About Practical eCommerce
The Practical eCommerce Story
Practical eCommerce was launched in July 2005 by Kerry and Joy Murdock in Grand Junction, Colorado, USA. Its mission from the start has been to provide down-to-earth articles and advice to help smaller businesses succeed online. This editorial content was originally delivered primarily through a monthly, printed magazine, but it now (2008) includes this website, three podcasts, two email newsletters, but no printed magazine.
Real folks are behind this company. We are a small business ourselves, and we take seriously the notion of helping other businesses decipher the complexities of migrating online or improving their online operations.
In fact, it was those complexities that gave rise to Practical eCommerce to begin with. Back in 2003, the Murdocks launched an ecommerce site. The process was confusing, expensive and frustrating. But, it did give rise to the idea of helping others in the same predicament. So here we are.
Staff
Kerry Murdock
Publisher, Editor
Kerry Murdock is a former newspaper publisher, book publisher and advertising salesman. When he's not thinking ecommerce, he enjoys spending time with his three sons, whose interests range from the cello to competitive soccer. He holds degrees from Oklahoma State University and The University of Texas at Austin. kmurdock@practicalecommerce.com
Armando Roggio, Sr.
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.
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. Les Baxter 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
Brian Getting
Chief Architect
Brian Getting is a programmer, designer and all-around technical wiz. His programming abilities include Ruby on Rails, PHP and mySQL, among other disciplines, and he has held technology and web-related positions for other media companies in addition to Practical eCommerce. He does all of this from his home in Newport, Oregon, along the Pacific coast. On the side, he operates his own Internet development firm, Terra Firma Design & Consulting. He is attended the University of Iowa, graduating with a B.S. in Botany. bgetting@practicalecommerce.com
Michael A. Cox
Staff Writer
Michael A. Cox is a longtime (and very talented) writer, editor, broadcaster, publisher and web development professional. He says, "I was in Silicon Valley before there was silicon." He was also, in his day, a tour-level golf pro, who then wrote about other golf pros and then launched his own digital pre-press business. That lead to developing his Internet expertise, which we know to be considerable. When he's not writing for us, he operates M & J Southwest, a web development firm. mcox@practicalecommerce.com
Jennifer D. Meacham
Staff Writer
We first asked Jennifer D. Meacham to write an article for us back in 2007. What she submitted was a terrifically-researched, detailed and well written piece. She's our kind of reporter, in other words, and luckily for us she is now a permanent staff writer. She is also a seasoned business and technology journalist who has written for Revenue magazine, Office.com, Gather.com and many other websites and publications. She's a graduate of Liberty University. jmeacham@practicalecommerce.com
Brendan Gibbons
Staff Writer
When Brendan Gibbons becomes famous, remember that you first read his work here at Practical eCommerce. He is a writer, musician and journalism student (and National Merit Scholar) at The University of Missouri. He enjoys camping and hiking in his native Western Colorado and, upon graduation from Mizzou, plans on continuing his career in web-based reporting. bgibbons@practicalecommerce.com
