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Internet Content and Site Development


A long-time Internet junkie, Dr. Bill Bushing started developing Internet web pages in the fall of 1993. Even his first web pages immediately drew attention and interest. An opposing lawyer introduced them in court as evidence (although I'm not sure what of). When the judge reviewed them, he looked at the lawyer and said "don't you recognize a sense of humor when you see it?" Needless to say I won that case hands-down.

Most of Dr. Bill's Internet content and site development has focused largely on non-profit organizations related to Santa Catalina Island. In early 1996 he developed the first Catalina Conservancy Divers (CCD) web site. Later that year, as Vice-President (and webmaster, GIS specialist, educational video producer and shoulder-to-cry-on) for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy, Bill initiated development of the Conservancy's first web site which soon became one of the most comprehensive non-profit web sites on the Internet. When he "retired" from the Conservancy in June, 2000, their site contained nearly 6,800 HTML and multimedia files and was receiving nearly three million hits per year. (NOTE: since Bill's departure the Conservancy web site has been completely redone, but please visit their current website at www.CatalinaConservancy.org). Bill also did the programming for the Catalina Island Museum's first "virtual exhibit" about Catalina Pottery and provided digital imagery for the Catalina Island Performing Arts Foundation web site as well as countless other web sites across the world. He is currently working on an Intranet-based educational CD-ROM to be used in training tour guides for the Santa Catalina Island Company's Discovery Tours division.

Bill's philosophy on web site development is strong on clean design and content development rather than heavy emphasis on graphics. It is his belief that web surfers stay on sites that provide them the information they are looking for, and whose pages load quickly. Of course he also lacks even rudimentary skills in graphic design (as his artist friends have often noted), so this may just be a rationalization. He prefers working with organizations whose staff can provide factual and accurate text to be incorporated in the web pages, However, Bill is a capable writer and can adapt existing information for the web, or research content when necessary.

The following offers unsolicited comments from actual users of sites developed by Bill:

GENERAL COMMENTS ON WEB SITES
  • LOVE your website! I thoroughly enjoy visiting Catalina Island, which is one of my most favorite places on earth! It's nice to find such a comprehensive website on such an wonderful place! You all did a wonderful job! I am impressed the most with all the interesting historical information, and Mr. Bushing should be congratulated on his extensive written material! - Diane F. Fisli

  • My kids enjoyed the Conservancy Intranet site and all the pictures. It was a good preview to the Island and it answered and stimulated many questions. The students were better prepared for our trip. Our stay at Fourth of July was wonderful. I hope that CIMI [Catalina Island Marine Institute] will encourage all visiting schools to visit your site as a pre and post trip. - Chris Bartel

  • I visited the Conservancy's web site and really liked what I saw. It was easy to use, informative, and the photos looked great. It's one of the best sites that I've seen. - Mark Elvin, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

  • My husband and I are considering a visit to your island in mid January and I was searching the web and found your site. Thanks for all the good info. - Julie Harris

  • This is a wonderful web page. I have been to Catalina Island several times and never new this Whittier School and camp existed. I find this so interesting, and thanks for a great job.

  • Thank you for your list of historical happenings on Catalina. The history of the island & it's development by the Wrigley Family is quite relevant up to the present day of the 1990's. Again, thank you for the web site.

  • I found your site wonderful and look forward to coming back as I need information on native plants. - Paul Riha

  • By the way, you have a wonderful web site. It has inspired me to come visit the Island sometime soon.

  • Your compilation of information about Catalina Island is wonderful. We live on the other side of the country also on a lovely Island, Nantucket. - Christine Silverstein

  • The work you've done on this web site is great.... some of the most comprehensive and complete work I've seen. Keep up the great job.. I'll be tuning in regularly to see any updates or additions. - Bob Unvert

  • This is the first time I have encountered the Conservancy pages. Congratulations! This is a wonderful resource on Catalina.

  • By the way, looked at your website design for the Conservancy and wish ours [his conservancy's] would have such an interesting and educational site. - Paul Sanz

  • This is the first time I have encountered the Conservancy pages. Congratulations! This is a wonderful resource on Catalina. - Sidney K. Gally

  • You guys have a terrific web page. I was on the Island last month and had a great time...

  • I like the web site. Nice photos, good links and plenty of useful info. I am looking for a place to bring my Boy Scout troop for an overnight trek. Thanks. - Guy Kellam

  • So pleased to discover this [web site] when I began searching for info about the Conservancy. We visited Catalina last year and decided then we must arrange to have a tour when we return this summer... Thank you. - Raelene Manzer

COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS
  • My name is Brad and I am doing a report on giant kelp. I found that your site had lots of information that helped me on my studies. I also liked the pictures. Thank you.

  • Hello, my name is Clea (15, female). I am doing a research project for my science class on El Nino, and how it effects global sea surface temperatures. Your information was very helpful, thank you.

  • I am doing a report on Kelp and I used some info from you. My teacher wanted us to add a bibliography for ever place we got info from, including web pages. What would I write as a bibliography entree for your web site? Thanks, - Carl Kasalek

  • I am a student at Cuyamaca College in San Diego and am currently enrolled in a course in Ecological Restoration. For this class I am to present a project to the class which will in turn be turned in to U.S. Wildlife Fisheries and Game. I have chosen to put together a Powerpoint Presentation of the various plant species in Southern California. It's purpose is to aid in the education of future students in the field of plant identification. I am writing to ask for your permission to include some of the photos you have up on your website.

