Wow, the economy is in the crapper and despite the reassurances of the President last week I’m not feeling much better. OK, that’s actually a lie. The bad economy doesn’t really affect me directly, I live in a government town of about 40,000 people where housing prices are still steady and new home starts? They’re down from last year but more due to the cold weather and labor shortages then anything else but I get that all over the US (and around the world) that’s not the case so instead of trying to sell you a website (even if you do need it) I want to know what you’ll trade me for a great website.

I’ll give you a free basic WordPress website just for signing up with BlueHost which is a great start but I bet there’s a lot of people out there who need more than a starter site and frankly I’m bored off my truck sitting home right now. Don’t feel too bad for me, I have fresh contracts starting up in the spring and I just left a great government contract so I’m not exactly in a bad place right now but what I’d really like to do is broaden my portfolio and add some new, exciting projects to my resume.

I have over 15 years experience in the web industry, which means that I literally started building for the first web browsers and have continued to build my experience and skills to match the current technology. I am a well rounded programmer with xHTML, XML SGML and HTML markup experience as well as a master of tableless design and CSS. I can script in PHP, ASP, JavaScript and ColdFusion as well as program in BASIC, .net and C++. My  design skills are top notch, I am a certified expert in the use of Photoshop and Dreamweaver, excellent in Illustrator and a master of web design and usability. Beyond looking pretty, I build websites that are W3C compliant, compatible with the full range of web browsers, optimized for search engines and organic marketing as well as tested to ensure they’re readable by the visually impaired and meet government standards. I can build Facebook applications, I am a master of WordPress and understand social media very well.

In short, I am just the type of web master that most people dream of having on their team but I live in a small town with few IT jobs. Over the years I have been the Web Master for Corel, built web properties for the International Montery Fund, the United Nations and the Smithsonian Museum. I need to find work and I’m not too proud to ask, so please if you can use an out-of-work hired gun and have anything that I can work on remotely or would like to fly me in for some contract work, I would love to hear from you.

Of course the obvious question is … what would I be willing to take right? I’m like every web guy out there, I’d love to get some quality advertising in print, radio, TV or online and I’d love to have some gift certificates for hotels or tourist attractions around the world. I’ll take your AirMiles if you’re willing to part with them and I’ll gladly take any old Wii/xBox or PS3 games you happen to have. If you happen to live in driving distance to Fredericton New Brunswick, I’ll gladly let you put in a kitchen for me or shingle my roof in the spring.

So, let’s talk turkey.