Cha cha cha changes
By FlyBoyJon | June 20, 2009
You may have noticed, some things have… shifted a little. The basics of the site are the same. The over all concept of this site being about adventure is still the same, now it’s just a little more personal to me. It is my adventure, in life. I know what you’re thinking “Great… he is having a mid-life crisis and is going nuts.” well… maybe a little.
The truth of it is, I am getting close to that “middle age”, whatever that really is, and there are a lot of things I want to do, things I want to learn, adventures I want to have. Right about now you are probably thinking “I… I… I… this jerk is a bit self absorbed.” again… maybe a little. The mundane world has been relentless in keeping me busy with things I am not all that interested in. Big surprise, most of us are “stuck” doing things we don’t like doing, it’s called being a grown-up. I know this, but I don’t like it or agree with it.
I have been very lucky in life over all. Sure, there have been times less than steller, but that’s not the point. When it comes to the important things in life, love and family, I am tremendously blessed. The gift of an over active brainstorming lobe is also some thing I was blessed with. This means I always have at least six projects developing in my head. They are usually related in some form and the planning that goes on in the gray matter is not fleeting, it is quite developed by the time it reaches paper. The down side to all of this is the plans are usually ready for active implementation right away, and requires the funding to make it all come together.
As an exercise, a bunch of projects have been scaled back and I am taking a more “focused” approach to things. All of my projects are still in the works and some new ones are hitting the books too. So what does all of this mean? Hopefully, it will mean more posts about projects that are actively moving forward. I am still in the re-evaluation process but things are shaping up.
The first active project moving forward is Grave Mistake, a Thrill The World 2009 event I am co-organizing. I hope to see you there.
Topics: Development | No Comments »
The Wheels Are Turning
By FlyBoyJon | May 16, 2009
Things have been quiet on the website as of late while I work behind the scenes to get everything moving forward and upward. As you might guess, airplanes run on money, not just AvGas. The prospects for FBJ have been growing steadily, with long term planning. Aviation projects are like airfoils, the more money you have the more the airfoil resembles that streamlined, aerodynamically slippery object that cuts through the air and develops lifting force with great efficiency. Right now we have a brick, though a brick will fly quite far with enough thrust, it is not really designed for flight. I am providing as much thrust as possible.
So here we are, The Plan, is to keep moving forward on the adventures, keep moving forward on the plans to build a WWI Fighter replica, and continue to develop the behind the scenes infrastructure that will keep us going into the future. I think at this juncture a little organizational transparency is in order, FBJ at present is me, just me. I have been talking to others about getting involved with me on the front lines and have gotten some positive responses, nothing I can post just yet. And no, Burt Rutan is not joining up with FBJ. I will be creating some static information pages here on the site including a Crew page soon.
Our first operational year budget is $250K, to begin that year we need $150K in the bank and commitments for another $50K. We can float the last $50K on potential commercial sponsorships. This first year will be the toughest to get funded, I believe we can meet our subsequent annual budget with sponsorships and media revenue. So I need six to ten of you with 25 grand burning a hole in your pocket to email me today. Well, if you don’t ask…
As you can see, we need sponsors to get things moving in a vertical direction. I am out beating the brush looking for private and commercial sponsors. The hurdle for most is in handing over money to a new entity, particularly in the current economic environment. In the months to come I will be working to reduce concern about this element by getting the media wheels turning and getting some product posted. This should help alleviate some of the trepidation for commercial sponsors.
The projects are still in the works as are the adventures. Like many developing projects, we are taking more time to get going than we would like too. That’s okay, a slow build yields a long term concern, a meteoric rise tends to burn out just as quickly, and in a fiery ball hurdling back to Earth at mach something. I’ll go with slower and long term thank you.
See you next time, for now… The wheels are still turning.
Topics: Development | No Comments »
New Media
By FlyBoyJon | May 16, 2009
As New Media begins to make serious headway in mainstream business, it is becoming clear that not all implementations are a good idea. Many small businesses have been hanging back to let the “big boys” pioneer the new stuff much like they did when the web was still a newborn. The World Wide Web as a whole has been a grand experiment with some mixed results. By in large, it is rare to find a successful business without some kind of web presence. New media is bringing a whole new set of tools to the table.
What do you mean by New Media?
