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How lost am I without my phone?

Carl Setzer4 Comments
antique broken cell phone communication

Oh, how lost would I be without my cell phone? Tis a question posed by Rory on his blog “A Guy Called Bloke” (hat tip to to Fandango, whose post is what I’m, ultimately, replying to).

Ok, I am not “lost” without my phone. There have been a handful of times in the past few months where I have, deliberately, left my phone at home. Ok, not exactly “deliberately”. I left home, realized my phone was on my desk and opted to not go back for it. For a quick run to a coffee shop, or grabbing dinner out somewhere, it’s fine. But, for me, most everything is on there. My shopping list is there. It’s a backup payment method. My camera is there. My notes. Maps/directions. My calendar. My Kindle app holds many of my books. And then, of course, is my ability to connect. Good luck trying to find a payphone anymore! My cell phone has taken the place of so very much of my old accoutrement, for which I’m grateful.

In the end, I value having my phone with me. It’s a deliberate choice in many ways, and one I’m quite ok with. The only thing I’d say to someone who doesn’t feel the need to always have their phone with them: good luck finding a payphone if you need it.

Skill Acquisition

Carl Setzer

I was chatting with one of the baristas at my favorite local coffee shop earlier today. I like how she described her current, I guess I’d call it “focus”: the acquisition of skills. She’s gained barista skills, store manager skills, she’s now working on hair-dressing skills. There was far more to that, but you get the drift.

This describes much of my career life. I’ve loved learning, new skills, new business types, new business functions (you can see the range of work I’ve done over on my resume). I relish breadth of knowledge. However, I did get to a point where I wanted depth, to become an expert in something. Much of my mental effort over the past few years has been seeking that something.

As I love so much, and focus requires denying, saying “no”, this has been a painful challenge for me. But I’m making progress. I do have something of a focus now. Something.

When I started down this web-development path, I assumed that at the end I’d be good at making websites and, well, then I’d make websites. Oh, my goodness, no…it’s been far more than that. I’ve studied data systems, systems analysis and design, graphic design, programming, project managment…so many things, and I would argue I have explored databases and system analysis in more depth than I have HTML, CSS and JavaScript. So, even while refining my focus, my opportunities have expanded.

Back to my friend, and to anyone else out there in a similar place: there’s value in focus. Maybe, to start, just start compiling a list of what you want to study/learn. First, having a list is the first step in a plan. And having a written list makes it much more likely to happen. Also, you’ll start to see patterns. Within that will be the first inklings of a focus.

I’m working on the same. I’ve started journaling on paper again (I’m using a Leuchtturm 1917, if you’re interested). And that’s where I’m working on this sort of thing. Paper engages the brain differently, which I find important. It also slows me down (I type pretty darn fast). Right now, I’m focusing on the kinds of work I want to do. Do I want to code? Do I want to design? Do I want to dig into data? Manage projects? Figuring out these elements, I can then craft a plan to achieve them and build the next phase of my career.

Have you done anything like this? What do you think of this notion? Let me know!

Help your audience find your stuff

Carl Setzer
man holding mug in front of laptop

A few days ago I was scrolling through Instagram, as we’re want to do these days. On a rather popular site (for some pop-star) was a post featuring some product. Whoever crafted the post wrote the standard “link in bio”. Then the top comments were asking “where’s the link”? Interest piqued, I followed the link. The landing page showed links to a blog and plenty of pages, but where to find this specific link, this product was unclear at best. This caused me to cringe. People are interested in this item and they’re having to play “hide-and-seek”. You don’t want to do this with your fans!

I am reminded of a developer maxim (I believe it was said by Jeff Hawkins, creator of the Palm Pilot) about minimizing the number clicks you need to access information. I can’t remember the specifics of that quote, but the basic premise is the fewer the better. Each click builds frustration, which is worsened when the process isn’t clear. Also, having to guess where to click next is a key element of bad UX. I assume they shared the information in that post hoping to engage their audience and sell some stuff. Clearly, that wasn’t successful, or at least not as successful as it could be.

There are a number of ways that this could’ve been executed better. Now, I understand that Instagram gives you one link. One! And no links in the content are allowed. Plenty of folks have developed solutions, however. The easiest (to me) is linktree. Elegant in it’s simplicity, linktree simply collects your links and serves them up in a clean, clear list. This is a highly used tool: you see it in many profiles. Here’s mine for example.

Another, perhaps slightly more complex solution, is to create a landing page on your site with all the links you reference in your posts. I would itemize them in list, with the dates and post titles and also the images of the Instagram posts to make it very clear which link goes with each post.

Put a little thought into your anticipated user flow, into how you want them to find your information. How easily do you want to make it to buy your stuff? To interact with your latest “thing”? Providing clear calls-to-action, clear directions, and clear paths to finding what they want makes your user experience good and enjoyable. That helps good ol’ conversion, which ensures your project keeps moving. Great things, right?

