Help me brainstorm

[lumpkin]

Before I had kids I worked in marketing doing layouts and desktop publishing. I enjoyed it sooo much. Well in the past 10 years a lot has changed and everything is on the internet. So in preparation for my next career I''m teaching myself HTML and web developing. I need to put together a portfolio and one thing I want to do is set up a web page. I just don''t know what subject matter to use.

I''m looking for a topic that hasn''t been done to death already and would be interesting to learn about on the web. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[ringster]

congrats on an exciting project! i would suggest that you think about subjects that interest you. what are your hobbies? what types of magazines, online articles do you tend to read? what are you passionate about?

ETA: or what have you always been curious about? wanted to know more about? i think choosing something that you have an actual interest is usually the best way to go. it shows in your work that you are personally invested in the project.

 

[lumpkin]

Ringster, I have a couple of ideas, but I don''t know. Here are my ideas (strictly in the brainstorm phase, not well thought out yet):

US Elections 101 ( I''m surprised at how many people don''t understand the electoral college, primaries, caucuses, etc.), how poles are done, who does them, how campaign contributions are obtained, and all kinds of other good stuff that might not be covered by "official" sites.

Handbags with an emphasis on history, designers/knockoffs, how to select, etc. (just because it''s fun and I don''t already know much about it, so it would be fun on several levels), and the Ebay handbag resale phenomonon.

Or, but I''m concerned about privacy and how to protect it, my son''s artwork. He is a very good artist and at six he has over 200 works in Paint on the computer. They are very elaborate and the use of color and action is very interesting. But I''m not an art expert, so I''m not sure I''m qualified to "comment" on his work. I''m still mulling that one over. It could serve as a double use because I''m thinking of making a portfolio for him so we could maybe get him into art workshops for children later on. Perhaps I could have an on line "art gallery" of children''s work and possibly art works intended for children.

 

[ringster]

those all sound really interesting - esp for me the first one. i think the timing is great for that - you would get alot of interest and i know that i have wondered alot about the whole delegate vs % of popular vote thing.

i think now that you have some great ideas you should think about what you want to achieve in terms of your project - list out actual things that you can measure. and investigate each idea and see how each would or would not get you to your goals.

sounds soo interesting!! love a new project!

 

[eks6426]

How about doing volunteer work for some small businesses that need websites? Then you would have a "live" client to work with and someone who could give you a recommendation in your portfolio. I''m sure it wouldn''t be too hard to find small businesses that need websites set up.

 

[lumpkin]

Thanks Ringster.

Island, that''s a great idea. I did consider that I would have to do some "freebies" and I don''t mind at all. I''m a little at a loss for how to get in touch with the small businesses. I know a few people who have small businesses, but they already have websites. I guess I''ll just put the word out with other moms at school. I wonder if it would be okay to put one up for our PTA because what we have doesn''t stay current.

 

[ringster]

i agree that is a great idea that island suggested. my friend did this - he volunteered for a local art gallery where he liked to go to. he had become friends with the owners and volunteered his services when he was trying to hone his website skills. he didn''t do it for work, he just did it as a hobby.

maybe find a place that you wouldn''t mind getting some nice freebies from.

 

[lumpkin]

Oooooo, that''s a good idea! There''s a little accessories shop that I love. It''s in a terrible location and I don''t know how they stay open, but maybe it''s because they have such great things. I''ll bet anything they would love someone to volunteer to do a website for them.

See, that''s why I asked you guys.

Some little suggestion like "where you wouldn''t mind getting some freebies" sparked a whole new line of thought.

 

[zoebartlett]

Lumpkin, what a great idea! I love hearing others'' input as well. I have to admit, I''m one of those people who don''t understand the ellectoral college or how caucuses work. I''d love to learn though and if you developed a website, I''d be sure to check it out.

Along the lines of sharing artists'' work, what about helping a budding professional photographer get a website up and running? You''d be able to work with other very creative people, I''m sure.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Ahhh...gee...let me think...what would it be....hmmm....ah...welll...carbon deposits can be fun to read about.

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 2/7/2008 6:36:06 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Lumpkin, what a great idea! I love hearing others'' input as well. I have to admit, I''m one of those people who don''t understand the ellectoral college or how caucuses work. I''d love to learn though and if you developed a website, I''d be sure to check it out.

Along the lines of sharing artists'' work, what about helping a budding professional photographer get a website up and running? You''d be able to work with other very creative people, I''m sure.

I THINK I understand them, but to be honest, I''d do a whole lot of research before posting anything. And it sort of gets into intellectual property and how do I credit the information back to the source. I''ll have to do research on that too, where if I just do something for a small business I''d get all the content from them. I like the idea of helping a budding photographer. I have an artist friend I''m going to talk to as well.

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 2/7/2008 6:41:29 PM
Author: door knob solitaire
Ahhh...gee...let me think...what would it be....hmmm....ah...welll...carbon deposits can be fun to read about.

Oh, yeah! I''d love to. That was my first thought, but there''s no way I could even touch the job PS has done. I think I''ll leave that subject to the experts because I surely wouldn''t do nearly as good a job.

 

[eks6426]

Lumpkin,

I don't know where you live but most areas have a local SCORE or Small Business help type program. You could get in touch with them. I'm sure they would know of some businesses that could use help getting off the ground with website design. Another option would be your local chamber of commerce.

Link to Score:


http://www.score.org/index.html

My husband and I actually recently started a new small business and I would be thrilled for an offer of a free website design so I'm sure you'll find some takers.

 

[lumpkin]

Thank you, Island. You are a sweetie! What kind of business did you open (or do you want to say)?

 

[eks6426]

We actually decided to start selling Mona Vie. Mona Vie is a nutritional drink that features the acai berry. It's been on Rachel Ray and a lot of other shows lately. It's sold through network marketing which didn't initially thrill me (my parents did Amway when I was growing up). We started around Thanksgiving and are making pretty decent money for the time we have put into it. We decided to try it because it is low cost to start and you only have to buy what you will personally use (not a garage full of stuff.)

The sort of website I want isn't one featuring the product, but one that will generate leads and have a automatic email system that sends people information several time over a period of weeks.

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 2/8/2008 3:07:58 PM
Author: IslandDreams
We actually decided to start selling Mona Vie. Mona Vie is a nutritional drink that features the acai berry. It's been on Rachel Ray and a lot of other shows lately. It's sold through network marketing which didn't initially thrill me (my parents did Amway when I was growing up). We started around Thanksgiving and are making pretty decent money for the time we have put into it. We decided to try it because it is low cost to start and you only have to buy what you will personally use (not a garage full of stuff.)

The sort of website I want isn't one featuring the product, but one that will generate leads and have a automatic email system that sends people information several time over a period of weeks.

I have NO idea how to do that. I have a lot to learn.

My DH wants me to go ahead and buy the Adobe CS3 Creative Suite. I figure I need to learn that anyway, and it might make it possible to get an entry level part time gig, which would be great during the school year.

Thanks again for all your feedback. You three have given me a lot to think about.