Interview with Webmistress and Elementary school educator Dominique Goh

Dominique Goh, elementary school educator and mom to two active toddlers. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2000 and obtained her Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education, Singapore in 2001. She has been a elementary school teacher ever since. She is currently  on a two-year hiatus from work to take care of  her two boys. She authors the site From Dominique’s Desk , a site where she pens her personal parenting tips, recommendations and reviews on childrens products and mentionable quirky conversations between herself and her elder boy. She also runs My Little Playgroup – a weekly playgroup session for toddlers which incorporates music & movement, arts & crafts based on monthly themes.
 
 WJ: How would you describe your profession?
 
My profession as a teacher is built on my passion for young children. Coming from a family of educators I know that importance of having a solid education. I am dedicated to educating and building up the characters of the youth of our society. I feel that it is important that we start education from birth to give a child the maximum opportunity to grow and mature into well balanced adults.
 
 
 
 WJ: How did you get into New Media/Online publishing/Online communications? Did you see yourself getting into this field early on? What did you used to do “in an earlier life” (prior career, if any)?
 

I decided to do online publishing/marketing when my 2nd son was born. I was looking for an alternative source of income to supplement the family as I wish to personally take care of them to be able to give them the best care and guidance. Knowing the importance of nuturing a child from birth I did not want my child to lose out and have the chance to become wayward like some of the students that I had encountered while I was teaching full-time. Writing comes quite easily for me as I have been actively involved in newsletter publications since I was studying in university.
 
 
 
 WJ: What do you think are the turning points that helped make webmastering/online publishing/online marketing a lucrative business field?
 
With the explosion of the internet and now the ease of building up your own website through blogging more and more people are looking towards the interent to market their products/services. More and more online marketers like Ewen Chia, Joel Christopher are making their marks are internet millionaires within a relatively short period of time. This has drawn a widespread interest in this field of online marketing and many, including me, wish to join in on this bandwagon.
 

 WJ:  In your opinion, what is the most exciting recent development in online publishing?
 
Viral marketing is the most exciting recent development. This concept has spread like wildfire through the explosion of social bookmarking sites and opt-in lists. Rebrandable books and softwares have made it easier for advertising to take place as people voluntarily advertise your product/service for you with minimal cost.
 

 WJ: What do you think are the essential skills to become a successful webmaster?
 
To be a sucessful webmaster one must be able to drive a substantcial amount of qualified traffic to your website. You must also know how the basics of html to be able to tweak your website templates when necessary. Also have a passion for learning and constantly updating yourself on the new features the Web has to offer.
 

 WJ: Being a webmaster has gone from being a one-person job to a field that allows specialization. Is that a good thing or a bad thing for your business?
 
It is good as you can concentrate on your forte and outsource the other techinical and time consuming bits. Focus on the money making parts and have a team to help you maintain your website. However the tricky part is finding suitable memebers for your team and working together as a group.
 
 WJ: Do you think the industry is regulated enough? Have the authorities or the Net’s
     relevant governing bodies become too restrictive? Which areas of online activity do you think NEED further regulation?
 
I feel that the industry is regulated enough however it is still quite grey to me on  copyrights and filing claims for being scammed. I feel that there should be more access to essential information on the different ruling governmental bodies and how a netizern can get redress if there is a dispute.
 

 WJ: What are the challenges the industry is facing today?
 
The online marketing community is growing rapidly together with the changes in the latest trends. The overload of information and sieving out the relevant parts is really very time consuming and back breaking. It is hard to cypher between the genuine marketers and scammers.
 
 
 
 WJ: What would your advice be to someone who is just getting his or her feet wet in online business?
 
I would advice him/her to seriously consider the niche market of choice and to spend some time mapping out his marketing strategy. I am still working on marketing myself and trying to earn an online income. It hasn’t been that smooth saling and I haven’t had any recurrent sales or exploded my mailing list as yet. I am still constantly learning more and more about this industry and happy to help any newbie who is in need of pointers.

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