Hook, Line and Thinker

Issue 1

Welcome to the first issue of TroutDream's Hook, Line & Thinker newsletter.

Recently, I spent a little time looking back over my career. I built my first commercial website in April, 1994. I had been doing design and layout for a women's magazine and the publishers wanted to try putting the magazine on the new-fangled Web. I dove into the project headfirst and never looked back. That first site went live a full nine months before the release of Netscape 1.0!

So, I thought, it may just barely be possible that I've learned a thing or two worth sharing along the way. Not just the sorts of things you might read in how-to books or online tutorials (though there may be some of that in the months to come), but learned from hands-on, in-the-trenches experience building websites and working with business people to help them not only build a website, but understand how to make a site work within the larger context of their business.

This monthly newsletter will be short. I'm busy. You're busy. If I can't make my point in 500 words or less, I'll save it for my novel. There will be a short article each month on a topic of interest to business people who want to make sure their websites serve their business goals.

I also would like to answer your questions. If there's some aspect of the web you'd like the short explanation of, drop me a line. If I don't know the answer, I'll find out. Your questions will be featured in future editions of the newsletter.

For starters, here are links to two recent articles that may be of interest:

The TroutDream Prophecy - In the rain forests of Washington, an ancient manuscript has been discovered. Within its pages are the nine key insights into website development itself - insights each business owner is predicted to grasp sequentially, one insight then another, as we move towards quality sites on the Web.

Designing Web-based Applications that Work - Software companies are jumping on the bandwagon to deliver their software online. A serious lack of understanding about designing and implementing web-based applications is hampering usability.

You will find other articles and past issues of this newsletter here.

Thanks! And don't worry, I won't serialize my novel here unless it's about web design. Hmmm...