Remember the good old days when pictures came in the mail?  You could always tell because "Pictures - Do Not Bend" was scribbled all over the envelope, as if those four words were enough to ward off that postman with one final act of rebellion brewing.  He wants to do something to display his anger at the world, but he's just not ready to light up a post office with the sound of gunfire, so instead he figures, what the heck…no one will know….I'll just bend one…. But then WAIT! he sees your warning.  And just like that he's repelled back in a fit of shame and guilt.  Did anyone ever think that worked?   

Ok, so the pictures arrive safely, and unbent.  Now you tear into them, bending them every which way, as you struggle to get them out of the envelope.  Once opened, you realize that Uncle Bernie and Aunt Flo just had another little child/brat and now they're sending out pictures to warn… er, I mean, show everyone.  After having looked at pictures of your red, wrinkly, 3 hr old new cousin, Samson, you don't know what to do with the pictures, so you toss them.  What a waste of good postal service.  They arrive at your door like a new donor organ having been flown in from the Mayo clinic, and you just toss them like an ad from Sears. Wouldn't it be easier if everyone came to your pictures instead?  That's where the miracle of the Internet comes into play in the form of personal web pages.  They're very easy to make, very easy to maintain, and they don't tempt evil postmen on the brink of anarchy.  But where do you begin?

For those of you that just want to post pictures of your son Ishmael's thirteenth birthday without having to get a degree in computer science, go to Geocities. It's free, and it has everything you will need to build your own website.  The first step is signing up and choosing a password and ID.  Because they are giving you free web space, your web address will start out www.oocities.org. Make sure you choose the ID name you want in the rest of your address.  For example, if my ID name were Lenz, then my new web address would be www.oocities.org/Lenz.  Get it?   Then all you have to do is follow the simple directions for creating a new page, and voila, you have your own web page! The nice thing about this site is that it accommodates the beginner as well as the more advanced webmasters.  To post pictures, you will need to have the pictures scanned onto a disc or your computer, so make sure when are ready to do this, you buddy up to that nerdy guy at work with all the latest computer equipment.  If no one you know has a scanner, then most computer stores will do it for a small fee.  My fee is .50 per picture with a $5.00 minimum, but every place is different, and once they're on your computer, you can use them in cards, banners, invitations, calendars, etc.

Now that you have a place to stretch your creative legs, you're going to want things to put on your new web page.  We already talked about pictures, but how about jazzing the site up with some clip art?   The best site that I've seen so far is called Web Clip Art.  It has everything from borders, to pictures, to animated pictures.  Click on the link A - Z Clipart Topic List for a full list of what topics are available.  Believe me when I say, if you want it, they've got it, and once again, it's all FREE!  Another site to check out is called Barry's Clip Art Server.  Some clip art is colorful and detailed, and some is just black and white.  One thing to keep in mind is that the more color and detail there is in a picture, the longer it will take to download.  So make sure you don't overload your page to that point that people get impatient and leave because three hours later, your page is still downloading. 

If you have a program that allows you to make cards, calendars, labels, etc., you can use this clip art for that as well.  Another trick you can use for getting clip art is by "borrowing" it.  Let's say you go to a webpage and they have just the picture of an angel you've been looking for.  If you right click on the picture with your mouse, a box will pop up.  Click on "Save Image As", type in a name for the picture, and then click on "Save".  You've just downloaded a picture from the Internet.  Now I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know what is within in the bounds of legality as far as copyrights go, but it's done all the time.  I'm just passing along a tip, what you choose to do with it is up to you.  I don't think the Internet police will come knocking on your door, but I'll leave it up to you.

So you have your web page and you've dressed it up with fancy pictures and clip art, now you want to see how many people have visited your webpage.  That's where counters come into play.  The site Bravenet has everything extra you'll need, and more.   Check out all the links and see what's offered, but if you're looking for a counter then click on Hits Counter/Site Stats.  You'll have to register your site, but then you get to pick a cool counter and you're ready to go.  Get Stats will help you keep stats on who is visiting your site and how often.   

If you're feeling like this was easy so far and you want to get a little more into web design, then check out Webmonkey.  This site really gives you excellent tutorials on site building, graphics, and other web page topics.  I really learned a lot from this site. 

I've only given you the basics to help you get started.  It's up to you to get out there and really mess around with it.  Start by making a simple page and then working your way up.  If you take it in small increments without trying to do too much too quickly, it can be very rewarding.  Web pages are an excellent outlet to express your own personality and creativity, while reaching many people with a limited amount of resources.  If you're interested in seeing one that I made for my brother, go to http://www.oocities.org/baronlenz.  If you want your own webpage for personal or business, but you don't want to deal with making one, I can make one for you.  Prices vary depending on what you want.  Just send an e-mail to MakeWebs@hotmail.com.  Most of the graphics on my brother's page are homemade, but homemade or not, web pages are fun to make, and an easy way to save some postage.  For businesses, web pages are a must if you want to stay on top of the competition.  Now excuse me while I go clean out all the web pages from my e-mail.  Good luck!

So You Wanna Be a Webmaster?