matt2 tonight's second Guest is non other than the flunder of Kingsnake.com
matt2 oops founder
jeffb Id rather be a clam
matt2 jeff, would you like to introduce yourself, Sir
jeffb Hello
matt2 ya post the rules, jeff
jeffb Im Jeff Barringer and I'm the head custodian at kingsnake.com, among other things
jeffb This is a moderated guest chat.
jeffb Do not ask a question or post until the moderator tells you its your turn
jeffb Moderators have an @ in front of their names.
jeffb Please do not ask questions that are off topic or of a general herp nature. These are topic based chats please
jeffb be aware of the topic before entering the room. If you want to "general" chat please go to the HerpChat Chat
jeffb Room
jeffb Moderators will kick/ban users for violating posted rules.
jeffb No slanderous comments.
jeffb No obcenities or profanity.
jeffb Don't "JUMP NAMES" to better your position in the list.
jeffb Please have your question prepared before you are asked to post.
jeffb If you have no question type "PASS"
jeffb and I have a few SPECIAL rules tonight too....
jeffb No comments about my receding hairline
jeffb or my expanding wasteline
jeffb or my lack of social skills
jeffb other than that I am ready
jeffb matt you get the first question

matt2 I'm first, jeff when I first came online to kingsnake 3 years ago (and before I knew johno) kingsnake.com was sorta small..since then it has expolded into bigtime; where do you see it going?
matt2 exploded
jeffb well thats a big question and it demands a long involved answer....
jeffb kingsnake.com grew outta my hobby page....it expanded to cover all herps... then it expanded to all pets
jeffb I see us limiting ourselves to the pet industry but expnading into more media formats such as radio television and film
jeffb we have been doing a lot of prototype filming this year and will be doing some test production during the spring
jeffb really, our growth is only limited by the revenues the sites bring it at the moment

herpinboy are any of the other animal chats doing as good as herpchat, kingsnake etc.?
jeffb not really yet, but soon. We just hired webmasters for the aquarium and insect sites and hope to have all the rest on board by march
herpinboy cool
jeffb We are working to do our first chat week on the aquarium site now and are lining up some really big name sponsors and promotion

LeoViper Jeff, how do you think the internet has impacted the reptile world, it seems to have it's up sides and down sides, but overall, how do you believe it has had the most impact?
jeffb its shortened the communication times between businesses and ibndividuals trying to find or share information
LeoViper Do you think it has done more harm or good?
jeffb IOverall it has amplified existing practices in this industry, good and bad,, but overall they are the same....
jeffb good
jeffb I would hazard a guess that no one here would ever have had the opportunity to meet people like BGFry much less ask him questions

Randal_B Mr. Barringer, in the future, what can be done about the bickering and back-stabbing presently on kingsnake's forums?And I'm not calling the kettle black! lol!
jeffb Randal this is basicallyh the same bickering and backstabbing we have always had as an industry(as ANY industry)
Randal_B I agree
jeffb I do think that the first step would be to build a breathalizer int every IP addre4ss

ScottsReptiles I am looking for a program to record inventory and herp sales in my store.. without going to a computerized register system. Do you know of any programs available, or would it be easiest to just use a generic database system?
jeffb \There are a number of different POS (point of sale) applications that can be customized to your needs. I would look for one that has a database exportable to either a SQL or Access Dbase
jeffb I don't5 know of any specific packages though, sorry...
ScottsReptiles no problem.. I've been looking at POS but can't find anything specific for herps
jeffb I can ask around if you send me an email...
ScottsReptiles Thanks Jeff.. I'll send you one
jeffb jeffb@kingsnake.com
SnakesAndStuff Breathalizer on every computer??? Who uses their computer sober? I'll pass (out). :-)

templeviper jeff how many people are working for kingsnake now
jeffb let me do some adding here....
matt2 (I remember when there was 3)
jeffb 11
jeffb plan on doubling that ney summer
jeffb by
jeffb if the revenues are there
jeffb next
Tropics Just wanted to say thanks Jeff for a great service in all phases!!!!
jeffb your welcom
jeffb e

jeffb I have a quaetion
jeffb Jeff what technologies would you say have impacted the herp industry the most obver the last 100 years
matt2 answer:
jeffb well 2 specifically the invention of the telephone and the jet engine
Herpo heat tape
jeffb the telephone allowed communications to occur in real time and the jet engine allowed for overnight delivery of animal shipments and this business would never have gotten here without them

