44

For some odd reason I can’t concentrate on getting any work done on my sites, and keep gravitating towards playing COH (again). But since I finished two skirmishes at extra hard setting this morning (which I’m saying not because I wanna show off but because I want to emphasize I play this game waaay too much), I gotta pull myself away from it. 3rd option therefore is to blog, and so here I am. Besides, I actually have new stuff to write about.

2 days every week starting this week I now consult for a company that’s making a ton of websites for itself, its branches and all its affiliate smaller companies, totalling approximately 44 in all. So I go there every Monday and whichever other day there’s a meeting, do my thing, then in theory, hop and skidaddle off home afterwards. That’s the theory however, but in practice, the place is a good 2.5 hours of commuting away, so going to and back takes up half a day.

I’m not complaining though. There are 3 factors why I agreed to this gig. First is I get to work with a very good friend again. We had some great times when we were starting out in this business. We learn from each other and often bounce ideas off each other. There’s no doubt in my mind he is the best in what he does, but what I like most is his totally non plussed attitude towards pretty much everything. He’s the kind of guy who is horsing and joking around almost constantly, but still gets the job done and done well. He vouched for me to get this deal so now that it’s come through I’m pretty gung ho about it, and I don’t think I’d have agreed if it weren’t him asking me.

2nd is the job has to do with websites and the ‘net, which is a given of course, and 3rd is that I get to work with content, SEO and ‘getting users to use the website’, which probably has a more appropriate buzzword for it except that I don’t like buzzwords, can’t think of one right now and besides, ‘getting users to use the website’, hits the nail right on the head.

There’s a 4th reason actually, and it has to do with how exciting things are if we get it done the way I foresee it (I’ve already more or less figured out what needs to be done). I am a picture of a complete geek in the fact that I still completely enjoy thinking of, planning and implementing ideas, and seeing them work out. It’s an absolute joy to create a site, see it grow, shape its path and see how people use it the way you want them to. I think it’s a mix of how, say, an architect creates a building and finds joy in how people use the pathways like they’re supposed to, or design a special roof that will save energy for it and see it actually work, or that of a publisher creating a newspaper, getting the right people, determining the right content, and seeing reader’s lives shaped by what they have read and make a ultimately change things for the better around us.

I get that thrill everyday when I check my sites, and I cannot have enough of it. I realize now if we do this right it’ll pay off on a grander scale and that’s such an awesome thought I try not to think about it.

The challenge of course, is that there are more people involved now. Bosses and clients and their underlings whom I need to get on the same page. But I’m confident that what I do and have done can make people work in the same direction, as long as I present it well and state my case clearly. For the most part, I’m sure it’ll be adapted if only because there is no present way of doing things at the moment, but I still wanna make a good case for myself, so I have to strap my concentration on and keep on my toes.

So that’s it. That’s the big to – do at this chapter in my life. This was a long time coming actually, with negotiations starting as far back as Sep. Now that I’m here, I’m all set. Wish the commute wasn’t such a biggie but as with all things, I’ll get used to it. It’s all good.

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