WHERE THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD!
This is a question that is making its way into more and more business and personal conversations. I've heard arguments to support both sides, and the groups supporting freedom or not can get quite vehement in their attempts to convince others to think their way.
The beauty of the Internet is that it supports all views, every diverse topic and opinion one can think of. The Internet itself does not discriminate against gender, belief, background, truth, or lies. It just lets you advertise to your heart's content, leaving the fallout in your lap.
I don't have a definite opinion about the freedom of information online. I do believe the government should be very careful about its involvement--but that's up to the citizenry, after all. WE control the Internet. A collective WE--you, me, your neighbors, my neighbors, teenagers, senior citizens, women, men-- everyone.
The goal is to use the Internet to further our knowledge and make informed decisions. Including ones about whether or not the Internet should remain free and accessible to all.
Yvonne DiVita
211 Coronado Drive.
Rochester, NY 14617
716.338.2123
No one said it was going to be easy. Let's see, how many quotes can I think off the top of my head:
"I never promised you a rose garden."
"You can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
"The customer is always right."
You get the drift. This is going to be hard work. And, where there's work, there's confusion. Your first and best reaction is to be pro-active--learn, learn, learn. The more you know about what you're doing, the better you will be able to do it.
I don't say the pen is mightier than the sword for nothing! Knowledge is power--believe it and you will succeed.
June 29, 2001 SELLING BEGINS AT HOME
So, you wake up one hot July night and realize you've just hd the most spectacular dream. A whole movie of how you can make a million dollars online--selling cute little cermaic angles on eBay, or building a website to hawk your mother's famous chili recipe, or starting your own ezine to tell everyone who sends you an email address how to work better, eat better, sleep better, or just be better. Now what do you do?
First, you have to pass this idea by some other people. The best people would be trusted family members. I always suggest your exaulted mother, because, although your mother supported you when you bought that disasterous ant farm as a 10 year old, and probably grimaced but allowed you to have a hamster even though she knew the cat would end up liking it better than you did, your mother will be straight with you about a business you have decided to form. She will give you ideas, support your good intentions, and be honest--with a touch of compassion--about the marketablility of this new idea.
Next, you need to talk to friends and relatives to find out if they know anyone else who has begun or is thinking of beginning, a similar venture. You need to scout your market. Your relatives know. They go online every day-- I think I saw Uncle Sal there yesterday looking for a better golf ball, and Aunt Carol was there last week, searching for recipes. The Internet is still so new, your idea probably has a good chance of making it, if you do some background research and find a niche for yourself.
Before you go ahead and start building this fantastic, three-D, flash centered masterpiece, ask yourself: What do I really want to accomplish? Then, ask your family if the website you have in mind is going to accomplish it. More websites are put up willy-nilly, with little or not thought to the product, the customer service needed to support the product, or the market the product is supposed to serve, that we are becoming inured to the dotcom demise--which I think the first half of this decade will go down in history as.
Your last task is to build that website slowly. Read about websites. Read about how to navigate. Read about the Internet.
Or, just call me. I'll do the hard part, and you can get busy starting your business.
A grandson visits his grandfather at a nursing home.
"So, Pop," he says. "Everything all right here? They treating you good?"
"Oh, sure," the grandfather replies. "I get good food, the nurse makes sure I take my medicine, and every night before I go to bed I get a demoral tablet and a viagra pill."
The grandson is apalled. He wishes his grandfather good-night and goes to the nurse's station.
"What's this?" he demands of the head nurse. "Why are you giving my grandfather a demoral tablet and a viagra pill every night?"
"Well," the nurse answers, "the demoral is to help him sleep, and the viagra is to keep him from falling out of bed."