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On Developing Confidence as a Web Content Developer

I’m no Jonathan Snook, but that doesn’t keep me from wanting to be. You’ve got to admit that Snook has mad props (what does that mean?). Seriously, how often can you find a guy with an eye for design who can also write his own CMS (albeit in CakePHP)?

When burgeoning web developers like myself come across those of Snook’s caliber, we can’t help but take a heavy blow to our professional confidence. I mean, how can those of us with only a few years under our belts hope to compare?  We can’t. No matter how hard we try, our work doesn’t come close to those who’ve spent years honing their craft, who know PS like the back of their hand, and who literally have their own seal of approval (Snook Approved).

On the other end of the spectrum, when we beginning web developers run across web designers like Cameron Moll (who confesses that he never formally studied design) and Dave Shea, our confidence in our abilities drops down another notch. Dave Shea started Zen Garden for pete’s sake (though lately it has fallen fallow). Or take my favorite web standards designer, Dan Cedarholm. The man’s a regular at An Event Apart and has a written books on bulletproof web design. How do I compare? Um, I wrote a thesis on creating a web style guide that maybe three people have read?

All we can control is what we do, who we influence, and how hard we work.

Do we throw our hands up and quit? Throw in the towel (insert your favorite gloomy metaphor here)?

No. We take what we observe and study as inspiration and motivation to better ourselves. As the old adage says, “Comparison is the root of inferiority.” Let’s face it, there will always be somebody smarter, more gifted, and better than ourselves. That’s a given. As we follow blogs and web design trends, we can’t avoid coming across those who are simply further along the path than we are. All we can control is what we do, who we influence, and how hard we work.

So keep plugging away at it - perhaps someday you’ll be Snook Approved.

Posted by Jesse on 11/26 at 01:24 AM

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