[thechat] I want a new job!

[Erika]

Kevin Stevens wrote:
> Now, with the advent of MySpace this seems just as 
> much of a problem.

(Not that broke-ass punk musicians don't make lucrative clients, I'm 
sure...)

>  Could you give me an example of this, I don't really understand what 
> you mean.

So I build a website for Joe... Joe loves the site, but either, wants to 
change some little detail, and or, something changes and the info needs 
to change etc... now he is forced to rehire me and I have to get it done 
which is a hassle for me (I hate little piddly fixit jobs that never 
end) and I have to bill him and he has to pay me etc etc

But!  If I built a website (design) for Joe that included a handydandy 
form that Joe could use to add/delete/change info as needed w/o mucking 
in HTML or FTP, EVERYBODY is HAPPY!

My former boss has quite a lovely home-based business based on his 
coding a system like this, customized especially for progressive 
political candidates: http://www.mandatemedia.com

And I have done a CSS template for this other local business which has a 
CMS geared especially toward musicians: http://www.hostbaby.com

(The HTML in hostbaby is awesome: xhtml strict IIRC and very lovely to 
work with...)

Both of these businesses were started by someone who 1. had a field of 
interest (politics and music respectively) 2. knew his/her audience 3. 
knew how that audience could best benefit from using the web 4. was able 
to make a general, customizable template 4. either coded a content 
management system or hired folks to do so 5. was able to see this to 
their target audience.

I am pretty certain that both these business charge their clients a 
monthly rate for hosting.  Mandate does custom designs for their clients 
(I am sometimes called in to do the CSS), while Hostbaby offers 
templates to choose from.

On my "to do" list is to look into free content management solutions for 
clients such as oh what is it called "Jamoola" -- which is a quick 
install if you have a dreamhost account.

Clients are more savvy about the possibilities out there, and IMO you do 
have to be able to compete with, and top, sites like myspace, if not in 
terms of networking, at least in terms of functionality.

Erika