By Nathan Allen

(Update January 2021 – I have since outgrown Jimdo. I moved on to another service that allows more customization at a lower price. Still, Jimdo is great for those who don’t have a lot of technical skill but want top notch design and customer service. In these areas, you do get what you pay for.)

Wow. 5 years. 1,825 days. Hard to believe, but “I Dreamed Of This”  is now half a DECADE old! I never imagined that this website I started in Manila back in 2013 would ultimately reach millions – and change my whole life in the process. I cannot thank you all enough! I just realized I never wrote about how I made my site. I built it with Jimdo…and never regretted it.

I’ve had 5 years of top notch, uninterrupted service with this company, and I also wanted to find a way to say thanks to them. SO I’ll test some of their newest blog & website building tools, and share my experience with you.

In 2013, Jimdo Made Building Websites Simple – Now, Dolphin AI Makes it Effortless

If you’ve always wanted to create a blog or website, but felt intimidated by the technical side of things, you are going to love this…

Jimdo Dolphin uses the latest cutting edge sitebuilder technology. Debuting last year, incredibly, it uses AI to gather information from your social media sites. It can produce a beautiful polished website for you in just minutes. three, to be exact!

All you need to do is answer a few simple questions about what kind of site you would like.

Are you a photographer, artist, or entrepreneur? They’ve got you covered. This kind of technology is also great for people who are tech savvy, but just don’t have much time.

Personalized Content & Design, in Seconds

The sitebuilder will ask for your Instagram login so that it can choose the best photos for your website. Poof, there they are. You can check out preview mode, and see the classy way the photos fade in as you scroll down your page.

Next, you choose the look and feel of your new site. Being a rather simple person myself, I chose the “minimal” design option.

I was also impressed by Dolphin’s innovative heading and paragraph font combinations. These elegant pairings are created by designers who clearly have a great eye. This can save you a lot of time. 

Not Just a Page Builder, It Creates Your Entire Site

Everything is ready to go for you, the menu, contact page…all of it. Another thing I love is that it takes the category you chose (photographer, artist…etc) and populates the text fields with template information relevant to your choice.

In other words, you’ll see a well written, complete artist or photographer’s website as a default (though your photos will show at this point).

 Below is an example:

Obviously you’ll want to replace the text with your own information, but I find that the “guide” does a great job providing inspiration for you, and again, can save a lot of time. (Personally, I work better creating something from a starting point than I do completely from scratch.)

Free Version + Paid Plan Options

The three choices Jimdo Dolphin offers are “Play” (free) “Start” ($9/Mo) and “Grow” ($19/Mo). The paid versions offer unlimited bandwidth and visitor data. The premium plan offers the most menu subpages, as well as some design consultation and the fastest support time.

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Custom URL

A “URL” (or domain) is the www. address people type to get to your website. Jimdo Dolphin gives you the option to buy a custom (and more professional) domain name when you sign up.  For example, if I used the free version, my website URL would be:

www.idreamedofthis.jimdo.com

Instead, I paid for a more professional custom domain:

www.idreamedofthis.com

If you are taking your website very seriously, or are starting a business, I certainly recommend buying the custom domain name. No matter the product or service, it makes you look much more professional. FYI: I believe the custom domain name is free for your first paid year!

SEO & Ads

Another thing to note is that the free version does not include the ability to optimize for search results (SEO). The paid versions help users find your website through Google, for example.

The free version also includes a small ad for Jimdo at the bottom of the page. Again, if your project is not just for fun, you will want to look into the more professional paid options.

Jimdo Dolphin VS. Jimdo Creator

Keep in mind that if you have a bit more time / abilities, Jimdo Creator can offer you more flexibility. It’s still incredibly user friendly, and is what I used, long before Dolphin came out. They have similar free / paid options for Jimdo Creator as well.

Overall, using Jimdo is like using a Mac. It’s a sleek, stylish, and reliable creative tool that is both efficient and intuitive.

There’s really never been a better time to take your passions online and share them with the world!

Full disclosure, I love this company so much that I eventually partnered with them. I’ve actually been very selective with my few partnerships. When I received a hand written Christmas card from Jimdo (before my blog ever took off), I knew they were something special. Well, I guess the years of stellar customer support didn’t hurt, either.

No need to take my word for it, though. Give Jimdo a free test run and see how it feels!

You can check it out HERE.

Happy creating.

– Nathan Allen

www.idreamedofthis.com

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The post A Look at 5 Years Using Jimdo, and a Dolphin Sitebuilder Test Run appeared first on I Dreamed Of This.

By Nathan Allen

I must admit, this video of U2’s “Bono” talking about how “America Is An Idea” has me brimming with patriotism.

Well, I didn’t always feel this way.

To be honest, when I first left the U.S. and ventured out into the world, I avoided other Americans like the plague. Growing up in California, I kind of absorbed the idea that my country was some sort of scourge on the face of the earth. I assumed that others around the globe would share this view (some do), but the reality turned out to be quite a bit more nuanced.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, over time I realized that I definitely had been living in a bubble. The new friends I made in various countries helped me adjust the lens through which I saw not only myself, but also my OWN country.

Red, White, and…Bánh mì?

For example, I never imagined that I would see north Vietnamese youth plastering American flags all over their motorbike helmets, but indeed I saw just that.

