What makes you trust one person yet not another?
I mean "really". Here's how I, a Newbie, see it.
What makes one person's "word" believable? Remember
that saying, "A person's only as good as his word"?
My Dad always said that when I was growing up, and my
husband says it to our two sons.
I grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwestern United
States. Often in the evening when my Dad and brothers
were done with the "after-supper" chores, salesmen
would often come. My Dad invariably knew them by
their first name. They were selling everything from
soybean and corn seed to grain bins to hail insurance
and more. You can imagine.
I was little then, and I remember them sitting at the
kitchen table. It was summertime, so I could stay up
later. June bugs were bouncing off the outside of the
screens, and sometimes there was distant heat
lightning in the horizon.
I liked listening to them talk on those evenings -
sort of reassuring in a sense. I could feel they
trusted each other. The words flowed freely - there
was no pretension. Just two people sitting across the
table from each other - one a seller, one a buyer.
There would be much interaction, lots of body language:
an eyebrow raised, a gentle pounding of the palm of a
hand on the table to emphasize a point, or maybe rubbing
an ear when trying to put a thought into words as a
question, lips slightly askew; chuckle thrown in here
and there, and even a loud guffaw erupted occasionally.
If you didn't know differently, you'd have thought they
were "old friends."
When it broke up, the salesman was happy with a sale,
and my Dad was happy knowing he would soon have the
product he needed for his business. They'd shake
hands, and that was that. Everyone was happy.
So, NOW, on to the internet.....
How do we get that same feeling of "one on one"?
Why do we "connect" with one person but not another?
After all, we really don't know anyone we haven't met,
do we? What IS that "spark" that ignites the "fire"?
Why do we "connect" with some people and not others?
I've found so many kind and helpful people on the
internet, and I often wonder what "IT" is that causes
that.
Why do you join a program or two? Is it because
somehow you seemed to "connect" with the owner(s)?
You just "feel" you can trust them, right? Why?
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact they
respond to your inquiries with a personal touch.
They take the time to email you - not just send a cold
impersonal autoresponder message.
Ever emailed (to their personal email address) after
receiving an autoresponder message and waited for a
reply that never came? I have. Did you continue any
further? I didn't.
Ever come across a great looking site and sent them an
email complimenting them? Perhaps even feeling so
"fired up and bold" that you throw in a question asking
for a little help? I have. Still waiting for a reply?
I am.
Ever unsubscribed from a newsletter because you don't
have a clue who the editor is? There's no mention of
a name? I have.
How long does it take for someone to send a simple
email? A "thank you" or even an acknowledgment that
they've received it and will get back to you as soon
as they can?
Maybe soon they'll have all the time in the world!
But it won't be on the internet.
Be interactive. Let people know you're a real person
on the other end of that mouse.
Pretend you're seated across from me at a kitchen table
on a hot summer evening with June bugs bouncing off
the screens and distant heat lightning in the horizon.
About the Author
Mary Holzrichter
The Newbie Club
The Most Respected PC And Internet
Learning Site On The Web!
http://newbieclub.com?abcs
mailto:holzrob3@naspa.net