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I hate exclamation points! In the last four days, I must have edited out 50 from copy for our new Web site. They've actually become a
battle zone between me and my operations manager, Andy. I write copy. Andy, a career salesman, reads it and throws in a liberal dose of that
overused denoter of enthusiasm. I cut them out again. Etc.
Mapping out and writing a site from scratch is a sure cure for a swelled entrepreneurial head. We started the facelift last Saturday and
worked through the weekend and on into the week. Since our technology partners, Invision.com, are building the site as a service to us, we
agreed to work at an inhuman pace -- and provide emergency pizza for the crew. These guys have thrown up sites overnight. I honestly don't
see how they keep their sanity.
I had already planned the site weeks before. Little did I know that the map I so confidently drew and tested repeatedly in my head would
need at least 10 revisions. By Monday night, I had a complete brain breakdown trying to keep links straight as Thomas, the programmer,
uncovered obstacle after obstacle to my original plan.
TOO CLOSE. Explaining how your business works to a programmer and graphic artist truly tests your nerves. No one knows your
business better than you do -- but that's the problem. You're too close to it.
Thomas tried to be helpful in his way. "Here is what you both have been waiting for...the first look at what will be your new
site...Yippy!! ...," he e-mailed me enthusiastically. "I currently only have the mass approval system working, which will allow you to
approve a group of people at once...I have a very cool idea for this...but I can't tell you it now...and when all the excitement of those
areas has worn off...go to this other area and log in." Right.
We spent two days on the Internet just looking for a photo for the homepage. We must have reviewed a thousand before buying one for $19.95
on a digital-image site. Our profligacy stunned the graphics person: "Most people don't want to spend the money," she exclaimed.
I SURRENDER. The most awesome task was getting the words right. Lack of input wasn't the problem. Processing it was. "Please,
everyone shut up," I said at one meeting, waving my arms over my head like someone surrendering in a field of fire. I just couldn't keep up
with the blast of suggestions. I'm still not happy with what we came up with, but it will have to do for now.
Adding to the insanity, I was slated for jury duty on Tuesday, so I crammed in as much as possible Sunday and Monday. On Monday afternoon
-- as I was changing the navigation buttons for the 12th time -- a woman called to tell me I was off the hook. Case settled. Momentarily
forgetting my sense of civic duty, I let out a huge whoop and told her that was the best news I ever heard. "I'm glad I was able to make your
day," she replied.
The next test is allowing some disinterested parties to navigate the site and tell us what they think. That's the best way to catch any
egregious problems. It may open a can of worms, though. If they come up with a long list of criticisms and suggestions, I'll thank them and
live with the flaws. I can't go through this again. Not anytime soon.
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George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in
temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work.
His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at
george@staffwriters.com.
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