This week we speak with the, oh so funny, All in the Family lovin, Blogger, Designer, and Freelancer Tiffany B. Brown. Tiffany is currently working as a UI Developer for Arm Chair Media, a small design firm based out of Atlanta, GA. Tiffany has served on multiple panels including Blogging While Black at SXSW, and Design & Customization at Blog Her. She received her degree in Journalism from American University, and has very deep roots in the technology industry though her start was a very interesting one. Enjoy!
(8:16:11 PM) Black Web 2.0: hey Tiffany
(8:17:11 PM) Tiffany Brown: hey
(8:18:02 PM) Black Web 2.0: lets first start by telling our audience who you are.
(8:18:33 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m Tiffany B. Brown
(8:19:28 PM) Tiffany Brown: Let’s see…. I currently work as a User Interface Developer at Armchair Media in Atlanta, GA.
(8:20:02 PM) Tiffany Brown: I also have a “5-9″ web development firm, webinista: www.webinista.com
(8:20:33 PM) Tiffany Brown: Turn ons: Dudes who read.
(8:20:38 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:20:38 PM) Tiffany Brown: And smell nice.
(8:21:03 PM) Black Web 2.0: no long walks on the beach?
(8:21:17 PM) Tiffany Brown: That’s so cliched!
(8:21:26 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:21:54 PM) Black Web 2.0: What’s a typical day like for a UI Developer with Arm Chair Media?
(8:23:02 PM) Tiffany Brown: We try to start each day with a developer meeting. I’ll sit down with my manager and we’ll go over what projects we’re working on that day.
(8:23:38 PM) Tiffany Brown: It helps us to stay in the loop and divide workload.
(8:23:53 PM) Tiffany Brown: Then there’s lots of coding.
(8:24:05 PM) Tiffany Brown: And espresso drinking
(8:24:14 PM) Black Web 2.0: i bet
(8:24:32 PM) Black Web 2.0: How many other UI developers work with you on an average project?
(8:24:56 PM) Tiffany Brown: It depends on the project. We’re a tiny firm — 12 full-time employees.
(8:25:52 PM) Black Web 2.0: wow very small
(8:26:02 PM) Black Web 2.0: but small is good right?
(8:26:22 PM) Tiffany Brown: Yes. I love it. I get to put my finger in a bunch of pies.
(8:26:46 PM) Tiffany Brown: If it’s a straight front-end development project, I’ll typically be the only one building it.
(8:27:02 PM) Tiffany Brown: Or my manager will build it.
(8:27:22 PM) Black Web 2.0: Well that’s cool a manager that codes too.
(8:27:43 PM) Tiffany Brown: Yeah. I’m not entirely sure I report to him. We have a no-hierarchy hierarchy
(8:27:57 PM) Tiffany Brown: very VERY laid back, exceedingly flexible work culture.
(8:28:10 PM) Black Web 2.0: very cool
(8:28:13 PM) Black Web 2.0: So what qualities make a good UI developer?
(8:28:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m smart. And cute.
(8:28:38 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:28:41 PM) Black Web 2.0: I’m sure that helps
(8:28:44 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:28:44 PM) Tiffany Brown: Actually, the last one has nothing to do with it.
(8:29:22 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I think what makes me a good UI developer is a combination of experience
(8:30:28 PM) Tiffany Brown: … and I stay on top of what’s coming down the pike. I have a curious mind
(8:31:00 PM) Tiffany Brown: and I’m always thinking about and learning about how to do things better or differently.
(8:31:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: Coding is something you really learn by doing and seeing what other people have done.
(8:32:10 PM) Tiffany Brown: And the more you know about how things work, the better you become at solving problems.
(8:32:29 PM) Tiffany Brown: So I read blogs and books and stuff like a mother-you-know-what
(8:32:55 PM) Tiffany Brown: The willingness to always learn is key.
(8:32:52 PM) Black Web 2.0: So what are you favorite blogs?
(8:33:46 PM) Tiffany Brown: A List Apart isn’t a blog, but I read it www.alistapart.com. Ditto Digital Web http://www.digital-web.com/ , I rotate my reading pretty regularly.
(8:34:18 PM) Black Web 2.0: so what did you do prior to working with Arm Chair?
(8:36:37 PM) Tiffany Brown: So before Armchair, I was Interactive Developer at Fletcher Martin, which is an ad agency here in Atlanta.
(8:36:50 PM) Tiffany Brown: Before Fletcher Martin, I worked in the communications office at Georgia Tech
(8:37:12 PM) Tiffany Brown: My title there was Web Developer
(8:38:07 PM) Black Web 2.0: Where did you get your start?
