How can you plug into the latest nail chat from cyberspace without plugging in a PC? By reading NAILS’ new bimonthly column---Nails on the ‘Net. No one is better qualified to bring you the latest news than columnist Debbie Doerrlamm, the first nail technician to establish a commercial site for nail technicians on the Web.

Doerlamm’s  interest in computers actually preceded her interest in nails. “When I was a teenager, my mother sent me to a technical trade school as punishment for wanting to quit high school. They gave me an aptitude test and enrolled me in computer programming classes.” she explains. “I’ve regarded computers as toys ever since,” she says, although at the time she never dreamed that computers would provide her with professional opportunities. Instead, five years ago, Doerlamm’s hairdresser urged her to learn to do nails, promising her a job if she did. Doerlamm took up nails, established a clientele, and soon opened her one-person salon, Wicked Wich Nails in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

Meanwhile, four years ago Doerlamm went online, talking about nails and anything else over a commercial online service, and two years later she ventured onto the Internet.” The first day I went surfing the, ‘net, I immediately thought, “I can do this’ “That weekend she created her own web page. About the same time, Doerlamm created a Sunday night live chat group for technicians on America Online. Then last year she started NAILTECH, an Internet mailing list where technicians can exchange industry tips and tricks and share their lives with one another.

Now, in addition to her nail business (she sees 38 regular clients), Doerrlamm is designing websites for other businesses, some nail related, some not. Getting started online is the subject of Doerrlamm’s first column, which debuts next month. Readers can reach Doerrlamm via e-mail at webmaster2@beautytech.com

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