By Steve on March 11, 2005
I just finished reviewing my business website. The developer had some difficulty with both of the WordPress themes we attempted to use. I was more interested in going live then I was having him spend time wrestling with someone elses code. He ended up using the default Kubrik with sidebar theme available in WordPress (WP) while spicing it up a bit. There are several static pages so that it has a traditional website look rather then a basic blog but the key to the model is using WP as my content management tool. It took me a couple of hours this evening to get basic content loaded on the index page since I misunderstood the notes I had taken during an administrative training session we held earlier this week but I’m up!
Additional good news is that I was able to answer a couple of questions on my own by spending some time on the site. I was able to interpret his CSS code related to the titlebar he created that offers single click navigation to each of the static pages we established. I also identified the related code that offers the same capability from the sidebar. It took a few iterations to get it straightened out but I believe I understand the key components. He created a few other categories (Case Studies, Recent Clients, Vendors) accessible via the sidebar that I can populate using the blogging post model but I still need to sort out how he did that since I anticipate it will change.
I also want to drive a traditional blog model although I don’t want to use the index page for that. The categories he created will help archive the information but I don’t see/understand where the regular posts will be displayed. I need to talk to him about that as well as beginning the effort to publicize my business via Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It turns out that I rank #1 on Yahoo when you enter Rising Stream. I can only assume is due to the registration I submitted some months ago. I don’t show up at all on Google (I gave up after 15 pages) so I can only go up!
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By Steve on March 10, 2005
Rising Stream Associates is an organization focused on partnering with our clients to provide Sales and Marketing expertise on a project basis. Whether you are attempting to penetrate new markets, jump start your existing sales effort or you just need short term assistance, we have the experience you need to achieve these objectives.
Do you need to introduce a new product or service this year? Have you struggled with increasing sales to existing customers by identifying new services to offer them? Rising Stream Associates can help you identify, develop and deliver services that help differentiate your firm in a crowded marketplace. Improve your relationship with your customers by delivering solutions they need.
Are you losing too many sales to competitors? There are many factors to consider, from your teams ability to differentiate your products and services in the marketplace to your ability to deliver on the promises you make on a cost effective basis. Developing a consistent message and the processes associated with identifying a suspect, moving them through the sales cycle, and then delivering the solution can be a costly effort. Rising Stream Associates can help you increase the effectiveness of your staff while reducing the cost associated with capturing a new client.
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By Steve on March 9, 2005
Well, I’ve been struggling to get an email account set up using my new business domain and host. Actually, that part went pretty easily. It was getting the account set up in Outlook that was the real struggle. Fortunately once I went to the Dreamhost.com knowledgebase I discovered that my problem was tied to my SBC DSL account. Turns out that SBC no longer supports Port 25 for SMTP mail but by making a change to Port 587 in the Advanced set up tab, I am now able to send and receive my business domain mail via SBC.
I don’t know the issues associated with why SBC no longer supports Port 25. The reason we care as users is that unfortunately that is the default setting in Outlook. Based upon a posting from a Dreamhost.com customer who also works as a NetAdmin for one of the RBOC’s (think SBC, Verizon, etc.) the value equation is that Dreamhost.com is supporting an open standard in allowing me to use Port 587.
I’m a Microsoft Registered Partner and I have benefited greatly by being a stock holder as well as a user over the years. I’m also learning about open source this year by using BlogPress, MySQL and PHP for my other websites. Open Source 1, RBOC 0 is the score right now!
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By Steve on March 9, 2005
It’s hard for me to admit because I am a geek at heart and the primary PC/Internet resource for my family and small circle of friends but damn, this web stuff can get your head spinning in ways I have not experienced since differential equations I guess. I was going to say ‘since my first kiss’ but that’s the wrong side of the brain for this discussion at least.
March and it’s proverbial ‘in like a lion’ behaviour has been good for me. I’ve hired a young man to help me develop a professional website for my sales & marketing consulting business. He’s a very talented writer, a budding entrepreneur with an independent film theatre he & his wife are opening and an inveterate blogger. With his help I’m going to establish a website that has as it’s back end the open source WordPress blogging software. Thanks go out to my friend Bob who opened my eyes to the ability to use blogging as a content management tool. He uses Blogger for two soccer sites, for a local high school team as well as the middle school team that he also coaches. I’m using the hosting company he recommended as well, Dreamhost.com, and it’s turning out pretty well. There will be plenty more about that in future posts.
I’ve also got two additional domains that will be going up this year as well. The first will be a soccer video & photography production site, focused on prep and college soccer in the Ozarks region in Southwest Missouri. Right now I’m using a .Mac site but I should have that migrated before the fall season begins when my subscription expires. A link to that site is available in my profile.
The third site will be a genealogy site, focused on sharing the photos, videos, documents and stories I have been collecting on my family over the past decade. I’m a 2nd generation Scandinavian, born to a 1st generation Norwegian father and 1st generation Swedish mother. I visited Norway in March 2002 and met many of my father’s first cousins, as well as visiting the farm my grandfather left in 1907 to move to the US. My hope is to do the same thing in Sweden sometime in the next few years. My Mom’s grandfather came to the US in 1893 it appears while her father arrived in 1917, marrying my grandmother in 1925 in Minneapolis. Yah, dat’s right, I’m a Scandi…
So here’s my objective. First, I’m having a great time being a camera geek again and experimenting and learning more about photography and video and writing. As a sales & marketing consultant to technology firms, the internet and it’s myriad tools are only going to become more important. So this blog will become my journal and reference tool for learning how to incorporate my interests and share them via the internet. Hopefully my family will benefit, personally and in their careers, in the same way that I already have. If you have found this site and learned anything, or have something to share with me in my journey, I look forward to hearing from you. Skol!
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