Online Advertising Company Article.

Designing Web Man
The Muskegon Chronicle, August 16, 2000

A Muskegon-area man is hoping to weave a web of success in the computer world that will benefit businesses as well as the underprivileged.

Anthony S. Blair operates WEBSPINNERS. He spends his working days creating Web sites for clients from all over that so far have included industry, government, small business and even churches.

In the future, he hopes his business will expand to the point where they can teach the World Wide Web to young people from low-income families and neighborhoods.

Blair's company is a finely tuned team. "People can go out and buy a $50 program and they can design Web sites, but there is definitely a skill and knowledge with the Internet (that) you have to have to be a good developer," said Blair. "You can definitely tell the difference between a professional and a home-version Web site.

Blair, 30, is a former Flint resident who moved to Muskegon in the mid-1990s to attend a Baker College Web-design program, taught only at selected Baker campuses.

In 1997, Blair started WEBSPINNERS, putting into practices his skills in marketing and written communications. Among his duties, Blair spends much of his time working on texts and wordings.

When a customer calls WEBSPINNERS, Blair said he first arranges a visit to the customer's business or office to get a feeling for the working environment. After that, they set out to prepare a detailed Internet business plan.

"We do lots of talking with the client. We do create a relationship," Blair said. "It's like we're buddies after that. We can't make an effective Web site if somebody just throws you some information and you put it up. We don't want to guess."

Blair says that he takes great pains to avoid a "me, too" situation - copying the same style of Web sites other people have used. "A lot of (Web sites) lack creativity and organization," Blair said. "They'll throw a bunch of images on the screen, but there's no logic to it."

"If you look at our sites, none of them look alike. Everything is custom. I think we really excel there… its what differentiates us. We sit down and try to figure out how everything works with the company, and incorporate that into the Web so the Web can make them money."

Blair said Web sites can cost as little as a few thousand dollars a year, although some of the bigger industries pay millions of dollars for Web-site access.

Blair says one of his missions is convincing Muskegon-area industrial and business leaders that the Web is a powerful channel for advertising and that they shouldn't underestimate its range and appeal.

"There are about 300 million people viewing the Internet (on any day) worldwide," Blair said.

Blair says he likes to take three to four weeks to build a "custom-made, living-and-breathing Web site." The site can be set up so that a company can do its accounting, scheduling and other technical work - or it can be no more than a simple advertisement.

No matter what kind of Web site it is, Blair says he strives to keep an ongoing relationship with the businesses, doing quarterly reviews of its Web page. The two use a computer program that tells how many people have visited the site and where the visitors have been most attracted.

"If something isn't working, we can make adjustments," Blair said.

Their clients so far have from all over West Michigan, including Grand Rapids. But Blair is hoping to make his mark in Muskegon. "People don't know where to go (for a Web site)," Blair said. "We have clients in Grand Rapids (and) people in Muskegon end up going to Grand Rapids (for Web site assistance). The people in Muskegon aren't aware that we're here."

When they reach the level of success they hope to achieve, Blair says he will open his computer world to the underprivileged - to help bridge the "digital divide" that separates large groups of people.

"We want to give back to the area when we achieve a certain amount of success," said Blair. "We want to help inner-city and minority kids to have the (computer) experience, so that they'll have a chance at a better future than flipping burgers."

For starters, Blair says he will initiate a program to be called PC Gift, in which a certain amount of money from each Web site sold will go toward buying computers for underprivileged youth. They also hope to have young people join them at their business facility for rap sessions about the Internet.

"We're not just taking all the money and putting it in our pocket," said Blair. "We want to give back to the area."

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