My name is Chase Sagum and I am a full-time blogger living in Utah. I use blogging as my source of income and currently manage two different blogs. Chasesagum.com which covers open source web technologies and Bestplayerontheplanet.com which is a blog covering the NBA (my other passion).
Where It All Began
In early 2006 I was hired on as a project manager for a small web development firm near the university I was attending in Orem, Utah. I of course learned PHP, CSS, HTML, SEO the list goes on during my time there. During this education process of mine a good friend of mine introduced me to Linux. Fair to say I have been “hooked” ever since. I became fascinated in the overall concept of Open Source and why developers would spend so much time and effort creating something for free.
I started with basic desktop applications, then moved onto learning more about LAMP and so forth. Then I was introduced to SugarCRM. This was my first experience with an open source web application. Once I made the connection between open source and advancements in the web application world I knew I had to start a blog about all the things I would be learning.
The Creation of Chasesagum.com
On February 10, 2007 I wrote my first article after spending the previous day installing, configuring, and styling WordPress. This of course sparked my interest in the WordPress open source content management system. Which has then led me to Drupal and so on. Chasesagum.com originally was created as sort of a portfolio of all the client projects I was working on at the time. That then turned into me wanting to regurgitate all the powerful information I was learning.
The Difficult Times
In January 2008 I started my own web design/development/doitall firm called Evolve Web Development. That disaster lasted only 1 year. I started my own business without much planning and without much passion for what I was doing. It became immediately apparent that Blogging on Chasesagum.com was my biggest passion and the one thing I wanted to pursue. In this time I have created and started several other blogs on different topics, all of which died in the process. I have learned a great lesson about “sticking to what you love” in my business experience.
What I Have Learned
During my business efforts online, I never took full advantage of the free and open source technologies that were available to me. I spent alot of my time “recreating the wheel” as it were, rather than leveraging open source projects that were far more superior than what I was creating anyways. In this blog I not only recommend specific open source applications because I find them in some blog or search query. I recommend them because I can truly see the significance behind each app, and how they can help you be more successful.
Let’s Connect
I am always open to receive questions/suggestions. Feel free to contact and connect with me through any of the following channels. I look forward to assisting you with your open source needs and help you find more success online!
