do find that i often, on AIM, blank out for periods of 5 minutes O_o

However, everything else that was said was actually very valid points. Allow me to elaborate.

so, anyway, lifeonaplate is right with this:

Look at some websites from some of the real pros...none of them say they are the best or that they are incredible or anything

That's right, they don't. At most they say that they are "experienced in the field of blah blah". In fact, a lot of the professional sites are in fact teams of designers (2advanced, wddg, etc) and they say "Our team of professional designers are experienced in the fields of blah blah". Or, they say that they create "High impact web development," or something along those lines.

However, "professional designers" and "high impact designs" are as far as it goes.

They will never say that anyone said that they were the "best" at anything, unless, of course, as Pganguly said, it was from a really reliable source or something. And even then, they will never say the same thing about themselves.

For the most part, the best idea is to express your talents as Facts, not Opinions. The reason being, not everyone will agree with your opinions, but no one can disagree to the facts.

Think about it. I could say "Jimi hendrix was the greatest guitarist ever," and you could disagree in an instant.
But I could also say "Jimi Hendrix was one of the most celebrated guitarists ever, and has earned the opinion of greatest guitarist in the eyes of many people," and you can't disagree, because it's something that has happened.

For example, rather than saying "my friends say i'm the best at this," you can say, "I have received high praise from peers" or something like that. though that might not make much of an impact, considering you're 15.

What I mean by facts is by saying your accomplishments. Rather than saying an opiniated statement like "Many years of practice has made me a great designer," you could say something like "I have had experience in the field of webdesign for X years, with these programs (list the programs)."

See what I'm getting at?

Professional designers will say also what kind of schooling they've had (4 years training at the blah blah academy) and maybe any awards they've won (2 awards from the Design Association... obviously, i'm making these names up :D). Why? Because 1. They don't come off conceited and 2. no one can argue with these accomplishments. They HAPPENED, and no one can argue because you have the proof (I.e. a diploma from the academy, or a medal from the association.)

If there was somebody in need of purchasing a service, they don't want your life story, they frankly don't care what you have, don't want to know what you have, where you've been, etc... All they care about is that you can give them real results in a decent timeframe, and that's it.

Perhaps, but it's always a good idea to have a portfolio and a list of accomplishments so that a customer can decide if your services fit their standards.
I mean, they may not care where you've been, but not necessarily what you have (They may feel it is important that you have all the current technology, proper programs, etc. No one wants a design done in MSPaint!)
On the contrary, people want to know what you've done, thoguh. It is a good measure of what you will be able to do in the future, which, hopefully, will be better than what you've done in the past.


Hope that helped :D

edit. I was gonna edit and make a comment about how Pganguly's comments were so damn long lol, but after a post like that, I guess i shouldn't say anything :D
Besides, long is good, if you get what i mean :D

If you want to say how terrific you are, have a testaments page. Not only will it show you have clients, but it also shows you aren't trying to pat your own back too much.

THAT is a great idea.

ADHD and ADD are very valid disorders! I agree that they can be misdiagnosed, but I have been researching this for years. It truly does exist. Brain scans can be preformed to determine what is malfunctioning. It takes a very long time in Sweden before they will diagnose anyone with these kinds of disorders, but as all the doctors and psychiatrists that I know will tell you. It is a brain malfunction. So let’s not dismiss these types of disorders. It would have been great if they had reconized these disorders years ago. Perhaps some ppl would not have suffered so much.

Originally posted by supahsekzy

Think about it. I could say "Jimi hendrix was the greatest guitarist ever," and you could disagree in an instant.
But I could also say "Jimi Hendrix was one of the most celebrated guitarists ever, and has earned the opinion of greatest guitarist in the eyes of many people," and you can't disagree, because it's something that has happened.

For example, rather than saying "my friends say i'm the best at this," you can say, "I have received high praise from peers" or something like that. though that might not make much of an impact, considering you're 15.

This is something I tried to explain to cwc in the first couple of posts to this thread with something like

Posted by LAV 2556767889 posts ago
Unless your friend has some sort of credentials, his words mean nothing,

eg. My friends think i am the best signmaker in the world, but how do you think it would sound if i put in my content "I am the best signmaker in the entire world" You would think I was a Knob right.

BUT if the head honcho of the ASA wrote somewhere that I was "a leading sign manufacturer and produced some of the highest impact vehicle graphics in the state". You would think differently wouldnt you.

Obviously Cwc has missed my (our) point and his changes to his bio have not made an improvement. i feel this thread and all the typing you guys did and all the great intuition you guys have given Cwc has been but a waste of time.
I think at your age cwc advice from such talented people as the people of this forum should not be taken for granted. From what i have seen people are posting these comments to generally try and help you but you are probably interpreting it as a "Thrashing"

As i have said before there are ways of promoting yourself without sounding like you are on yourself...

Maybe your smarter than we all think cause i bet youve had a ton of hits on your site associated with this thread lol.

i feel this thread and all the typing you guys did and all the great intuition you guys have given Cwc has been but a waste of time.

It's not a waste of time if we tried and if cwc takes at least one little itty bitty thing out of it.

I think at your age cwc advice from such talented people as the people of this forum should not be taken for granted. From what i have seen people are posting these comments to generally try and help you but you are probably interpreting it as a "Thrashing"

Age is irrelevant, you should take such advice from any age. So what if cwc is 15, so am I :D

[quote]
Maybe your smarter than we all think cause i bet youve had a ton of hits on your site associated with this thread lol. [/B][/QUOTE]
Touche.

mara: ok, maybe it is a valid disorder, but saying that 4 year old kids have ADD because they don't have long attention spans is ridiculous. I myself was diagnosed with this deadly disorder when I was in elementary school, and my parents refused to let them give me drugs. Because 6 year old kids aren't supposed to stand in perfect single file without making a sound like soldiers. It's not normal. It's normal for kids to fool around and not pay attention. Giving them drugs isn't the answer, getting them teachers who will actually take it upon themselves to teach and discipline the kids is. Yes, ADD exists, but only in a very small number of people. Either way it's blown way, way out of proportion.

hm, well i wasn't going to make this any longer, but I figure it's already got 67 posts, so what's an extra one matter?

I just wanted to comment on the age thing. Stop bringing it up...it doesn't matter how old you are. If you're good, you're good, if you suck, you suck, age has got nothing to do with it. Alright, show me a 4 year old who can use photoshop very well, and I'll be impressed. I just find it odd to see people say things like "it's pretty good since you're only 15!" or "give me a break, I'm 15."

I don't get it, having been 15 myself, I can tell you that it's nothing special. 15 year olds are just as capable of using photoshop as anyone else. If a 15 year old studies the techniques pros use on their sites and in their work, and are dedicated, they can make some truly amazing things, just like anyone else. So please...no more of this "amazing! and you're only 15?" I've seen some 15 year olds with some really great work. Supahsekzy has a pretty cool site I think. I've also seen 15 year olds with crappy work which either no body will admit is bad because they'll hurt the poor child's precious feelings, or people will stare in awe and mystery because a mere 15 year old managed to create it. Age really has nothing to do with it. What's good, and what's tasteful, stays the same through all age groups.

I'm just kinda sick of hearing someone's age thrown in or even considered to be a factor in the quality of their work. Anyway...sorry, this wasn't a very useful post, I just felt like saying it. So good day to all.

i seem to agree with every one of your posts lifeonaplate