I've read lots. What I've gathered isn't rocket science, but maybe it'll give you a little direction like it did for me. First off, articles and blogs I've read have consistently said you should 1) explain your business in one complete, concise sentence, 2) be energetic and positive even at the end of an 11 hour day when you're exhausted 3) have experience in your field 4) be able to show that you've put effort into doing things yourself (that you're dedicated enough to do things yourself even when you have to learn how to do it) 5) be open, not secretive about your idea (most don't want to steal it, they want to know what you're worth in both content of character and idea 6) know when to exit a conversation when someone's giving you signals that they're not interested.
Hope that helps some. I'm also new to networking and my work is seasonal too, so I'll be doing my networking this summer as well. Good luck. Feel free to connect with me on twitter. @Paula_Henning
I didn't quite understand if you are the freelancer or if you are the non-tech founder looking for a tech co-founder. I'm a single non-tech founder of a startup looking for a tech co-founder and I've read a lot lately about how to connect. If you are like me, I can tell you what I've learned.
There are variations in responses people have to text, but for the most part, there's a general range of what's prefered by the masses. Since web pages are solely created to communicate to people, it makes sense that time spent understanding readers' responses to text would be crucial in web design. I understood that from your article.
I teach reading and have read a lot on how the eye moves across the page, how information is brought in through text, font type and size, color and so on. Overall you have a good general point, people don't want to work to read. Key points I like are...
1. don't use small text,
2. use contrasting colors that aren't too stark,
3. create line spacing that doesn't over-crowd (1,5) and,
4. use white space.
I love sites where there's just enough text on a screen to allow me to fully engage in it before scrolling. Everyone wants a pleasurable web experience, especially those wanting traffic!
I agree completely. Startups can feel a lot like "swimming" a marathon instead of running one, but what great rewards when the really hard work is done. I'm sure there are many circumstances that take anyone out of the game, but I agree with you. Maybe they could wait a while longer and see if they get through their down cycle??? I wish them good luck whichever way it goes!
Hope that helps some. I'm also new to networking and my work is seasonal too, so I'll be doing my networking this summer as well. Good luck. Feel free to connect with me on twitter. @Paula_Henning