APEX News Interview - August 2009
Disclaimer: Interviews published express the views of the contributing parties and are not necessarily those of the APEX Board of Directors and / or the APEX Newsletter Editor.
Introducing Luuk Francken - the owner of Luuk's Travel Site and the current Chief Executive Officer of APEX.
Interviewer - Hi Luuk - welcome to the APEX interview room and thank you for giving our members the opportunity to learn a little about you.
To begin, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? ( You may include any personal information you wish to share. )
Luuk - II was born and educated in Apeldoorn, a large town in the central east of Holland and as time passed I made it as a Mechanical Engineer and afterwards, as part of my compulsory military training, spent quite some time getting a training as Air Traffic Controller in the Royal Dutch Air force. I got in there, as I had been flying gliders for quite some years by that time, as a hobby. I left my homeland in 1956 to emigrate to Australia and was 21 when I arrived at Adelaide, Australia. I started employment, after a short spell in a steel factory, in the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science where I worked as a laboratory technician and I stayed there until leaving for the Netherlands again for an extended holiday in 1961. In the meantime, I had married a Dutch girl who had followed me to Australia. Holland, however, wasn't exactly what I expected of it anymore, so we returned to Adelaide where I worked in an Oil Refinery, in the laboratory. In the meantime, I got myself a Chemical Engineer degree at the Adelaide University and did quite a few other courses. In 1965 our daughter Brigitte was born. She now also lives in the Netherlands but still has the Australian nationality as well as the Dutch one. We went back to Europe for good in 1966 where I worked in a research laboratory of Mobil Oil in Hamburg, Germany, this being temporary as the building of the refinery where I wanted to work in Amsterdam wasn't finalized. That lasted for only 10 months, but in that time, Amsterdam wanted me to lead the operational lab after start-up.
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But Germany started pulling at me as they wanted me as Chief Chemist for their refinery in Bremen. I declined that job and chose Amsterdam. Our son Edgar was born in the Netherlands in 1969. After about 4 years, the refinery had to close down, as a result of the Oil Crisis at that time and I moved to the South of Holland (Vlissingen, or as the English call it: Flushing) to a French Oil refinery of Total, where I became the Chief Chemist. In 1986 however, I had enough of the Oil world and started with an Engineering firm, which supplied and installed total laboratories, including the furniture, chemicals and accessories and naturally all the apparatus and trained the local people in the use of same. My job was the installation on the spot, heading all the personnel needed to finish the job mostly in the Middle and Far East areas. But there were short spells also in Nigeria and Europe. As a result of all those journeys I was able to offer the visitors of my “Luuk's Travel Site” my experiences of all those travels. As part of that site, I also started the LTS Grail Award Program (guess where the “LTS” came from?) which now has attained the dizzy heights of the Award Sites! rating of 5.0+.
My marriage ended in 1983 for personal reasons and I am proud to say that I am still good friends with my ex-wife. She now has a new lady partner and I got re-married to a wonderful woman called Perrie. We have now been married officially since 1986 and have been together since 1984. We are the proud grandparents of 4 grand children (all from my daughter Brigitte) and are extremely happy. The grand children too: they have a large number of grandparents now. 4 Grandmothers and two grandpa's. What luxury, especially on their birthdays! So many presents!
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Interviewer - What was it that initially stirred your interest and convinced you to create and / or manage web sites?
Luuk - That was the curiosity about what Internet was. I had heard about it, I was (and am) an apparatus freak, so I needed a computer. The result: one tries. And is astounded when it works! When you start “surfing”, you inevitably encounter many sites. And the result is: try and make one yourself. The one I made was awful. Amateurish to a great extent. Hopeless, but all mine! And then someone sent me an award. No idea what it was, I was thrilled. My work was awarded. Later on it proved to be an award that was “given away”. But I still have it on my site. Oh boy, was I proud. So then and there I decided to start my own award as well. And that started in 1998 and is still going strong! The LTS Grail Award! Isn't it funny: a “give away” award or as some call it, a “Fake Award” started me on this road. So, please, don't talk “Fake Awards” down all the time. They DO have a purpose! They got me on the internet properly!
Interviewer - How long has your web site been online and what benefits have you personally experienced by having a web site?
