Web Solutions

The web is a very empowering thing. The consumer just needs to go to their favorite search engine, pop in what they are looking for and voila! Near instant gratification. They can find product info, directions to the store, recommendations…

For those trying to get their message or product out, however, it can be a real mine field. I can’t tell you how many frustrated business owners I’ve met over the years. Developers that over charge, don’t deliver, don’t update, and, perhaps worst of all, hold your data hostage.

The good new is the web is maturing to the point that there are design patterns developing. This allows forward thinking individuals or groups to develop software that empower those who want to get their product or message to the masses. WordPress is a good example of this. It is a community developed and supported open source program that is to quickly install, configure and maintain, It is a user friendly way to blog, manage content or sell on line.

This is my business philosophy:

• Get as close to flat cost as possible… create a menu for standard items and manage customizations.
• Empower the customer to manage their site on their own. Do not hold their data hostage.
• Use open source, community supported software to ensure that the customer can find support readily if they unhappy with our service.

More organizations should be able to have better resources available to their consumers for a more rearsonable and predicable price.

Jimbus

Jim Babcock, aka Jimbus, is.. in no particular order… a husband, father of five, self professed geek, Christian, left-leaning centrist. I try to be active in my community through things like Royal Rangers and Knights of Columbus, but with the overwhelming need out there, I often wonder if I contribute enough.

Being a bit of a Unix geek, I’ve always been a fan of free and open source software. Through my involvement in Royal Rangers, I discovered the joys of WordPress and thought that there might be a market to support a small business, spend more time with my family and let me give back to the community and church.

I attended Youngstown State University until my senor year when I allowed myself to be lured away by the promises of a start up during the tech bubble. Web applications, work flow and document management have been a large part of my repertoire.

• The YSU ACM student group, that I helped lead, brought the university it’s first web site. We prgrammed, demoed and lobbied to bring real time information to the students and faculty while most of the web was showing the same handful of static documents.
• I left YSU to join Auxilium, a start up specializing in integrating disparate legacy, database and engineering data sources into user friendly, web-based work flows. The product we built, Info-Engine, used tag-based HTML extensions to facilitate rapid developement and ease maintenance similar to JavaBeans and JSP many years later.
• At Dobson Cellular, where I was in charge of wireless data machines, I built quite a large data mining, reporting and document management suite that supported five engineering groups. When we were assimilated by the Borg (bought by AT&T), I was payed a nice compliment by the group taking over my responsibilities. They asked who the vendor was for our software suite. When I told them it was home grown, they wanted to know how big my staff was… um, it’s just me.