Gibson County Chamber of Commerce Members and Other Area Merchants Gathered on June 24, 2009 for ChamberNet

Courthouse Webs™ sponsored the event held at the beautifully-restored Maxam House Bed & Breakfast, 426 North Main Street, Princeton, Indiana.

ChamberNet is a networking event open to Chamber members and surrounding area merchants regardless of membership. There's never been a stronger reason to join or to participate in Chamber events during these tough economic times. Please visit the Chamber's site and join us.

What is ChamberNet?

Jason McConnell, an Old National Insurance Risk Management Specialist, Chamber member, and co-owner of the Maxam House, discussed the ChamberNet "Round–Robin" networking process.

Participants are each allowed two minutes to stand up and discuss their products or services, pass out literature and business cards, and field questions from the group.

A qualified lead emerges when a customer of one business learns of another business' offerings through a recommendation of that trusted merchant.

Attendees at these events have a unique opportunity to develop "Qualified Leads" among their business peers. A qualified lead emerges when a customer of one business learns of another business' offerings through a recommendation of that trusted merchant. In an ideal world, a banker assisting her client with a loan may learn of her client's need for an affordable insurance product. She could then present a business card from a fellow Chamber colleague as a powerful recognition of support for that local merchant. Leads, such as these, create a strong merchant community that better serves Gibson County residents and businesses.

Herb Howell, Courthouse Webs proprietor and development director, was afforded four minutes, as the event's sponsor, to share his passion for outstanding web development and design

What are the characteristics of A mature web development?

Howell compared a web presence to that of a bus. Accessible busses accommodate all passengers fairly and as reasonably as possible. Outdated, or poorly developed sites, exclude people with disabilities and stymie search engine indexing. As a leader and spokesperson for accessible web development,

Howell compared a web presence to that of a bus. Outdated, or poorly developed sites, exclude people with disabilities and stymie search engine indexing.

Howell pointed out that search engine spiders are sightless robots. Underdeveloped sites not only freeze-out visually impaired individuals, but block some PDAs, cell phones, and search engines, such as Google. He explained that a quick way to determine a site's posture is by utilizing the W3C Validator, and that Courthouse Webs' site offers a explanation on how to utilize that tool.

Event sponsors are encouraged to share a sample of their products or services with event participants in the form of a prize. The meeting concludes with a business card drawing to select a winner. A gift certificate for a free "Online Business Card" web site from Courthouse Webs (a $100 value) was presented to Angel Novinger of Novinger Enterprises.

The Next ChamberNet Event

The July ChamberNet Meeting is scheduled for July 29, 2009 at Oakland City University, and will be sponsored by Lin's Lanes of Oakland City.