Cyrius Media Group
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
  • Solutions
  • Portfolio
  • Clients
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Overview
  • Cyrius News
  • In the Press
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Press Kit

Now, the world really is a stage.

Satellites peer down upon us, as we peer into the screens onto which their images beam.

Every action we take online adds to the story the earth is writing.

The next chapter?

Do you have a project in mind?

Articles

Creative Director Stefan Sojka is one of Australia’s most published freelance writers and commentators on Web business and Internet culture.  He has been a regular monthly columnist for the award-winning NETT magazine for the past three years.  Previous roles included 7 years writing for internet.au magazine and the Australian Net Directory. He continues to contribute to a number of blogs and publications.

My Off-Line Web

Monday, October 05, 2009

By Stefan Sojka

As much as we can’t imagine life without computers now, for the entire history of humankind, up until the computer, one could hardly imagine life with one.  Everyone just got on with it.  Sydney Harbour Bridge was constructed with pencils and paper, slide rules and the occasional abacus.  The entire workforce was managed with ledgers, index cards and rubber stamps.  Workers were paid by cash and perhaps some of the bigger transactions were done with hand-written promissory notes.  Though typewriters and telephones were in use, most communication was surely face-to-face, or scrawled with fountain pens.

What’s my point?  That somehow everything still worked.  Huge projects, like hydro-electric schemes, subway systems and even the Opera House, with all its curvy complexity, were completed well before anyone “needed” a computer to get anything done.  Systems and networks existed, such as information and project management.  Most importantly; humans interacted with other humans, agreed, shook hands, signed contracts and made it happen.

We are being mesmerised into thinking that somehow it is only since the birth of ‘Web 2.0’ that we have had the ability to socially network.  We forget that before FaceBook, we had a little black book.  While computers and the Internet have certainly facilitated and amplified net­working to unfathomable scales, most real business is done in person.  Politicians might all use Blackberries and iPhones, but they haven’t moth-balled the two houses of parliament just yet.  Most offices still have board rooms.  Trade shows and Expos seem to be experiencing a boom right now.  Computers do make them far more efficient to organise, while at the same time, people are realising how awesome they are at generating new business and engaging with our peers.

Off-line net­working is one of my most valuable assets as a business.  Sure, I want to tip all my contacts into my email list, and refer people to my Website at any available opportunity, but I would be missing out on a huge opportunity if I didn’t work my real-world life as much as possible.

I joined my local Chamber of Commerce and my local Rotary Club.  I attend many business events, Expos, functions and launches.  Recently I joined a chapter of BNI, a hugely successful global network of business owners existing for the sole purpose of promoting word-of-mouth marketing.  Even though my business is very much focused on the Internet, I still like to meet my clients in person and work predominantly with in-house staff.  I am a people person.  Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to engage face-to-face – at least until virtual reality evolves sufficiently into fooling my senses that I am in the same room as you – and that is still quite a long way off.

If I can work the world just like our forefathers did, then enhance all those engagements with Web technology, like collaboration tools, Web-based communication and marketing, I’ll be unstoppable.

Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Permalink
Trackback Link
http://www.cyrius.com.au/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=4177&PostID=62391&A=Trackback
Trackbacks
Post has no trackbacks.
Comments

Post a Comment




Captcha Image

Previous 1 Next

Recent Posts

  • Think inside the square
  • Details, details
  • The Road Less Clicked
  • Groundhog Day is a Good Day
  • 7 reasons to re-design your Website
  • Prepare Thyself
  • New Year Revolutions
  • A Website is not a thing
  • A day in the life of an SEO spam recipient
  • The 'Not-So-Brief' Brief

Tags

  • Archives (90)
  • Blog (3)
  • Business Advice (36)
  • Community (1)
  • Consulting (27)
  • Google (1)
  • Humour (6)
  • Interview (4)
  • Marketing (16)
  • Motivation (27)
  • Music (6)
  • PR & Press (11)
  • SEO (1)
  • Social Media (8)
  • Web Design (5)
  • Web Philosphy (26)
  • Website Reviews (93)
  • Writing (124)

