Who has your domain name?

As domain names become more scarce you might want to think about saving your own. Many people use their own name. Right now this may seem like a vanity thing, but it could be a valuable professional asset in the future.

Think of 5-10 domain names that you would like to own, then do a search to see if they are available. You’ll be surprised to find out how many are already taken. You can use Network Solutions to see if the name is taken. (Virtually every hosting service allows you to check domain names.) You can register your domain name for around $15/year.

Once you have a domain name you will need to get a hosting service if you want to have a presence on the Web. Some hosting services offer free domain registration, but their monthly rates are much higher.

Be smart and get the license to your own domain name now while you still can. Most likely it will become a valuable asset in the years ahead.

Photo from iStockPhoto.com

A student recently sent me an email asking some valuable career questions. Here is a summary of her questions as well as my responses:

I am having a hard time distinguishing the differences between:
-Web Designer
-Web Master
-Web Programmer and
-Web Developer

A web designer normally does the layout, color, font, graphic stuff of a web site.
A web programmer or web developer writes the code that makes a web page happen. For example, a designer might design how a form is laid out and then give this idea (often as a PhotoShop or Illustrator file) to the programmer. The programmer than writes the code to make the form work when the user clicks on the submit button: saving data to a table, sending information as an email, creating and displaying a web page telling the user that something happened. (The web designer will probably dictate what that user-feedback web page will look like).

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used by web designers and PHP or ASP.NET (languages that run on a web server) are used by web programmers.

Based on these descriptions you can see that often a person can be both a web designer and web programmer. However, with larger web sites and organizations these two areas become more distinct and have people with different skills doing the particular jobs. Designers are usually more artistic and programmers are generally more technical and detail oriented. A designer’s work is seen and most often a programmers work is “behind the curtain”.

A Web Master is more of a job description. Most web masters design and programming the web site or manage the designers and programmers that do the work. Who ever is in charge of the web site is normally considered the web master.

Skill sets for web designers include PhotoShop, DreamWeaver, InDesign, and Illustrator. Also a good sense of layout and design, psychology, and a strong understanding of human interfaces are important.

Skill sets for web programmers include PHP, ASP.NET, XML, Java, XHTML/CSS, Flex, DreamWeaver, Eclipse and/or Visual Studio, Linux. Understanding programming logic, database design, programming frameworks like WordPress and/or Drupal, and client/server relationships are all important skill areas.

Whenever I look into getting an actual degree in this field, basically all I can find is a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, which seems to be more technically focused on the hard-core computer science than I am necessarily interested in. However, I would like to be as marketable as possible, so I would be willing to work toward such a degree if necessary.

For computer degrees there are general two main types. An Computer Systems (CS) degree focuses more on theory and how to design operating systems. How a computer work, how a chip parses through language statements, and how data can be stored as a structure. Some courses normally include things such as Finite Automata theory, Compiler design, and Computer architecture.

An Information System (IS) or Information Technology (IT) degree normally deals with more practical uses such as computer support, programming, and using operating systems (instead of writing them).

CS degrees generally require higher math skills such as calculus more math than an IS or IT degree.

It is my feeling in today’s market that employers just want folks that know how to design and code. You already have a bachelor’s degree so a programming diploma from SCC is more than enough credentials, especially with a good portfolio like you are working on. That experience is the valuable piece. I know of several people that are doing well after having completed the Web Programming Certificate although the Programming Degree will give you a better overall coverage in the industry. From an employer’s point-of-view it isn’t so much what degree you have. Instead they want to be certain that you have excellent problem solving skills (you do), excellent communication skills (you do), and a good basic knowledge of design and programming (you do).

Leo Baubuta on the FreeLanceSwitch blog writes about the 10 Essential Habits for FreeLancers:     

One of the things about being a freelance worker is that it is so free.

This can be a tremendously liberating thing — but it can also be intimidating, and confusing, and difficult. Without someone forcing you to work, why should you? It’s much easier to find distractions instead. And if everything’s up to you, that also means you’re responsible for everything — from start to finish. And that can be tough, especially when you’re just starting out.

The key, I’ve found, is to develop certain habits that will keep you not only disciplined but successful. Simple habits, to be sure, but ones that can go a long way towards taking you from a broke freelancer to a happy and productive one.

