Last month was pretty busy for this fledgling enterprise.

First, we got the amazing opportunity to apply for the Knight News Challenge. From writing the proposals to currently waiting for the decisions, it was fun to go through the process of trying to come up with solutions to further the accessibility of news and information. It was a honor to future tense about how radio can play a significant role in assisting communities gather and distribute news that’s relevant to them.

Second, this company had an opportunity to apply for an opportunity we can’t discuss yet. Suffice it to say that if this firm is granted the opportunity to partner with this entity, we feel that the public will be well served by the combined talents that will be on display. When – and if – this process is complete, we will sketch out the details a little clearer for all. For the moment, we can safely say that we’re excited to be considered and have very high hopes that we will get this opportunity.

So where to now?

Well, if memory serves us correctly, we were about to begin the public redesigning of this site. Step by step, and lesson by lesson, this site is going to give you a inside look at how we will arrive to our final destination – redesign a company site with open source tools. The tools we will be using are free and available to anyone who chooses to use them. You don’t need special software. Nor do you need a lot of web design experience. You simply need a idea, a purpose and a little elbow grease.

For your first lesson, we would like you to come up with an idea. However, along with the idea, you need to know and understand what your take is on that idea. For instance, if you chose the topic of baseball, what would be your perspective? Would you tackle batting averages? How about tracking your favorite player from their rookie season to now? The key to this lesson is for you to know what your niche is. Or where is it are you coming from?

The suggested path you should take to begin this task is to brainstorm and write down initial thoughts. Come up with ideas and concepts you feel passionate about? Think about what you’re really interested in and not how much money is in a particular field. If you think more about what you really want to talk about – and not about what everyone else is saying – you’ll find that the opportunities for compensation follows.

So for this lesson one, start with these two things…

1. List your favorite subjects? What are the topics you gravitate to? What do you want to learn more about?
2. In a brief paragraph, what is your perspectives on those topics you want to talk about? What is your take on your subject?

Don’t pressure yourself to mind numbing paralysis. Just think and write about the concepts you like to discuss with your family and friends. Describe your passions and your perspective of those passions. The most important thing is for you to be yourself at this point. Think more about personality and less about potential profit.

Next lesson – Drilling down to the core issues.

Thanks for stopping by and see you very soon.

The other day someone – someone who has a much bigger presence than I in this Internet thing – wanted to know where was my logo. Where was my visual reference point?

Soon, I explained I had one and that I intended to “bring it out” when I had the opportunity. However, after some careful reflection, I simply think that all a logo serves to do is mask you – the seller, reporter, or what-have-you – anonymously behind a clever mark. It covers a person personally from being out front and responsible for what they provide as service and/or information. It’s like the shy guy who sends anonymous love notes to the prettiest girl in the classroom. It’s nice sentiment without personality.

Do I have a logo?

Yes, I do. I use it sparingly.

But that’s not really the issue.

The issue is that your logo – while important – should not be the dominant face of your company. As clever as you want to be with wild colors and interesting fonts, just remember that it’s you that people ultimately are paying for. They are paying you for your talent, your voice, your point of view and your mind. As the old adage goes, people don’t buy from websites, people buy from people.

So be more concerned with your product. Please be more concerned providing great customer service.

Most of all, please be more concerned with with the human elements of relating with people who are looking to you to solve their problems.

I promise I will get into more site development next week.

This is a response to a Twitter #blogchat I had the privilege to be involved in recently. It’s a simple question.

Which view has more power?

Baby.

Or…

Baby.

Or…

What’s your pick?

The tools needed to do each is available – right this second – to everyone.

So again…

What’s your pick?

You need to be able to tell people where you are coming from.

Who am I?

Who do I want to be when I grow up?

Should I Twitter about it?

Those are all good questions. Questions that a lot of people face when they first start out digitally. However, here’s the most important question…

What’s your point?

That very question – and how you choose to answer it – is going to be the difference between you getting ten thousand fans or ten fans.

Sports talk host Jim Rome calls it the “take” on a sports topic. Many others call it “drilling down” a niche. Everybody simply says, “So what’s your point?”.

Understanding and knowing where you are coming – before you start talking and connecting away – will make or break you before you start. You need to know where you are going with all this before you get in and drive down the digital road. It’s not enough to just talk. You have to know what you are talking about.

So again, what’s your point?

In the land of web development and management, it’s usually preferred that you build your online monument in private. After which, you email/Twitter/Facebook friends and strangers to death that you finally exists where they have been since 2002. I usually do this with all of my sites as well. However, in commemoration of changing the company name and a new era of virtual Perestroika, I’ve decided to do something a little different.

For the next few weeks, I’m going to show how I put together my company website from start to finish. I’ll happily give you the basics to follow in this somewhat challenging endeavor. It’s all free and will only cost you a little time to see what’s up.

I’ll show you my toolbox, how I use the toolbox to full effect and a few ways to get what you need if you don’t have toolbox.

So where do I start?

Stay tuned.

As always with me, you can find me – (at)kdwilliams – on Twitter.