Archive

  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • January 2013 (1)
  • December 2012 (1)
  • September 2012 (1)
  • May 2012 (1)
  • April 2012 (2)
  • November 2011 (1)
  • July 2011 (1)
  • June 2011 (1)
  • April 2011 (1)
  • March 2011 (1)
  • February 2011 (1)
  • January 2011 (1)
  • December 2010 (1)
  • September 2010 (1)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (1)
  • June 2010 (1)
  • May 2010 (1)
  • April 2010 (1)
  • March 2010 (1)
  • February 2010 (1)
  • January 2010 (1)
  • December 2009 (1)
  • November 2009 (1)
  • October 2009 (1)
  • September 2009 (1)
  • August 2009 (1)
  • July 2009 (1)
  • June 2009 (1)
  • May 2009 (1)
  • April 2009 (1)
  • March 2009 (1)
  • February 2009 (1)
  • January 2009 (1)
  • December 2008 (1)
  • November 2008 (1)
  • October 2008 (1)
  • September 2008 (2)
  • August 2008 (1)
  • July 2008 (1)
  • June 2008 (1)
  • September 2004 (1)
  • May 2004 (2)
  • April 2004 (1)
  • March 2004 (1)
  • February 2004 (1)
  • January 2004 (1)
  • December 2003 (1)
  • November 2003 (1)
  • October 2003 (2)
  • September 2003 (1)
  • August 2003 (1)
  • July 2003 (1)
  • June 2003 (1)
  • May 2003 (1)
  • April 2003 (1)
  • March 2003 (1)
  • February 2003 (1)
  • January 2003 (1)
  • December 2002 (1)
  • November 2002 (1)
  • October 2002 (1)
  • September 2002 (1)
  • August 2002 (2)
  • July 2002 (1)
  • June 2002 (1)
  • May 2002 (1)
  • April 2002 (1)
  • March 2002 (1)
  • February 2002 (1)
  • January 2002 (1)
  • December 2001 (1)
  • November 2001 (1)
  • October 2001 (1)
  • September 2001 (1)
  • August 2001 (1)
  • July 2001 (1)
  • June 2001 (2)
  • May 2001 (1)
  • April 2001 (1)
  • March 2001 (1)
  • February 2001 (1)
  • January 2001 (1)
  • December 2000 (1)
  • November 2000 (1)
  • October 2000 (1)
  • September 2000 (1)
  • August 2000 (1)
  • July 2000 (1)
  • June 2000 (2)
  • May 2000 (1)
  • April 2000 (1)
  • March 2000 (1)
  • February 2000 (1)
  • January 2000 (1)
Membership

Web services

  • Overview
  • Consulting
  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Web Development
  • Website Repair
  • InDesign
  • SEO
  • Online PR
  • Social Media

More services

  • Domain Names
  • Hosting
  • Custom Programming
  • Audio Production
  • Video Production
  • Photography
  • Multimedia
  • Copy Writing
  • Printing

Internet solutions

  • Overview
  • Business Catalyst
  • BigCommerce
  • WordPress
  • MailChimp
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • Volusion
  • More Solutions

Media & other info

  • Overview
  • Cyrius News
  • In the Press
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Press Kit

Networking

  • Memberships
  • Visit our Facebook
  • View Our Videos
  • Latest Tweets
  •  

Cyrius Media Group Pty Ltd
PO Box 240
North Ryde BC Sydney
NSW 1670 AUSTRALIA

Email: info@cyrius.com.au
Phone: +612 9877 5544
Fax: +612 9877 6644

© Copyright Cyrius Media Group Pty Ltd  | Privacy Sitemap | Home About Us Contact | Cyrius Website Design Sydney