Just wanted to post the follow-up to the previous Garden Gnome post. It’s all hooked up and working. Glazes didn’t turn out quite like I wanted but in the end I’m pretty satisfied. And yes – he has a big head – he’s a caricature…

Today I finished up the top piece of my garden gnome. Now I just have to wait for it to dry and and then fire and glaze.

Sadly, two ladies in the class asked if I was doing a self portrait – either I really need to shave (probably do) or I’m a lot more gnomish than I realized.

Hopefully in two weeks I’ll have this Garden Gnome pumping water into my pond.

This winter I started taking a Saturday ceramics class. Yes, I realize ceramics class sounds a tad quaint, but it’s been great to get into working directly with clay, modeling, sculpting and bringing stuff to life. Sometimes there’s a feeling when everything  you create is pixel based, that if electronic media ceased to exist, you’d have a huge chunk of your life without any substantive material to vouch for your efforts.

Here are some photos of my first ceramic piece. And I’m in the process of working on a Garden Gnome water fountain – a project I’ve been wanting to do for the longest time. Hope to have this finished in the next week or so.

I also hope to be posting more regularly to this blog as I work toward doing a full redesign. Once a year is just not acceptable.

Designing for change on the web requires an understanding of where the web is today, where its been, and where it will be tomorrow. The life of a web site does not end at “Go Live.” In fact, that’s just the beginning. And unlike it’s counterpart – print media – it must grow and change to remain effective.

Web Presence Management goes beyond the surface design of a web site. Web Presence Management takes the approach of looking first at your goals, and then finding the right mix of on-line media that will aid in meeting those goals. Your web presence could be a mix of something as basic as informational web pages optimized for search, to a professional industry blog, from video presentations, training tools, white papers, PDF data sheets, information request forms or community forums. Add to this mix e-commerce options, ties to brick and mortar branding and you start to see the importance of having a plan that grows and changes.

Keep in mind – you can’t do it all. Budget, resources, and time damper the most ambitious plans. What you should aim for in developing your web mix, is finding what works with your specific customers. Trial and error will help determine what web options will work and those that will fail. Encourage customers to become involved in the early stages of these media trials. Experiment. In the end, the greatest failure is to think that you can design the perfect site, and after launch, sit back and take a vacation.