(8:38:22 PM) Black Web 2.0: How did you get into coding?
(8:38:45 PM) Tiffany Brown: I majored in journalism in college many moons ago.
(8:39:22 PM) Tiffany Brown: This was right at the peak of Bubble 1.0 — late 1990s and most newspapers were just starting to move online.
(8:39:56 PM) Tiffany Brown: I read an article in the American Journal Review about the starting salaries for journalists with web know-how versus those without.
(8:40:24 PM) Tiffany Brown: The difference was like $7K.
(8:40:55 PM) Tiffany Brown: So I said “Shooooot. I’m learning HTML.” And I did. Taught myself in the summer after I graduated.
(8:41:33 PM) Tiffany Brown: A year later, I took a job in Augusta, Georgia, working at the Augusta Chronicle publishing their web site.
(8:41:48 PM) Black Web 2.0: wow
(8:42:37 PM) Tiffany Brown: Worked very briefly with Rob Curley, who is a frigging GOD when it comes to online journalism. He and his disciples taught me most of what I know in like an 8 week bootcamp run by the Chronicle’s parent company.
(8:43:47 PM) Tiffany Brown: A year later, I moved to Atlanta to work for Cox Interactive Media and AccessAtlanta.com.
(8:44:57 PM) Tiffany Brown: I worked there for four years, all the while learning how to develop web sites — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP/MySQL …
(8:45:26 PM) Tiffany Brown: I learned a lot by freelancing.
(8:46:35 PM) Tiffany Brown: I guess I should mention here that I started my business in 2001.
(8:46:55 PM) Tiffany Brown: Did small projects, sometime pro-bono.
(8:47:39 PM) Black Web 2.0: so how is the freelance business?
(8:47:51 PM) Tiffany Brown: rough.
(8:47:52 PM) Tiffany Brown: lol
(8:47:54 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:48:09 PM) Tiffany Brown: It’s hard because I work full-time. And I’m short on patience.
(8:48:16 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:48:27 PM) Black Web 2.0: I know what that’s like
(8:48:42 PM) Tiffany Brown: You need to have patience in order to freelance. That’s why I could never do it full-time.
(8:49:09 PM) Tiffany Brown: Well, maybe I could.
(8:49:16 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:49:34 PM) Tiffany Brown: I say that because I learned what clients to take on and not take on.
(8:49:51 PM) Black Web 2.0: right
(8:50:14 PM) Tiffany Brown: And I learned that subcontracting works out better for me than working directly with clients.
(8:51:13 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I like the flexibility of having a 9-5 and a 5-9. That sounds weird, because it’s actually more work.
(8:52:00 PM) Tiffany Brown: But at my day job, I have a guaranteed check. Freelancing just helps me stay sharp and lets me earn some extra cash. I can walk away from it when I want to.
(8:52:27 PM) Black Web 2.0: I understand you’re also quite the Flash/Action Script guru. How did you get in to Flash?
(8:52:34 PM) Tiffany Brown: Guru? HA!
(8:52:45 PM) Black Web 2.0: I follow your tweets and blog, you sound pretty good to me!
(8:53:10 PM) Tiffany Brown: I can make some sh*t work.
(8:53:44 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I am not a guru by any stretch. There are folks out there who make my brain hurt with what they can do using ActionScript.
(8:54:04 PM) Tiffany Brown: But to answer your question…
(8:54:21 PM) Tiffany Brown: I started with Flash 3 or 4. This is when I worked in Augusta.
(8:54:38 PM) Tiffany Brown: Learned basic animation and such.
(8:55:29 PM) Tiffany Brown: Then… then, you know, I don’t know *how* I got back into Flash.
(8:55:52 PM) Tiffany Brown: Actually, yes I do… I had a project at Georgia Tech that made me cry.
(8:56:01 PM) Black Web 2.0: wow
(8:56:57 PM) Tiffany Brown: The details are fuzzy.
(8:57:10 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I learned basic ActionScript in a trial-by-fire.
(8:57:34 PM) Black Web 2.0: Seems like trial-by-fire is the best teacher
(8:57:45 PM) Tiffany Brown: Except when it leaves you in tears.
(8:58:05 PM) Tiffany Brown: I boo-friggin-hooed in my office. Man that project gave me the worst anxiety attacks.
(8:58:31 PM) Tiffany Brown: It did teach me a LOT though.
(8:58:45 PM) Tiffany Brown: I was so ready for the next Flash project I had to do.
(8:58:52 PM) Black Web 2.0: I bet
(8:59:07 PM) Black Web 2.0: ok now it’s time for the fun questions
(8:59:19 PM) Tiffany Brown: Um. Okay.
