Journal
Writing for Digital Web
13 February 2007 › 17 comments
I just wanted to post a quick blurb, letting y’all know that I am now officially a contributing writer over at Digital Web Magazine. They invited me to write last year, but I just now got around to actually putting the proverbial pen to paper. I contributed an article entitled The Village Stew, in which I talk about some of the variables that go into overhauling a large corporate website. It’s less of a how-to, and more a tale of woe and gnashing of teeth. Hopefully it will prove beneficial, by giving people a heads-up as to things that can potentially hinder a project: lack of vision, meandering leadership, and personal ego.
I imagine that this is what minor-league baseball players feel like when they finally get the call to move up to the show. In a way, it sort of validates that all the time spent working on my curve-ball in the bullpen has begun to pay off. On the other hand, is quite humbling to see my name listed on the same page of other authors such as Jeffrey Zeldman, the father of Web Standards or Jesse James Garrett, the man who coined the term Ajax.
I just want to say thanks to DWM Editor in Chief, Carolyn Wood for giving me the opportunity to contribute, and for helping me flesh out my nebulously vague ideas and turn them into an arguably print-worthy article. Also, a tip of the hat goes to Andy Rutledge for allowing me to pilfer a few choice quotes.
Much like with Textpattern Solutions, I tend to assume I have competent penmanship until editors get ahold of the manuscript. As Nietzsche said: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” I’m a better writer for having undergone editorial scrutiny. Depending on the feedback, I look forward to writing further articles as time allows. For now, taste test the village stew.
Discussion + Dissension
Comments closed after 2 weeks.
#1 David Sutoyo
I enjoyed reading the article, and couldn’t help but be reminded of the situation at a lot of churches when reading the village stew analogy — where this type of design process is a microcosm of how they deal with not just design-related matters, but church matters in general too. I’ve never worked in the corporate world, but some have told me that environment can be even more suffocating than in secular corporations.
#2 Nathan Smith
David: I agree. When I was at Asbury Seminary, the politics were nearly as bad as a large corporation. Each department thought that they were a unique entity in and of themselves. The chapel office wanted heavy Flash, etc. The interpersonal, political aspects of a team environment certainly aren’t unique the the business world, and extends well beyond web-dev. I just approached it from that standpoint, to make it more broadly applicable.
#3 Matt Heerema
wow. I remember Nathan Smith when… nice work, bro. ;)
#4 Jonathan E
Congrats Nathan, that’s great news. I’m sure you’ll be a great addition to Digital Web’s already stellar list of contributors.
#5 Yannick
Congrats Nathan. I enjoyed reading the article and learnt a bit from it too. Keep up the good work. :)
#6 Nathan Logan
Congrats, bro. It’s a deserved honor.
And your article was spot-on. Some great observations and guidelines. I’m sending this one on to members of my current team. Thanks!
#7 Matt (mithrill)
Congrats…I’m glad to see a fellow Christian have the opportunity to write for such a highly read website. Maybe seeing your name on those articles will cause some people, who otherwise would not, to read some of your other writing and those on Godbit. Congrats once again!
BTW, I just dugg your story!
#8 Michael Montgomery
Excellent, great job.
There’s an old essay called the “Tragedy of the Commons.” It’s sort of opposite to your Village Soup, where everyone takes from a common resource, rather than contributes to it. With equally distasteful results.
I’m also reminded of a parable called “stone soup,” which ended much better. (Perhaps a lesson in managing expectations.)
In any event, congratulations!
#9 Matthew Smith
Quite dull indeed :)
Good to see that you are being positioned according to your talents and hopefully beyond them by grace. Your analogy is strong Nathan. The only place where I feel it breaks down, and you mention it being a bit ‘melodramatic’, is that I feel that most of the folks in the village know better than to simply bring pizza and icecream to put in the stew, but little do they know the meaning of a “dash” or “pinch” or the power of rosemary, etc. That’s where I feel the danger lies, not in totally mistaking the ingredients, but in not having the nuanced tastes and sensibilities that a strong design team must.
#10 Jon Christopher
Just wanted to leave a congratulatory note on your article, Nathan. It was great and it’s awesome you’re now a contributing author to Digital Web Magazine. Quite an achievement if I may say so myself. Again, congratulations on a fantastic article and wonderful achievement.
#11 Nathan Smith
Hey, thanks for all the positive vibes. Good to know that not only did y’all like the article, but that the topic resonates with everyone to some degree.
@Michael: It’s funny you mention “stone soup,” because that’s one of the things I had in mind while writing this. Stone soup works, because everyone is contributing to the common good, while village stew doesn’t work because everyone is adding their own input with little regard for others.
#12 Jeff Ludwig
As a relative newcomer to the web scene, I wanted to say that I also appreciated the great analogy of “village stew”. Though I am the Tech Department at the little coin shop at which I work, it seems that my boss’s whims change on a daily basis (I’m not completely sure that he’s a yes-man… but I think he doesn’t feel like he’s in charge if he doesn’t have something to tweak every day or so)... anyway, it’s very difficult to keep his website cohesive and effective at what it is supposed to do well. I didn’t get too involved in the Asbury Seminary politics, so this is kind of my initial first-hand exposure to this sort of thing.
So… I found your article encouraging and helpful. Keep up the good work, Nathan.
#13 Matthew Pennell
It’s great to have you on-board DW, Nathan – you did sign up for one article per week, right? ;)
#14 Niki Tschirgi
You are totally famous. Sigh. Rockstar!
#15 Erik Sagen
Nathan: The first time I read this through I was in a bit of a hurry so, unsurprisingly, I missed out on the overall message.
Reading a second time through, I can echo many of the thoughts here and say it really is a wonderful analogy.
When a project involves so many individuals — every one of them different in mindset — it’s important to have a clear focus on the task at hand and what processes need to be followed to accomplish it successfully.
I’ve encountered this first hand throughout the years and it’s crucial to remain focused and not only pay attention to what you’re doing, but what others are doing to contribute.
One more thing. You’re analogy makes me think of the old tale ‘Stone Soup’, but of course that story conveyed a different message.
Sorry for the belatedness, I had meant to respond to this earlier and congratulate you on your article being published in Digital Web.
I’ll be seeing you soon in Austin. Only a few more days!
#16 darren
dang! indeed a rock star! grats brotha. hope all is well
#17 Ian
Congrats Bro! You are a top-notch writer and will do great. I’ll try to read “around” the editor’s hatchet marks…