Everyone these days is a web specialist, SEO fundi, PPC authorised individual and Blog advisor. And so was I.  Having taken the reign from David who was handling www.silverapple.co.za I took over his clients and continued to do web development work, SEO and PPC campaign management.  Website development is slightly harder than people expect.  Visually, graphics have to meet customer expectations. Technically, code has to perform functions that clients don’t understand or appreciate. SEO has to present. Timelines have to be met.  Ongoing changes don’t stop.  Far more work that what gets charged for. However, more lessons were learnt. By having an ear to the ground, one could try and handle the ever evolving digital space. Blogs, articles, digital magazines and forums provided a wealth of information about a particular subject.  Through dealing with customers, I learnt that communication is key. When they are asking questions, if you’re not answering, they’re losing faith. Also, to become a big success in this space, one needs a diverse team of specialists.

On a personal note. it’s never a good thing to let people you know a little bit about computers. Small favours lead into family and friends asking “You know I’ve always had this business idea.  It involves the web.  Could you just maybe…” Here’s a great depiction of why its better to pretend you know anything about online web SEO design computers.

I am however very excited about this space, and 2010 is bound to deliver some pretty cool solutions for business, personal and social advancement.  The key will be to have adoption within bigger organisations happen before the-next-big-thing arrives.  Not 100% sure I’d like to be a web design specialist though.  Here’s another great Oatmeal description of how most projects go when you’re doing a website development.