So This is What The Hulabaloo Was All About!

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I will be the first to admit that I am one of those poor, unfortunate souls who, until recently, did not even realize that the Internet and the World Wide Web were not synonymous terms. I have recently become “enlightened” and now (I hope) finally get the distinction between these two separate but related things!  Better to be late to the party than to never arrive at all, I say!

Rather simplistically put, while the Internet is the hardware portion of this global communication equation, the World Wide Web essentially amounts to the software portion.

The Internet, which had military beginnings in the late 1960’s, is in essence, a giant network of networks. These networks are connected via wire, fiber optic cables, and/or wireless connections. Any computer can communicate and share information with any other computer in the world, providing each is connected to the Internet. Email, instant messaging, chat, and file transfer services all occur over the Internet.  A public computer network, the Internet is governed by a set of rules, laws, and regulations known as the Internet Protocol, which deals with data and its transmission via packets.

The World Wide Web is, in effect, built on top of the Internet. It depends upon the Internet to work and serves as a way to access information over the medium of the Internet. It is comprised of a collection of web pages connected through hyperlinks and URL’s. Governed by the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and utilizing a common language known as Hyper Text Mark Up Language (HTML), the Web’s basic premise is to link documents, files, folders, and pages of information from computer to computer.

The ways to connect to the Internet vary. For home use and many businesses, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) supplies Internet access. A Local Area Network (LAN) might be used to connect computers to the Internet in specific areas, such as in an office or in a building.  While there are other avenues to connect to the Internet, availability, and cost can vary. Dial-up, Cable, Satellite, Microwave, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Wireless are the most commonly known. Each carries it’s own pluses and minuses. Not every method is available everywhere. Geography matters, apparently! At my house, we use DSL, although we did give satellite a whirl, but found it too unreliable. Everyone except ol’ Mom also has mobile wireless access as well. I am the last hold out, although I did call "dibs" on the next phone up-grade! How about you? How do you connect?

How Did I Get From "There" to "Here"?

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It’s funny how the circumstances of life can take you to places you never imagined yourself going. I don’t mean just in the big “cosmic" sense, but in the smaller, subtler “what just happened here?” sense as well. 

As a privacy-loving person, I vowed to myself years ago that I would eschew most social media unless absolutely necessary. For years, my technology-averse self  managed to muddle along quite nicely with basic e-mail, the bare-minimum computer skills to navigate through my on-line courses through ESC, and enough rudimentary texting capabilities to keep track of my children and their activities. Anything beyond that... just not for me!

When I found myself in the position to open my own retail business with two old friends last year, I never imagined that I would soon be the administrator of our stores’ Facebook page. Nor did I ever envision that I would contemplate dipping my toes into the waters of other social media outlets in order to advance the success of our business. Yet, here I am, the proud (?) owner of my very first blog. How did this happen? How did I get from there to here?  What do I do with this skill once this class is over? I am out of my comfort zone, and admittedly a little nervous. Like I said…life can be funny.

So, I’ve read all of the articles and explored every link. I’ve paid particular attention to the sources that concentrated on blogs for small business.  I’ve actually learned some good stuff!  I found Dave Zahorsky’s article What a Blog Can Do For Your Small Business  particularly useful.  He states that business blogs are a good way to share a company’s specialized expertise. It occurred to me that my partners and I have special marketable skills and talents that go beyond that which is obvious within the walls of our store. While a sign displayed in the store informing our customers that we offer specialized services might reach those who visit us, a blog could reach potential new clients that might not be aware that we offer custom drapery services, interior design services, or any number of made-to-order products. This is a really cool way to expand our footprint and reach a client base that might not otherwise venture into our place of business.

I found How to Blog Your Way to Small-Business Success, by Matthew Bandyk, to be an insightful read as well. According to the article, many people, myself included, actually rely on a Google search rather that a specific website search for initial information. With our own website under construction, this is information worth knowing.

The other articles offered good general information to help the uninitiated like me to get started. The practical tips on keeping a blog regular were helpful. It is easy to see how easy it could be to get carried away in the excitement of blogging at first blush, only to lose that momentum as the day-to-day realities of operating a business eat up your valuable time. Under promising and over delivering is very sage advice, I think.

Lastly, I assumed that the practice of  “viral marketing” was strictly a negative. Who knew that it is  more akin to a clever combination of creative art and precise science? I didn’t. Did you?