About Mike

I'm a webmaster / web strategist and have been working on websites since 1996.  I code. I design. But my main focus is on developing and implementing effective web and internet communications strategies.  I'm a big picture guy with an understanding of how the little things work.  I'll even code the little things if needed.  I just want to get stuff done.  I love meeting and working with talented, passionate people.

A little more background:

I received my B.A. in French from the College of Charleston in 2001, although the majority of my professional work has been in web development.  Starting in 1997, I was a PC Technician for the City of Charleston. I later became their webmaster, and by that time I had been working on websites for a couple of years.  From there I moved around from startups to established companies, designing and coding sites ranging from local governments and real estate listings to job hunting sites and sports team management solutions.  I've also written web services that talked to telephone switches and data syncs for telecom companies.  In the late '90s I even worked with a team focusing on building walled-garden social networks for communities.  That was my first introduction into some of the downsides of closed-off "social" web sites.

I continued this line of work until January 2002, when I began a 6+ year period as an analyst/briefer in the U.S. Navy.  I still worked on websites, but mainly just to keep current with emerging technologies. When I resigned my commission in 2008, I went back into web development.

I've led design and development for two companies and have worked in a multitude of languages.  Today I am webmaster for the alumni organization at a large university.  It is an outstanding work environment where I get to develop not only web solutions, but also aid in the development of internet communications strategies to support hundreds of thousands alumni.  We're on the forefront of internet-based solutions for alumni and have some very exciting things planned in the coming months / years. 

Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to contact me at mike@mikesmithdev.com if you have any questions or comments.