Why Web Monkeys Need to Swing.
December 10, 2006
Web monkeys are web designers who make their living designing websites. That may seem like a redundant statement, but there are many out there who are just casual web designers …
I wanted to point that out because this article targets the full time web designer (web monkey) and not the casual web-nerd.
SWINGING WEB MONKEYS
Swinging web monkeys are those few smart web designers who don’t rest on the laurels – they continue to learn.
.. If you want to stay competitive and pull ahead of the pack (of nerds,) you ought to spend time learning new technologies, techniques and even be brave enough to graduate to ‘code monkey’ status.
CODE MONKEYS
I defined what a code-monkey is in a previous post. But in a nutshell, code monkeys are nerds who are inclined to code and not design.
For these people, I strongly suggest that they learn to program – especially PHP. But even if you are a great web designer, I still suggest that you become a little ‘code-monkeyish’ and learn some PHP – it will make your web design better.
SWINGING: CODE MONKEY STYLE
It is even better to learn several programming languages because with each new language, you will gain a better overall understanding of programming – and that’s just the half of it!
When you learn a new programming language you will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of languages in general.
- Learn new methods of solving problems.
I was reminded of this just recently when I took a serious look at Ruby. As a played with this nifty language, I found that it expressed concepts (that I had trouble with in Java,) in such a way that it was finally made clear.
.. Because I bothered to learn a little Ruby, my understanding of Java got better!
Beyond the conceptual level, I also picked up some practical programming strategies that I could apply to both my Java and PHP programming.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it; it makes sense to learn new techniques and technologies, if you want to stay ahead of the game.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
