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In the year 2020 it is important for businesses to develop a web presence if they hope to keep growing and stay relevant. But making a website is not enough. An online platform can harm a company’s success just as easily as they can boost it, so it is important that their website is attractive to their potential customers. There are many ways to develop a website. You can invest in a web developer or a web development company or you can do it yourself. And it is important to consider the pros and cons of both options.

Pros of Hiring a Web Developer

A web developer is a professional: Making online platforms is a web developer’s specialty. If you are someone who is not particularly tech savvy, hiring a professional to design your website will ensure that you get a website that is well-made by an expert.
They can save you time: When you are an entrepreneur, you do not have a lot of time to yourself. It can be useful to relegate your tasks to a professional that can help you to complete a vital step to starting your business while saving you time to do other things.
They can build a website unique to you: There are a growing number of companies providing D.I.Y. website resources (web page templates, etc.) to people, allowing even tech novices to build their own website, making them attractive to entrepreneurs with limited resources. However, website building and hosting software has its limitations, in terms of how distinct website you can make. A professional web developer or development company has the benefit of being able to code software, meaning they can design an entirely unique website, rather than relying on a preprogrammed template. They can help design a website that is truly representative of you and your brand and caters to the specific customers you are interested in attracting, which can help to increase the popularity of your site.

Cons of Hiring a Web Developer

It can get expensive: hiring a professional costs money. And for a small business that is just getting off the ground it can be too expensive to invest in a web developer or development company. The average cost of a good web developer can be upwards of over $6,000, including development, content creation, training, and maintenance, all of which are be long-term investments.
It can take time as well: As much as hiring a web developer to design your website can take time away from you and your business. Many web developers and development companies build your website from scratch, and they often work for several clients at once. It can take them days to weeks to build a fully function website and for start-ups whose priority is launching their website as soon as possible it is faster to use web-building software, which can allow using to develop a website in a matter of hours, rather than to hire a web development company.

Pros of a D.I.Y. Website

It is cost efficient: If you are a small business that is just starting out, you probably will not have a lot of money to work with, which means you must be keen with what you choose to spend your money. You can save money by making your website yourself, and luckily there exist many online tools that make designing a website easy and accessible. Website software companies like Wix, Square Space, and GoDaddy specialize in providing templates which novice users can utilize to design their own websites with little hassle and at an affordable price.
Your vision is priority: Though a web developer can help you to create a unique website, they often have their own styles and ideas of how a website can look, and this can create conflict if their vision does not mesh with yours. The benefits of building your own website include the ability to control and maintain the process yourself. It allows you to work on the website at your own time as well as to design a site that is true to how you want it to look.

Cons of a D.I.Y. Website

It takes your time away: Time is money, and when you run your own business you don’t have a lot of it. Developing a website is a necessary task that can take a long time to design, and every moment spent on making a website is a moment that is not spent on other duties you need to get done for your business. And if you are a small or medium sized business, your time is even more precious and more limited.
Your website may lack originality: Though there are tools that can allow you to develop a website yourself, they offer a limited range of options you one to use when designing a website, this leads to many websites looking the same, which can hinder one’s sales, as it is important to stand out as a business if you want to be successful. A web developer specializes in building websites from scratch, which allows them more leeway when designating specific functions and content on the site.

When designing a website for your business there are many things to consider, one of the most important of which is whether you should hire a professional to do it or do it yourself. There are positive and negative aspects for either choice and it is important to think about the benefits and the consequences before deciding on the route you take. But with which ever option you take, it is important that your website is clean, modern, and accessible to your customers and reflects the vision of your business that you have in mind.

On Tuesday February 24, 2020 a televised memorial service was held at the Los Angeles Staples Center in honor of the late NBA star Kobe Bryant. Bryant, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had become a staple in Los Angeles culture making a name for himself as a talented shooting guard after entering the NBA rafter high school and subsequently joining the LA Lakers. Throughout his 20-year tenure on the team and in the city, Bryant went on the win 5 NBA championships and 18 All-Star championships. He made NBA MVP and NBA Finals NVP several times throughout his career and is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players in the league. Outside of basketball, Bryant forged a strong bond with Los Angeles’s Lantinx community and culture and was a key figure in popularizing one of LA’s best-known structures, the Staple’s Center. We would like to share some of our thoughts on his life and legacy with you below.

I was only 8 years old when I caught my first glimpse of Kobe Bryant. He is the reason I fell in love with basketball and became a die-hard Lakers fan. It has been quite the thrill to watch you evolve from a young 17 year old prodigy with a strive for greatness, to a 42 year old NBA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Oscar Winner, and most importantly, an amazing role model and loving father. I will always admire your absolute fearlessness, insane work ethic and dedication, and the passion you shared, not just for the love of basketball, but in life. You taught us that anything can be achieved if you just worked hard at it. Thank you for all the memories Kobe, your impact on people was not only felt in Los Angeles, but around for people around the world. You’ve inspired millions to never give up and become the best version of yourself you can possibly be and we will carry on the Mamba Mentality. Rest In Peace Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

According to a 2015 study conducted by World Bank, it has been estimated that 10% of the world’s population lives on less than USD 1.90 a day. These numbers are down significantly from those in previous years (36% in 1990). However, general poverty, food insecurity, and housing and job instability are still significant issues for many people worldwide. Just under half of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa lives under the poverty line and wages are slow to rise for those living in low-income communities globally. The World Bank has made it its mission to bring extreme poverty down to 3% by 2030. And government entities, businesses, and non-profits worldwide are working hard to combat economic inequality through innovation and technology.

