'Richard Detrich's Boquete, Panama Weblog Interview'

Name of your website?

Richard Detrich's Boquete, Panama Weblog

Your name?

Richard Detrich

Your Location (city, etc)

Boquete

Please give us a short summary of your website?

Blog with daily updates about living and travel in Panama and cruising to Panama and the Panama Canal.

What inspired you to launch your own website?

I've always had a Panama Website with its own URL. I was introduced to blogging by reading John Heald's Carnival Cruise Website. I found Word Press to be very intuitive, easy to use, easier than doing my own html and free.

When did you launch your first website, and what was it?

October 2007

How did you decide on a name for your website?

Picked the most descriptive and obvious name, and a name that I hoped would work well for search engines.

What makes it different from other, similar offerings?

I'm a good writer! The layout isn't bad either. I love retirement in Panama and it shows. I have daily updates . . . I have fun.

What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)

To share. I lecture on cruise ships about Panama and have written an ebook about retiring here and so I get lots of questions. This is a way to communicate, share, and answer questions.

How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?

It's a hobby . . . hobbies aren't about ROI.

If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?

I'd take the money and invest it in Boquete real estate, not the Web. Been there . . . done that.

If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?

Word Press offers a good platform and I'm already updating daily. Just be more fun!

What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?

None really.

What has been your biggest challenge?

So far it's been a blast. Understanding how to promote it has been a challenge.

What method has been most successful for promoting your website?

I'm learning.

How has running your website differed from your expectations?

I've been a director of eCommerce for a very successful fitness company and started their online program from scratch, so I have some background in "running" a Website. The Word Press platform is simple, intuitive and enjoyable. I guess it differs from my "expectations" in that I don't have to worry about HTML, yada yada.

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?

I think you asked that already. October 2007 started and, like most guys, I'll keep it up as long as I can. Sorry. Couldn't resist!

Why do you always describe yourself, or your team in negative terms, i.e. "cantankerous"? Do you get that much abuse.

Lighten up! Enjoy life!

What is your website address?

Richard Detrich's Boquete, Panama Weblog

Hi Richard,

Loved your information on Panama.My hussband and 6 year old twins will be traveling 11/30/09 to 12/6/09 with 2 other couples. We usually travel mexico and carribean however, Panama seemed like the perfect place. I will be staying at ''Breezes Resort'' [not open yet]This resort is approx 90 min from airport. Can you please suggest a driver to bring us to the resort or someone I can contact. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work. Jeannine

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