Category Archives: Blotter

Is web design like brickwork?

Our company's developers are located in South Carolina where one of the most prominent architectural characteristics in South Carolina's upstate is the brickwork in Greenville used for walls, buildings and pathways. The production of bricks in South Carolina increased dramatically during reconstruction following the Civil War. Today, one can hardly drive through a Greenville neighborhood without seeing bricks used in every construction, whether on pathways, in walls or for the foundations and facades of the buildings themselves.

History of brickwork in Greenville

During the 19th century's industrial revolution in the United States more than 10 million bricks were being made annually. When it came time to construct the factories and mills to fuel the booming economy of a prosperous Greenville, bricks were the material of choice. Greenville had long been a refuge for Charleston gentry who bought...

Should I upgrade to WordPress Gutenberg? No.

Should I upgrade to WordPress Gutenberg? No.
The WordPress 5.0 Gutenberg upgrade will change how the current page editor handles. There have been no schedules released for when the 5.0 forced upgrade will occur. WordPress developers are building out a new way to engage content that promises to improve visual elements of pages and eliminate the need for shortcodes. Called “blocks”, WordPress 5.0 promises to allow designers to style images, videos and other media content with a true WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) experience, further dumbing down the methods for publishing good design on WordPress.

WordPress Gutenberg aims to eliminate the need for custom code

There is the option to immediately upgrade WordPress Gutenberg by installing a new plugin on your website; however, Blotter will await the WordPress 5.0 upgrade when Gutenberg is scheduled to be a forced upgrade. Rumors have it that the “classic” editor will be available until at least the end of 2021.

WordPress Guttenberg is not currently finished.

WordPress Guttenberg is not currently finished. We do not recommend installing the Gutenberg plugin unless a website manager is designing a new website.

There are no security benefits to early adoption and the upgrade primarily focuses on design of a website. At this point, WordPress says there is no need for reorganizing existing designs; however, there is indication that infrastructure changes may be needed in the future to stay compatible with WordPress versions. We will update you when an announcement is made as to its forced adoption.

Adoption of WordPress Gutenberg is something that early-adopters may want to explore, and anyone building new websites should use it out of the gate. Blotter plans to develop all new websites utilizing WordPress Gutenberg as it expects this standard to replace earlier versions of the visual editor.

Planning your Website

Similar to the adoption of new operating systems on your mobile phone, just because WordPress Gutenberg is offered as an upgrade doesn’t mean website managers should move forward with the new technology. WordPress Gutenberg is likely to create conflicts in table design elements, especially. And within the next five years shortcodes will be a legacy item that may be ignored in future WordPress releases.

About WordPress Gutenberg Upgrade:

https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/?fbclid=IwAR3oivocH_qdzLPbzFdBclmV7_IINYfH3S0JHSKZDZGCFHSS16MJU5R0omo

5 ways to fix a bad boss

Everyone has a story about a bad boss ruining a good company. If you want to know how to fix a bad boss – the best advice is to let the situation fix itself. Incompetence, aggression and not getting along nearly always ends with a bad boss departing and new rules put in place to prevent it from happening again. We all want Transformational Leadership and are amazed when jerks have success leading companies. But exceptions to the rules will always be the excuse for bad behavior and incompetence.

1. Fix a bad boss the way of a bad President

Fix a Bad BossDepending on whom you ask, many of our past Presidents of the United States (POTUS) were bad bosses. Many believe Donald Trump to be...

How to argue with manners

I was trying to argue with manners during a panel forum when my mic stopped working. “Is the mic working? Can you hear me in the back?” I asked loudly. Someone in the back of the room screamed at the top of his voice, "I can't hear you talk!" At which time a lady in the front row piped up, "Hey fella, that's perfect! Let's switch seats now." A great communicator's success, to a large degree, comes from an ability to argue with manners and without causing undue fatigue or frustration to those participating. The level of persistent disagreement around public policy today is disheartening but unlikely to abate. The constant vitriol is creating problems and enormous challenges in our communities – challenges that are disruptive to business, stable government, safety and to civil order. But in...

Handwriting increases productivity for website managers

Handwriting increases productivity for website managers

The Blotter productivity model for website managers is based on the idea that handwriting increases productivity.

Productivity is no different than eating, exercise and spiritual routines. Once acquired and practiced routinely, one’s productivity will be constant and may increase over time. More and more the old-fashioned method of hand-written notes is being proved as a great way to stay productive on the job and in personal life.

Here are five ways to be productive using traditional handwriting:

1. Note Cards with handwriting increases productivity

Personally, I enter all my tasks in a given day on an index card, then assign time values to each. Finally, I create Google calendar time slots. When the time is expired for that task, I must move on to the next. The consequences of not completing that task means my 4:00 pm quit time gets pushed back.

Note Cards for Increasing Productivity

Note Cards for Increasing Productivity

Ideally, my productive work day begins at 8:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm. But more often than not I’m skipping tasks during the day because of personal or professional distractions. Productivity means picking these tasks back up at the end of a given day and completing them. No matter how late. Productivity for website managers is no different than for other professionals. You’ve gotta get the work done no matter how long it takes!

2. Flowcharts with handwriting increases productivity

Whiteboards remain in most technology company board rooms and strategy planning common places. The method of visual aids to improve the process of developing strategy can be done digitally, but the difficulty projecting flowcharts or other complex systems is sometimes best expressed on a large piece of paper.

3. The Cornell Method with handwriting increases productivity

College classes do teach us something about productivity. One popular method for increasing productivity for website managers goes back to the Cornell Method where a note taker divides up a page into three sections:

  • RIGHT COLUMN – General Area where you keep your biggest and best ideas on the lecture. Here are the most important concepts.
  • LEFT AREA – Serves to simplify the common area (right column) with “Margin Notes” that continue to build details on the general concepts recorded.
  • BOTTOM PAGE – This is the “Total Summary” for the page and is meant to provide a way to quickly review the bulk of the page in a few sentences
The Cornell Method for Note Taking

The Cornell Method for Note Taking (photo: goconqr.com)

4. Headline Writing with handwriting increases productivity

Writing headlines for bog posts or other important banners, whether scribbled on one’s hand or on scraps of paper, can be a way toward recording the most important key points for the topic at hand. In addition to being readily available, this technique for improving productivity has the added value on emphasis. Bigger is better when it comes to recording important thoughts.

Website Productivity at Blotter.com

Website Productivity at Blotter.com

5. Post-it Notes with handwriting increases productivity

While the modern world is quickly moving toward a digital-only mode for communications, there are many who continue to scribble notes using pencils and pens. Post-It notes are extremely popular for increasing productivity. Overwhelming consensus is that the tried-and-true method for handwritten notes is both productive and more permanent than entering into computers. Remember that you can always enter the text into a computer later.

“I like to be able to see what I write for the days to come,” commented Taylor Cassidy, a contractor for Blotter who writes PHP full time. “But the difference is that I only write down those things that are of central importance to me. Grocery lists, TO-DO lists at work and all those things that need to be viewed on my desk in the near future.”

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