Web Development Article on Read/Write Web
For those who don’t know, in addition to writing for this blog, I also blog professionally elsewhere. One of my most recent articles on the 10 Most Marketable Web Development Skills actually appeared on Read/Write Web, a popular web technology blog with over 150,000 subscribers.
Of course, with so many eyes, criticisms were to be expected. First and foremost, the article shouldn’t have been numbered; many of the readers interpreted it as an attempt to rank the web development skills against one another, when in fact they were listed in alphabetical order. Thankfully, I got the editor to correct this and note the ordering.
As for the list itself, surprisingly few people disagreed. This came as a bit of a shock, considering the list was about 25% research and 75% professional experience. The only noteworthy exception was that many felt ASP should have been replaced by ColdFusion. If I could go back and make that change now, I would, but I’m not about to compromise the integrity of the article after it’s already been published, discussed, and Dugg.
All in all, I’m happy with how the article faired. It’s definitely earned a prominent place in my writing portfolio. If you haven’t read it yet, you can catch it over on Read/Write Web. It stands as a pretty good guide to marketable web development skills. Just substitute ASP for ColdFusion and you’ll be on the right track. 
May 16th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I read your 10 Most …. list — thanks for the good information. I’m gaining knowledge in this area so I can participate fully in project and hiring discussions.
Glad I found your blog. Do you have thoughts on how to best communicate with Web Development Pros?
May 16th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Hello Ron. I’m glad you found the article helpful.
When it comes to communicating with web professionals, the best advice I can give is to embrace the medium with which they are most comfortable (i.e., the web). We tend to be very active social networkers, so LinkedIn may be a good place to find information. As for individual communication, email is probably most effective. Engaging us through comments, chat, etc. isn’t a bad idea, either. In general, the more you engage us in our element, the happier we’ll be.