Day 1170

I paid a visit to a client that hasn't been very active lately. I don't think they remember me. When I arrived, the receptionist seemed to know who I was, but nobody else did. I did my best to light a fire and get these people thinking about doing something new on their website again. I'm not sure my visit had any effect however.

There are several stages of website development. The first stage is always the best. Everyone is excited and full of ideas. I'm usually very busy during this stage of development, adding pages and moving things around. Eventually, disillusionment sets in. The company discovers that all their competitors have good websites too and they no longer feel like they have an advantage.

Sometimes, there's a third stage when the clients go to a seminar and get re-invigorated about their website after listening to presentations about all sorts of new bells and whistles. They learn all sorts of stuff about, SEO, video, databases, and interactive forms. If I'm lucky, I get to add the new bells and whistles to their site. If I'm not, I lose the account to someone they met at the seminar.

It usually doesn't take long for disillusionment to set in again. Websites have become a commodity. If one site has bells and whistles, it isn't long before they all do. Once the client decides that the website is no longer a magic bullet, I am no longer as valuable as I was in the beginning. I'm not saying that websites aren't important. They are. They can definitely help a good company get even better. They can no longer separate a nondescript company from the pack however. Most website problems aren't with the website itself. They usually originate with the company behind it.

I turned in my new writing assignment today. Writing is much more reliable than website development. While everybody and their uncle has hung out their shingle as website developers and SEO experts, there are still relatively few good writers. The only thing that endangers my security as a writer is that fewer and fewer people bother to read anymore. We have gone from a per-literate society to a post-literate society. It's only a matter of time before we're communicating with hieroglyphics again.

It was a pleasant day, but it still gets cold very quickly after sundown. It got cold so quickly today that we decided to skip dog training class. Dot doesn't enjoy the cold damp ground on days like this. Dash doesn't enjoy the wind. We had both this evening, so we stayed home. A wise decision, I think.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day