Me, My Boss and I

What I know about the workings of a website, you could put on the head of a pin and still have room left over for the lyrics to all of Tom Petty’s songs. 

That’s a slight exaggeration. I’ve learned several web platforms over the years while working at different radio stations, and still believe that WordPress, on which this very site is based, is the easiest to use. For example, Derek’s website is on Squarespace which is lovely because it’s free, but it’s also a pain until you realize that you can find what you need to build it by hovering with your mouse. I like a little more direction and clarity.

As the sole proprietor of Lisa Brandt Creative Services, I used to have someone else manage my website. Someone with, you know, lots of web experience. But I recently took over the management of my site, fully and completely, and something strange started to occur. Some blog readers, including my brother and my hubby, weren’t able to see the latest blog posts until late in the day. It was strange because the next posts are published at seconds after midnight. Other readers such as Allan in Toronto tracked what was happening in diary-style so I could narrow down the possible causes. I came up with…nothing. So I contacted my provider and we had a lovely (annoying!) 45 minute online chat about it as the mouse on my laptop refused to work for five out of six clicks. But I digress.

I now have a malware app watching my website like a pack of dogs in a junkyard because the geek at Go Daddy suspected a virus was causing the problem. (He tried to sell me an app but I found a free, highly rated one. Hahaha. I win!) Bottom line – and please forgive me for using technical jargon – but some doodads and whatsits in my thingy were out of date. Now they’re not. And it’s something I’ll have to learn to keep an eye on now that I’m webmaster as well as content creator. If ever it appears that I haven’t published a blog post when you think I should have, please check the “recent posts” and you may see it there. That’s another sign that a doodad needs an update. So it’s up to me to remind me to stay on top of it. I’d better call a meeting to make sure all of my staff know what’s going on. I suppose I expect me to bring the coffee again? Sheesh.