(8:59:24 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:59:31 PM) Tiffany Brown: I was having fun with that last one
(8:59:36 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(8:59:49 PM) Black Web 2.0: I didn’t think so. I thought I drummed up some bad memories
(8:59:58 PM) Tiffany Brown: I can laugh about it now though
(9:00:04 PM) Black Web 2.0: good

(9:00:31 PM) Tiffany Brown: But we can keep it moving…
(9:00:34 PM) Black Web 2.0: With these questions we try to get to know a little about Tiffany the person
(9:00:50 PM) Black Web 2.0: Give me your 5 favorite musicians
(9:00:56 PM) Tiffany Brown: ummmm…
(9:01:16 PM) Tiffany Brown: Let’s see…
(9:01:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: That’s a hard one…lol
(9:01:47 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:01:49 PM) Tiffany Brown: I don’t really have any favorite musicians.
(9:01:52 PM) Black Web 2.0: really?
(9:01:58 PM) Tiffany Brown: Yeah
(9:02:16 PM) Tiffany Brown: There are a lot of artists that I like and that I’d pay money to go see.
(9:02:31 PM) Tiffany Brown: But no one that’s a favorite if that makes sense.
(9:02:41 PM) Black Web 2.0: ok how about songs stay in rotation on the IPod?
(9:03:59 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’ve been all about N*E*R*D lately. “Seeing Sounds” is one of the better albums I’ve purchased.
(9:04:15 PM) Tiffany Brown: And yeah, I still buy CDs.
(9:04:24 PM) Black Web 2.0: no way!
(9:04:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m digging Santogold
(9:04:50 PM) Tiffany Brown: Yes. Don’t like Apple’s DRM and I have an old school car w/no auxiliary outlet.
(9:04:59 PM) Black Web 2.0: I gotcha
(9:05:38 PM) Tiffany Brown:: I’ve started buying MP3s from Amazon, but I still have to burn them if I want to ride and listen… or invest in one of those tape-deck thingys that let you listen to an ipod through your stereo.
(9:06:12 PM) Tiffany Brown: I like Nas’ “Untitled”
(9:07:00 PM) Tiffany Brown: And I’ve been jamming to Grupo Fantasma’s “Sonidos Gold” a lot lately
(9:07:21 PM) Black Web 2.0: I am not familiar with them
(9:07:27 PM) Black Web 2.0: I’m going to have to look them up
(9:07:51 PM) Tiffany Brown: They’re a Latin funk-rock band out of Austin
(9:08:09 PM) Tiffany Brown: I bought one of their CDs for a quarter in the clearance bin at Target.
(9:08:15 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:08:16 PM) Black Web 2.0: get out
(9:08:17 PM) Tiffany Brown: (or was it $1)
(9:08:33 PM) Tiffany Brown: it was cheap as hell whatever I paid for it.
(9:08:56 PM) Tiffany Brown: but I dug the album… saw them at the Frog Design party at this year’s SXSW and had a blast
(9:09:14 PM) Tiffany Brown: saw them here in ATL last month too
(9:09:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: they’re one of those $10 show bands
(9:09:58 PM) Black Web 2.0: What’s your favorite TV Show?
(9:10:05 PM) Tiffany Brown: “Ugly Betty”
(9:10:17 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:10:25 PM) Tiffany Brown: Although of all time, I’d say “All in the Family”
(9:10:49 PM) Tiffany Brown: Hell, almost any show that came on in the 70s and 80s is the hotness.
(9:11:14 PM) Tiffany Brown: I also like ” I Love Lucy” and “The Honeymooners” … used to watch the reruns all the time.
(9:11:31 PM) Tiffany Brown: See, TV is my thing.
(9:12:07 PM) Tiffany Brown: I like music. But I’m more of a TV person than a music person.
(9:12:11 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:12:15 PM) Black Web 2.0: how about movies?
(9:12:19 PM) Tiffany Brown: nah.
(9:12:46 PM) Tiffany Brown: The joke among me and my friends is that if you say “Have you seen …. ?” my answer is No.
(9:13:06 PM) Tiffany Brown: Half the time I don’t even let people finish asking the question.
(9:13:11 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:13:17 PM) Black Web 2.0: you are too funny
(9:13:49 PM) Tiffany Brown: It’s true though
(9:13:58 PM) Black Web 2.0: Name some of your favorite web tools.
(9:14:30 PM) Tiffany Brown: Aptana for Web development. Aptana stole me away from jEdit.
(9:14:46 PM) Black Web 2.0: You know I started using Aptana off your recommendation
(9:14:54 PM) Tiffany Brown: Really? Do you like it?