Speaking of which, on one return trip to California I was invited to the beautiful home of a Vietnamese refugee family. As I looked around I couldn’t keep my eyes from welling up with pride. For now, not only did I have an understanding of the challenges they faced to get here, but also a deep appreciation for the opportunities afforded to them in the United States.

(Not only for them, but anybody with the determination to keep reaching for it.)

Immigrant Eyes

In fact, one of the greatest gifts I have been given is being able to view my country through the eyes of an immigrant. My wife is from the Philippines, and it was eye opening to hear her say “if we have kids, I want them to have what you have”. She was talking about freedom…not just having freedom, as many great countries of course do, but actually being free.

She sees it as a state of mind, something deep within the psyche of many Americans.

We are raised to think that anything is possible; that the sky is the limit. This of course could be seen as overconfidence, but I believe that real innovation and success comes from the ability to dust yourself off after repeated failure.

“You’ve got to learn how to fall before you learn how to fly.”

This is where the “plucky confidence” of Americans really comes into play (despite the fact that on paper, we clearly lag behind many other nations).

Honest Abe’s Prediction

Many years ago, Abraham Lincoln warned that the real threat to America would come from within America herself. Never has been this been more apparent to me. After all, before I began to see my country from the outside (and through the eyes of others), I was on the inside, constantly criticizing and apologizing for it.

Well, No more.

Years of living abroad (coupled with me advancing in age, I suppose) have given me a totally new perspective on things. There is no doubt that my country is flawed, just like many others. However, there is also no doubt that, overall, America has been a force for good in the world. Certainly a great, stabilizing force.

As Americans of all colors and backgrounds, we must stay vigilant and united. We should be wary of those who try to misrepresent who and what we are. Yes, we are struggling through an incredibly polarizing time right now, especially during another contentious election year. However, we’re tough and tested…we have a classic western expression: “this ain’t our first rodeo!”

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A Distorted Sense Of Reality

It was a European friend that reminded me how American media often seems wildly out of touch with reality. “If it bleeds it leads”, isn’t that how the old saying goes? Well, in my humble opinion it seems to be true. I’ve spent over 20 years documenting life in the U.S. and other countries, and I barely recognize the world portrayed in our media.

The “State Of Jefferson”

In order to capture the incredible scenery in California’s Sierra Nevada, my wife and I moved to a sparsely populated rural county near Yosemite National Park. This area is over 90% white, and deeply Republican. In other words, “Trump Country”. In fact, this county is so “red” that most people here want to secede from California, creating a conservative new 51st state – “The State Of Jefferson”!

Given the hate and vitriol we’re led to believe that white America has for non-white people, we should be terrified, right? Even her friends in Asia sent concerned emails, worried that “Billy Bob” was going to try and hunt her down…all because they saw something scary on CNN.

Well not so fast.

Keep in mind that my wife is a morena (darker skinned) Filipina. To me, she’s as beautiful as can be. To them…well, she may be the same, but I can guarantee you they’re well aware she’s not white.

However, to our shock, they have been nothing but absolutely wonderful to her. Even the staff at her hospital checkups (which I can’t join, due to Covid) have been incredibly kind and helpful to her.

Does this mean that racism in America no longer exists? Certainly not. Does it mean that it’s purposely exaggerated for political / monetary gain? Well, you’re going to have to be the judge of that.

Sifting Through The B.S.

As asinine as it sounds, one trick I’ve learned is to simply use my own real-world experience to gauge whether or not something is true. I realized that every time I get online or turn on the news, I’m led to believe my country is this way or that.

If your real-world experience (or those closest to you) truly reflects what you see on the news, then by all means…continue believing it!

On the other hand, if it doesn’t…be skeptical. I think we owe that much to our country and fellow citizens. Whenever possible, I listen to the speeches of politicians (on the right and left) uncut and in full. I will never trust a media outlet to accurately deliver their message through tiny sound bites. I’ve given them way too many chances.

An Immigrant Success Story

Despite what it may seem, the America I see today is a decent and incredibly diverse nation. After all those years in Asia, I’m particularly proud of the accomplishments of Asian Americans. For example, for quite some time now, they have the highest median household income in the U.S., and are most likely to receive the best loans from banks. In my view, that is opportunity and hard work in action.

It’s especially impressive coming from the only race that at one point had an oppresive law on the books prohibiting them from even entering the U.S.

I Love Your Country – & Now I Love Mine, Too

To the Americans I met while living abroad, I’m sorry if I avoided you at first. To those I encountered after my “Great American Awakening”, you have no idea how much our interaction meant to me. I became incredibly homesick near the end there, and am over the moon to be back home with my wife now – especially after such an arduous wait for her immigration processing.

To my friends in the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Britain, Germany, and Netherlands, thanks for sharing nostalgic stories of your visits to my home country. Thanks for continuing to see America in a positive light – as a beacon of hope, even when I (and countless others) have neglected to.

I loved exploring and getting to know YOUR countries very much, thank you for helping me learn to appreciate my own unique culture and history. I’m honestly a bit embarrassed that it took me this long.

America, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I took you for granted for oh so many years…I promise it will never happen again.

Happy birthday!

– Nathan Allen

www.idreamedofthis.com

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