Update: Podcast has been cleared! Subscribe in iTunes

Also, we are working on making the podcast better. Please bear with us as we get more organized, and our nerves calm down.

However, I must mention a trend popping up: small, niche, publishers. Yes, A Book Apart is not the first company to succeed in a diminishing print industry. Five Simple Steps also started releasing books just last year.

Back on topic, Jeremy wraps up the 85 page book well, giving advice on what to do next. Jeremy is, as always, quotable and fun.

This fully technical, as you can be in 85 pages, and useful book is a must buy for 2010. However, you will have a hard time getting a hard copy; they successful sold out! Better order more next time Zeldman.

I can’t end this post without mentioning the design of the book itself. Jason Santa Maria did a knock-up job! He even gave us a few previews on dribbble.com.

The rapid progression of the web is a social quandary and few have sound advice on new media and its many aspects. Even the most influential people in the industry find it hard to keep up.

Only two years ago Facebook overtook MySpace as the most popular social network. Even Twitter, with its limited social interface, has stunned many with its popularity in the last year.

It would seem foolish to places bets, or even found a company, on this ever changing medium, Social Media. There is simply no other market were business models can change over night. However, Mitch is playing this game! And he is playing it very well.

Mitch

Mitch fully understands the fertility of Social Media and has founded his business with multiple avenues into the heart of Digital Media.

If you are interested in what Mitch has to say check out his blog, podcast, or book!  His advice and thinking on New Media is topnotch and his success vouchers for it. Mitch Joel is a must follow!

Joel Spolsky

Sometime in the beginning, of last month, I started reading Joel’s book, or rather his articles, from “More Joel on Software”. Yep, Joel on “software” not web, online media, or global warming.

The reason I suggest Joel is because Joel, is Joel. (I just wanted to use his name three times in one sentence to see if I could, no SEO involved if that’s what you’re thinking) Joel understands what it takes to make great software! Not only has he published his own book, but he also runs his own company “Fog Creek”, hosts his own podcast, forum, blog, and speaks at an event or two while he is at it.

If you don’t know Joel already now is a great time to, follow him on twitter.

Dan Cederholm

It’s funny how the best people to listen to are the ones who write, like Dan, author of Bulletproof Web Design, Handcrafted CSS, and Web Standards Solutions. But writing is not all Dan is up to.

Dan also runs his own company SimpleBits, blogs, and twitters from time to time. In addition to his other habits Dan has started a few side projects: dribbble, iconshoppe and foamee. If you want to catch Dan you might find him specking at events like Web Directions, An Event Apart or SXSW.

Jeremy Keith

Jeremy is one of those guys you feel like you have known all your life. If you’re lucky you might find him on his blog or hanging around clearleft as the “Lineman for the County” some place. Like Dan and Joel, Jeremy has published a few works of art: DOM Scripting and Bullet proof AJAX.

Like all great web developers Jeremy has also started a successful project of his own, Huffduffer (Already blogged that one). If you want more Jeremy just tune into twitter and find out from the man himself.

However, Zeldman continues, “You have to have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, unsupported at some point when you needed it most…  A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is loved by God and the universe, should not bother trying to succeed as a creative entrepreneur.”

Upon reading this I have to admit I was taken back.

But,

I recalled that the struggle required for a butterfly to get through the opening of a cocoon forces fluid from its body into the wings. Without this hardship a butterfly will never fly or become beautiful.

How does this correlate to success?

Hardship is natural, it’s apart of life. Without the struggle, whether it’s a baby’s first step or the birth of a butterfly, there is no chance to fly or run, there is no success.

However! I have to say Jeffrey missed one thing. Hope.

I would not be too quick to say that hard times inspire, but only that hope can be derived from them and thus inspire the creative cognitive.

Hope is the reason we do all these things. We do not seek love unless we believe it can be found. We don’t take our first step with a heart set on failure. If you only expect failure why would you try? Hope is the voice inside that says try again, it is the fight against pending doom and failure.

Now, I’m not saying that Jeffrey doesn’t believe these things, but only that they were left out as far as I could see. However, there is another truth behind success.

Paul Boag points it out, “The idea that you cannot be truly successful without enduring hardship is simply not true… I am driven, but not out of a need to for love or approval. I am driven instead by excitement, enthusiasm and passion.”

Enthusiasm! This is a huge part of success. You simply must love what you do! For me its web design and development, but even deeper a desire for God!

So what is success? As defined by Wikipedia, “a level of social status, the achievement of a goal, or the opposite of failure”.

In conclusion

There is no silver bullet to success, or even three. Success is best defined by self-worth, who you are as defined by your context, and what you plan to make of it! So don’t get down to be successful, those things will come on their own; as you work hard at and with the things and ones you love most. I wish Zeldman the best and highly appreciate his incite and Paul’s.

The show aired this June and since then has come to know many names: Paul Boag, Joe Stump, Andy Clarke, Ryan Carson, Elliot Jay Stocks, and many more. Not only has Ryan been an excellent host but the guests have been superb.

The podcast starts off with the guest explaining their job title and its origin. Once you get a feel for who the guest is Ryan takes a step back, way back, to where it all began. You simply have to watch for yourself.

Paul Boag runs his own podcast with Marcus Lillington. Jeffery Zeldman is the granddaddy of web standards and the author of “Designing with Web Standards”.  Nick La, blogger and inspiring artist, is the owner of the Web Designer Wall and Best Web Gallery.

Paul Boag

First up to bat is Paul Boag. Hailing from Dorset England, Paul started the world renowned web design podcast, Boagworld. The podcast is simply a home run for anyone who designs, develops, or runs websites on a daily basis, or so they say.

The podcast is elegantly balanced, keeping you entertained through the dull and cumbersome. The humor and content is excellent and is only trumped by Paul’s ego. Marcus, former pop star, keeps things real with his keen intellect on the business side of things. The podcast also explains some of the best kept secrets in the  industry from standards to jokes! Needless to say Paul is a “must listen to” kind of guy.

Jeffrey Zeldman

Next we have author Jeffery Zeldman, one of the most highly-decorated web specialists today. In 1998, he co-founded The Web Standards Project. He also published the influential book “Designing With Web Standards“, started the popular A List Apart magazine, and co-founded the web design conference An Event Apart.

The A List Apart magazine is composed of hand selected articles that are studied for precision and innovative thinking. It features the greatest minds in the industry and is by far my favorite source for information.

In their own words,

An Event Apart is an intensely educational two-day learning session for passionate practitioners of standards-based web design. If you care about code as well as content, usability as well as design, An Event Apart is the conference you’ve been waiting for.

I consider Jeffery’s book required reading for anyone who want’s to build website the right way. Overall, the book explains the history and theory of standards and why we use them.

You “must listen to” Jeffery.

Nick La

Third, we have Nick La. Nick is a man of inspiration and an artist at heart. He has spoken at design conferences and shares his trade on the Web Designer Wall.  Nick also runs the Best Web Gallery.  If you are looking for inspiration, this is the place to go. The gallery is updated frequently and showcases some of the best designs I have seen.

The Web Designer Wall features tips, tutorials, ideas, and insight from Nick and contributors. The Wall is a great place to keep up with the latest design trends and techniques. Nick always has something new to share with the online community. No doubt Nick is also a “must listen to”.