I have to admit I just logged onto Facebook and MySpace the other day. Partly because everyone in our office had me convinced I needed to check it out since my eleven year old may have figured out how to create her own page. To my overwhelming relief, she hasn’t, but there were literally hundreds of Becca Adams that had! My first reaction was shock quickly followed by “who on earth has time for this?” But it’s funny how perspectives can change if you are open to learning.
My husband and I are in the final phases of an international adoption. Someone I met (via a referral on the phone – imagine that!) told me she had put together a Yahoo users group for peopleadopting from Uzbekistan. Again, the first time I went there was not pleasant. I found it confusing to decipher the dozens of streams of intertwining conversations that sometimes seemed neurotic. I spent a few minutes and left. A few weeks later I logged back on as I truly respected the person who put the group together. I saw an entry that listed someone from Columbus, Ohio and that quickly got my attention. I decided to send her a note and give her my personal email address. Next thing I know someone else (also from Columbus!) saw the entry and contacted me. Several days later this other person and I connected, and to my utter amazement, our children are in the same orphanage and their cribs are side by side. I do feel like there is some divine intervention here; however, it would not have been possible without this incredible and sometimes overwhelming network called the Internet.
The most interesting transformation that I see happening for our clients is for those who are starting to get the business value of incorporating the Web. We don’t have clients who have a shopping cart feature on their sites, so we’ve been working with the conventional belief that if companies have a sales team then how could a Web site bring them business. But we’ve been able to demonstrate in small, yet extremely powerful, ways that the online world is just another tool. Yes, a very big one, but if used effectively and integrated with a strategic marketing campaign, it can drive and grow businesses.
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
