Thirteen Years In The Internet Industry
This year I am celebrating 13 years in the Internet Industry. I can hardly believe that I’ve been building online experiences for 13 years! So much has changed since 1996… the “information superhighway” was young and untested. In fact, most businesses that I dealt with back then saw no real value in the Internet. It was a toy. Kind of like blogs were a few years ago, or twitter was a few months ago. Now everyone’s onboard, and there seems to be this frenzy to find the next big thing — to spot business value in the “toys” before anyone else does.
After 13 years of writing code, I often find myself burned out. I find it especially difficult to write one more line of code when I realize that 99% of what I wrote 13 years ago doesn’t exist anymore. The Internet is such a fleeting, instantaneous place. One millisecond you’re hot, and the next you’re not. So, to encourage myself and to celebrate, here are a few of my favorite, worthwhile projects from the past thirteen years and the lessons I learned from each:
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United Way’s ENCompass Project (1998-2001)
Designed to house information on all Northwestern Illinois non-profits to provide a unified service experience for constituents. The system was originally a joint project with Orlando, Florida-based Human Resource Technologies and Northwestern, Illinois-based InterClay Software (my employer at the time). Lesson learned: non-profit projects are rewarding when people work together to build something great
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Milio’s Sandwiches (2000-Current)
Designed to provide online sandwich orders. Yes, we took online sandwich orders in 2000. In 2008, Milio’s did nearly $1 million in online orders despite the fact that there are no Internet connections in-store. This was a joint project between Rippe-Keane Marketing and e-Media Resources. Lesson learned: there are always solutions, even to the most challenging problems
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OshKosh B’Gosh E-Commerce Site & Corporate Intranet (2000-2005)
Designed to offer all of the famous OshKosh kids clothing online. The project was a huge success from a design standpoint, but the web application platform based on IBM WebSphere failed. I worked for e-Media Resources & The Gunter Agency at the time. We were in charge of the online experience — the design side of things. Lesson learned: design is always worth the investment. design is not just graphic designers. it’s for every project stakeholder - managers, developers, CEOs, customer service reps, etc..
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Firestone Tires E-Learning (2007)
Designed to offer all of the Firestone Tire Center employees comprehensive customer service training. This was an e-Media Resources / Gunter Agency project. Lesson learned: take on projects that are new territory, learn constantly -
Sun Prairie Today Online Newspaper (2004-2008)
Designed to allow journalists and the community at large in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin to post photos and stories easily. The site run by Paul & Teresa Bauman, was a huge success. Lesson learned: write amazing software designed for people instead of developers. even non-technical people can easily update a web site with only 20 minutes of training. -
BankingMyWay.com (2007)
Designed to allow people to search for bank rates simply. The site was an e-Media Resources project. Lesson learned: teamwork is the more than the sum of it’s parts
Love what you do. Learn constantly. Give back. Here’s to another enjoyable and unforgettable Thirteen Years!
~ Collin Schneider, Founder / Systems Designer
1 year ago
