Getting Started

How do you get started? Why would you get started? The second may be the better of the questions so lets start there.

Why would you want to get a presents on the Internet? In the new Internet (what most are calling Web 2.0) it is easy and obvious as to why you would want to get on to it. Money! More and more people are getting on the Internet all the time, and more and more are using the Internet to find local services. Guess what! That is what you have. So if people are looking for services, and you have services to give, you need to get on the Internet to get people to notice you and want your services.

Lets talk about Web 2.0 a little bit. For a complete description you can go to this site at O’Reilly.com What Is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software by Tim O’Reilly. In my simplistic way of saying things I would describe it as this.

Content created by the Collective Intelligence. Users, people, you, me, we should all be involved in what the proper content should be. Sometimes it is opinion, sometimes it is fact, and sometimes it is a thought or idea. Collecting all these, and sorting them out into what the collective intelligence of all the users decide is the correct answer, develops a thorough and user generated content. On a philosophical note it works the same as history does. Who writes the history? The winners of the battle, not necessary the right people. As a collection we have in history got most things right, with a few mistakes along the way, but it has worked out pretty well so far. Using everyone’s opinion to decide what is the write content is the answer in Web 2.0

Content, or information is the next big part of Web 2.0. Those that have good content, good data, and good information are the ones who get the most views on their website, and in our case of being professionals we make the most money. Lets face it, that is why we are here we are trying to make more money. As a professional in your field you have the data and the information that people are looking for. It is up to you to deliver it. Besides that is why they want to hire you, you have the information that they are looking for. Now deliver. Deliver the right content in the right amount at the right time and you will dominate the internet.

Finally it is an interactive experience. If you have a site that is just a few pages and only lets the users click through and read what is on it, you don’t have an interactive site. You give no reason for people to come back to you. But with Web 2.0 the focus is on interactivity. You have the information, you rely on others to help increase that with the collective intelligence of others, now you need to have to make you site interactive. This is of course is not as easy as just saying that my site is interactive. You need to offer something for people to do. You offer other site, discussions, and a place for people to pos their own experiences and give their own information. There of course is a lot more that we will get into along the way. Lets get you started first.

The easiest way to get started is to produce a simple blog. This is a site where you post informative articles on a regular basis for free. Through this blog you will offer links to other sites (a way to increase your popularity), you will offer special tutorials, you will review products relative to your business and site, and you will give your current and future customers a place to get information.

The easiest way to get started is get very familiar with WordPress a program that sits on the internet and runs your blog for you. Becoming an expert in WordPress will give you a huge advantage over your competitors. And guess what, you don’t even have to be a programmer. You can do this if you know how to read, and how to type. That is it.

Ok that will get you started. Look soon for our special tutorial guide where we will map it out as simple as we can for you.

Best of luck

Professor Moolah