What is Speed-Index.com and why should anyone care?

In order to build a sense of context for Speed-index.com, it may be beneficial to rewind the clock and go all the way back to the mid 1990s and start at the beginning of my online career working at various technology related jobs.

After graduating college, I was fortunate enough to work part-time at a database company.  We were manually adding records to an off-the-shelf database system that was being used to organize content for public and private libraries.  The work may have been categorized as easy or simple, but I found it fascinating on many different levels.  The business model of making money online, the technologies that were being used, and the subject matter of the data was all super interesting.

This initial part-time job in technology provided an opportunity to work for a company that had a website at a time when most companies did not have one.  Organizations were reluctant to be online and did not understand the value of having a presence online.  On the job, we were busy creating a master dataset through the slow and consistent work of adding rows of data one entry at a time.  The business was then monetizing the data in the form of products and services.  The data was available online through gated access, we were publishing the data in a printed format, and handling research requests, all for a specific audience.

As time passed, I was able to leverage my skills and experience from the first job, in order to secure a second part-time job, which was at a design agency.  This second company was focused on making websites, video productions, kiosk development, and creating 3D animations.  The work was much more visual and focused on front end development.  There was less attention to databases, which was a great compliment to the first part time job.  One company was data focused, while the other was front end / presentation focused.

By working two part-time jobs, I was able to combine the skills of working at the two different companies, which provided a fantastic opportunity to learn two different areas of working inside online businesses.

My first true corporate website build would come to fruition a few years later.  Now, decades later, I have built over 150 professional websites and have been involved with custom software, app development, working with teams, building companies, and have been involved with many different ways to make money through online activities.

But, there are a few lingering questions and scenarios I would like to explore.

First and foremost is the concept of change.

Companies get bought, sold, or go out of business.  Websites change.  They may get merged into other sites, or simply disappear all together.

The question I am working on now is... what happens with all this change?  If a website disappears, where did the audience go?  What was the value of the site?  Was the value transferred into anything new?

Essentially, what is the value of change?

I am not really sure, but there are assumptions and hypotheses to explore.

The purpose of Speed-Index.com is to conduct web related research and test the world of online change in order to quantify the value of performance.  To uncover blind spots and areas of opportunity to help marketers, business owners, and online publishers to think about the complexity of their work in a new way.  With Speed-Index.com, it is my mission and purpose to help people understand how they can grow their businesses through careful planning, strategy, and consistent execution over time.

If this line of thought sounds interesting, feel free to reach out if there are any questions or comments regarding the direction of Speed-Index.com. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

In closing, thank you for taking the time to read these thoughts and it is my hope you find value in the work that is being shared through Speed-Index.com!