A New Me

Well, not a new me. Not exactly. But a new representation of me, an avatar, of sorts. I am developing a new website.

I have been saying for at least 15 years now that I need a website. In today’s age, you don’t exist if you do not have a website. So, I have been a ghost this last decade or two, in a manner of speaking. Businesses that do not have websites? Non-existent. Locations that do not have a website? Mythical fiction, at best. People that do not have a website? Wraiths, ring bearers, perhaps. They just are not real.

It was not this way when I started my professional path. There was no Internet. There were no websites. You did not need an online presence. You had advertising. You had articles, printed on real paper (remember books? magazines?). You had reputation, and word of mouth. But reputation now? The first thing people look for is your website. No website, no reputation. No credibility.

The current generation of consumers do not remember life before the Internet. They grew up with computers. Yes, cell phones may have gotten smarter, faster, more capable. But they always existed. So, evolve... or die.

I have been slow to evolve. Like many others, I procrastinate. 20 years ago, I said, “I need a website.” 10 years ago, I said, “I need a website.” Five years ago, I said, “I need a website.” The time is here. I know nothing about creating websites. So where do I start? If I were a younger person today, I would just “know” how to do it. It would be in my blood, my genes. Immersed in an environment of silicon and electrons, they seem to know how to do this by osmosis. Not so much me.

So I fall back upon old habits. I go back to school.

I enrolled in a course at my old alma mater, Santa Ana College. This is the community college at which I earned my first college degree, in Underwater Occupations. VBUS503, Digital Literacy Level 4. In reading the course description, it appeared to be a digital media class for businesses, integrating social media, developing websites, and using other tools to promote your business. Exactly what I wanted, right? Maybe I should have keyed in on the “Level 4” of the course title.

Level 4… that implies exactly,… what? Maybe a Level 1? Or a Level 2? Even a Level 3? But what the hay… anything worth doing is worth doing to excess, right?? I don’t need no stinking prerequisites!!

The instructor, Rafael Barragan, is doing a fantastic job. He is patient, and explains things well. And now, here I am, putting pen to paper (metaphorically speaking) and writing a new chapter in my life. It may not be pretty, but hopefully it communicates. Hopefully it makes me a “real” person again!