Why is that?  Well, 3 reasons.

1. Users are looking for something that meets their needs.
2. You are looking for users that are interested in what you have to offer.
3. You really want to build a relationship with your users and your users want to build a relationship with you.

The online dating community purports to be pros at compatibility.  They all say that they have the best way to match you and someone else.  Their primary function is to build a relationship between 2 people, to show information about one that is interesting to the other and to build understanding and trust in order to inspire one to make a commitment of some sort to the other.

How is this different from what you’re trying to do on your website?  Probably more so than it should be.

Think about it.  What are you trying to do online?  Unless you really don’t care if anyone listens or sees whatever you’re doing online, you’re probably looking for customers, donors or readers to to take some sort of action.  And how do you inspire commitment?  By getting your readers to learn about you, to feel comfortable with you and start a relationship with you – just like dating.  If they’re not comfortable with what they see and learn from you, then they’ll move on to someone else – just like dating.

So do yourself a favor and have another look at your own website and compare it to some dating websites to see how you stack up against these common qualities from some of these online dating sites.

• Character
• Passion
• Intellect
• Humor
• Energy
• Kindness
• Confidence
• Education
• Honesty
• etc…

Are you exemplifying qualities that will inspire someone to make a commitment to you?  If not, maybe you should be.

Below is my official release:

Let the mountains talk, let the rivers run. Once more, and forever. -David Brower

April 1997 was a long time ago.

The last 13 years was definitely an amazing experience. I followed the currents wherever they led me with this business and recently it became obvious that the next part of my journey no longer included FreshCurrent. So, with a HUGE thank you to everyone I’ve come into contact for the last 13 years, FreshCurrent is officially closing down.

If you need to get a hold of me for business reasons, please continue to use the email address you have, or you can get a hold of me for a while at info [at] freshcurrent DOT com. Phone service won’t last long (and isn’t checked much) so email is truly the best way to get a hold of me. If you still need help with your web project, contact me and I’ll help to make sure you’re taken care of either with the firm I’m with now, or another.

With eternal gratitude, Mark Peesel

P.S. for those of you with domain registrations, spam filtering and/or email newsletter subscriptions, your services will not be interrupted, but I’ll contact you individually as accounts are migrated. Thanks!

Recently, I came across this interesting article with 13 Tips for Actually Getting Some Writing Done. The article is technically for people who want to write a book or novel of sorts, but I find that it’s truly effective for just about anything you ant to write.   I’ll summarize it here.

1. Write something every work-day, and preferably, every day
2. Even if you have just fifteen minutes, you can write something
3. Don’t binge on writing
4. Sometimes it’s easier to stop in mid project and then continue later
5. Don’t get distracted
6. Write regularly and frequently
7. Just get ideas down, lot’s of great writing comes in the revisions
8. Find a way to keep track of your thoughts
9. Be comfortable
10. Limit or eliminate interruptions
11. “Wait” or do it “Now”
12. Take a walk or read something else
13. Have something to say

I would add a last item to this from my old public speaking days.

14. Write what you know about.  Don’t try to write about things just because you think someone will want to read it. If that’s all your interested in, you won’t last.  In fact, if you follow this one tip (#14), it usually solves most, if not all of the other tips.

Their Oath is:

As a Thunderbird and a global citizen, I promise, I will strive to act with honesty and integrity. I will respect the rights and dignity of all people. I will strive to create sustainable prosperity worldwide. I will oppose all forms of corruption and exploitation. And I will take responsibility for my actions. As I hold true to these principles, it is my hope that I may enjoy an honorable reputation and peace of conscience.

The article inferrs that business schools are focused on getting the highest paying jobs for their graduates and that this needs to change.  Apparently, not all their students like it and some have refused to sign or recite this oath at graduation.  Makes you wonder if when you’re hiring from business school, or any school, if it’s worth asking about the school’s oath and whether the student participated or not.   The oath certainly isn’t required and not part of their professional, student record, but, would you hire someone who refused to take an ethical oath?

Also see the Thunderbird website.