August 2008

For all non-Web-designers out there, Web design has become more of a science and less of a trial-and-error exercise in patience in the recent years due to Web standards. Web standards, put out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), dictated the way HTML and CSS were to be interpreted by browsers. So all of the sudden, it wasn’t up to browsers to figure this out—there was a standard that all browsers should adhere to. Well, that was the thought.

Internet Explorer has been around far longer than Internet standards have been popular. Microsoft was used to making up their own rules and figuring out how to best display websites. In their defense, they actually did a pretty good job—they had one of the best browsers around, pre-standards, and they’re still the most popular browser. But once standards caught on, those proprietary rules made Web design a nightmare. This was due to other popular browsers—namely Mozilla Firefox—being almost completely standards-compliant. Internet Explorer 6 was mostly standards-compliant, but still missed the mark considerably. Those little quirks in Internet Explorer 6 often made us re-code perfectly coded websites, and, in some cases, provide entirely separate code for Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 7 was a mixed blessing when it came out (for us, anyway). It was much more standards-compliant, and Microsoft actually saw the error of their IE6 ways and made Internet Explorer 7 a priority Windows update for all Windows users. So why a mixed blessing? Websites that had separate code for IE6 were suddenly “broken” in IE7. This was mostly due to websites not being built properly in the first place, but that didn’t stop the flood of hate-mail that Microsoft probably received on their new baby.

(I should also point out that IE7 had its own quirks that did cause standards-compliant Web designers some headaches. But the problems solved by IE7 greatly outweighed the problems caused.)

“Don’t break the Web.” That became Microsoft’s mantra during the initial development of IE8. In early 2008, they announced something called Version Targeting that would be implemented in IE8. Although IE8 was being developed for further adherence to standards, IE8 would interpret websites exactly like IE7 unless the website specifically asked to be interpreted by updated rules. This would also apply to IE9, IE10, and IE32—they would all interpret websites just the same as IE7 unless asked not to.

While this may have seemed like a good idea to the development team, which likely received a plethora of negative content about the latest incarnation of their browser, and to Web designers who built to browser standards rather than Web standards, it angered standards-compliant designers who wanted to see even more adherence to standards on the Web. Some of us came to see why Microsoft made the decision; others (like myself) remained angry about it, seeing it as a hindrance to progress toward a standards-compliant Web.

On March 3, Microsoft announced that they have reversed this decision. IE8 will now, by default, interpret pages in the most standard compliant way it can. The good news for designers worried about IE8 “breaking the Web” is that they can actually set their pages to request to be interpreted using IE7 standards. So version targeting is still around—only now, it’s the opt-in rather than the default. This is good news for the industry, and even better news for “standardistas” like myself.

So what does this mean for you, the non-Web-designer? Make sure your websites are being built to standards. Ask that your websites be built in XHTML 1.0 rather than HTML 4.01, and ask to make sure your code validates against the rules set forth by the W3C. As browsers move in that direction, compliance to Web standards is going to be more and more important, and early work will reduce the amount of adjustment needed whenever a new browser comes out. As an added bonus, it also gives you bragging rights in Web designer circles.

My fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Howard, is the single coolest person I’ve ever known. Sorry, JLo … it’s true.

Way back in the early ‘80’s, Phyllis Howard was duly influencing young and impressionable minds. She was nurturing, considerate and kind. She helped countless tweens get through the day-to-day grind of 4th and 5th grade and mentally prepared for the horrors of middle school. And 20 years later at a class reunion, I got to thank her for that.

Back in the day, things moved pretty slowly at Grandview Park Baptist School in Des Moines, Iowa. It was a simpler, gentler time – a time when you’d be banished to hell for even THINKING about listening to the “Xanadu” soundtrack. Unfortunately, I always had a thing for Olivia Newton-John (uh, and I still do). I remember asking Mrs. Howard if I was going to forever burn in eternal damnation for listening to ONJ. Anyone else would have said yes … and included a bible verse specifically linking Olivia to hellfire and brimstone. But Mrs. Howard said, “If it makes you happy … then do it. Just don’t do it in my class or I’ll get smited.” I can’t be sure those were her exact words – but the gist of it was that I could be free to be me … and I had her blessing.

Look back at your favorite teacher/instructor/professor. What made them infinitely cooler than others? Was it something they did? The things they said? I distinctly remember Mrs. Howard had cordoned off part of her room and filled it with books and magazines she thought we would enjoy. It wasn’t nearly as stuffy as the regular library upstairs run by the militant Mrs. Peneger. If I wanted to read about how Blair achieved her perfectly feathered-hair on “The Facts of Life”, I’d go to Mrs. H’s Reading Room. If I wanted to read up on why I was the harbinger of Satan for listening to New Wave music, I’d go upstairs to be chastised by Mrs. P.

Mrs. Howard would allow our artistic capabilities to flow with wild abandon. My doodling skills were sharpened within days. She would encourage random banter and inspire chitchat when warranted. Once in ’79, Pope John Paul came to Des Moines … and the earth stood still in Iowa. Grandview Park Baptist even canceled classes that day – so we could spend time praying for those damn Catholics. In Mrs. Howard’s class, we discussed differences in religion … odd because, up to that point, I thought everyone was a religious zealot like me.

