I have always enjoyed building websites for churches and ministries. It’s a completely different type of project when compared to a commercial or service related website in that churches have so much more to offer online than a typical company does, and it still shocks me that some do not capitalize on the massive opportunity that’s in front of them to reach out and connect to more people.
The Internet has come a long way in the little over a decade it’s been part of daily life. Not only do some 25% of the world’s population now have ‘net access [Internet World Stats, June 2009], but it’s easier than ever for those users to contribute to the Web rather than just passively consuming its content.
Only recently the field of Web design emerged as a hot new profession. Every business wanted a presence on the Web, and in the days of the dotcom bubble investors were lining up to throw money at Web startups. Someone had to build those sites, and that someone was the Web designer.
The profession lost its sparkle after the 2000 crash left too many Web designers chasing too few jobs. But the technology that’s arrived since has virtually killed Web design. That technology includes blogs, social networks, cell phones and everything else that allows anyone to establish a fancy Web presence with just a few clicks and update it just by typing in a box. Read more
I am reading a new book called Groundswell (pronounced ground – swell). The book is how to win in a world that has been transformed by social technologies. Social technologies, as the term implies, does not imply what you would think; at least not what I thought it implied. Being the technical person that I am that loves the new gadget that has just come out, my first thought was how iPhones, computer operating systems like Apple’s new Leopard (which is awesome by the way), GPS turn by turn navigation, etc. But as I started reading the book, I began to realize that they put more emphasis on the social than the technology. Myspace.com, Facebook, Youtube, RSS, blogs and forums, and consumer rating sites like Digg.com are a few of the many ways that our society is changing the world – particularly the corporate world – that we live in. I can hear the parents saying, “Wait – I thought Myspace was for teenagers!” Haha! Read more
I am at the doctor’s office getting my eyes checked & hopefully will be getting a new pair of glasses because I spend my time making a living in front of a computer which probably isn’t the best thing to maintain good vision. Maybe there is some truth to what our parents told us when we were little: ”don’t sit so close to the TV – it’s bad for your eyes!”
Anyway, these times are the rare occasions when I’ll pick up a magazine & read an article that I wouldn’t normally read online or in a forwarded e-mail. So, I picked up the most recent edition of Fortune magazine as I was intrigued by the cover that eluded to the magazine being chocked full of articles of still being able to make big money in a rapidly declining economy. Guess what over 50 percent of the articles were focused on? The internet! Microsoft is buying Yahoo, should have bought Facebook, needs to make better computers & stay away from the web, Apple is going to take over the world, phonebook advertising will soon be something we tell our grandchildren about, & my son won’t know what a CD player is. As a web designer, my digital world seems behind the times. When I once felt on the cutting edge with my gadgets, I feel as though the tools & gadgets I have now, even though the help me accomplish great things, will soon need upgrading. Actually, I am writing this blog entry using my already out of date & no longer cool Palm TREO 650 🙂 Read more
