Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

You could actually spell my name right.

I took this thread to be more about cutting edge technology and less about "outside the box thinking" on existing technology. There`s so many great examples out there of next-generation technology along Seth Godin`s line of taking risks and going in a new direction. I, for one, am very excited to see what new technologies are coming out of this new push to emphasize human interaction and the usefulness of applications on the web.

One of the things that`s wide open  at the moment is "smart utensils" and tools. I was reading about that barbeque fork with the temperature sensors in the tines. That`s one example. Another would be a frying pan that has a read-out on the handle telling you the exact temperature of the pan, or whatever oil is in that pan.

I ordinarily think of SuN startups as having limited funds, where people are looking for something they can do that doesn`t require a machine shop or laboratory in which to invent a complex device. But if we throw open the doorway to technical inventions, then there`s a huge potential for something new.

Technology, in and of itself, was not my exclusive line of thought, but nhgnikole`s ideas were certainly thought provoking.  9Name copy-and-pasted to avoid typos).

I don`t care so much about the website `technology` per se as I am HOW it`s used to be new, fun and interesting. I understand that newer technology can do newer things...but I am also of the belief that someone can use a template storefront and HTML to create something that is still `frresh` looking...depending on their content and the way it`s presented.

What I ultimately was/am hoping to find...and we seem to be on the right path...are a series of examples that prove the ability to create an e-commerce website has not become so "commoditized` that it`s now overkill and boring to the Average Joe.  Or Jane. Why discriminate?

Alright, let me see if I get this more clearly:
You`re suggesting that because so many people are now building Web sites, *having* a Web site may be less valuable than it was back when it was considered new and unusual?

Let`s consider the idea of a telephone. When they first entered the market, few people had one. They were expensive, there was no infrastructure, they didn`t work well, and you had to go to a particular place to use a phone.

However, the underlying, fundamental premise was human interaction. That means information exchange and transfer, personal long-distance communication, emergency services, advertising, and so on and so forth.

The Web is no different: It too is a fundamental communications device.

Today, if you don`t have a phone you`re pretty much out of the loop. It can be by choice, as in being a hermit or wanting to get away. Or it can be through circumstance, where you don`t have the money. Either way, you`re sidelined from the general flow of communication.

So too, with a Web site. 10 years ago, nobody much cared if JC Penney didn`t have a Web site. Everyone went to the store and nobody thought it could be done differently. Unless you wanted to order from their catalog. Then you didn`t have to get in your car.

Today, if JC Penney doesn`t have a Web site, people consider the company to be retarded, old-fashioned, anti-customer-service, and probably having financial problems. How come?

Nowadays, if you put your name in a phone book, it becomes one of hundreds of millions. Would we ask if the phone book is "saturated?" No, not at all. It`s the de facto standard for being accessible for business and communication.

As you also said, the key is visibility! THAT`s what many of the discussions on SuN involve.

Just because Joy Anybody can build a Web site does that mean it`s functional, interesting, applicable, relevant, or valuable? Obviously not, or there wouldn`t be so many junk Web sites around.

So too, just because you have a phone and I call you up, that doesn`t mean I`m going to get anything useful out of the conversation. :-)

Hi, Craig -

I`ve been offline afew days, so I didn`t want you to get the impression that I was ignoring you or your ideas.

Your telephone analogy is a good one, but I was looking at the equation differently.

As much as a phone is a neccessity, I think if you opened a store selling mobile phones there would be alot less `buzz` than if you opened such a store 10 years ago. Or 5.

Unless, of course, the mobile phones you are selling look different. Or have different features than most. Or have a cool color/finish to them.

My original thought about the web is that so many people throw up a store (you can take this a few different ways!) and sell `everything`. You know...office products, household products, toys, make up and cologne, DVD...whatever their vendors/wholesalers offer. You can find sites like this everywhere. (I know, because I sell to most of them! :)  )

So, if Joe Anybody put up such a site tomorrow...who would care?

Or more importantly, what would Joe have to do to make HIS store stand out from the how-ever-many-hundreds of OTHER such stores.

Granted, the conversation is not limited only to `be all, sell all` websites. I used an earlier analogy of Widgets. We can stick with widgets. ;-)

My question is not to dispute the importance of the web or debate how to use it...but rather try to dig up some fresh ideas as to how to make a website (regardless of what they are selling) noteworthy. 

Ah....okay, that makes more sense. In other words, you want not only a better way to bring traffic to a site, but also a "better" Web site.

Unfortunately, you can`t do much about the Web infrastructure. It`s what it is. Yes, there are new languages or plug-ins like Flash!, but you`re essentially looking at a text and graphic "magazine" type structure. (Noise seems to annoy a lot of people.)

If you look at it symptomatically, then you`re going to focus on things like visual layout, aesthetics, written content, and interest in what`s being said.

But if you look at it fundamentally, it comes down to a) Do people want what you`re selling, and b) How easy do you make it for them to buy.

Look at Amazon.com, and forget about it being developed years ago. It`s still completely relevant, useful, and people constantly visit there because of that usefulness.

As the old saying goes, "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." Yes, in the very beginning, it`ll be hard to get noticed. But with a solid product, good customer service, ease of use, and a decent price, you`ll quickly get noticed and have the traffic.

So it isn`t about building a better Web site. In the above analogy, that would be like asking how to build a better "path to my door." It`s still today, as it`s always been, building a better product---the mousetrap. :-) In my opinion.