I knew I hadn’t updated my blog in some time, but almost a year? Oy!

Shortly after my last blog post, I accepted a position as a front-end web developer at United Airlines in their eCommerce Production area. The great thing is that as a post-merger organization, there’s lots of change, lots of systems and technologies to get my arms around and learn.

It has taken me away from my pursuit of a career position in user experience, but I’m getting schooled in technologies that will aid me in the long run.

I have lots to talk about and share, yet little time to do so. But I promise I will post soon and on a more semi-regular basis. Call it therapy.

Opportunity Summary

• Location: Chicago, IL (Target range: Downtown Chicago north through Northern Suburbs
• Employee Type: Full-Time Preferred, will consider Long-term Contract
• Industry: Open
• Job Type: Internet, Design, Marketing
• Education: High School, Some College
• Experience: 18 years
• Travel: Negligible
• Post Date: 4/23/2012

Dennis Deacon (the candidate) is currently looking for a User Experience or a Front-End Web Development opportunity in the Chicagoland area (sorry, no relocations). The opportunity must rely on the candidate’s 18 years experience with HTML/XHTML, 12+ years experience with CSS, 2+ year experience with CSS3 and at least high-level knowledge of HTML5. Opportunity must need proficiency in using the Adobe Create Suite. Some user experience work and a marketing mindset is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the day-to-day update of websites, microsites and landing pages
• Responsible for the creation of new online solutions, i.e. websites, microsites and landing pages, that impact the business’s bottom line
• Responsible for Email marketing, i.e. HTML email creation, distribution, tracking
• Perform user experience research to gain target market insight to improve ROI
• Leverages semantic markup and SEO best practices to ensure the best possible search engine placement
• Use web analytics software to track online success and areas for improvement

Requirements

• 10+ years experience hand-coding HTML & CSS
• 1-2 years experience hand-coding HTML5 and CSS3
• 5+ years experience Adobe Creative Suite
• 3+ years experience HTML Email marketing
• 2-3 years User Experience research and design experience preferred
• Knowledge of search engine optimization best practices
• Knowledge of web analytic software, reporting
• Experience with Javascript / jQuery nice to have; will allow for growth
• Experience of social media marketing preferred, not required
• Good communication skills
• Can work independently or effectively in a team environment

To discuss this type of opportunity further, contact Dennis Deacon using the contact form link above or via provided email address.

WordCamp Chicago

I just returned from attending a web-related event, WordCamp Chicago. It reminded me how valuable these type of events are. Not only for the formal presentations, but also for the networking and connecting with like-minded people with similar interests.

There are a few excuses I frequently hear for not being able to attend a web event; money and time.

Continue Reading »

It’s been a while since I last posted to the blog here. A lot of things have happened in my live, both professionally and personally. I’ll cover the professional here.

In June, I started a contract gig at United Airlines as a HTML Developer. Hands-on, indeed. It has been an adventure and a great experience. Although I don’t yet write my own JavaScript, I’ve been engaged in working with JavaScript, calling on the expertise of others. I’ve actually written and worked with JSP more than JavaScript. This, from a front-end guy.

It has, although, placed my on an emotional roller coaster. A good chunk of it relates to my lack of control; being able to handle certain tasks on my own. And there’s the “things” that just drive you nuts (nope, won’t go into it).

When this gig is over, I will be a better web professional. Stay tuned. I promise to be more prolific with my writing soon.

I’ve done several presentations in my time. They tend to be text heavy, as I want the presentation to have value long after I’ve delivered it.

In the last several years, there’s been a trend in the Internet community to give presentations where primarily supportive imagery is displayed on the slide, while the presenter talks through the points he/she wishes to communicate. This is great for during the presentation. However, after the event, when a presentation is posted for all to view online, there’s only frustration when the viewer cannot obtain the “message.” Just read the comments of frustration from many of the presentations from SXSW. Continue Reading »

I evangelize about things that I’m passionate about. I’ve evangelized about the web and web design for over ten years. I attend web-related meetups and get really wound up about the topic.

Segue to the networking side of those same meetups. I stumble. Ok, I fall flat on my face. I typically find someone to introduce myself to, but it ends there. Continue Reading »