Herpo jeff, whatever happened to the plans for k.com europe?
jeffb its still in the works...
jeffb right now we have to focus on the other sites
jeffb europe is still way behind in the use of internet
jeffb but they are catching up
jeffb more of the general ppublic needs to have a PC
jeffb europes internet usage is very different than ours
Cryssspass how so?
jeffb so... answer... its still there we just need to foucs on other things until their usage rates increase
jeffb most people in europe can't afford a PC
jeffb and have little space to put them
jeffb and in many european countires you have to pay by the minute for local phone access

LeoViper Jeff, what direction do you see transportation of animals across certain borders going in the near future, it has been getting very difficult recently, I've been finding it very hard to get animals up from down south(I live in Canada), and I just wonder if you believe if it will improve, or continue to decline
jeffb I would have to say that the shipping situation, especially, international, will not get better soon
LeoViper Do you feel it will get better eventually, or just keep going down from here?
jeffb The increased security, the threat of bioweapons,. and aliean species invasions are combining to create a maelstrom of roadblocks in the future....
jeffb enjoy what you got now, it may not be available in the future

Randal_B I would like to say that you scored by having Louie Porras as Web Radio host!
matt2 (amd me as Moderator)
jeffb thanks... I talked to him last night and hes got 3-4 interviews shecduled this week
Randal_B great
Randal_B !
jeffb and should have them too me soon

ScottsReptiles I am not sure if this was brought up already, but what really got you hooked into herps enough for you to create kingsnake? or did you just not having anything else better to do at the time? (and Bill rocks :-p feel better now?)
jeffb It was winter, I couldn't go hunt for graybanded kingsnakes, so I built a web based interactive map that would allow me to click on it and see pictures of graybands from that locality. I showed it to a few freinds and it turned into the graybanded kingsnake page
jeffb had no plans, goals or ideas that it would turm into this
ScottsReptiles is that page still active?
jeffb just wanted to play with the technology
jeffb yes at http://www.kingsnake.com/alterna

Tropics do you still have the time to keep and breed snakes
jeffb I keep snakes but I don't breed them anymore.
Tropics thanks
jeffb I djust don't have the time to deal with keeping a large collection or seelling offspirng
jeffb the actual keeping part is now just a hobby once again
matt2 my turn: jeff do ya forsee maybe k.com producing a tv/herp/k.com related show
jeffb yes... we hope to have a prototype ready by next fall
jeffb we want to shop it around to the cable networks
matt2 any certain channel

Herpo Jeff. Many of the expos I've attended in the past two years have been dropping in both attendanc and number of vendors. Would you attribute this to sagging sales or increase of sales on the internet? And with the potential loss of shipping ability, do you think the expos will pick up and the internet sales will lose?
jeffb yes... the playboy channel if I get my christmas wish
matt2 applegate will be first guest
jeffb While there is room for both expos and the internet I would say that the thing that has hurt the expos most is the sheer number of them.
jeffb 10 years ago there were less than 10 worldwide.... now there are 5 a week just in the US
jeffb its lost a lot of its newness... as far as the internet, its just another sales tool/channel for the industry
jeffb I do suspect that expos will see a resurgance if shipping tightens considerably more or rates make shipping to expensive for most

LeoViper Jeff, with the amount of time, and money that goes into kingsnake, how do you find time to enjoy the actually hobbyist side of reptiles anymore?
jeffb its tough but I have decided to live vicariously through the exploits of my up & coming neices and nephews....
jeffb I took a few of them down on their first hunt last spring and they enhjoyed it...
Herpo I wish you luck in converting them to the dark side
LeoViper Great idea Jeff
jeffb Also I do get to do a lot of stuff the average herper doesnt' like I went corn snake collecting with Bill & Kathy Love a few years back, field collecting in the florida woods with frank retes and this year I am going to herp the amazon with green tracks so
jeffb it does have it pluses

templeviper jeff how much time does ks.com take out of your life
jeffb all of it
jeffb I chek my email first thing in the morning and last thing at night and work in bewteen. I quit draeming about the web every night a few tyears ago tho
jeffb but there was a pint where for 3 soldi years every night I would dream about the internet

jeffb JeffB what would you like for christmas....
Herpo cameron diaz?
jeffb I would like a 3 day weekend somewhere without a computer