  • Your "Intranet" site looks great... I have been exploring it for several weeks now and it is in the bookmark section of my computer. Great job! - "Science Class"@JTDSchool.com

COMMENTS FROM RESEARCHERS
  • YOU'VE GOT A TERRIFIC WEBSITE! Good work! We'll have to keep your site in mind as we work on developing the regional information content on our own. You've done a great job at supplying solid and pertinent information to your audience (surfience?). - Judy Gibson . Web developer, San Diego Natural History Museum

  • I have to say that you were entirely too modest about your website- it is great!! I've been wandering around, and have yet to plumb all of its holdings. There is a great deal of "meat" on this site, yet it is very easy to access and comprehend... It is such a relief to find a serious site that also has a sense of humor.... The GIS sections are great! Clearly the work done so far has been essential infrastructure, and provides an excellent tool. Your website is just too rich to comprehend in one or two takes! Or even five or six! - Dr. Larry Loeher, UCLA

  • ... I will mention that I found it [Research Menu] to be extremely useful, and well designed. I am gathering background information on past and current research programs on Catalina Island, to be used as a framework for research I am proposing as an applicant for a postdoctoral position at the USC Wrigley Institute. - Brian Fadely, University of Alaska

  • Hi, I have to thank you for your web page. The photos are great; it makes it so much easier to learn the plants with a good color photo. This is a real community service!! - Melissa Kellyn, Geography Dept ,University of California Santa Barbara

REQUESTS TO USE MATERIALS FROM DEVELOPED WEB SITES
  • I think your web pages are outstanding. I am adding many of them to WINDandSEA, an Internet Locator that I have put together for the Central Library of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I generally shy away from private sites as some tend to get a little strident occasionally, but your site let's the science and environment speak for themselves. I particularly liked your giant kelp page among others. - Skip Theberge NOAA Central Library

  • On behalf of WCB/McGraw-Hill, we are requesting permission to mention the following web site(s)/web page(s) as a reference in a Work which will be published by The McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc., entitled "An Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life", 7th edition, by James L. Sumich. - Anne Wallingford

  • I would like to ask permission to use a few images from your listing... I would like to include them in our Gallery of Bulbs, a web page of the International Bulb Society. Thank you kindly - Charles Gorenstein, Member of Board of Directors, International Bulb Society

  • I am seeking permission to use selected texts from your website. I am a teacher at a k-12 school called Viewpoint in Calabasas in Southern California. I teach 7th grade life science and every year in September we take a trip to Emerald Bay. This year I am preparing a journal for the students to write in and record their experiences. I would like to include some of the texts that you have on your website. I would be making only 70 copies of the journal and it would not be sold. - Robert Kahn

  • My name is Chuck Haznedl and I'm the Webmaster for the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Associates Web site (www.ecnca.org)... I would like permission to use some of Dr. Bill Bushing's photographs. So far I have found one of an American Kestrel and two others of the Adenostoma Fasciculatum, all credited to Dr. Bushing. There are quite likely many more which I have not yet discovered and would like to use.

  • This is an email request for permission to use materials from your web site in a curriculum project generated by... developers from the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) Project of the University of California at Berkeley. The WISE project (http://wise.berkeley.edu) develops Web-based software and curriculum materials for use in middle- and high-school science classrooms. One of the fundamental ideas behind WISE is that science curricula can greatly benefit from the wealth of scientific information already available on the Web, such as your site. - The WISE Project This is an email request for permission to use materials from your web site in a curriculum project generated by Mike Burstein and other developers from the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) Project of the University of California at Berkeley. The WISE project (http://wise.berkeley.edu) develops Web-based software and curriculum materials for use in middle- and high-school science classrooms. One of the fundamental ideas behind WISE is that science curricula can greatly benefit from the wealth of scientific information already available on the Web, such as your site. - The WISE Project

  • I am writing to request permission from you to use the listed Internet address as part of a scavenger hunt in my Computer Lab Manual. The manual is a Kindergarten through Fifth grade set of progressive lesson plans to make students independent users in the field of technology. All the lessons have technology and curriculum based goals. This site would be used as a search area to visually show necessary information in order to complete a required task... It is important for children to begin viewing good sites on the Internet in their beginning school years. Your site allows students to read about and view natural environment damage. Understanding how animals are affected and how they affect the environment is part of the Third grade curriculum. This web page is an excellent example of this reality. The lesson would include your address for them to view, along with a task for them to complete after reading through the web site. Thank you for the work that has gone into this site. It is a great informational and visual site for students. - Marguerite Wesley

  • I recently went to your site. The reason I write is the following, I'm asked to make a homepage for Tierenteyn-Verlent, a mustard shop in Ghent (Belgium) and i was wondering if I can use your pictures of the mustard plants on my site. - Machrivan

COMMENTS FROM INDIVIDUALS ASSOCIATED WITH CATALINA
  • Just a short note to say how much fun it's been to be using your Web Site. It's great!! And I'm learning a lot. Thanks. - Dr. Maria Pellegrini [Member of the Board of Directors, Santa Catalina Island Conservancy]

  • Thanks again Bill for all your efforts with the Conservancy Intranet Project. I use it almost daily for information while conducting the [Conservancy's] Jeep Eco-Tours and seldom remember to thank you for your work. - Bruce Poncel

  • I am just so happy that I can have a ready reference of Catalina Island. I want to explain to you that I share this information with the people I take out on tours on kayaks. I get a wonderful opportunity to share a little knowledge of this wonderful island and be accurate at the same time. That's important to me the facts of this island the things that the Conservancy is doing. People really don't understand what a great thing it is until I drive the point home this Island is a rare and wonderful place, of course I try to add a little magic here and there. The resource that this intranet of the Island I consider a bonus to us all, keep it up... - Daniel Peterson, kayak tour guide, Descanso Beach Ocean Sports [Catalina Island]

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