I’ve heard there’s a first time for everything and that has become an expression that occurs almost daily in my life. Throughout the entire process of making JealousBrother.com a reality it seems like I’ve ran into one obstacle after another. When everything you encounter is new it can be challenging, especially when you’re faced with tasks like leasing a server, registering a trademark, and choosing a web developer. If I’m being honest the toughest task I have faced so far is the one I’m still trying to get a feel for, marketing/social networking.
Articles
Building a Social Network: Logo Design: Clip Art, Simple, or Custom?
If you want your website to stand out and be easily recognizable then you will need to consider a custom logo to go along with the unique domain name you have already registered. Once again there are multiple options for getting this done. There are numerous companies online who offer custom logos for a flat rate. These companies usually allow for a certain amount of revisions and offer a multitude of guarantees. I personally chose a different route so I can’t comment on this from personal experience, but I can tell you that I would be very uneasy trusting my information with a company I knew very little about.
Building a Social Network: The Trademark Process Explained
Ideally, an attorney should handle your trademark registration. Unfortunately money doesn’t grow on trees so your only option may be to register the trademark on your own. Even if you complete this task on your own be prepared to pay between $350.00 - $1,500.00 for the USPTO filing fees. There is a reason the cost can vary so much; it depends on how many classes/categories you need to register. At the time this article was written the fee/charge per class/category was $325.00 (Please follow the second link below to find the current fee schedule). As you can see, at $325.00 registering a trademark can get very pricey. It should also be noted that a trademark can also be considered a service mark depending on the type of business for which the mark is being registered.
Building a Social Network: What Kind of Server? Linux, Windows, Shared, Dedicated, VPS?
After the WDA had been signed and the details had been thoroughly discussed the developer started work on photo shop comps of the website while I began a new journey; the quest for a server. Being so green when I started this project I actually thought you could successfully run a social network on a shared hosting plan. Well, in theory you could for a short time, but I wasn’t looking to run a website short term. I needed some room for growth and the last thing I wanted was a server to crash after launching.
Building a Social Network: Legal Concerns – There are Plenty!
I’m going to take a couple of steps backwards to explain a certain necessary evil. With websites and social networks in particular there are a lot of legal issues that should be addressed. When I say necessary evil what I really mean is attorneys. They have what you need and without them you’ll be lost. Sure, you could sign up for a website and steal their legal documents, alter them a bit, but then pose the risk for being sued for copyright infringement. This isn’t the only legal risk websites create for their owners; there are countless others.
Building a Social Network: Have it Coded it or Use a Script?
After quickly realizing this website was far beyond anything I could do with any kind of html editors, I started requesting quotes from multiple web design firms online by providing a generic description of what I was hoping to achieve. The results were mind blowing, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 with the sky being the limit. This was almost a dream crusher for me but due to the recommendation from one of the firms I emailed I began looking into to pre-made scripts; an example would be phpfox.
Building a Social Network: Introduction and Registering the Domain
So you have a great idea for a social network and a great domain name to go with it? If you are new to the wonderful world of the web you might be inclined to think that registering the domain name is half of the battle. It is true that the name of the website is very important and registering it before someone else does will almost guarantee you the ability to use it, assuming you register it with a credible registrar. A great idea can move mountains but without fully bringing that idea to life it is nothing more than a shiny trophy in one’s mind.
All About JealousBrother.com
Recently I helped launch a website that I had been developing for over a year. It is called JealousBrother.com. It is basically an interactive social network with a great combination of some of the best social networking sites out there. Here's a run down of what it's all about - the article is taken from the site's official blog.
How to Install WordPress MU in 8 Steps
This is a documentation of my first attempt to install WordPress MU. Since others will certainly face this situation I thought it would be helpful to tell my story.
60+ (more) Advanced Photoshop & GIMP Tutorials
Before getting started, I want to give a shout out to Collis down at psdtuts.com. This guy is actively putting out top notch Photoshop tutorials and has been getting crushed with traffic recently from what I can tell. Anyways, excellent work!
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