She’d take the class fishing or camping or off for shopping or cooking expeditions. She was a Renaissance-woman-meets-Martha-Stewart. Now Mrs. Howard would have to have released forms signed in triplicate plus insurance waivers lest anyone end up with a fish hook in their head. Good Lord!

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to fawn over Mrs. Howard like no other. I told her she was unequivocally my favorite teacher and that she deserved all the accolades and kudos that go along with that. Or canonization … whichever.

We still got along swimmingly. Some things never change. And the best part of our reunion, you ask? Mere seconds before she and I walked in to Grandview’s chapel, I swear I heard a clap of thunder. Chances are without her next to me, I would have been struck down like the hedonistic, narcissistic Olivia Newton-John-worshipping Satanist that I turned out to be. And I’m a better person for it … and I owe it all to Mrs. Howard.
And so do you.

You simply KNOW it’s gonna be a good day when a client says, “We should shoot on the beach and have a surfboard in the shot, yes?”

Little did I know how much fun I was going to have earlier this week while in the mind-blowingly gorgeous city of Solana Beach, California. I was working on an upcoming cover story for Career College Central Magazine and our interviewee, Michael Clifford, lives just outside of San Diego. So off we went to visit him in his native environment.
An environment where I stood out like a sore thumb because I was not eating vegan, covered in sand or wearing a wet suit.

Solana Beach is a sleepy little surfing town nestled in between other little sleepy little surfing towns. Everyone moves at their own speed … which is somewhere between napping and serious R.E.M. It’s delightful and if I robbed banks for a living, I’d move there in a second.

Michael thought it would be keen to have a surfboard in the shot … but not just any surfboard … he wanted an Evolution surfboard. Fortunately, he’s good friends with blondiful, bronzed surfer-god & Evolution CEO Clark Riedel. In surfer world, he’s like the Dalai Lama of surfboards. Celebrities come from far and wide to ride the waves with Clark’s boards under the nimble feet. I had no idea what a big deal he was. Of course, I live in a land-locked state devoid of surf and/or celebs.

His mantra? “Surf for life.”

When Clark showed up, I figured the paparazzi would soon be in tow. Surfers gawked. They preened. A few tried to rappel down from the cliffs to get a better look. Oh sure, they tried to act cool and aloof, but were reduced to drooling when Clark broke out one of his impossible-to-find, if-you-have-to-ask-you-can’t-afford-it surfboards.

Mercifully, I had done enough homework to not feel like a moron around Clark. I mentioned breezily that my doppelganger Mick Mackie made the famous Mackie Surfboards in Australia. Color Clark unimpressed. You could tell he was being pleasant, but was trying to get me to wrap things up so he could dive head first in to the rolling ocean.

I’m constantly amazed at the people I get to meet at this job. And I’m even more amazed at how cool this gig is. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Well – check that. If the shoot involved a neon-infused Evolution board and a shirtless Mario Lopez … all bets are off after that offer.

In the meantime, hang loose, as they say, for the upcoming story … it’ll be coming out before the end of the year … say, around winter … when I’m desperate to be back in Solana Beach.

PlattForm’s internal philanthropic committee – the aptly named “Team Phil” – has a laundry list of charitable organizations that we work with throughout the year. Some are our charities of choice – like our upcoming ADA “Step Out To Fight Diabetes Walk” on September 27th.

Other Team Phil events are of a much smaller-scale, but still wildly important. A few weeks ago, there was a local story in the KC Star about Jana Mackey, a young woman from Lawrence, KS who was brutally murdered by her boyfriend. Even more tragic was that she had been a well-known advocate for women and assisted victims of rape and domestic violence.

There’s a Public Advocacy fund being set up in her name right now. One of PlattForm’s team members was friends with the victim. Our co-worker was so incensed at this senseless crime; she quickly rallied Team Phil to help raise awareness about domestic violence.

Typically, PFormers aren’t usually wan to just shell out miscellaneous dough for any ol’ cause. So Team Phil decided to make a day of it … an upcoming bake sale, BBQ, winner-take-all trivia contest and pool tournament. And I’ll guarantee it’ll be a successful event.

Why?

1) It’s for a good cause.

2) It’s for a good cause AND there’s food involved.

According to a recent Fort Hays University study, more than 100,000 Kansas women are the victims of domestic violence every year. And while a bake sale might seem trivial or old school … hopefully, the money we raise will help raise awareness. And, more importantly, keep Jana Mackey’s legacy alive.

This is not the first time Team Phil has helped combat domestic violence against women and children. Last year, PlattForm’s Video Production Department produced a powerful pro-bono video for the YWCA of Wichita. Some of the women’s stories and some of the statistics in the piece are both heartbreaking and woefully disconcerting. You can see it below.

But in the end … the more the word gets out, the more we can do to stop this on-going cycle of abuse.