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In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about the great web conflict and how people ruin everything.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

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The Great Web Conflict
...the people ruin everything

I love talking with people about "web" thinking, and how to get your brain properly wrapped around the Internet. Every once in a while I run into folks who get stuck with this and I remind them that I live in a land of clicks, not a land of bricks. A big part of my job is helping people navigate this world.

One of the things that is hard to understand about the land of clicks is that the people ruin everything. One of the best examples of this is political sites, I receive the newsletters of both presidential contenders and monitor their websites carefully - they can be a source of innovative ideas.

Traditionally (aka land of bricks) politicians are about staying on message. Each communication is carefully crafted based on predictions regarding how people might feel about it. The web can be viewed as a horrible monkey wrench in this process, and the goal of staying on message can become impossible if the message is misconstrued to be a one way transmission. In the land of clicks, people's communications and the responses to them are best if they are understood to be part of an ongoing dialogue.

In the land of clicks everyone is an equal publisher, people can express their views and comments easily online - from blogs to review sites to interactive forums - it is really simple to tell the world what you think online.

The traditional politician "stay on message" credo is an awful lot like the way Madison Avenue type advertising agencies think - they are used to having a one way conversation that they can control. It is also the way big companies have thought of "problem" customers in the past - if some small fraction of our customers are dissatisfied we don't really need to worry about it, who cares what some small group thinks? When one customer reviews your hotel on Trip Advisor and talks about how the service was atrocious - they suddenly can have an awfully big impact.

In the land of clicks you have to treat every customer like they are the owner's mother, the web has given every single one of them the power to speak loudly about their experience with you.

Some folks have embraced the two way nature of web communications and that is really the best way to operate your web site - I often refer to this as "customers driving the bus". They tell us what they want to see, what they like, and what they don't.

Recently Barack Obama announced his pick for Vice President, Joe Biden. One of the things that interested me is the way in which the Obama campaign communicated with people on their enewsletter lists - not only did they announce there first, they asked subscribers to "Please let Joe know you're glad he is part of the team. Share you personal welcome message and we'll make sure he gets it".

This was soon followed by a message from Joe himself, thanking everyone for their warm welcome and asking subscribers to view a short video.

That's land of clicks thinking and no matter what your political beliefs may be it is awfully impressive to see the way this campaign is embracing the fundamentally different nature of the web, they aren't fighting the way things work online.

As an Internet Entrepreneur you should strive to understand the land of clicks, and do your best to figure out how to work with it.

Speaking of speaking...
Places to be if you want to get enlightened

Tuesday September 16th at 8AM in Augusta, ME

Profitability Principals of the Web Seminar
We'll cover Trends, Basic Math, Quality vs Circulation, Spending Wisely, Measurement, and Live Website Reviews. As always every question will be answered.

This event is being sponsored by my Strategic Partners over at Marshall Interactive. Tickets are $100 and of course yours truly thinks that is a bargain. As a reader of this newsletter I can get you a seat at no charge, just hit reply and let me know you are interested.

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