My thoughts on this horrifying story: “Disability Activist Dies After United Airlines Destroyed Her Custom Wheelchair”

Carl Setzer
man showing distress

Earlier today I read this: Disability Activist Dies After United Airlines Destroyed Her Custom Wheelchair. Dear friends, please allow me to step upon my soapbox for a moment.

This event horrifies me. First, and foremost, United, and the airline industry writ large need to embrace that wheelchairs are beyond critical to their user’s health. Engaracia’s case demonstrates that dearly.

Her treatment by United, both in the hours at the airport (5 hours?) as well as the being strung along for resolution are monumentally horrifying. Simply stunning in the lack of basic empathy and compassion. As much as I want United to be held accountable for such dreadful negligence, I want to call out the entire airline industry. Over 10,000 wheelchairs destroyed per year is…disgusting…as is the collective shrug in their response.

I deeply value accessibility and diversity. To see something that so egregiously violates that value pains me.

Non-Traditional Backgrounds and Tech Careers

Carl Setzer

I just read this tweet, which got me thinking…

I thought “well, I’m pretty non-traditional” when I read that. My career has drifted over a number of roles and industries (go read my resume for more of the story). I feel, at this point, the central theme of my work-life is what I’d call communications. Whether crafting presentations and other correspondence, developing social media strategies, creating WordPress websites, creating content for said websites, editing video, running sound and audio for events, coordinating meeting/event logistics…well, I think you see the theme.

I really appreciated the encouragement. Though my grades are pretty darn good, it’s not been easy. I’ve had to work quite hard. This work doesn’t come naturally to me. So encouragement is really valuable.

I’m still not sure where I want to land once I’m done with my degree. I don’t expect to be feted with glee, but I believe I have a lot to offer. Perhaps directly in the tech sector, or perhaps in a tech role in a more traditional business. I’m still pulling that together.

Has your career been linear? In one sector or role/type-of-role? Or have you been all over the map like me? And what kind of career transitions have you made? I’d love to hear your stories and ideas. Leave a comment and lets talk!

My next steps

Carl Setzer

When I started this career transition, my vision seemed clear: at the end of this I’ll get a job managing websites. Well, my vision has evolved. This is standard in my life, at least. As I learn more, interact with people, expand my view, my understanding grows and new opportunities become visible.

I expected that I would come out knowing nearly everything about building and managing sites. The main thing I’ve learned is how little I know. There is so much left to learn. I expected to study html, Javascript and CSS far deeper, that I’d spend more than one quarter on each. I also didn’t expect the breadth I’d be exposed to. Things like the database theory and design classes, and the SQL classes I’m taking now. Nor did I think I’d dive deeper into project management, systems analysis and design, Visual Basic, or Amazon Web Services.

This range of classes opens up some career areas that I hadn’t considered. Analyst roles for one, data systems for another. Another area I see is project management. And there’s communications, with a focus on digital comms. So much to consider. And I want to launch my need stage of my career plan soon. So I have work to do.

Student Life Update

Carl Setzer
gray laptop computer showing html codes in shallow focus photography

One of the more interesting phenomena I’ve observed: the weird pivots between emotions. Late last week and earlier this week, I struggled with some basic concepts in database structure and math that left me feeling like I had no business pursuing this web developer thing. Then there’s today where I blast out two quizzes, that I budgeted an hour each for in just under 20 minutes. With perfect scores, mind you. So, right now, I feel a bit like superman. I’m sure I’ll be humbled again soon, though.

On another note: I’m changing the focus of this blog. Earlier this year I shifted my haiku and other poetry away from Questionsall.net to here, CarlSetzer.com. There were a few reasons, mainly the ads on Questionsall were annoying me. Plus, I thought it would be nice to only blog in one place. Well, a few folks let me know that it was a bit of a confusing muddle. And, as I approach the end of my ATA efforts, I need to give some thought to my “brand”. This site is my most powerful tool regarding SEO. It’s beenbtop of fold when you search “Carl Setzer” for quite some time. I want those HR folks researching me to view what I’ve been doing with my education. Plus, I plan to use this site as a way to generate freelance work.

Thus, I intend to move my poetry back to Questionsall.net. As a side project, that seems fitting. I don’t want haiku, etc, to be my career. Quite the opposite: I want it to remain free of the stress of production. It’s what I turn to in order to relieve stress.

And this site will focus on my journey through my web development studies and how I’m integrating all that into my overall life. My professional brand, so to speak.

Hopefully my little experiment wasn’t too jarring for you. I’ll work on a clear vision as I move forward.

Thank you all for your support and for reading my missives. It means a great deal to me.

One-Liner Wednesday: A Monoku Response

Carl Setzer
Autumn Leaves
Autumn Leaves
reddening leaves not yet journeying earthwards, soon autumn storms come

Here’s my contribution to Linda G. Hills “One-Liner Wednesday” prompt. I discovered this through Fandango’s response to the same prompt.

This is a monoku, essentially a variant of haiku. If you’re not familiar with them, Jason Muckley has a great explanation on his blog.