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Wifcon.com Begins Its 14th Year
Entry posted by robert_antonio
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Some time ago, I received an e-mail from a Wifcon.com user. The user said that Wifcon.com was my legacy to the contracting field. I never intended for Wifcon.com to be my legacy to anything.
In July 1998, I wanted to be part of the internet and the first thing that came to mind was "federal contracting." So, I started with daily contracting news and soon began building a portal for federal contracting information. My goal was to build something that people would use, and as I built the site, more and more people used it. Hey, I did it! Today, Wifcon.com is still growing in usage?slowly, of course.
There have been ups and downs over the years. The ups included beating larger web sites to the punch with information, at times. Once in a while, a user will send an e-mail, thank me, and say something nice about the site. Those are blessings and much appreciated. The downside was all the time I spent to keep Wifcon.com alive and growing. I was in my late 40s when I started; now I am in my early 60s. Sometime over the past Winter, I had a small stroke. You may have noticed some mistakes on the web site. Let's face it! I'm slowing down. I have high blood pressure now, prescription drugs, an aspirin regimen, a doctor, and a neurologist. Didn't have any of that in my 40s or 50s.
I've tried to make Wifcon.com unique and these three things do. First, the
Textbook On A Page. That's the bid protest section. I've taken key excerpts from decisions, added a link to the full .pdf file, and sorted the decisions according to the FAR. If you select a FAR section, paragraph, etc. and read it, you can get a nice little education about that area from the Comptroller General, the Court of Federal Claims, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Just think of all that information on one page! It makes my toes quiver. Second, the National Defense Authorization Bills or our annual contracting legislation. My idea was to give you an explanation of why Congress passed the various sections of the bills. On one side you have the legislation and on the other side you have an explanation. Why wait for someone to tell you why; now you can find it yourself. Finally, the FAR Research section. You have FAR cases, Federal Acquisition Circulars, and their regulatory history. All in one place! Those three unique features give you an idea of what Wifcon.com is. Its about hard work for both of us. I build it and you use it. It is my version of a learning center.Who's out there? I get basic information from my commercial web host about the domains (.mil, .gov, .us, .com) that visit Wifcon.com. They include civilian and defense agencies, state and local governments, major contractors, small businesses, law firms, non-profits, educational institutions, etc. Just about what you would expect. Some of you have been with me since the beginning. I remember you. Some of you use the site as your home page. I remember you too. Its all good.
Who's in here? Me, just me. Additionally, I have had some wonderful people contributing articles, discussion posts, and blog posts too. What started out as my effort to be part of the internet, became an extension of my mind, and is now a habit. At times, it brings me peace. Over the past year, I was introduced to my mortality. Anything so closely tied to a mortal must end with that mortal. When that will be, I don't know. I guess we will quietly fade away, an old webmaster and his web site.
Bob Antonio
July 6, 2011
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