(9:15:00 PM) Black Web 2.0: I love it
(9:15:05 PM) Tiffany Brown: woo-hoo!
(9:15:09 PM) Black Web 2.0: except for some small ftp issues
(9:15:15 PM) Tiffany Brown: same here.
(9:15:22 PM) Black Web 2.0: but the editor itself is great
(9:16:17 PM) Tiffany Brown: I use MAMP Pro for Virtual Hosting on my work MacBook Pro. I use Versions for SVN.
(9:17:32 PM) Tiffany Brown: I use CocoaMySQL for MySQL database development, although it chokes on extra-large database tables.
(9:17:59 PM) Tiffany Brown: It provides a pretty GUI for MySQL. Kind of like phpMyAdmin for the desktop.
(9:18:29 PM) Tiffany Brown: I use the Adobe suite, of course
(9:19:04 PM) Tiffany Brown: And I’d lose my web geek cred if I didn’t mention Firefox.
(9:19:15 PM) Black Web 2.0: of course.
(9:19:23 PM) Tiffany Brown: Opera is a close second.
(9:19:31 PM) Black Web 2.0: I’m surprise you’re not a safari user
(9:19:40 PM) Tiffany Brown: But Firefox has such dope development tools.
(9:19:52 PM) Black Web 2.0: yes, that’s so true
(9:20:21 PM) Tiffany Brown: I don’t use Safari because I used to do a lot of cross-platform stuff. Mac at work, Win at home.
(9:20:34 PM) Tiffany Brown: I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to learn keystrokes for two browsers
(9:20:45 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:20:52 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m for real.
(9:21:00 PM) Tiffany Brown: That’s why I use a lot of cross-platform tools
(9:21:16 PM) Tiffany Brown: That’s why I love Aptana and jEdit. I don’t have to relearn them.
(9:21:26 PM) Black Web 2.0: that’s true
(9:21:32 PM) Black Web 2.0: and you can’t beat the price
(9:21:41 PM) Tiffany Brown: exactly
(9:21:44 PM) Black Web 2.0: ok last question…
(9:22:56 PM) Black Web 2.0: When Tiffany’s not on her computer we can find her __________________
(9:23:06 PM) Tiffany Brown: sleeping or showering.
(9:23:13 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m always on this b*tch
(9:23:18 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:23:22 PM) Black Web 2.0: what type of computers do you have?
(9:23:33 PM) Black Web 2.0: did I say that was the last question?
(9:23:37 PM) Tiffany Brown: Well, I’m using my work laptop now.
(9:23:45 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I also have my own MacBook
(9:23:56 PM) Tiffany Brown: and an aging HP running Windows XP
(9:24:04 PM) Tiffany Brown: A desktop
(9:24:35 PM) Tiffany Brown: Actually, my real answer to your last question is …
(9:24:53 PM) Tiffany Brown: you can find me at a play, or restaurant.
(9:25:17 PM) Black Web 2.0: any in particular?
(9:25:21 PM) Tiffany Brown: or at home making jewelry
(9:25:52 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m a big fan of Ecco and Vickery’s in Midtown Atlanta.
(9:26:03 PM) Tiffany Brown: I also like Feast in Decatur.
(9:26:27 PM) Tiffany Brown: But I’m not quite a regular at any of those.
(9:27:00 PM) Tiffany Brown: Oh, I also read a good deal.
(9:27:30 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:27:33 PM) Tiffany Brown: mostly when I’m on the train
(9:27:47 PM) Black Web 2.0: Kindle?
(9:27:55 PM) Tiffany Brown: nope. actual books
(9:28:03 PM) Black Web 2.0: they still make those?
(9:28:06 PM) Tiffany Brown: lol
(9:28:38 PM) Tiffany Brown: I’m thinking about a kindle though. I’m one of those people who packs 3-4 books for a weeklong vacation
(9:28:54 PM) Black Web 2.0: so the kindle would be perfect for you
(9:28:57 PM) Tiffany Brown: right
(9:29:16 PM) Tiffany Brown: But that’s $400
(9:29:21 PM) Black Web 2.0: yeah
(9:29:28 PM) Tiffany Brown: I could just start going to the library
(9:29:38 PM) Black Web 2.0: they still make those too?
(9:29:43 PM) Tiffany Brown: lol
(9:30:56 PM) Black Web 2.0: Well thank you so much for taking the time out to talk to us!
(9:30:59 PM) Black Web 2.0: this was so fun
(9:31:10 PM) Tiffany Brown: oh yay! glad I could make you giggle.
(9:31:15 PM) Black Web 2.0: lol
(9:31:20 PM) Tiffany Brown: I like to let my inner clown out once in a while.