Name of your website?Surigao Expats Philippines
Your name?
Steve
Your Location (city, etc)
Surigao City
Please give us a short summary of your website?
To help expats keep in touch with what is happening in their own countries. Also for expats here in the Philippines to keep in touch & exchange ideas, information & experiences.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
A lack of community feeling here in Surigao, there was a need for something to help draw people together and creat friendships.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
13th September 2008 This is it !
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Surigao (where I live) Expats (My intended target) although Philippine Expats may of been a better choice I think.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
It is not just a web site, it also has a fully modded up to date forum, Single log in, multiple Chat Rooms, A great photo Gallery offering members own albums, extensive News pages from around the world so members can keep up to date on News & Sport.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Just to help form a good friendly community of expats.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
It does not come in to the equation ! This was not a financial project
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Probably advertise the site a lot better than it has been & maybe obtain a little profesional help on the odd issues I have had.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes it would not be a problem as I have already discussed this with my hosting company.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
None so far !
What has been your biggest challenge?
1. Getting members which is probably because the site is new and is not fully listed yet by search engines. 2. Search Engine optimization 3. Getting all parts of the web site to function as one unit.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
By word of mouth to friends so far.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It hasn't yet, I think it is too early to say if it will be a success or not !
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Went live on the net 13th September. I will give it 3 to 6 months and if no improvement then close it down or sell it off to recoupe some of the costs.
Where did you learn about computers & the internet...?
Self taught over a period of about 20 years, just a hobby that got the better of me I suppose !
What is your website address?
Surigao Expats Philippines
