What's In It for You?
For better and worse, the Internet will keep pulling you deeper into the grasp of the World Wide Web for years to come. Large corporations and small businesses, schools and universities, and public and private agencies are moving more of their initial contact points, information sources, catalogs, and ordering and service options to the Internet. Increasingly, you hear the message: “Check our Web site first; then e-mail us for more information.” Less and less, you hear the old invitation: “Just give us a call!”
If you are accustomed to dialing a phone number and getting help from a caring human being, the continuing exodus of customer service to the Web probably has not made you happy. Once you do locate what seems to be a good phone number, your call is often now routed to a voice menu that urges you to go to the company's Web site or “stay on the line for the next available customer service representative. Your estimated wait time is…twenty-three minutes, five seconds.”
Not everyone uses online auctions to accumulate goods or money. Some amateur detectives and history hobbyists search eBay and other sites to buy items such as old high school yearbooks. Then they try to track down the yearbooks' owners or surviving relatives and return the treasures to them.
There is a bright side to this trend, especially if you want to start and grow a small business while hanging on to a corporate job that keeps you and your family covered with health insurance and other benefits. Just like the big companies, you can use the Web to advertise your business, describe available products or services, and provide contact information, such as an e-mail address, phone number, and fax number. If most of your business involves online auctions, you can schedule your lists to end at night or on weekends while you are home. You can pack the goods at night and mail them the next morning or have your spouse handle the shipping. Online auction sales can create the second income that enables one spouse to stay home with young children rather than sending them to day care.
