nickpettit.com

Watch as I explain my web application design process, and give general design tips along the way.

Hey everyone,

Many times in my life, I've heard people say that if you want to be successful, you have to make a name for yourself. Or in other words, it's not about what you do, it's about who you know. Out in Hollywood and in the business world, there's a lot of truth to this way of thinking.

The wild wild web is interesting in this regard. My friend Brandon said to me:

Content used to be king, but now the web is becoming more about who you know.

Just because content isn't king doesn't mean that content is no longer important (by any means), but a link from a huge blog to the little guy could really make the difference.

And it's not just blogs anymore. Because of social networks, and web services like Twitter, it's now more about people and individuals. For example, Kevin Rose on Twitter has over 50,000 followers now. Any website he posts in a tweet on Twitter must get tons of traffic. It's cool that he's helping out the little guy, but just think about the amount of power that some individuals like Kevin Rose are able to leverage. Pretty impressive if you ask me. The reason people like him are able to leverage such power is a different story that gets into building a personal brand (I'll probably make a post about personal branding later).

Question:
Have you ever caught a tidal wave of traffic from a link? Tell your story in the comments!

Hello web,

I just got back from a weekend wedding. I met up with my family, but I traveled alone, which gave me a lot of time to think about upcoming projects. I also just finished up the summer semester at school, and I'm off for three weeks. Hopefully, I can make the best of it and turn out some cool stuff. :)

Hey everyone,

A developer named Seth commented on my blog a little while back, asking how long it takes to get into the iPhone Web App directory. The truth is, it actually doesn't take long at all. I always submit my iPhone Web Apps after midnight, and they appear in the directory the following day around midnight (so, it takes about 24 hours).

Seth made an app called Chicago Networking Monkey, located at http://iphone.networkingmonkey.com/. It's an app that helps you find upcoming networking events in the Chicago area. At first, Seth was having a hard time getting the app into the iPhone Web App directory, so he contacted me about it. We worked on some things, and I'm happy to say that it's not only in the directory, it's a staff pick!

I've never had a problem getting apps into the web app directory, but until Seth, I wasn't aware that others weren't fortunate enough to have the same kind of luck. I want everyone to be able to get their stuff out there, so here are some pointers that work for me:

• Make sure your link is pointing to the right place - I know it seems silly, but it's an easy thing to miss during the excitement of submission. When I'm submitting an app, I'm super paranoid about this and check the link 4 or 5 times by copying it from the submission form, and pasting it into different browser address bars.
• Make a screenshot and icon - Never submit an app without a screenshot and icon. I know some web apps make it into the directory without an icon, but they end up with a blank square that looks silly. The point I'm trying to make is, think about all the apps that get submitted without icons that you don't see.
• Optimize for the iPhone - For all of my web apps, over 90% of the traffic comes from iPhones, and this should come as no surprise. It doesn't matter what the web app looks like on the desktop. The only browser that's really going to make an impact is mobile Safari on the iPhone. Make sure your experience is optimized for that above all else.
• Keep it simple - Make your app do one or two things very well, and make sure that it's very clear what the functionality and purpose of the app is. Don't overload the app with explanatory text unless it's critical. Screen space on web apps is at a high premium, so don't waste it!
• Make it load fast - Your web app should load as fast as possible, but make sure you test it over the cellular data network (not 3G, since that's still pretty new). The longer it takes to load, the more people are going to hit the back button and never see your app.

Those are just a few key pointers, but if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment. Like I said, I want everyone to be able to have their work seen!

Hey everyone,

Really exciting news today. One of my iPhone web apps, Countdown to Change, is on Reuters.com! Here's the link to the article:
http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/07/18/obama-election-countdown-clock-emerges-for-new-iphone/

I look a little silly in yesterday's video. :)

That's OK though, because I think I learned from my mistakes, and that's the whole point of these videos: learning and experimentation.

I have to say thanks to Brandon, Tiffany, and everyone else who gave me feedback. It was really helpful to get some outside insights.

Better? Worse? Let me know in the comments!

Hey everyone,

Video blogging is something that I've been wanting to do for a long time, because it's a much stronger way to connect. Right now, this is just an experiment, but it's something that I want to take further.

Let me know what you think of this video, and the idea in general!

Hey everybody,

I haven't been posting quite as frequently as I had been because I'm moving, but that will all soon change after I'm in my new place. I'm really excited about moving... actually, I'm amped!

There's just a couple of things I wanted to share:

1. I have a bunch more iPhone Web Apps in store that will be coming out in the next few weeks. The new App Store on iTunes is awesome, but I'm going to stick with making the web apps, because the development time is much shorter, and I'm able to make smaller things that might not merit a full native application.
2. My friends over at After Life Comics have been making some great strips lately. If you haven't been checking them out, make sure you do!
3. There are a lot of projects I'm working on, but the one I'm most excited about is a video blog I'm starting. It's probably a little early to be talking about this, as it's several months down the road, but I just wanted to throw this out there. I believe personal branding is becoming very important in the brave new world of social media, and video is a fantastic way to emphasize your unique flair.

Question for YOU:
What do you think makes a good video blog? Is it personality? Is it the subject matter? Or is it something else?

Welcome to my blog!

This is my first official post. Hopefully, it's the first of many. This is also my first real live Ruby on Rails project, so if you see any problems, let me know!