Should You Have Your Own Personal Web Site?

By Dan Scott

Everyone seems to have figured out that the web is a great place to do business. There’s hardly a business in America that doesn’t have some kind of web presence. Even the little girl selling lemon-aide on the corner talks of “increasing her presence” on the web.

But, is that it? Is the Internet just a business model? I guess you could point out that it is also a seemingly bottomless reference source. Everything anybody wanted to know about anything (but was afraid to ask) is on the Internet somewhere. If you have access to new or unique information on anything, please post it…the world is waiting.

But, what else? What if you’re just an average person, you’re not trying to sell anything or impart any special wisdom; why should you be on the web? I can say it in four words; “web two dot zero”that is, “Web 2.0″. Although technically it’s described as the new infrastructure paradigm of the Internet after the tech bubble collapse of 2001 and is most often associated with new technology and business practices, more importantly it describes how a more mature and knowledgeable Internet community is restructuring the web to meet the needs of a new connected society.

We used to talk about how increasing use of technology would gradually alienate people from each other. We would spend more and more time online and less time actually interacting with other people. Instead, what we are seeing is increased use of technology increases the amount of interaction with other people. IM, VOIP, chat rooms, blogs, forums, and the list goes on. All new, interactive forms of communication made possible by the Internet that are creating communication pathways only dreamed of before. It’s common these days for teens and young adults to have conversations on a regular basis with people from all over the world.

Most Web 2.0 discussions tend to revolve around the changing Internet infrastructure, open source, network application platforms, data ownership and the like. By focusing on the effect they are missing the point; the real revolution on the Internet has little to do with the infrastructure or the technologyit has to do with the people. The new web is a social phenomenon, not a technical one. The Internet is becoming part of the fabric of our society and as such people are changing it and adapting to it in new and unpredictable ways.

So, why should ordinary citizens have their own website? Because that’s the future of the Internet. Eventually, everyone will have a website and most people will have several. A website is cheap, easily built and can have as many uses as there are people to dream them up. Sites to share with family and friends, sites to foment and carry on discussions, sites to keep in touch, to promote events, to promote yourself, to aid your communitythe list is endless.

The Internet provides the perfect medium to retain the old sense of leaning on a fence to chat with neighbors even when your “neighbors” now live a thousand miles away. Once again, passing an evening in quiet conversation sitting in the “parlor” can be a regular occurrence. Even sharing your toddler’s latest refrigerator masterpiece with remote family members can be easily accomplished. And, this new structure applies equally as well to meeting new people. The number of people that have met online is growing exponentially and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

Build a site and join an online community of millions around the globe.

Dan Scott is a Computer Scientist with over 25 years of experience developing, building, and supporting computers and information systems. Make sure you see his web hosting analyses on the top affordable web hosting providers.

Article kindly provided by UberArticles.com

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