About Practical eCommerce

The Practical eCommerce Story

Practical eCommerce was launched in July 2005 by Kerry and Joy Murdock in Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S. Its mission is to provide down-to-earth articles and advice to help smaller businesses succeed online.

We originally delivered this editorial content primarily through a monthly, printed magazine. But it now (2012) includes this website, three audio podcasts, two email newsletters, educational webinars, live online courses and a companion site, Ecommerce Developer, for coders, designers and developers of ecommerce sites, but no printed magazine.

Staff

Kerry Murdock
Publisher, Editor

Kerry Murdock is a former newspaper publisher, book publisher and advertising salesman. The interaction of media and technology interests him, as does inspired writing and clean communication. He holds a B.S. from Oklahoma State University and an M.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. kmurdock@practicalecommerce.com

Joy Murdock
Treasurer, Controller

Joy Murdock was previously a tax practitioner and a chief financial officer. Her outside interests include vocal performance and attending the music and sporting events of her three sons. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Michigan Technological University, and an M.S. in Accounting and Taxation from The University of Colorado at Boulder. joy@practicalecommerce.com

EDITORIAL

Armando Roggio, Sr.
Senior Contributing Editor

Armando Roggio is a seasoned journalist and expert in ecommerce and technology. "Testing web browsers is a hobby of mine," he says. Armando was previously the Marketing Publications Manager at Micron Technology, a publicly-traded computer-chip manufacturer and, before that, Regional Advertising Sales Manager with the Hearst Electronics Group. On the side, he runs his own ecommerce business, which provides him with "first hand experience reviewing software, managing name servers, and redesigning web sites." He holds a B.A. in English Writing and Journalism from The University of Pittsburgh. armando@practicalecommerce.com

Jill Kocher
Contributing Editor

Jill Kocher is a writer and search-engine-optimization expert in Chicago. She began her Internet marketing career in 1996 with Intel Corp., followed by SEO management positions at Netconcepts and Covario, two SEO consulting firms. She currently serves as an SEO manager at Groupon, the pioneering daily deals site. She holds a B.A. in Communications and American Studies from Stanford University. jill@practicalecommerce.com

Sig Ueland
Contributing Editor

Sig Ueland is a writer living in Los Angeles. He has written for many of the studios, a technology education company, and magazines, such as In These Times and Third Word. He is a co-creator and writer of the web-series Space Hospital. Sig holds an M.F.A. in Screenwriting from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. Before that he received his B.A. in English from The University of Colorado at Boulder. Also he is an alumnus of The Second City Conservatory in Chicago. sig@practicalecommerce.com

Paul Chaney
Contributing Editor

Paul Chaney is a longtime Practical eCommerce contributor. He is also an Internet marketing consultant who specializes in helping small-to-medium businesses use social media for marketing. He is a sought-after speaker, and the author of The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media, published by John Wiley & Sons. pchaney@practicalecommerce.com

David Maier
Staff Writer

David Maier is a technologist, programmer and our all-around editorial coordinator — managing our email newsletters, article formatting, and podcast editing, among other duties. He's a student at Colorado Mesa University, majoring in Computer Science. david@practicalecommerce.com

ADVERTISING

Todd Jennings
Advertising Director

Todd Jennings had previous sales management positions in the printing industry and, most recently, was sales manager for a nationwide producer of schoolbook planners. Todd holds several old records . . . we mean he collects old vinyl records. Martin Denny is a favorite. He then transfers them into digital files to be iTunes compatible. Having seen that, we knew he could produce and direct our podcast recordings, which he does to great effect. That's his voice on The eCommerce Minutes, by the way. He is a graduate of Mesa State College. tjennings@practicalecommerce.com

Timothy Lyons
Account Executive

Timothy Lyons was previously regional sales manager with both Penton Media and Hearst Business Media, where he assisted customers nationwide with electronic, print and other marketing programs. He's a graduate of The University of Kansas and he was also a pitcher on the KU baseball team. That would qualify him to head-up the Practical eCommerce softball team, but, unfortunately, we don't have one. He's an all-star on our sales team, however, and we are fortunate he's here. tim@practicalecommerce.com

TRAINING

Pamela Hazelton
Training Director

Pamela Hazelton is an ecommerce consultant, trainer and speaker. She is a longtime senior contributor to Practical eCommerce on the topics of usability, shopability and conversion, among other topics. Her Miva Merchant training books are definitive explanations for that platform. Her company, DesignExtend, assists ecommerce merchants worldwide. pamela@practicalecommerce.com