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The number of new articles on these topics per day is at least 50... 50 good ones.  How do you keep up?  How do you know which ones to read?  How can you filter the god from the bad?

You don't have to.  We do that for you.

Josh Williams, Shannon Sell, and I (Brian Carter) post the best of the best SEO, PPC, social media, and online marketing articles in a special FriendFeed "SEM, SEO, PPC, social media, media placement links, articles" room.  (If you don't use FriendFeed, check that out too- it's a way to aggregate all your most important social networking feeds in one place.)

Get most useful, most relevant-to-the-real-business-world info there.  Check it out!

  As a recent college graduate and someone who is brand new to the world of email marketing, I found out quickly that simply “sending out a few emails” can be a little demanding.  Why?  Every day is a deadline.  Every email that gets sent out is different and every client has their own revisions and input as to how they would like it to look.  The goal is to get the proof done perfect and on time.  Depending on the design, amount of text, and whether or not a template is available, this can take anywhere from ten minutes to two hours (or more!).

Keeping the “creative-building” time down to a minimum is a key part of keeping clients satisfied with the work being done which, in turn, keeps your business growing strong.  However, it’s important to note the old saying from mom…“Haste makes waste”.  How do you keep your emails rolling in and out in a timely fashion, without sacrificing simple mistakes (ie spelling errors, missing links, etc).

The answer is obvious and simple – put a system in order, and stick to it.  If you are new to email marketing, using the system pictured here may be a step in the right direction for you.  If you are a veteran, using this general idea may help you to install a working system that will allow you to double-check your work before sending the proof onto the client.  Whatever the case, installing a system in your every-day email tasks will allow you to pick up better on mistakes, both minor and disastrous.
 
In looking at this chart, you’ll notice that I follow a system of putting text in before adding images.  I find that this is easier because it allows you to see the space that is left once the text has been added.  This will tell you what you should resize your images to, and will keep your email looking clean and in order.  Also, make sure that all of the links to the images are correct and if possible, link all of the images.  The more links you have in an email, the more click-throughs and hopefully, the better the return.
 

When I used to look to hire a new developer I would look for a specific type of person. They had to have a 4 year degree in Computer Science or a related field. I have hired a lot of people -- some were decent, some not very good,  and some were outstanding -- and realized that the type of education they have isn't as important as the type of person they are.

When I look at the employees that have exceeded my expectations there's no pattern related to their level of education. We've had people with Masters degrees, 4 year degrees, 2 year associates degrees, and people that were self-taught with no formal education.  
Those that have had higher education come from a range of disciplines including computer science, graphic design, space science, communications, psychology and philosophy. Neither the length nor the type of education seems to be an indicator of the level of success the employee will have with our organization.

So what makes a developer great? I can sum it up with a single word:  
passion. You have to love developing; you have to love problem- solving; you have to love learning; you have to love thinking both logically and laterally. Most importantly, you have to continue to push yourself every single day.

If you're not passionate about what you do, you won't ever improve.  
You'll be stuck programming the same way for the rest of your life and you'll never get that "eureka" moment where you figure  out a new way to solve a problem. That's the reason people get into developing; that's what pushes people every day; that's what makes a developer great.

Developers often look back at code they wrote a year or two ago and grimace as they think to themselves, "Did i really write that?". It's ok to think that way. In fact if you don't think that way, you're probably not pushing yourself enough. The day you can look back at year-old code and not see a discernible difference between the code you're writing today is the day you need to look long and hard at yourself and decide whether or not you've lost the passion.

We're always looking for talented developers. We employ all types:  
XHTML/CSS gurus, Coldfusion junkies, ASP and ASP.NET enthusiasts, PHP aficionados, JavaScript connoisseurs and much more.

If you feel like you have the passion, or if your current employer has somehow drained it from you, please send your resume to developerjobs@fuelinteractive.com