The Internet / Web / Net

There are many ways that people communicate, many ways that people interact, share and socialize. These are everyday things that we do, that we have been doing and that we will in general always do.

The internet if you have to make it very clean and clear is the power of the knowledge of a human being. The possibilities are only bordered by an individuals own ability, talent and knowledge. “That sounds like something out of the matrix” well it is – to understand the power of the internet you need to “FREE YOUR MIND”.

Now if you can do that you will have no touble in understanding why the internet is the fastest growing business tool in our generation! What makes this so much more interesting is that living in South Africa in 2009 with global recession in full force, banks closing on a regular basis and the motor industry struggling to get by, there is one area of industry set to have a 20% growth in 2009 /10 – why is that?

The answer is really simple, it’s because of the person reading this blog, that’s right, you give the internet it’s power and without you it could be nothing. But don’t be fooled, not just you but you and some kid somewhere in the world that just got access to the web and is discovering apart from the porn that the internet is pretty cool. Chat to a few friends on Facebook, leave a thought on Twitter, snap a few photos for flickr or just browse. Human nature is that we enjoy enteracting and no matter what anyone says everyone likes to interact. The web just provides that platform were you can share how you feel this morning without actually being asked “How are you”. The other nature of human being is that we like beauty, yes even the stuborn-nose-in-the-air guy will admire beauty when he sees it, he may not say it, but he’s admiring. What does that mean for a website, again the very basics – make your website appealing and you have no problem, people would visit your site just because it looks good, make it appealing and have amazing functionality, then instead of just visiting you someone that comes to your site is blown away by how cool it looks and then comes back because you offered him/her something of value.

So this puts us in a really good time and place in the world, and in your life actually.

Whether you’re 12 years old sitting in an internet cafe in India playing “Call of Duty 4” on the LAN or you’re a 40 year old businessman who bearly knows how to work an email and is still waiting for someone to tell you what is a “BCC” in an email, the internet is the tool that is going to enable you to extend your reach as a company, grow your knowledge as a newbie and most important presently share who you are with millions of others who want to do exactly the same.

So you’ve covered the 12 year old and the 40 year old but what about the 25 year old web designer?

If you are a web designer, you really have just two choices at the moment:

1. Embrace the internet and learn. You will never know everything about the internet that is just the reality, there will always be someone who is knows more than you, so don’t be silly and run away all upset about it, stand your ground and be smart – learn from them that way you’re adding onto your knowledge, their knowledge… Having passion for this industry helps, it’s not the easiest industry to understand but if you try to build a passion for it, in return you will be allowed to explore it and what’s more you will enjoy the exploration. It will give you the ability to see web design as an adventure and who does not want to be Sinbad in this case Sinbad of the World Wide Web.

2. The second choice is to just sit back, relax and let the web and world pass you by. This kind of person will never grow, will never “free their mind”, will never learn and ultimately will never have an adventure while designing. If you are a designer reading this, be weary that you do not fall into this catergory. This path does not lead to web domination. You will fail and in failing not use the most powerful tool available to man.

So here’s the conclusion to the matter, look at your life, your business, your career – are you well adjusted for the internet? Are you offering value to your surfers? Do you meet the elementary requirements – A beautiful website that is functionally amazing.