Every month a SitePoint forum member is put in the spotlight for their outstanding contributions to the forums.
The member of the month for December 2010 is
Sega has been around for quite a while and can mostly be found in the CSS forums, or in forums in the Manage your site section.
Below is the interview I conducted with him last week
[rule=“90%”]SeaGreen[/rule]
ScallioXTX: Hi Sega! First of all, congratulations on making Member of the Month!
Sega: This initially came as as a pleasant shock. Thanks again.
ScallioXTX: Can you tell a bit about yourself? Who is Sega?
Sega: My name in English is Angelos. I live in the Republic of Cyprus, born in England to Greek-Cypriot parents.
I love the internet and computing. So my hobbies mainly involve computers. I enjoy gaming, Facebook, and general computer gaming.
ScallioXTX: How did you find out about SitePoint and what made you stick around?
Sega: It was the books that made me notice SitePoint. When searching for books I always found SitePoint to have the best book reviews, given time I signed up to their forum.
It was not the forums that attracted me to SitePoint initially, but since they had a forum I decided to sign up and see what it was all about.
After I posted my first questions I noticed a high level of knowledge which is hard to find elsewhere.
What keeps me engaged was the manner in which many gave their point of views. There is a fine line between an argument and a discussion. At times though this line was crossed. Normally this would be a bad thing, but what I found that when people argued they gave two conflicting views, each correct in their own way. Since I was given two opposing ideas I found that I learned even more on how things worked, and what their norms are.
Most of the times I simply watch in. Sometimes when I have something to add I will do, but either way I still enjoy my time here regardless, which mostly has to do with the amazing members.
SitePoint has now become an valuable source of information for me.
ScallioXTX: Are you happy with SitePoint as it is now, or do you think something could be better?
Sega: Certainly. I am very happy with SitePoint. The members are amazing and the level of valid responses is something to be proud of.
I strongly feel that SitePoint should implement some sort of an instant messaging services, similar to Facebook. I am not sure how easy it would be for the developers of SitePoint to do this, but if they could it would be amazing.
Also maybe SitePoint should put a forum thread up and see what others think, and we can bounce ideas on ways to further implement and improve the forums sections.
ScallioXTX: About your username. Why did you choose Sega? Anything special about Sega?
Sega: There is no hidden agenda to this user name. I was a hardcore fan of the old gaming consoles. My first gaming console of the Sega Master System. As such I find that Sega to remind me of the good old days.
ScallioXTX: Recently you started a thread on how to use social media for clients. I was just wondering, have you done anything with that yet?
Sega: Not yet. I have developed a proposal to give out to clients. Even though I saw things from people’s perspective I have to say I left the thread with my own point of view.
I feel that clients are less likely to manage their own social media sites, without sufficient training. Acting like a middle-man might not be the best solution as people normally want to remove middle men.
As such I think it’s best to train your clients into using social media websites, this way they can do things quicker. Having said this it would be useful to set the accounts up for them first.
We have to understand that social media as a whole is a relatively new thing. It was not really around 6 years ago. I think it’s only been around for 4 years or so. It’s hard times for us web guys to keep up with these things, never mind expect clients to do so. Having said this I feel it’s best to offer education for clients to be able to do this themselves.
ScallioXTX: I see that most of your posts are in the CSS forum. Are you a front-end guy only, or do you do back-end as well?
Sega: I design websites using CSS and HTML, from there on I use a CMS to implement the site. I can do things from start to finish without the need of going behind to code. I would class myself as a front-end designer, and there lie my experiences.
ScallioXTX: As you know SitePoint is all about the internet. What are your thoughts on the evolvement of the internet for, say, the next decade? Any whishes?
Sega: The internet is likely to go outside computing and enter real-world/life scenarios which will change the way we live our lives all together.
It’s amazing how quickly the internet evolved. If the internet is allowed to progress at the rate it’s doing, then we are likely to see things like Internet Fridges, and Internet Watches becoming a main stream thing. - http://tinyurl.com/natjrp
I have already seen an example of a proposed internet fridge. With the RFID technology this certainly can become a likely possibility.
ScallioXTX: It’s almost 2011. Do you already have any plans for next year?
Sega: Yep. I am opening my web design company on the 8th January 2011, so it’s all very exciting. I have prepared all the designs and material for advertising purposes. I have scheduled everything in, but I am working very hard to get everything in on time.
In the meantime I am working at Gloria Jean’s to pay for my internet and credit cards.
I generally find it’s best not to plan anything, but to take every day as it comes and try your very best with the time and days given, working in a fast and productive manner.
ScallioXTX: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the rest of SitePoint?
Sega: I think we have covered everything.
ScallioXTX: Thanks for the interview, and congratulations again on making member of the month. Well deserved!
Sega: Thank you ever-so-much for making me member of the month. It came as a complete shock to me.
[rule=“90%”]SeaGreen[/rule]
Let’s all join in and congratulate Sega with his shiny new badge!
Belated congratulations Sega - I can relate to the good old Sega Mega drive days