11 Mistakes when Making a Website

1. I've started on this site, but I suddenly changed interest. Now I'm going to do another one! Oh, wait, no! I changed my mind again. Argh, what should I do? Oh, I'll just combine all three together and make one large site. There!

If the idea of one topic bores you, perhaps you should rethink about making a site.

2. Ok, I want a site and I want it now. You, you and you, make this for me! Can you make me a banner? Oh and you make me an avatar. Wait, I want this here! I need 10 staff on my site to keep it going cos I don't know what I'd do...

Um, is this your site or someone else's? People can get annoyed by constant requests to make something. Learn about it first!

3. I am super busy and only have about 30 minutes each week to go on the internet! Oh, when you build your site, people would want updates, what will you tell them? If you're busy, then wait for a while. Don't build a site and leave it high and dry.

4. DO NOT give your details (login, password) to a friend unless you trust them 110% if they have revenge or anger issues, they may delete your website. I do not speak from experience, but you never know what people would do.

5. Don't stress yourself out. If your site is big and needs constant demands, then write it somewhere nice and big, and tell people what you will not be doing. You don't need a large amount of pressure built up, then you get so angry about it that you want to just take down the site.

6. Make your site to expect something in return! If that's the case, then you will be disappointed sometimes. Do not make a site because you want something. Do it because you are passionate about the subject, because you can show what you are great at!

7. Get really upset over people leaving rude comments. They are not worth it, seriously! There are so many people that just enjoy saying things to hurt others. If you are a beginner, then you will get better in time, don't believe what those creeps say!

8. Putting personal details there. Everyone knows this one, I hope! DO NOT put your telephone, address or anything personal on there. Email should be fine.

9. Be aware when you buy a domain, you are entering your address and phone number, email and all other details on there. People can acutally check it up using WHOIS. If you don't want people to track you because you have a domain, then get a host that offers Whois privacy. Trust me, this is a really tricky one!

10. Putting a haitus banner when you are away. That is uneccessary. You don't have to close it down because you're away! Just put a note saying you won't be there for a while. Perhaps ask a friend to temporarily look after it. Also, do not put it on haitus continously.

11. Having all these great pages up, but none of the links work. Yes, that's one thing that I do not like. If you have a page you're going to create, leave it as a surprise. Don't have 30 pages with links that do not work yet, as sometimes they never do. It makes me excited to see a page coming, but disappointing when it does not come for 10 weeks.

Steps to a Good Podcast

Podcasts. They are good to listen to, when the chemistry is right. After listening to a few online, I noticed what really interested me, or bored me.

However, they are from my personal preferences. Not everyone may think the same.

1. Nobody dominates the conversation.
If there is one person in the group that just loves to talk, perhaps it isn't a good idea for that person to be a main host. When people just keep talking, they don't seem to listen to anyone else, and people have to try and interrupt to just be in the conversation. The one I listened to had someone donimating, and about 45 minutes into the Episode, I realised there were acutally 5 people! I thought there were only 3.

2. Equal chances to talk.
If that can't happen, the try and schedule it. If it's impossible, perhaps don't have so many people on it. I don't think it's a good idea when you announce the person as in the podcast, but not hearing them until it's almost over.

3. Structure with topic
The topics should be structure a little, and not all over the place. If one second you're talking about today's weather, and the next, you're talking about african apes, that's very confusing for people. Don't change the topics too often.

4. Pace, voice and quality
If people are talking, it is a good idea to talk with a good pace, that is, you're not going too fast or slow, too slow would be droning on, too fast would be hard to understand. I also think it's good to speak clearly and try not to have the 'ums' and 'ahs' unless you're doing it as a joke. If the people doing the podcast have trouble understanding, then you can expect people listening would have even more trouble. Also make sure there aren't any echoes (if recording as a group, use headphones, not speakers)

5. Have a little bit of humour, joke.
When conversations go for a long time, it can get boring, I know I get bored listening to people talk if they are always serious, despite what the conversation is about. Consider this: I was in a class at school a few years back, and I did two subjects, modern history and business. I had hardly any interest in both, but the history class had a teacher who spoke with colour in his voice, and he joked a lot and made fun of things, I loved that class and even got interested with the topic. The business class, the teacher spoke with a mono-tone, he sounded bored himself, and the information just droned on and on, and I almost fell asleep each time.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if people are considering creating podcasts, be aware of what I mentioned above.

Susanna