Realizing the Significance and Power of a Website: Decades in the Making

Today, I got an email from the Connecticut Secretary of State that made me smile. It was inviting me to a free website building workshop where they plan to spend an hour teaching businesses how to create a basic website for their company. The program is entitled “Getting Your Business Online.”  In the 3.5 hour seminar they’ll be teaching the basics of SEO, how to build a website using Intuit Sitebuilder and some other online strategies to bring your basic business into the digital realm.

This is exceptionally pleasing to me for several reasons.  I’ve been building websites for years and years now and the time has finally come when the general public realizes what many of us saw years ago and understands why so many of us have been working so hard for the past ten years.

When I first got started on the web it seemed like 90% of the people I talked to would first ask me, “What do I even need a website for?” to which I would constantly respond, “Why don’t you need a website?”

Like any trend, it always takes time for the majority to believe in it and act on it. I never expected people to come around quickly, but I knew in my heart the tide would eventually turn and they would remember all of my rants and ramblings about how significant the Internet is and would eventually become.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Ghandi

The reason for this post is to acknowledge an idea that’s time has come.  People are finally starting to truly realize the capabilities and power of the Internet, and how they can use that power. Thankfully, the speed which this is happening is increasing faster than ever.  As more and more people get online and realize how crucial a website is for their business, the better things will be for all of us. The more minds we have thinking about this, sharing, collaborating, working together and understanding how it works, the better.

The Internet is a tool and means of exchanging information.

Things taking less time is better. Things being less expensive is better. The less time we waste, the less money we waste, the more we have for everything else.

  • It’s a pleasure to watch the Internet ripen and bear fruit after a long stretch building up to maturity.
  • It’s inspiring to hear more and more people looking to the web to make their dreams a reality.
  • It’s amazing to see how all this hard work is starting to pay off.
  • It’s intriguing how many of these people can and will turn to me for advice and guidance.

I can’t wait to see how this all unfolds.

Much like I gain pleasure from helping others to grow, now I can share my knowledge of the web to do the same thing. The more educated all of us are about the capabilities of this “series of tubes” the more prosperous we will become.  The interesting thing about the web is that the web is just people. We are the web. When we realize that we’re all in this together, we can harness the connectivity of the Internet to create a better tomorrow, today.

The web isn’t just sharing photos, selling products and additional marketing.  This is the free exchange of ideas on the most massive of scales.

A more educated world is a better world. If you look at a website as a series of pages then you are missing the point.  A website is 24/7 live broadcast and exchange of ideas with limitless possibilities. It isn’t what your website is about, it’s what your website can create.

Welcome new friends to the online world. This is a level playing field. My link is as good as your link and vice versa.

The real question is, what will you do with this opportunity?

By Brett Napoli

Founder, Developer & CEO at Ambition Insight. Web consultant, WordPress expert, web developer, graphic designer, entrepreneur, music festival enthusiast.