Some clarification is called for.
In October last year, Steven Clark – who is not only wise in the ways of the web and in the ways of business but is Tasmanian and therefore infallible – alerted me to the fact that SitePoint had a vacancy for a Tech Editor.
Now, I have been a fan of this publisher of books and online resources relating to web design and development for many years. I wrote admiringly about them back in 2006 and have purchased some two dozen of their print titles over the years.
What I have gleaned from SitePoint books has contributed significantly to the small but meaningful successes I have achieved in the web industry so far. I rank them alongside the Web Directions conferences as my main avenue of ongoing professional development.
So when the opportunity came along to work with them, I thought I’d better give it a go. I believe you can learn a great deal by working with people you admire and who inspire you. I must have done something right because what started as a bit of casual Tech Editing has evolved into recently acquiring the title of Managing Editor, Online Content.
This does not mean I have given up being a web designer. In fact, my part-time work at SitePoints fits hand-in-glove with my own business, as does my continuing involvement with WIPA, the Web Industry Professional Association, of which I am currently and proudly the President.
Not only will I continue to manage and expand the web presence of my stable of long term web clients, which includes people like Anne Summers, Helen Caldicott, Julie McCrossin, Wendy McCarthy, Andrew Buchanan, Peter Wall and Caroline Baum, as well as a hatful of other authors, designers, musicians, theatre performers and broadcasters and the odd financial trainer, school, photographer, winemaker, film-maker, management consultant and a bunch of non-profit organisations – I will continue to take on more work as and when I can fit it in.
Currently, I’m working on two very exciting projects for a rather extraordinary academic and a highly gifted graphic designer, both Australian and both world beaters.
No way am I giving all that up.
So, if you’re interested in writing for one of the world’s leading providers of resources for web professionals: articles, courses, ebooks or print books, please do let me know. Equally, if you’re looking for a web designer and developer to single handedly create an outstanding and effective web presence for you that will grow over time to accommodate your own success, please also get in contact.
I’m glad that’s cleared up.
I’ve recently started a webcomic. After viewing some of my favorite other webcomic sites I noticed that they had a ? in every comic posted. My questions are: Do you have to Copyright a webcomic? Is it as simple as just typing in a ? into every comic or do I have to register something somewhere?.
Broadly speaking, if you want people to understand that you hold the intellectual property rights to something you’ve created, it’s a good idea to make that clear. Adding a copyright symbol tells people that somebody owns this stuff. It won’t stop people copying your work, but it may help to resolve the issue if you challenge the copier. Then again, you may want to make some of your work available under a licence that allows people to copy it under certain circumstances. There are organisations that will give you more info, such as the U.S. Copyright Office and the Australian Copyright Council. You may also want to find out about Creative Commons licensing.