Part 1 : Web design that rocks and rolls

Hi Kevin, it's great to "talk" to you. I would consider you a "Renaissance Man" as they say. You are a talented multi-media "web-head", accomplished visual artist and painter, and manager and agent for a very established and recognized roots rock band, "Blind Luck". With all that in mind, what do you do for fun? And when do you sleep?
Everything I'm doing is fun. I cannot think of anything I would rather do than be part of an new media industry, be in on the ground floor with an emerging organization, work with a rock and roll band, express myself through visual art and be involved with mass media, marketing and creative processes.

The only other thing I can think of that combines all these interests is film production, but that will have to be another chapter. Truthfully, I don't get to relax much, because I'm always on the job. There is not much free time and I barely manage to get about 6 hours of sleep many nights, but I would not trade it.

Tell us how you got into the medical website field and what you find challenging about it?
I had been in sales and marketing for quite a while and knew some people that were starting a new business. We talked about the idea of starting an online community for doctors and patients. I thought it was a great idea and joined them to handle sales and marketing.

Since we started in 1996, I have been witness to a great number of challenges, including an industry that was not ready to get behind what we were doing and a flood of bad ideas getting funded by Wall Street.

The pharmaceutical industry is really starting to support us and many of the other web companies that did not have a good business plan are starting to disappear. It is getting a bit easier, but no easier than starting a new business in any industry.

Are there any similarities between marketing a good website and promoting and managing a soon to be famous band?
Yes, everything I learn with one has an impact with the other. You could say they are very complementary. The most important thing I've learned that has applied to both, is to emulate what large successful businesses do and try to find a way to do what they do with a limited budget. I picked this up working with the band, looking at what major record labels do and how they focus their promotion.

I have adapted some of this thinking to my web job. I think it is all too common that people feel they need to create new ways of doing business or look at what other small and struggling businesses are doing. There are certain things that apply to all businesses and almost always have. With every business, it's about market share. I consider competition the one who owns the market, everyone else is just someone else trying to get a piece of the pie.

If you want to be considered a player you need to act like the big guys. That means investing in things they do, like professional materials, promotion, advertising and distribution. I will never be too proud of having to do it the hard way or by a grass roots movement. That is ultimately more expensive, in terms of labor and the time it takes to get established.

In your opinion, what is the most important aspect to making a website successful?
In our case, it's about building a community, providing depth of specialized resources and bringing visitors back. We have not advertised to consumers much, but we have gotten very involved with the medical community. We attend their conferences, have over 200 respected luminaries worldwide working with us and have built the largest and most popular destination in our specialty.

In looking at website development, do you tend to see all websites with an artist's view or a market view or both, and can you elaborate?
I tend to look at everything artistically, but understand the current limitations of the Internet, the average connection speed and equipment used by consumers. I think the key is to learn to refrain from designing a site too heavy in graphics or the latest technology. Average consumers will never get to use it. Working at an Internet company you need to be aware of the fact that most visitors don't have high-speed access or the newest equipment, so the site needs to be developed accordingly.

Navigation and organization is another area that is important. If I hit a site and cannot figure out what they do or where any appropriate information is, I'm out of there. We have a lot of people working on the MediSpecialty.com sites, so I'm not involved with every decision, but I built the band site and think it is a good example of understanding all potential audiences (fans, venues, radio, press and record companies) and providing relative information for all of them. The site is relatively low tech, in terms of file sizes and technology, but it loads fast and provides additional technologies for those who want to use them, like MP3s, pictures and ordering.

Do you think the "Internet Revolution" and specifically the ever-changing 'vogue' of website design can be compared in any way to the "pop art" revolution of Lichenstein and Warhol's time?
I would compare them the same way I would compare myself to what Warhol did. He made a great deal of his art while working in industry and was hired to create art for advertising purposes. He also created works that had mass appeal. I like to do that too.

In my opinion, website design and other forms of advertising, are the purest forms of art and business in action. I like that. As I mentioned before, there are still many limitations with the Internet, but when speed and memory improve and other forms of media can truly merge, look out.

Did you know that Warhol was originally a cartoonist, like Lichenstein, but he did not want to compete, so he created his own style. He also worked with bands and film production. I share some creative similarities.

Do you feel websites have to be visually stimulating or arresting to be viable websites?
Yes, but visual aspects should be weighed equally with good layout and presentation of your message. Sometimes it's better to get to the point of why you want someone at your site and what your goals are for them, like spending time on the site, to buy something or contact a physical location. The visual appeal should not overshadow the real objectives of the site.

Continued...