It’s been a while since my last post, and didn’t want you to think that I’ve been sitting around doing nothing, so I figured I would give you and update about what I’ve been working on.
IowaBeer.org. This is probably the project that I’m most proud of so far. IowaBeer.org is the Iowa Brewer’s Guild website, but we decided to brand it as “Iowa Beer” because this site is going to be more than just about the Guild. It will be a social hub for everything that the craft breweries in Iowa are doing and will allow us to reach out to Iowa’s Beer lovers. This site integrates a lot of social features like Disqus commenting, the IowaBeer Twitter feed, a forum, Facebook Connect, and a few other things I can’t remember now that I’m typing this post up so quickly. It’s really neat, so check it out.
Consulting. I have recently started working with a client developing a custom production management system for them. The nice part of this was that it was a referral client and not something I received through a recruiting company. I would much rather work directly with a client, not just because someone else isn’t taking a cut – I think that recruiting companies do a great service for consultants, and most of the time they earn their cut – but because I get to manage the relationship from start to finish. I cannot stress how terrific this client is. It is truly an anomaly when you find a client willing to go the proper development route, rather than being completely concerned about cost. BUSINESS OWNERS: find someone you can trust and let them do it right the first time! It will save you money in the long run!
Sheer Focus Inc.’s Website. I did launch my company’s website: sheerfocus.com. This is really just a landing page for anyone that gets my business card or that I mention my business to. It has the basics of what the company does. Honestly, I don’t expect many people to be searching for a consultancy and find my company (yet). I have a few plans for getting some specific traffic about a specific niche I specialize in that I think Des Moines local searching could benefit from having me optimize for.
8035.me and 80-35.com. These two sites are for the 80/35 Music Festival that takes place this year on July 3rd and 4th in Downtown Des Moines. My good friend Andy Brudtkuhl at 48Web created the 8035.me site and I helped with the data pumping that aggregates the news and blog sources, and have since been admin’ing the site (making changes to layout, etc.). 80-35.com is a pro bono site that I fully developed (not the graphics – that was done by another DMMC volunteer).
So there you go. Me = Busy. And that is a GREAT thing!