You don’t have to be a free-lancer to make these habits useful. Entreprenuers and students can use these as a guideline to become the person you want to be, to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

Here they are in summary with some of my own notes:

Market yourself.  Marketing is about connecting what people need with what you have. Advertising is part of marketing, and so is good customer relationships (word of mouth advertising and viral advertising). 

Be persistent. It is commonly said that a person needs to hear/see/experience the connection or message at least 7 times.

Be professional.

Set and meet deadlines.

Find focus. Concentrate on your current task or project, and eliminate distractions so that you can focus on this one task. Get everything else out of the way, and really focus. I use the David Allen’s principles outlined in his book Getting Things Done (GTD) and use Chandler and iGTD on my computers to help me focus, focus, focus.

Find time. Or, I think of it as "make the time"

Awesome quality. When you’re done with an assignment, go over it again, and look for mistakes, and ways you can improve. Sometimes you just need time to let a project "simmer" until it is ready for that professional garnish.

Follow up. This is how you build relationships.

Billing. This is another aspect of being professional. Be timely and consistent.

Building a rep.Your reputation is your best asset. In all areas of our lives.

 "It’s possible for a person to have an overwhelming number of things to do and still function productively with a clear head and a positive sense of relaxed control.", David Allen, Getting Things Done (GTD)

I’ve been running Chandler for several weeks now and am using it as a stand-alone application to help me get things done. The software is designed on the principles presented in the best-selling book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen.  David’s concept is to get everything out of your head into a system. After all, our short-term memory is only 3-5 things. With everything in a trusted system (like Chandler) all you have to do is scan through the lists for the "What’s next?" item.

Chandler was a little perplexing when I first installed it but then I picked up a copy of David’s book and everything fell into place. Its amazing how quickly the stress of getting things done disappears and how much better I can concentrate on a single task (like writing this blog!) without being sidetracked by so many different things.

Chandler also offers a free server so projects and to-do lists can be used collaboratively. I will be setting one up to work with my advisor as I finish my Master degree project. The program runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It is still in beta but it runs very quickly and smoothly. This is a nice piece of software and a great application based on solid principles.

Here’s a short tutorial that shows how to install and use Chandler.  Chapters 5, 6, and 7 have some great screen shots showing how the different aspects of the program work to help you organize your tasks and projects. After you play with the program for a few days, get the book and you’ll really be able to utilize the power of stress-free productivity.

I was just asking about Jason Niebuhr a few weeks ago. Today I see there is an article in the local newspaper describing Jason’s success as a computer repair business person. (Part One of the article. Part Two of the article) Jason is a student I had the first year I began teaching. He is totally blind. Using headphones and a program named JAWS, he would listen to the computer and my lectures at the same time.  A common adage is that teachers learn more than their students and Jason taught me a lot!

He showed me how to use the resources you have no matter what. He made me very aware that there’s more to teaching than just showing a PowerPoint to a group of people. Even though I am a strong visual learner I understood that different people learn different ways. However, Jason made me really apply this concept showing me how we all learn through multiple channels. Whenever I presented something that was only visual Jason would immediately ask me what  was there. It didn’t take me long to figure out how important the multi-channel teaching is and to include an auditory channel in everything I presented. (Because of JAWS I could easily do this using text on a web page. It didn’t mean I had to be talking all the time.)

But, all of these are common lessons. I learned something even more important from Jason.  A lesson about judgment.  I remember a particular conversation when several teachers were talking together about Jason’s chances for success. "How will he be able to tell which wire is hot?"  one teacher asked.  (Being blind, Jason can’t discern the difference between a red, black, or white colored-coded wires.) "How will he keep from being electrocuted? What if he reaches in and touches one of those capacitors!" another exclaimed. I don’t remember my exact response but I vaguely remember either agreeing with the group or remaining silent. I know I did not speak up for Jason’s abilities.

A few years later I had another student. He had stopped taking his medications and had become very paranoid. His behavior toward faculty and other students became rude and aggressive. Again, we all agreed that even though he had extremely high grades, his behavior would exclude him from having any job that we could think of. After a few traumatic semesters (for the student as well as for faculty!) he got his medications in balance again, finished his degree with an A+ average, and is now working as a successful software engineer.

It’s difficult writing about our judgments as teachers. We aren’t supposed to do that. And it is the success of Jason Niebuhr as well as many other students who have taught me a very important lesson: I can never know when the passion and personal perseverance of a student will help him or her overcome all odds (and judgment calls). And, the next time I hear folks forecasting someone’s future as bleak and hopeless, I know I will speak up and offer these two very good examples of people who surprised us and created their own success.

