Portland Internet industry (was Re: [PLUG] Names Dropped from the Consultants' List)

[Patrick Beart]

At 1:25 PM -0700 10/5/02, Russ Gilman-Hunt wrote:
>
>Geoff Burling wrote:
>
>>While trying to resolve some layout problems with the website
>>(which looks like is caused by some clever programming -- ugh,
>>clever programming will be the downfall of all software), I
>>tested some links to consultants who support Linux & found the
>>following lead to dead websites:
>>
>>Cowboyz.com -- www.cowboyz.com
>>
>>JHCC -- www.jhenshaw.com
>>
>>(All of the other consultant links prove to lead to working
>>websites.)
>>
>>Does anyone know if these companies have moved their websites or
>>are they victims of the High Tech slump & busy at, er, alternate
>>projects to pay the rent?


>cowboyz.com is, for all intents and purposes, pushing up posies.
>russ gilman-hunt
>ex-cowboy
>


	I've been wanting to chime in on this kind of topic for 
awhile, now. So, please forgive the personal 
rant/musing/prognostications, but ...


	Web Development is DEAD, particularly in Portland. Business 
tends to have lousy Web sites. Too many "young turks" (names 
withheld, to avoid potential lawsuits) and opportunists that "took 
the money and ran" with no thought to proper construction or 
"Information Architecture" on the sites that they butchered.
	Business - particularly small business, which makes up nearly 
all of Oregon's offerings in this area - only cares that they HAVE a 
site, not how effective it is, how attractive and engaging it is, or 
how easy it is to navigate. I wrote an article about proper Web site 
design for ComputerBits magazine in November of 2000, and nearly all 
of that article is still applicable, today.

	With the IT crash about 2 years ago, nothing is going on in 
Web development - except falling salaries. What was paying decent 
money 2 years ago is now a secretarial position! Salaries are LESS 
THAN HALF (!!) of what they were in early 2000. With a Bachelor's 
degree in computer science and at least one major programming 
language (e.g. C, C++, Java, etc.) you MIGHT be able to get 40K a 
year ... maybe.
	My new motto is: "Friends don't let friends do Web development."


	Web site hosting is equally dead. With large NOC's like 
Exodus filing for bankruptcy, there is a tremendous GLUT of hardware, 
so hosting prices have fallen like a lead balloon. The hardware and 
infrastructure can't dissolve like wet toilet paper, so the companies 
that own it (or purchase at a deep discount) have to find a way to 
make their investment payoff.
	Whereas business Web site hosting used to command between $50 
and $100/month, it's now at $7.95!  ... That's right, you can now 
host a commercial Web site for about 1/3 of the cost of dialup - and 
get all of the "bells-n-whistles" (e.g. unlimited bandwidth, 
unlimited POP accounts, custom CGI, etc.)

	Programming is going overseas at a fast clip. U.S. 
programmers are about as "in demand" as stale potato chips. Most 
large-scale programming is going to India, Pakistan, or the former 
Soviet republics.

	There is some optimism about computer security positions as a 
growth market, but industry speculators aren't projecting this market 
to open up for about 18 months.

	http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,547669,00.asp

	My contact at the Portland Business Journal claims that she's 
having to work 10 times harder to get new advertising business, and 
is having trouble paying her bills as a result (she's obviously on 
commission).

	I think that it's very ironic that sales of computers 
continues to grow. MS viruses (and now Linux "Slapper") continue to 
proliferate at an alarming rate. However, no one seems to care about 
QUALITY or SECURITY in all but a few business sectors. Even the 
Oregon State Human Services department prefers to avoid spending any 
money on securing their (mostly Microsoft) system and ADMITS that the 
thing is WIDE OPEN.

	I keep wondering what it's going to take to wake these people 
up? ... some kind of high-tech "9/11" experience???

	:-(





Patrick Beart

-- 
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Web Architecture  &  "iWeb4Biz"         503-774-8280       Portland, OR
Internet Consulting, Intelligent Web site Development & Secure site Hosting.
http://www.WebArchitecture.com/

"This is an era when nonsense has become acceptable and sanity is 
controversial."
                                      - Thomas Sowell
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