Luuk - Oh boy, what a difficult question. The first half is easy. My web site was started in 1996. My Award Program in 1998. The benefits? They are so many. Most of all, through my web site and my Award Program, I have met so many good friends, And through them I found so many new horizons which opened my world even more.
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Interviewer - What ( if any ) do you consider to be the positives and / or negatives of having web sites?
Luuk - I think, most of that is answered in my answer on question 3. The positives outweigh all the negatives. One meets the world literally. Makes new friends, even though one never meets them in person. They are more near to me then most people that live next to me. I have found a new family on internet. In some cases I have no idea what these friends look like. But I sure know them and they me. Negatives? A web site takes a heck of a lot of work to maintain. And now that I am retired I hate work. But this is a hobby. And hobbies may take time, right?
Interviewer - Who, if anyone, influenced you the most when you began to create your web sites or when your web sites initially went online and how did this person or these persons influence you?
Luuk - No need to give you a name. It was the person that sent me my first award.
Interviewer - In your opinion, what is the biggest mistake a non-professional web site designer might make?
Luuk - To think that he or she is the best and knows all. It is indeed the opposite. One never knows enough. And the more one learns, the better he or she will realize that he or she knows little or nothing. Accept help, when it is offered.
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Interviewer - What tips can you give to web site owners who are looking to improve their web sites?
Luuk - Again: don't be too proud. Accept help from others. But start a site. Any site. And become a member of this great family! Become a member of important associations, like APEX, the Association for Positive Ethical eXchange. They will help you on the way to become a webmaster who follows the Ethical Rules that should govern us all on internet.
Interviewer - Do you consider accessibility and validation of coding to be important? Whether yes or no please tell us why..
Luuk - To be quite honest, no. That will shock quite a few people that know me. I know, that I must make my site readable to all, including people that can't read small fonts or badly colored fonts. I know that one should make sure that alt tags are in place. But, again no. Validation has no meaning to me. As long as a site looks good, is readable, then I am fully satisfied. Some people find validation of utmost importance. Sorry, I don't.
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Interviewer - Your web site includes Travel information site and also displays many awards. Could you explain why you seek awards for your web site and what you consider to be the true value of the awards achieved to your web site in general?
Luuk - The travel part is the reason for the existence of my site. One has to find a subject, that gives something to others. Not just a glorifying yourself sort of site. But sharing with others. The gathering of awards was a side hobby. At first it was to get as many as possible. later on that changed: to get as many of the high rating awards in the world. Because by winning those, I knew I was getting near to the goal I sought: recognition of all my work and the subject I chose to offer to the world, but most of all, of friends I had made.
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Interviewer - You are the owner of an APEX Member web site. Why did you decide to join APEX originally and what benefits has this membership provided to you over the years?
Luuk - I joined APEX on September 18, 2001. That is the date I received my badge from Lynn Pilewski, the Director of Operations at the time. And oh boy, was I proud. I wanted to join this association as I was very aware of so many unethical items I came across on my surfing journeys. I also tried to do so with another Ethical group. But there I met some resistance, as some people will remember. I felt awful for weeks on end, until someone well known spoke for me. I did, in the end, become a member of that group too. But somehow, APEX stayed nearer to my heart. Benefits? Again such a difficult question. I have learned from them what ethics means on internet. And how to promote it. After all these years, it has grown on me and again, provided me with so many good and valued friends.
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Interviewer - Is there anything further you would like to add?
Luuk - Yes. I pray for APEX to grow and prosper. If it does, it WILL make the Internet, which we all like so much, a better world. It is indeed the future, to communicate and meet others, without the restriction of borders or politics. And the Ethics we promote are essential to open up those communication channels that will make us all the basis of a greater, better world, without those borders and politics, that now still try to prevent those lines to stay open. In general, without success, thank Heavens. But we do need ethics whether promoted by APEX or any other association or simply ourselves. So yes. please start with your own site. It is the only way to make a better world for our children in the future!
Interviewer - Thank you Luuk. The time you have given is much appreciated.
Acknowledgement: The above interview is Copyright © Luuk Francken 2009 - 2010 with sole publishing rights being held by APEX and may not be republished and / or redistributed without the written permission of the Author.