Congratulations Jason and thanks for teaching me some very important lessons!

Every once in awhile the power of the Web still surprises me. Recently, reading David Pogue’s blog from the New York Times,  I discovered a real gold mine: The TED Conference. Technology, Entertainment, and Design.

Every year some of the brightest people in the world meet in Monterey, CA for a few days to talk about what they are doing. It costs $4,400 to attend a conference and the 2008 conference is already sold out. Speakers are not paid but get to attend the conference for free. (You can also request an invitation from their website based on your enthusiasm, ideas, and success in your field.)

A little pricey you say? But wait, they’ve put some of the presentations on line. You can watch the videos of some very amazing presentations . Each is about 20 minutes (although there are a few three minute specials), and you will be thinking about them for days. The TED videos are especially effective if you watch two or three in one setting. I usually catch a couple before I go to sleep at night, just to give my brain something to think about in my dreams.

Here’s a quote for the upcoming 2008 conference, The Big Questions:

"Many people come to TED seeking something out of the ordinary. A chance to mentally recharge. A chance to step back and consider the really big stuff that’s happening. A chance to understand life in a richer way. "

Check out these videos and you’ll see what they mean.

Aaron Bartell from RPG-XML Suite presented during my Web III (XML) course last week. Joining him was Matt Potocnik, the webmaster with the City of Mankato and Jesse Daniels, a software engineer at DayPort, a streaming video company. All three have successfully finished our Computer Careers program here at South Central College.

Aaron covered a lot of the alphabet soup that comes with XML discussions and demonstrated actual code that utilizes web services, both in a simple, easy-to-see manner and using a real-life example. He also recounted his experiences as a student, learning about the iSeries midrange computers from IBM. As an employee of Krengle Technology, Inc., Aaron wrote some code that allowed a client to access XML documents with their IBM iSeries (AS/400). This was an area where IBM didn’t have a lot of tools so they decided to repackage their work and sell it as a product. RPG XML Suite was born and the company now has six employees. The software Aaron wrote fills a distinct need in the industry that it doesn’t look like IBM will be filling any time soon.

Along the way Aaron has published several articles in technical trade journals and he told the class how to go about this and how satisfying it is. Aaron told my students, "When you learn something new, just write about what you know. You don’t have to be an expert and know everything about the topic." Here’s a copy of Aaron’s PowerPoint presentation. Check out the list of skills employers look for on slide #6.

Aaron also spoke about what organizations are looking for in employees now days and listed several important traits.

Matt and Jesse joined in talking with Aaron about how they use XML in the "real world" Matt talked about being able to update the Civic Center web page using RSS feeds which are XML based. It is an elegant fix that allows updates without a whole lot of extra web coding and minimal support. Matt also told the class about his firm belief in the Java platform when he was in school. Ironically, once he evaluated the needs and basic assumptions of the city, he made the decision in making the shift from Java to the Microsoft Dot Net platform. It just shows how important it is to evaluate all of the tools that are available. Matt also talked about developing your own position in the IT world. He was an intern at the city for over a year before they created the web master position. During that year he worked hard to help develop many changes that made the position possible.

Jesse talked about the video streaming they do at DayPort and how he is working on a project that will incorporate XML with Flash. Jesse also does web page design and has developed a complete PHP framework that allows him to build very complete web sites in minutes. Check out his web design portfolio at http://www.longloft.com/.

Afterwards several of the students mentioned how interesting it was listening to the three developers exchanging ideas and offering each other solutions for solving various projects each of them are working on.

Thanks for coming in and sharing your experiences with the class Aaron, Matt, and Jesse!

People understand the Web because they use it every day. But, not everyone knows how easy it is to get your own web site up and running on the Web. You can do it for less than $40/year.

Domain Names

The first part of getting published is to get your own domain name. A good domain is hard to find because most of the common ones have already been taken. You want one that meets the following requirements:

• describes your site
• is easy to remember and easy to spell
• is available on the Web

The DNS (Domain Name System/Server) keeps track of all the domain names on the Web so there are no duplicates. Domain names can be ordered from InterNic and other DNS vendors. For your convenience most web hosting services allow you to order a domain name as one of the services.

An annual license for a new domain name will cost about $17/year. Many web hosting services offer domains for free or very low priced as a loss-leader. Existing names are more expensive. Many people around the world purchase domain names hoping to resell them later. Often names licensed names will cost $1,000’s, especially if a company really wants a particular name as part of their product identity.

