How Did I Get Here?

Quote of the Day: “‘Status quo,’ as you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in.’”

After talking to the Rose Garden DI on the Marine Corps Birthday, we rekindled our plans to create a web presence for the Parris Island Museum Gift Shop. That’s where he works and they’ve expanded their shop by four in the last year and he tells me there is not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask what his web address is.

The problem is, he doesn’t have one and I’ve volunteered to help him create one.

The first thing I told him I could do is build a very simple static page that gave contact information, pointing people to make phone orders. All he’d have to do is pick a domain name and agree to reserve it for a couple years along with a monthly fee for the webspace. For about $8 a month, he could have the space he needed and I’d do the web work for free.

The next step would be to create a electronic storefront so that people could purchase his memorabilia over the web. We haven’t got that far but one of the obvious questions is if he wants to tie his inventory to the webpage. The good thing about that is what people see online is the stock that he has. The bad news is that’s it’s complicated to get it set up and kept current. But if he doesn’t, he’d have to keep the web inventory in synch with his real inventory.

The good news is that I have a degree in IT and we did quite a bit of work on ecommerce. With the ready-made storefronts available all over the internet, it would be a matter of using these built-in tools to keep the e-shop in business (as opposed to doing all the coding by yourself).

Who knows where this will lead but for now, I’m offering up my services for free because it’s easy and it’s an honor to be working with such a great man for a great cause.

I sent him a bunch of open domain names but the funniest I found was for “PIGIFTS.” I meant it as Parris Island Gifts but even though it was already taken, it looks like it has something to do with pigs.

My marketing skills might need some polishing.

Free Advice for Today: “Don’t nag.”