New Media encompasses a collection of tools based on traditional media like video and audio, that are presented in interesting, interactive formats through social networking tools and environments. Wow! That sounds like a lot of double talk even to me. Here is a simpler breakdown; A typical audio or video program that is distributed through a blog or social site by one-time visits or by subscription. I suppose that is a little clearer. That is a part of the confusion though, many people have varying ideas as to what social networking and New Media are, let alone how to use them.
By now, most daily web users are familiar with Social Networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Spaces, Blogger, and tons of others. There are also micro-bloging sites like Twitter and others. Include user media sites like YouTube, Flickr, PhotoBucket and a host of others along this line. Now add in podcasting sites to host or analyze your traffic and you have quite a confusing collection.
Lots of businesses hear repeatedly “you need a website” or worse yet “you need to be on ‘xyz’ website”. While there are very few businesses and organizations I would say don’t need some kind of presence online, most don’t take the time to look at what they do need. A business needs to know who its customer base is and what the extent of there internet activities are, what sites do they use, and how. Do your customers blog? That is an important question.
Most businesses would benefit from simple Social Networking sites like Facebook for better indexing in search engines and provide point of contact information. The micro blogging can be beneficial as well. But do you need a blog? Should you podcast? Maybe. A simple blog under your own domain name could replace a basic website and provide you with an online venue for future expansions.
Each business has its own needs and eccentricities, some businesses and organizations could greatly benefit from a Wiki based site, or a Wiki in addition to the regular site. Any companies website plans should be determined by company needs, client base needs, vendor needs, and the internet culture of all three.
One thing that comes up in consultations all the time is the desire for custom applications. Often there are off the shelf solutions that can be applied at a much lower cost, or free. Usually adaptive solutions do require more effort to implement initially, but in the long run, that time is well spent when the time comes to make more changes. When an off the shelf solution requires a lot of adaptations or incorporates a lot of unneeded features or complex interfaces, a custom application may actually be cheaper. Another consideration is, if you want to use a specific application but it is expensive and you just can’t do it now, there might be a simpler low/no cost solution that the expensive application can import at a later date when you can afford it.
How does this apply to New Media? Integration. When you are building an online presence it should be consistent in appearance and function. There are times when the over all functionality of the web presence determines the applications used for the presentation.
In the long run, a consultant who is familiar with a broad range of internet applications, e-commerce, New Media, and Social Networking, you will most likely save you thousands on the first implementation and much more over time by tactically planning future upgrades. These savings are after the consultants fees by the way.
Topics: New Media, Wanzer Group | No Comments »
Planning
By FlyBoyJon | April 29, 2009
Business is an adventure, and like any adventure it begins with planning.
Planning doesn’t stop once you embark of the journey, it continues throughout the adventure. At each leg you take a moment to evaluate where you are, how you have done, and where you are going. Re-evaluating at each segment gives you the situational awareness to stay on course, or make necessary diversions. Regular, honest, impartial, re-evaluation of each element of business gives you the opportunity to expand or contract your business as situations arise. Many entrepreneurs only look at continued expansion, as the recent economic climate has demonstrated, that is a short sighted mistake. A successful business is a flexible business, able to expand or contract.
Scalability is a buzz word in business that is frequently misunderstood. A truly scalable asset will grow or shrink as needed. No product or service is infinitely scalable, everything has its limits, upper and lower. It is the responsibility of the business owner/manager to understand what those limits are, and how they might impact the business in ether direction.
Responsibility is another word that seems to ether misunderstood or just plane missing from the vocabularies of some people in big business. As a small business owner/manager you know that it is your butt on the line. If you are not responsive to your customers, you lose them. If you don’t pay your bills, you don’t get services or products, and then you lose your customers.
In the current economic environment the small business owner who understands scalability and takes responsibility has a chance to come out ahead. While there are no guarantees, it can be assured that a business owner/manager who does not understand these concepts will undoubtedly not survive in this competitive climate.
Topics: Wanzer Group | No Comments »
Slacker
By FlyBoyJon | April 28, 2009
Yup, that’s me. You may have noticed, I haven’t posted since January. Not for lack of desire mind you. The world around, being what it is has limited my resources and thus my time. Shortage of time aside, the economy has made its fair share of obstructions to getting things done as well.
Plans have not changed, I still intend to get the adventure flights going and to build a vintage WWI fighter aircraft replica. The finances have just not been there. I am still seeking some sponsorships to get things rolling down the runway, but as of this date I have not secured any funding.
Have no fear! We shall prevail!
I will also do my best to not wait several months before the next post.
Stay tuned for more.
Topics: Aviation Links | No Comments »
« Previous Entries Next Entries »