Thursday, October 4, 2012

Day 1024

I lost another website account today. My soon to be former client went to a conference and was pitched by one of those companies that offer standardized, template driven websites geared to a specific industry at very low prices. I patiently tried to explain to my client that all those cheap bells and whistles would be of limited value if their competitors all had exactly the same website. This argument went in one ear and right out the other. Apparently, one of their competitors had actually recommended this web developer to them. They didn't care if their website looked exactly like 100 other websites. They just wanted the cheap bells and whistles.

Inexpensive template websites have become the bane of my existence. I still do everything from scratch, and just can't compete with this mass produced approach. I feel like one of those obscure auto companies who were hand-building cars in a garage right after Henry Ford invented the assembly line. I still have some really good customers who seem happy with my work, but the writing is on the wall. I get e-mail everyday from companies offering to re-design my own website for free. I get other e-mails offering to host the site for as little as $9.95 a month. It's becoming a commodity driven business and I'm becoming a dinosaur.

Maybe I ought to just stick to writing. I think the bloom is off the rose when it comes to comes to photography, video editing, and website design. It's become increasingly easy to do these things yourself. People still don't like to write, however. Hell, they don't even like to read anymore. I actually have more writing jobs than I did a few years ago. I guess there still isn't a convenient iPhone app that will do your writing and thinking for you.

Although I missed the political debates last night, I couldn't avoid seeing everything rehashed on the morning news shows today. The pundits were right. Obama was definitely off his game. The guy looked like he was sleepwalking through the entire debate. The debacle serves him right if you ask me. He's been spending way too much time partying with the likes of JZ and Beyonce.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day