Don't Call Me a Web Master

28 Apr 2011

Growing up I can't remember if my dad had any pet peeves, but I do have a feeling that my adamancy for correctly saying someone's name has something to do with his tutelage. The same goes for my insistance that job titles should be accurate. As much as I love the funny "Man in Charge" type job titles, I feel that when it comes to networking, a job title says a lot about who you are.

So what exactly is a web master? Why do people insist on calling me that?

I figure that most people are just naive. They are unaware that noone with any sort of expertise uses that title on their business card. It's kind of like people presuming anyone who works on a computer (hardware, software, etc) is in IT. Just because I know how to take a desktop apart, doesn't mean I work in Information Technology (IT).

I guess like the title IT, web master is an old fashioned catch-all buzzword. Everyone in the late 90s in Silicon Valley seemed to be in IT or were getting degrees in IT. (Disclaimer: in the late 90s I was just another geeky kid in high school who knew code and how to use mIRC) There was nothing unique to being in IT. The intersting jobs were those who worked in "start ups". I guess that's where my problem with web master lies. It's an out-of-date catch-all.

A web master in the wild.

The term web master was used when websites were relatively easy to maintain. There was no need to worry about good photos because everything was compressed down to miniscule file sizes. There was no need to worry about standards in markup because everyone used Frontpage. There was no need for search rankings because, well, there weren't many search engines. I mean, we all used AltaVista. Google wasn't even a twinkle in the eyes of Larry and Sergey yet. When someone had a website it wasn't anything more than just a "presence" on the web.

I'm pretty sure that the job of a website has evolved into a vital piece to an organizations marketing strategy since the mid/late 90s.

So what? Isn't a web master still the person that maintains a website?

Nope. There are so many people behind the planning, development and maintenance of a website, that for one person to do it all would be impossible. Here's just a small list of web professional job titles:

Project Manager
Web Developer
Web Programmer
Web Designer
Front-end Developer
Graphic Designer
Search Engine Optimization Analyst
PPC Campaign Manager
Web Server Administrator
Database Administrator
Security Administrator
Web Analyst
Marketing Manager
Social Media Marketer
Videographer team
Photographer
Online Identity Manager

List originated from: http://doteduguru.com/id911-what-does-webmaster-mean.html

So if I hate "web master" so much, what do I call myself?

Depends. Usually there's a few commas in there. So in the case of the jobs I do for my 9-5 I would say: Front-end Developer, Web Designer, Online Ad Manager, Social Media Marketer just to start. I wouldn't want a catch-all title. There is not catch-all title that properly explains the extensive diversity of titles in the web industry. Don't assume we are all web masters and we won't assume you are all naive.

If you have any deceny or respect for your profession, please seek out your true job identity. Don't let others lump you into a group of web professionals who died out when Frontpage became the lauging stock of the industry. Proudly carry the job title of two, three or more and place them all on your cards. Or... or you can just not care and call yourself a web master, knowing that there are people like me making fun of your title to the rest of the world.

Nick Gassmann | Life as My Father's Son