JockTalk

BrainJocks Scratches Own Itch- Launches Snippet Garden

stephaniebeckham — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:34:00 -0500

For the past 12 years, BrainJocks has been providing web application development services for companies and startups around the world. During this time, we've quite often found ourselves needing a way to harness our best solutions and document our methodologies; a way to collect our intellectual properties into a single internal resource. We desperately needed a way to harvest, if you will, our code snippets.

We started to look for a solution. We found a few things that could potentially be used, but nothing tailored to meet the needs of a development team specifically. We really loved the community idea of 37 Signal’s Basecamp product, but wanted a Digg type rating system, where team members could mark favorites and provide feedback for others. The more we thought about the idea, the more we were convinced there were probably others out there just like us. So we decided to get our thoughts and ideas organized and scratch our own itch for a change.

As we got started, we became more and more convinced that by creating an environment for internal collaboration, we could really streamline a development team's process, not to mention what a fantastic tool it would be for new hires. Even better, our senior level developers were thrilled at the idea of getting all those junior developers out of their doorway (and actually working productively!) So we did it.

That’s right, we did it! BrainJocks has just launched Snippet Garden, a new web application that provides a secure collaboration environment for software developers. Web development teams now have an affordable way to internally, and securely record, teach and reuse their code. The overall goal? To help increase productivity, promote best practices and standardize methodologies into a streamlined development process. In a nutshell, Snippet Garden’s service will provide a more efficient process, better code and an environment for companies to harvest their intellectual properties into a single, dynamic and internally secure resource.

Needless to say, we are a bit excited. We not only have a solution to meet our own needs, we think we might have produced something others might find quite useful as well.

Click here to see Snippet Garden in action or visit our enrollment site to sign up for a 30 day free trial, no strings attached. You might even win one of the three XBox 360s that we're giving away. Oh, and be sure to follow Snippet Garden on twitter to stay connected.

What's Killing Web Design?

brian — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:23:00 -0500

OK, that was intentionally inflammatory. So, before you get all huffy, hear me out. Even if you're the type that will argue until your blue in the face that web design is not, in fact, actually dead, I bet we can all agree that it is certainly drastically changing in purpose with new technologies and online services.

So what's my point?

Back in the day (man that hurt), those that used templates and services were considered naive at best (or completely clueless at worst), but now with the adoption of CSS and the advent of platforms such as blog engines like BlogEngine.net (thanks again Al Nyveldt) and WordPress, templates are replaced by skins which are more sophisticated and more easily integrate-able, and as a result more seamless. The real challenge that designers face these days is how to work within the constraints of a platform for a blog or ecommerce service or social networking or a (whatever) platform to deliver a custom look within the constraints of the platform without a wholesale UI rewrite or added "developer time". Thus the change from template designer to skin designer is complete.

Good design is still the same as it always was - just because someone can use these tools and "off the shelf" skins to create a website doesn't mean they should - the sharper the tool, the more important the talent. Many websites still boast truly innovative design and functionality that's hardly even close to being supported by a blog engine or other online "templated" services. Can you imagine Amazon.com running off a blog? What about the large advertising agencies like Grey - would they consider ditching their current and ever so cool web presence for a WordPress site? I’m thinking no.

Designers have a lot of new toys to play with, and by adopting and embracing these continually emerging platforms, new opportunities will arise. Many of my friends have seen the light, and are using CMS platforms, and in some cases blog engines to craft custom designed websites with content management functionality they couldn't offer before. Some will embrace these technologies and some won't - and those that do will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine (thanks Obi-won).

Welcome to JockTalk!

stephaniebeckham — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:01:00 -0500

It's been a long time in the works, but it's official- BrainJocks has a fresh new look, online presence and blog and we couldn't be prouder. Why the new branding and online promotion? It's all about more effectively representing our capabilities, our strategy and our style. It's about sharing who we are, what we are doing and what's coming next. It's about showcasing our clients and communicating new technologies the moment they become the buzz.

We hope you enjoy the musings of our team and guest experts- but we also encourage you to get involved. Comment, contribute and share with others. Above everything else, JockTalk is all about contributing value- to our lives and our business. So, let's talk...