Re: ISP needs Flash site,-chance for exposure

[Wayne Townsend]

Hi David,


>When it comes to the people who need food in their mouth and shoes on their

>feet,  this philosophy holds no falsehood, but when it comes to an ISP and

>free "cutting" edge I think dont think so.


When I stated that position, I didn't expect it to be popular with the

majority, but fortunately the list allows opposing viewpoints.  ;)


>Can we get back to the "real" world now?


In the "real" world, it happens all the time, and also in many different

media types.  Has for years.  It's a gamble that sometimes pays off.  That

*is* the reality.


All designers have the right to charge whatever they want to, whether

top-rate or nothing.  Sorry, but there is really no way to price-fix in a

competitive industry like this, through a "guild" or any other way.


Some designers are new (learning), with no commercial accounts, and need an

active portfolio.  Without one, you aren't going to get very far.  This is

why it happens.

Also, even to an employed professional, sometimes the client merits it and

sometimes it makes marketing sense.


I'm not sure of the merits of this ISP, but if they are of any decent size,

this project could be worth a lot of advertising to the right person, and

this generates new business for them.  It would seem to me, that if you

were ever going to do pro-bono work, front-page at an ISP would be a good

choice.  In fact, if our ISP decides that they want a Flashed homepage, I'd

probably do it for them in a heart-beat.


Here's a personal example of when I would do a pro-bono flash site:

I know a multi-media studio in Santa Cruz Ca. that is really hurting.  Long

story short, the owner died and relatives raided equipment, etc.  The

people that are left are really struggling.


But their work is *fabulous*.  I'm a big fan.  They produced a multi-media

CD "The Power of Touch" that is truly one of the best pieces of work I've

ever seen.  But they don't have money anymore to market it, and are stuck

in a rut that I believe effective use of Flash and the web could help pull

them out of.


I told them that I will convert this CD from SuperCard & Toolbook to Flash

and RealVideo for presentation on the web as a "Free" web-application.  The

idea being that by turning this CD into a free web app, new business will

be generated for the studio.  That is what they really need, over more

sales of the remaining CD inventory.  They saw the wisdom of leveraging

their best work in order to generate new business for the studio. They

cannot afford us at this time (or anybody else), so I will comp them the

work, and the server space.  Not because I'm a nice guy with time on my

hands; this is proactive marketing, something that many designers do not

understand.


I see a new market, enabled by Flash. I believe that there are a lot of

great existing CD titles out there that are not selling well for various

reasons, but would convert well to the web using Flash, RealPlayer, and

Quicktime/QTVR technologies.  This project will help me prove that, and

will make a terrific addition to our portfolio, and get us special

recognition that we can't afford to buy outright.

If this works, then we (and other Flash developers) can go to other

multi-media CD authors and negotiate paying projects, pointing to this one

as an example.  Flash and the web can breath new life into older CD titles,

and I'm convinced there is money to be made in this.


Why should other designers object to those who do pro-bono work once in a

while?  It doesn't affect their bottom line at all.


So, before people object to the original post too strongly, think for a

minute how beneficial it would be for Flash if all of us wrote a homepage

for our own personal ISPs?  The ISP is the first point of contact for most

clients.  Acceptance of Flash technology is the most important key to *our*

future.

Sometimes you have to give before you can get.  "Build it and they will come."


Many successful designers are *always working*, whether they are charging

top-dollar to the wealthy clients or next-to-nothing to the poor ones.  Or

just doing something because they feel like it, or have an idea they want

to try, and need a client to try it out on.

Sitting idle *at any time* is the real waste, IMHO.


Why do smart guys like John spend valuable time putting tutorial pages and

developer directories, etc. on the web?  To promote the technology for the

benefit of all of us.  Nobody's paying them to do it, are they?  But I

don't see any of us objecting to that.


ATB,


/wayne


Wayne Townsend

WebStaffing.Net, Dallas, TX. USA

waynetTopher [dot] Net (mailto:waynetTopher [dot] Net)

wayneWebStaffing [dot] Net (mailto:wayneWebStaffing [dot] Net)

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