Cory Collier

The lot of us here at NFi Studios have recently release the 0.1 Beta version of MemberFuse , a Social Network designed and developed specifically for Associations. I’d like to personally thank the team I work with at NFi, especially Sterling Raphael , Lynda Raphael , and Elizabeth Baranik for helping create the opportunities and goals for our development team to accomplish.

MemberFuse, as stated before, is a Social Networking package built on open source software that helps existing Associations provide value for their members outside of the usual, and sometimes outdated methods they currently employ. The goal for any Association is to give it’s member base something tangible and usable. We at NFi have worked exceptionally hard to produce something that is both useful and valuable.

The process to develop MemberFuse has been an amazing learning curve for me. I’ve always stressed concepts of design patterns and convention when speaking with other developers. This is especially crucial in open source software development, where the developer is often left to his / her own devices when it comes to creating applications. However, some of the features necessary for MemberFuse really pushed the limits of what had previously thought possible before.

One of the coolest things I got into with MemberFuse was the integration with Trac and SVN and Eclipse. I’m going to write a tutorial on how to make the most of this pretty soon, so be on the lookout for that. I can say in advance though, that it has made my life in team software development far easier and more manageable than ever before.

Recently my boss, Sterling , wrote up about all of us at NFi on his personal blog. It’s flattering to hear what he has to say. I probably shouldn’t care too much about the accolades that I may, or may not recieve from other people, but I do.

All of us at NFi work very hard to produce product that is above and beyond client expectation. Just the other day I worked from 8 in the morning until midnight. While that’s not an everyday occurence, it happens quite a bit. Sometimes in this business, there’s just far too much to do. So when I hear some appreciation from the boss, I guess I get a little choked up.

I shoud count my blessings. I work in an environment where I can wear just about whatever I want, I can say pretty much whatever is on my mind, and I can listen to Death Metal all day (with headphones, of course).

Sterling is a dedicated entreprenuer who has the insight to know that while teamwork and dedication are critical to success, an uptight or stifling atmosphere is not. There’s a weird balance between fostering creativity, and discouraging a lack of productivity that Sterling does a pretty stand up job at acheiving here.

The guys (and gals) I work with are a really cool bunch of folks. I’ve mentioned Sterling, but Derek, Bender, Elizabeth, Rick, CJ, and now Chris are all friends to me. I routinely heckle Bender and Derek is always teaching me something.

Our office is awesome. It’s in the heart of Downtown Orlando. We have wood floors, and a great view (though the shades are frequently closed to keep the glare to a minimum). We get to meet a lot of really awesome folks because of our location alone.

So, I really like working with these guys at NFi. I can’t think of a better place to be.

Last Friday afternoon, we at NFi (plus a few friends), were honored to have Donna Dowless chat with us about her life, and about life / business success. She spoke of common themes, like ingenuity, patience, self-confidence, and most importantly, perseverance.

I feel like I’m part of something. There’s a growing movement in Orlando, to get the outside world to notice that we’re more than Mickey Mouse . I spoke previously that Orlando has a growing artistic community as well. Donna has done much to help realize that.

Listening to Donna Dowless’s life story is like hearing a tall tale. The only difference is, it’s real. Donna took 90 minutes to tell us her life story, and every minute is filled with one unbelievable tale after another.

Donna grew up in a military family, and was taught to have humble aspirations. Her father had hoped she would join the military when she graduated high school. Her mother wanted her to become a secretary instead. Donna took her chances with a secretarial career.

Long story short: Donna wound up doing secretary work in the entertainment industry, where she climbed the ladder until she was a venue director. Not one to rest on her laurels, Donna jumped on board with Tickemaster during the beginning of that empire. Donna left Ticketmaster when she was senior Vice President of the company.

All I can say about it all is: wow.

Many thanks to Donna, for all the inspiration. My continued sense of opportunity has been heightened by her.