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    Fortunately and Unfortunately I need your help. The last few days my blog had some server issues and now that I am able to post, my baby decided to sleep 8 hours in a row last night (yah!), leaving me on the verge of a breast infection today (blah!). I am in pain, and waiting for the tylenol to do what it can. The added bonus - my car has no a/c and I live in the Middle East and I was out all day in 100F, so I am just barely alive. Can you help me finish my thoughts today (or buy me a new car :)!)?
     
    Over dinner a few nights ago, there was a conversation between myself and Others who DONT get ‘the whole web thing’.
     
    They agreed that when starting any new business venture, online or offline, solid good advice is to look around at others in your field, either in your ‘niche’ or just generally successful, and imitate them.
     
    This is not to suggest common practice where I live - that you open a ‘felafel store’ next door to another ‘felafel store’ since they appear to be raking it in. :)
     
    However, if you visualize the internet as it is.. the biggest strip mall EVER.. (you know what I mean by strip right?? I am out of the USA so long I just want to make sure this is the proper term! ;) ).. that means we may all be opening up stores right ‘next to each other’ but the ENTIRE WORLD is our potential customer. That leaves plenty to go around, and room for very healthy competition!
     
    The conversation continued…
     
    Fine!! Agreed. Free Market Economy. Enough to go around. Snoop on your competitors, interview their friends and friends of their friends and milk them for details, do what you have to, but…
     
    Why link to someone who is your competitor??
     
    (Disclaimer - I cant shine the shoes of those ’supposed competitors’ but a healthy self esteem cant hurt, eh?)
     
    Reebok and Nike / Pepsi and Coke / Walmart and K-Mart - competitors for generations. Can you picture them helping the other out? That may have saved them a lot of Advertising money!
     
    Naturally a Blog, with nothing to sell, except the persona behind it, cannot exist in a vacuum.
     

    Are we reaching who we want/need to by reaching out to each other?

     
    To be perfectly honest, I could be completely off here. As cathartic and enjoyable as I find blogging, it was (is?) intended to be another piece in the puzzle towards helping me reach my online goal$$. I am currently not in a position, with a young family, to be writing only for pleasure (of course it helps that it offers me pleasure). Are you?
     
    How do YOU explain this unique online relationship?
     
    P.S - as I was searching for my last link love…. check out this post (will open new window). How ironic to stumble across Garry’s post as I was writing mine..and frankly a little LOT terrifying.
     
    ~~andrea

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