Herpo any regrets?
Herpo such as quitting the day job?
jeffb I have good days and I have bad days..... Some times I have really really good days... sometimes I have really really bad days....
jeffb My 1 regret is that we didn't start seeking investment capital sooner when people were funding anything....

LeoViper What type of format will you be following when you eventually launch the television show?
jeffb not like anything out there now...
LeoViper How so?
jeffb more like Wild Kingdom than anything else....
matt2 or Temtation Island?
Herpo with jeff as Marlin Perkins
LeoViper Great, we need less bs wildlife tv
jeffb go around the world and work with and spotlight the local effort and people that are involved
jeffb I am going out to film with a TP&W biologist at the end of the siummer as he chack and does gator counts on the texas coast
LeoViper Sounds like it'll be a blast Jeff
jeffb then probably down under to do some stuff with Adam Britton
jeffb thats all tenative at the moment

muha Jeff: What future developments/improvements are in store for kingsnake.com? And how big is the ks.com team currently? Whats this about the tv show, where can I find more info about it??
cporosus You're welcome anytime, Jeff ;)
muha Hopefully these Q's haven't already been asked... :)
jeffb there are 11 employyes now including myself. We want to play with more media formats.
muha Media formats??? Like streaming media?
jeffb we are prototyping a TV show to try to put before some networks in the fall
jeffb yes
muha Ahh.. sounds great! Can't wait!!
jeffb there will be more info on this if yopu check the transcripot tomorrow

NickAsher What made you call the site KingSnake???
jeffb because alterna.com was already gone

templeviper Jeff what kind of reptiles are you keeping now a days, and has your collection gone down in size due to ks.com taking up so much time
jeffb yes... I went form about 140 snakes to 3, but I enjoy them more now
jeffb I keep boa constrictors
jeffb 1 was a rescue, the other 2 are hogg islands that I raised from weeklings
wildliferescue keep me in mind for your tv show, I will be doing a local show here next spring.....pass

jeffb jeff whats the one thing you wish that you could improve on kinganake.com
jeffb wel...
jeffb I wish that I could find a way to implement a legitimate vendor rating/ranking system for the classifieds
jeffb but unfortunately without implementing a "closed loop" sales system like Ebay it seems to be insurmountable.
Herpo sort of an ebay type of thing?
jeffb Without us getting in the middle of EVERY transaction that occurs,, there is no way to confirm that someone did/didn't have a deal or complaint with a vendor

NickAsher Jeff can i have a job??
Cryssspass yes, the US allows u to have a job
jeffb while this hurdle exists, there is no system that is even remotely safe from adulteration
jeffb send your resume to hr@onlinehobbyist.com
NickAsher i am only 17
jeffb well we don't sell alcohol here so....
wildliferescue Nick....a job with kingsnake doesn't pay cash, only in mice and rats
jeffb you don't have to be aa certain age to have a job here
jeffb I would like to but honestly I have a cramp in my hand and am having a problem typing at the moment
jeffb I am typing this now with a pencil in my mouth

matt2 ok; welp, this has yet been another grand chat and I wish to thank JeffB on behalf of Kingsnake.com and myself for being here tonight
JaymzO Thanks Jeff
Herpo clap! clap! clap!. thanks again for making it all possible, jeff
MSteven-pass Much appreciation, Jeff.
muha Thanks for providing herper's around the world with a great informatiion resource jeff!!
bigjimx Jeff is a true Legend'
jeffb thank you guys for being here
geckogeek what is tomarrows chat on any way?
matt2 Daniel Bennet - monitors and I'm not sure who else; check K.com
muha Adam Britton - Crocodile and Alligator Conservation in the 21st Century
matt2 night all