Mending the Digital Divide

The Internet has become essential for addressing our everyday needs. From finding a job to ordering groceries, we use the Internet for everything, making life harder to operate when one does not have access to it. Most smartphones are programmed to connect to the Internet automatically. Still, personal WIFI networks can cost individuals hundreds of dollars a month, making them hard to access for those living paycheck to paycheck. For impoverished communities, access to an affordable internet connection can mean the difference between life and death. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy, one of the worst storms in American history, devastated the East Coast of the United States, causing billions of dollars of damage. However, for residents of the Red Hook area of Brooklyn, NY, their open WIFI network potentially saved them from total disaster. The Red Hook WIFI is a mesh network that allows all residents of the public housing community to access the Internet for free. Thanks to this network, residents could connect with volunteers and first responders when the storm took out the neighborhood’s power. With access to the web, they could get updates on safe routes and places to obtain emergency supplies and first aid. Red Hook WIFI is one of many public mesh WIFI networks set up by volunteer groups around the country to give low-income residents access to an affordable, reliable Internet connection. Organizations such as the Open Technology Institute have created programs that provide teens in low-income areas access to tech training and educational programs. The teens gain the knowledge and skills needed to build these mesh WIFI networks in their neighborhoods, endowing them with invaluable experiences that they can utilize in the jobs market and school.

Jobs That Work for Everyone

It is a common belief that many low-skill jobs will disappear soon because automation will make them obsolete. To some extent, this is true. Many factories opt for robotic labor over human workers, leaving many communities with very little work if they do not have a particular skill set. But machines can’t do everything. The jobs market is still reliant on human labor. Some non-profits have jumped into action to provide work opportunities for low-income communities with few technical skills in the digital economy. Lailah Janah, a tech entrepreneur, founded Samasource, a non-profit that connects impoverished communities with work in the digital sector. According to Janah, tasks such as image tagging and data entry are two of many that exist in the digital industry that does not require individuals to have technical skills. These are jobs that can be filled fast by people anywhere in the world without much training, and the money can be used to supplement their income and provide them with employment. For communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia who rely on agriculture as their primary source of income. The money can be reinvested in their farms and other businesses.

This work is also accessible for those where travel and mobility may be an issue, such as for communities who do not have access to affordable transportation or those with physical disabilities. Samasource has also designed an educational program to accompany their jobs program to help those in the program learn how to find work using the Internet. As a result, program participants saw their yearly incomes quadruple. They could redistribute the extra income into other areas of their lives, such as their education, family, or businesses. Even as the number of individuals in extreme poverty declines, billions of people worldwide live in economically unstable situations. As we become an increasingly digital society, it is crucial to consider using new technology to combat these issues. Many visionaries create long-term solutions that consider the unique circumstances that individuals find themselves in and build from there. Building stable economies start with providing communities with steady, sustainable work, and as our economy evolves, this requires us to think of solutions that are outside of the box.

The rise of Artificial Intelligence has been the cause of great concern for many workers, as studies have predicted that AI technology could replace up to 14% of the global workforce by the year 2030. And many technologists have warned of the impending “AI Apocalypse.” But advanced AI technology does not necessarily mean that robots will replace us. And in many ways, advancements in AI technology will help human beings be more creative and more productive in their work.

We have already begun to integrate Artificial intelligence into our everyday lives. Many of us with smart devices have access to AI-powered digital assistants that help us with daily tasks such as making our schedules, ordering food, and taking notes. AI can free up our time from repetitive tasks that take away from the creative process. With more time in the day and our brains liberated from time-consuming tasks, we can invest our time in creative ventures and are much more likely to be more innovative.

ENKI Tech Pop-Up Chats

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TODAY’S GUEST: Cynthia Sanchez, Executive Director of the APADRC.

ENKI is at it again celebrating with client APADRC, at their Anniversary celebration of 30 years in Conflict Resolution!! Executive Director of APADRC, Cynthia Sanchez, shares with us how ENKI nailed their web development needs all in 5 business days… before getting back to the festivities, of course!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzhqOtzXWVA

[norebro_text css_class=”sm-contact”]APADRC

Should I Hire a Web Developer or Make My Website Myself?

Pros of Hiring a Web Developer

Cons of Hiring a Web Developer

Pros of a D.I.Y. Website

Cons of a D.I.Y. Website

A Tribute to the Life of Kobe Bryant

Combating Poverty in the Age of the Internet

Mending the Digital Divide

Jobs That Work for Everyone

How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Us More Creative

Interview with Cynthia, Executive Director of the APADRC

BE THE LIGHT!

ENKI Inc.