Because of the scarcity of good names it is best to make up a list of 20 or 30 names that would be appropriate for your web site. Prioritize them, then visit your web host provider as outlined below and do a search for each one. Be ready to purchase any you find. I’ve heard tales of people searching for names only to come back a few days later to find that their names have been licensed by someone else.

Purchase as many years as you can. (This is one of the criteria that Google uses to determine how to rank a web page.) Also, think of purchasing multiple endings (.com, .org. .net) as well as multiple names. If there’s a variation (or commonly misspelled version) purchase that as well.

Keep in mind that domain name licensing is separate from having pages published on the Web. You can license a domain name now without having the added expense of hosting a site right away.

Because of their high value and growing scarcity, a good domain name is an important asset for any company or business.

Web Hosting

There are thousands of hosting services available. A simple search on the Web (for example: web hosting comparisons) will give you lots of options.

Beware of GoDaddy.com. They are very popular right now and market their services heavily. However, their servers have very strict policies and a lot of tools such as Drupal, a popular CMS (Content Management System) , and CGI scripts are very difficult to install.

Building Web Site

You can create your own web site with a text editor and a browser. Cost: your time. More sophisticated web programmers use DreamWeaver from Adobe/Macromedia. Please don’t use FrontPage. It is now defunct having been replaced by Microsoft’s new product: Expression. There are also many free web editors available including NVue, FirstPage, AlleyCode, and Amaya which runs on Mac OS X as well as Windows.

Often people take my Web Programming I course just to learn how to write HTML and build their own site.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to build your own web site you can always contact the computer science or art department at your local college. Ask if their web students need projects to work on. For example, my Web Programming I and Web Programming II courses both have capstone requirements involving community business partners.

Your Own Piece of the Web

So, for less than $40/year you can have your own site up on the Web. At the very least you should consider setting up a personal home page. And, if you are an entrepreneur (or even thinking about being one) now is the time to get your piece of the web. At the very least, reserve your domain names.

Want to see more details on all of this? Check out my business presentation out on my web site: Web Marketing

Writing a Business Plan

Five Easy Pieces

Your business plan is one of the best tools you have to communicate your vision and excitement to a lot of different people. It doesn’t have to be a dry, boring document. Here are some ways you can make it into a document that reflects all the critical areas that people in the business world are interested in.

There’s five easy pieces:

1. Executive Summary
2. Describe the products/services (buildings, inventory, technology, manufacturing)
3. People and Stakeholders
4. Marketing
5. Dollars and Sense

Each of these is like a puzzle piece that affects the other pieces.

Writing a business plan involves writing each of these once, and then going back in and reworking them as new ideas and relationships surface as other sections are completed. By breaking the business plan into these five steps it becomes much easier to write and refine.

A business plan should be viewed as a working document. It helps to think of it as software that changes with different revisions. Each revision can be released and utilized, but the software is always being improved and extended into new areas. As your business grows it will need other, more detailed solutions. Your business plan documents this so others know and can realize what version you are currently using to run and operate your business.

The following highlights some common questions that may help you finalize each piece.

Executive Summary

People that read business plans for a living have very little time. The Executive Summary is written to make their job easier and more interesting.
In just a few paragraphs you not only want to capture the essence of your company, but catch the reader’s interest as well. Write this once and then revisit it each time you’ve finished working on one of the other sections. Then, weeks later, revisit this summary again and read it with more objective eyes.

Don’t labor too long over the Executive Summary. But reread it, rewrite it, and refine it often.

A good way to start is by writing five bullet points answering who, what, when, where, and why.

Frost your executive summary by adding a catchy headline. Not too cutesy, but something that will pique everyone’s interest. Keep in mind the old newspaper example for catchy headlines: Dog Bites Man vs. Man Bites Dog

Products/Services

Describing the products/services you are offering describes the what of the business plan. A simply as possible describe the products and services that the company will be offering. If you have multiple products/services give each one its own section.

For now just write a paragraph describing the product or service. Don’t add any fluff, or if you do, edit it out later.

Writing this section may trigger lots other ideas for marketing, and people, and money. First of all, try to stay focused on describing your product/service. But, if you are worried you might forget your ideas, go ahead and jot them down as a footnote. That way you can grab them and include them later with more details as you work on the other pieces.

