Make the Internet a Better Place

As a digital marketing and communications professional I have tested and used a wide variety of tools, strategies, and approaches, but one of the most important things I have learned is that in business we have an obligation to #MaketheInternetaBetterPlace. In today’s world people from all walks of life share their opinions, ideas, and feelings online, so just like every other aspect of human communication, some of what is shared is unproductive, imbalanced, untrue, and even cruel. As brands, businesses, and organizations I believe it is essential that we realize participating in communities online and even building our own websites is a huge responsibility. We must contribute something of value to the Internet and make sure our content is useful and relevant. If we do not take this responsibility seriously we simply continue to fill the web with clutter.

 

The Internet is a Gift

In my opinion, the Internet is one of the greatest gifts humans beings have been given. Although it could have been created and maintained in a more sustainable way, it truly opened doors for people across the world to connect and learn. However, just like any other gift humanity has been given throughout time we have taken this gift and often used it to hurt, grind down, threaten, and limit others. The Internet is a tool and smartphone apps, social media, e-newsletters, blogs, online ads, and more are also tools. Tools, in the beginning, are typically neither bad nor good, they are neutral. Tools become positive or negative based on the intentions and purpose people infuse them with and so our technology has the opportunity to bring pleasure or pain, to empower or dishearten, or to create freedom or slavery. We decide what the tools create – make us more aware and inspire others or cause us to shut down and detach.

 

Root Your Brand in It’s Most Important Stories

The only way to be clear about what your intentions and purpose are online is to know your brand well and to identify the most powerful stories you can share with your audiences. Not because your business or organization is that special, but because those core stories are what help you understand who your audiences are, what they want and need, and how you serve them. Stories can also help your brand make a more emotional connection with current and prospective clients, donors, or staff members and this emotional connection can be the key to truly seeing how what you do and why you do it is making a real difference in the world.

 

Be a Rockstar

Carlos Santana once said, “There is no greater reward than working from your heart, and making a difference in the world.” Many of the small business owners, marketing and communications professionals, and organizational leaders have worked with resonate with this statement. So, it is time for all of us to step up our game and make a real, valuable impact on the world around us both virtually and three-dimensionally. We must live and work like the rockstars we are and #MaketheInternetaBetterPlace.