These days, every organization knows it needs web sites. The problem is, not everyone knows exactly why. As you prepare to develop (or redevelop) your next web site, wouldn't it be wise to get back to basics first? Don't just think about your need; think about WHY you need it. For instance:

• You don't need a car - you need a way to get to work. Perhaps a car is your best option (in the event you are not a great cyclist). So, the car is not the need. It is the solution.

Apply that to your web strategy. You don't NEED a web site. No. You need some other thing, and PERCEIVE that a web site will be your solution.  In some cases, your perception is correct. In other cases it is not.

So, how can you make sure your next web project is the solution to what you need? 

Of course, I can't answer that here. That's the answer I give you during your free consultation.  Have your people call my people.  We'll do lunch. 

I'm having a blast! Our venture to partner with ministries is the most exciting thing I've ever done. As we consult with many minstries around the globe, we are finding one common issue.

Their "systems" have more "features" than they can use.

It reminds me of the BMW 7 Series. They say it has over 200 computerized processess and functions at the control of the driver. Most of this is accessible through a handy little gadget called the iDrive. Neat! Only problem is, the 60+ demographic that drive the thing are completely freaked out by it. Research says they tend to just drive that high-tech car the same way they used to drive their Olds '88. Computer free!

Features are good. There are many advanced web-based systems out there for a ministry to use. CRM. CMS. LMS. HRM. etc....

But, when a system has more features than you can possibly use, what does your ministry do? You use that system the same way you used your old HTML web site. Feature free.

Is your organization PAYING dearly for features you will never have the ability to use? If so, you're not alone.

WMtek will be different. We will customize your software to fit your ministry's actual need. This is my mission.

My background is Broadcast TV. We'll call that part of my life "the good old days". Back in the good old days, we lived and died by ratings. More or less, ratings told us who had the most viewers at any given time of day.

Ratings were derived by people like your Uncle Lue writing a log of what they watched for about a week and then handing it over to a company called Nielson. Why would Uncle Lue do this? Easy. They gave him a dollar!

Anyway, it's during this week when people fill out their journals that the networks battle it out for ratings glory. Networks try everything. For the most part, nothing really changes that much. But every once and a while, a network gets a SPIKE.

What is a SPIKE?

It's when the worst rated news suddenly becomes the best rated news. And how would that happen? Like this:

Week One: Pathetic Rating

Week Two: Pathetic Rating

Week Four: Huge Rating due to Exclusive Interview with Michael Jackson.

Week Five: Pathetic Rating

You see, ratings work on the AVERAGE. And when you figure in the sudden windfall of viewers coming from the SPIKE week - - the workst news in town suddenly looks like a powerhouse.

THE PROBLEM: They won't be having another Exclusive Interview with Michael Jackson any time soon. In other words, that huge average rating isn't real.

TV isn't the only thing that has SPIKES. In fact, we're dealing with it in the Non-Profit sector to this very day. Beware of the organization that shows up with unreal success stories of Online Donation Success. You may be looking at a very good example of a SPIKE.

Over the past couple years we have endured incredible disasters. 9/11. The Tsunami that destroyed parts of Indonesia. Multiple hurricanes to South Florida, and the Hurricane Katrina catastraphe. Non-profit organizations responded in heroic measure, and their constituents made it possible. There was a huge wave of donor activity, and a number of large software companies were right in the middle of it all. To be fair, their systems powered unpredicented online donations. But, also in the pursuit of fairness, their systems were not the REASON for these unprecidented donations.

Now we have a number of software vendors overstepping their bounds. They are taking credit for the stimulation of the donations, but here is the reality. They are selling the SPIKE. Now you must do what we always did in media. Look at the numbers week by week - - and compare them historically.

The problem is, if you do this, the cost justification some of these vendors are selling you doesn't pan out. In fact, if online donations are skyrocketing as many of these vendors report, how do we make sense of the recent Business Week report?

Meanwhile, the outlook for online giving remains subject to debate. When a charity raises funds, "most of the money will come from a small number of very large donors," says Mark Kramer, managing director of Boston consulting firm Foundation Strategy Group. "It's not a question of making it easy for them to give online -- it's a question of the personal relationship and contacts." Kintera has "taken a more ambitious vision, but it's not clear that the business model is there to support it," Kramer adds.

My position is not to discourage you from pursuing donations online. I just ask you to be realistic. I ask you to beware of the SPIKE. For further "strong opinions", I'm just a phone call away.

- - Dan

The Internet is a massive media and communications machine. It can be a great tool; but it can also be a great waste. Any investment a ministry makes on Internet-based technology must be carefully placed.

I believe this is the calling of WMtek. Often times we must help our ministry partners navigate a course that would otherwise be unclear. I came across a story that demonstrates this point well.

Charles Steinmetz retired from General Electric after a lifelong career. Later, a system breakdown had GE engineers stumped, so they called on Steinmetz as a consultant. After inspecting the machinery at length, he marked an "X" on a defective part and billed GE for $10,000. The company protested, asking for an itemization. Steinmetz's reply read simply:

Making one chalk mark $1.00

Knowing where to place it $9,999.00

In this day and age, all webs sites are not created equal.  Web strategies can be as diverse as the world we live in.  What should a ministry focus on?  We believe the WMtek Ministry Suite is a great example of "where to place" your strategy.  Let us show you how.

Think about this. In the past year, Google:

• Acquired YouTube.com for 1.65 Billion Dollars.
  
• Launched a suite of online office products designed to compete with Microsoft Office, and is rapidly consuming market share.
• Released a piece of software for Mac OS that is even better (according to many reviews) than Mac's own application.
• Announced plans to move into the Mobile Phone market with a proprietary "Google Phone".

The lines between the Internet and "Real Life" are blurring fast. More people than ever are relying on the Internet for entertainment, work productivity and communication.

Are you ready? Does your ministry have a 5 year outlook on how you will take advantage of these trends?

Gone are the days where a ministry has the liberty to spend more on printed products, white out, notepads and cleaning supplies than they do on Web based technology. The list of opportunities is already staggering:

• Web based community tools
• Web basded media (audio & video) distribution
• Online development includng donations funded in real time
• Worldwide interconnectivity and colaberation for workers
• Web based business systems such as HR, Accounting, Constituent Management - - all with real time reporting
  

You could go on and on. If your ministry's approach does not stack up, don't let such huge concepts scare you. The best way to move forward is one step at a time. Let's use the Internet for the advancement of the Kindgdom of God.