People

The people piece is the who of your business plan. You will want to describe the owners of the company and list your board members. In addition, include the different types of employees (job descriptions) that are necessary to offer the products/services you’ve already described.

Being a small business it is necessary that several people may do many different tasks. It’s not unheard of for the President to also be in charge of sales as well as head janitor, especially during the start-up phase of a company.

You’ll want to demonstrate the team of experts that you are using to make the company successful. Depending on the business you will most likely be using an outside accountant, legal counsel, technology expert, and marketing consultant. Listing each of these professionals shows you know how to build a strong management resource team.

You probably have other stakeholders as well. Include them as part of this section, describing what their involvement is in the business.

You can mention the customer as one of your stakeholders, but the customer is so important that they get their very own piece. It’s called Marketing.

Marketing

Marketing is best summarized by the two questions: Who is the customer and what does he or she need?
Marketing includes all the activities that involve determining who the customer is and making a connection between them and the product/service being offered.

This section can get fairly involved. You may want to set up several subtopics describing the following:

• Who is the customer? If you have different target customers describe each one.
• What needs does the product/service meet? It is often helpful to envision a particular person that you know that fits the customer profile being targeted. Simply describe the traits this person has and how the product/service will meet his or her needs.
• How will we tell the customer about the product/service?
  
  • How will we inform people about the company? (goodwill, publicity, community service)
  • How will we inform people about specific products?
  • Different types of media to be used (web site, email campaigns, brochures, magazines, trade shows, articles and white papers)
• Where is the target market located?
• Describe the sales process (handling leads, closing the sale, customer service and follow-up after the sale)
• Who is the competition and why are you different?
• Marketing calendar

• List the marketing activities will you be doing each month for the next twelve months.

• What were the actual results of each of these activities
• What should be done differently next time? (discard the activity, modify the activity, combine it with another activity)

This section will probably have the most information and be changed frequently. It is recommended that the marketing calendar be made an active part of your business activities and be updated often.

Dollars and Sense

This piece describes the why of the business plan. You might be in business for several reasons, but most likely it is to make a profit. This piece shows what things will cost, what your margins of profit are, and how much profit you plan to make.

As the company becomes older it is very helpful to include past history as well as projections. Don’t go into vast details here. Just give monthly or quarterly sales as well as fixed costs (salaries, rent/utilities, supplies) and variable costs (production materials, research & development, taxes).

Two important items to include in this piece:

• Margin of Profit (MOP) – This is a percentage showing how profitable an item is or a product line, or sales in general.
• Return on Investment (ROI) – Compares how much money is made when compared to how much was spent. If you invest 1,000 dollars for a new web site that brings in only 500 dollars for the year, than the ROI is very poor. However, if you can show that the web site will probably increase sales way beyond the 1,000 dollar investment, than the ROI is very good. MOP and ROI work closely together. If you are working with a very low margin, you will need much more sales before you can see a return on your money. On the other hand if you have a high margin you can see immediate ROI. But, a higher MOP may increase the sales price too high, resulting in loss of sales and a smaller return on the investment.

Summary

Your business plan is probably the best way you can communicate your vision and excitement to a lot of different people. These five steps will help you write a business plan that is effective and helpful. You may use it to help secure a business loan, to determine what and how you are going to proceed in business, as well to get others excited about your ideas and the potential of the company’s future. Don’t forget to smile as you write it. After all, it is your future!

Photo from istockphoto.com

I just finished putting together a session about blogging that I will be presenting to faculty members at our annual in-service training here at South Central College.I originally wrote this for the Minnesota SCSC Young Writer’s Conference back in May and I’m amazed on how vast the blogsphere has grown. Earlier blogs seemed to be mainly young, male college students filled with angst and/or technical folks talking about technology. They have now become an excellent source of information from experts in virtually any field. Its a rare search on Google that doesn’t bring up at least one blog entry with the information I need.

Here’s the blurb for the session:

Be A Blogger - Presented by Peter Johnson You will want to attend this session because you will learn:

• What a Blog is
• Famous (and some not-so-famous) bloggers from around the world
• How to start your own blog in five easy steps (Blogging is free!)
• The Benefits of Blogging
• Four Golden Guidelines for Bloggers
• How to be Safe On-Line (a great section if you plan to have your students blog.)

Here’s a link to the presentation: http://peterkjohnson.com/blogging/whyBlog.html Let me know what you think!