"Blood, Sweat and Tears!!"
Blood, Sweat and Tears!! by jane
My first 'computer' was web tv. There are a lot of good features
on web tv. That's why I still have web tv today. I learned a lot
of the web 'lingo' and played every FREE lotto I could find. I
loved the different games that I found on the internet to play.
It was a whole new world. I did some research, collected jokes,
recipes and information on the stock market.
One day, totally by accident, I subscribed to an ezine that was
talking about making money on the internet I thought that was
only for programmers! I started subscribing to more ezines that
talked about internet marketing. I decided this was something I
wanted to do, but I knew I needed more knowledge. I found the
website: http:/ hirdage.com . WOW! This site really opened up a
lot of avenues for me. They offered FREE courses! I dug right
in. I was thrilled when I finished the first course, took a
final exam and got a certificate (which I considered a diploma),
that I could print out on my printer! I will never forget the
feeling of accomplishment and pride. I showed it to everyone
that came to visit. They probably could care less, but it was a
big deal to me. I still have that certificate today. It's framed
and hanging on my office wall. After I had a few courses under
my belt, I figured, 'I can do this!'. Boy, I really didn't know
what I was in for.
I had some software that came with my computer, so I decided to
get started building my first website. After a lot of attempts
and failures, I finally got a web site built that I was proud
of. It was exactly the way I wanted it.
Ok, that was done. Now I needed a domain name. I got that done
with no problem. Next I needed a host. I quickly found out that
I didn't need just any host, but a host that could and would
deal with a newbie. That was a tough one to solve. I went
through about five different hosts before I ended up with the
host I now have: http://linkopp.com I think sometimes he got
impatient with me at first, but soon learned that he was dealing
with a GENUINE newbie and I wasn't going to give up. He has
proved to be very patient and helpful, which is what I needed.
My host was a very busy man, so he assigned me a sponsor. That
way I could bug him. We communicated by email for a while, but
he saw quickly that I needed more help than email could give. He
asked me if I could call him. It just so happened that my
daughter had given me a three hour phone card as a gift, so I
said, 'sure, no problem.'. I was so excited! I couldn't hardly
wait for the day and time we had set-up for the phone
call....................
I was so excited!! The day had finally come! My site would be up
on the internet! Imagine! My own site!
I called my sponsor, Gary McLeod http://www.mack49.com , and he
worked with me to get the site uploaded. Since I had a three
hour phone card, I wasn't worried about the cost. I thought to
myself, 'Oh, we'll have time to get acquainted.'. Boy, was I
wrong ! We tried, and we tried, and we tried, to no avail ! We
would get the site uploaded and have two of everything ! That
certainly wouldn't do ! After three hours, yes three hours, the
phone cut us off. I immediately called him back. He decided that
it was the software I was using. I sent him the html and sure
enough, it wasn't right. Back to the drawing board !
You talk about discouraged ! I was ready to pack up this
computer and send it back to Gateway and go back to my 'safe'
web tv.
Now I had to start all over, after months of working and
struggling to build that web site just the way I wanted it.
I had heard so many good things about Front Page 2000, but
couldn't see investing $150 for the software, when I had already
paid $99 for the software I was using. This time I knew I was on
my own. No way could I afford another three hour phone call ! I
thought about it for a few days.
I read about netscape in an ezine. I thought, 'jane, how could
you be so dumb?' ! You can use netscape to build your website !
That was a joke! I have to compare Netscape to the directions
for putting together an item you just purchased. How many times
have I bought something that I had to put together ! The
directions are so 'easy', aren't they? You will be lucky if they
printed out the full directions. There are always 'fading'
letters, I call them, which leaves you trying to figure out what
those letters are so that you can put the item together.
Let's not even discuss the wizards ! As far as a newbie is
concerned, they might as well not be there! I didn't talk their
language and they didn't talk mine!
That didn't work. either ! What to do............... ...........
Well, I decided to go ahead and purchase Front Page 2000. Months
before, I had purchased Terry Dean's Busn. 2000 package, which
contained a video on how to use Front Page 2000 to build your
web pages. I have to say that I have found Front Page 2000 to be
the easiest piece of software I have used, once I got to know my
way around it. Between the video and the software, I managed to
get my website up and running. When I did the feedback forms for
my site, I would watch the video, pause it, work with the forms,
back to the video ........you get the picture. Anyway, I DID
IT!! It was time for me to upload my pages to my host's server.
With Front Page, this was a snap. Just click on publish web and
it was off and running. Once I got the pages published, I
couldn't wait to view my website! I typed my URL into the
browser and waited. Error page. I got an error page! What
happened? I uploaded the pages. Where were they? I immediately
emailed my sponsor. I told him that I had uploaded my pages, but
they weren't there! He emailed me back, all calm and cool, and
told me to go into my control panel and upload the index.htm. I
did this, although I was highly skeptical. I just knew that I
was going to have to begin all over again! But, guess what, It
worked!! I finally had my website up! All I could do was look at
it and cry!! I actually DID IT!!! (with a little help from my
friends).
I wrote this story about how I got my website up to encourage
all of you out there that are struggling with whatever:
1) NEVER give up!! 2) Read ezines--they help!! 3) Ask for help.
There are people out there that are willing to help you. 4) YOU
CAN DO IT!!!!
I still have a lot to learn about the world wide web, but I am
willing to learn and it will come in time, when I'm ready to
receive it. One thing I am learning is patience. Patience has
never been one of my strengths, but it's becoming one dealing
with the web. I am meeting a lot of great people and doing
something that I love to do along the way. The lasting
friendships, doing something I enjoy and yes, even the failures
and triumphs of learning are all worth the 'Blood, Sweat and
Tears'