I’m moving north – far north

As I indicated in a previous blog post, my partner and I will be moving somewhere more permanent in the fall. Well you’re likely not going to believe where we are moving – but it’s going to happen as of September 15th. We’re moving north – to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

Where the heck is Yellowknife?

At the edge of the Arctic, in the heart of the wilderness, lies a city of youth, energy, adventure and prosperity. Yellowknife is a culturally rich capital thriving with diversity, and home to about 20,000 people. Located on the shores of the beautiful Great Slave Lake, only 512 km south of the Arctic Circle, Yellowknife is known for outdoor recreation, midnight sun, aurora borealis and an unusual blend of northern culture… a city where history is found throughout a modern, bustling metropolis.

Why on earth would you move there?

My partner and I visited Yellowknife for two weeks earlier this summer and really loved it there. My partner is moving there for work reasons, and I am more than happy to tag along. We’re really looking forward to taking advantage of the many apportunities for outdoor adventures and travel within the far north.

What about the climate?

Yellowknife has a semi-arid subarctic climate. Winters in Yellowknife are cold and dark. Because of the latitude, there are only five hours of daylight on December days. January temperatures range from -22°C to -30°C (-9°F to -24°F). Summers in Yellowknife are sunny and pleasant. Summer days are long, with 20 hours of daylight, and Yellowknife has the sunniest summers of any city in Canada. July temperatures range from 12°C to 21°C (54°F to 70°F).

What does this mean for GayWebGuy.com?

Business will go on as per usual. With the long dark winters, I expect to have even more time to devote to growing my small business. Stay tuned for updates on our move and any changes this will cause for the business.

Size Does Matter. Smaller is Better.

In the gay world, size tends to be a big issue.

Most people would be shocked to know just how many men worry about size, and cannot possibly understand the masculine obsession with penile measurement.

If you’ve ever been told size doesn’t matter – you were told wrong! Now before you go looking for the measuring tape, let me clarify that I am here to claim that smaller is better – and no, I’m not talking about penis size. I’m talking about the size of my company – gaywebguy.com.

I run a very small web company. I work out of my home. I don’t have any full time employees. I don’t have a company vehicle. And yes, on large projects I work with other highly skilled designers and developers.

But unlike other small web agencies, I’m not going to pretend I’m any bigger than I am. I’m happy with the small size of my company. I know I can produce amazing results at a fraction of the cost of a big agency. I want my clients to know that I’m going to answer the phone when they call. I am the customer service department, the designer, developer, and the accountant.

Why smaller is better

As Seth Godin talks about on his blog, small is the new big. Small means the founder makes a far greater percentage of the customer interactions. Small means the founder is close to the decisions that matter and can make them, quickly. Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs. Small means you can tell the truth on your blog. Small means that you can answer email from your customers.

Small is the new big only when the person running the small thinks big.

No Phone, No Internet, No Television. Am I going to survive?

This summer, I will be living and working out of the tiny hamlet of Weymouth, Nova Scotia. My partner is practicing medicine here for the summer – so we’ve left our house in Halifax and are spending the summer at a cozy waterfront cottage in the middle of nowhere. At the cottage, we have no internet, no telephone, and no television. I don’t even get cell phone reception – forget about my iPhone! We do have amazing waterfront views, a new canoe, a couple of mountain bikes, and lots of time to drink wine and read books.

No internet? Yes I am fully aware that running a web design company from a cottage with no internet access is not ideal. But not to worry – I go to work with my partner most days and can access all things modern from the clinic in town. This is just a temporary situation and we will be moving somewhere more permanent in the fall. More on that later.

Have any tips for not going insanse with boredom this summer? Leave me a comment below.

I am open for business as usual. Please don’t hesitate to contact me. You’ll find I’m extremely personable and very eager to help find web solutions for any problems you may have.

Weymouth, Nova Scotia

Our Home For The Summer

View from inside the cottage

Enjoying summer at the lake

Panoramic view from the cottage

Maybe not having internet isn't so bad after all?

New website for massage therapist in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Stephen Jay approached me to create a simple, clean, effective website that would enable customers to find his massage therapy business on the web.

I developed a website that is standards compliant, visually appealing and easy to navigate. Customers can now easily find Stephen Jay Massage Therapy on the web – and send their booking requests directly to Stephen.

Local photographer Janet Kimber provided all of the photography for the new website – which turned out fantastic!

Check out the website.

Gay and Lesbians more likely to read blogs and use social networking sites

A new online study shows gay and lesbian adults are more likely to be reading news and current issues blogs and are more likely to be members of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

According to a recent American survey conducted by Harris Interactive®, a small majority of gay and lesbian adults online today are reading blogs. More than half (55%) of gay and lesbian respondents reported reading some type of blog, compared with only 38% of heterosexuals.

The new nationwide survey of 3,000 U.S. adults, (ages 18 and over), of whom 404, self identified as gay or lesbian (which includes an oversample of lesbian and gay adults), was conducted online between May 11 and 18, 2009, by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the GLBT market.

Apart from getting information online from reading blogs, gay and lesbian adults also are choosing to connect online through social networking sites more often than their heterosexual counterparts. Slightly more than half (55%) of gay and lesbian adults state they are members of Facebook, compared with 46% of heterosexual adults.

In several years capturing trends, we see again that gays and lesbians are not only looking to stay well informed but also to expand their key social, professional and personal connections online”, said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. “As companies work to make the most of their advertising budgets in the current economic climate, blogs and social networking sites are an even more powerful cross-section of opportunities today when reaching out to this market.”

Full data tables and methodology are available at Harris Interactive (PDF).