Building a Web site in an Open Source Internet
As we get closer to launching the site, I wanted to share a bit about the road we’ve taken to get there and our ideas for building the site.
First of all, this project has, from the beginning, really been about building a product that will enable people to communicate more effectively and doing so by using the tools that are available via open source, rentacoder.com or by my limited programming knowledge. I’ve been building websites since 1994, but do not consider myself a programmer. I know enough to be dangerous and to make a real programmer shake their head in dismay. Never-the-less, I feel that in today’s Web space, we can build an online company using the open source tools that are currently available and not have to be a software engineer to do so. If we can launch a product that has enough appeal to our target audience, and it gains a small amount of mind share, we will have an opportunity to learn from our users; what tools and features do they want. Then, we can start down the path of custom development based on what our users want. Why should we build something we think “they” want, when we don’t really know. In an Ideal world I would like for our target audience to tell us what they want. So, that’s what we’re going to attempt to do.
Building a website/ company that will have the features and appeal that will nourish a Web community is no easy task. Especially if you don’t have a computer science degree and a Social Anthropology PHD (Danah Boyd. Well, I guess neither of those degrees actually make it easier but, I suppose they help somehow. As for making a successful community- based website, in my experience, the success actually is a result of the users and a lot of luck. Of course the right tools help, as well. I’m very grateful for open source tools such as Word Press, PHPList, Drupal, FireFox, Thunderbird, MYSQL and PHP. I was a co-founder of an e-commerce company that launched in 1999 and was built entirely on Microsoft products. We used GreatPlains and Onyx on the backend and spent a vast load of cash to build a site that was no better than what I could do today with open source software. That reminds me – anyone have any info on Apache’s Open for Business Project
Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be sharing just about every move we make in regard to creating an awesome website and company. We’re only a few weeks away from a public launch, so stay tuned and sign up to be notified when we do.
