Going on Google Plus to Share Ideas

I about to jump into a Google Plus hangout with a friend, Deb Thompson, a fellow website publisher who lives in Cadillac Michigan.  Working at home makes me enjoy setting up these ‘visits’ where we can both see each other on screen, and we can share ideas and complaints about our work lives. I often have meetings with two colleagues, one in Florida and the other in Connecticut, in this same way. It makes working at home and enduring the endless solitude a bit more manageable.

I am often struck by how different website publishing is from other businesses. It’s different because traditional notions of competition, and not sharing secrets is really not the same.  I can provide Deb with ideas about advertising and other plans that worked for me, and it doesn’t mean I’ll have to lose business to her. There is just a lot to go around, more than anyone can get.  I would never had compared notes with fellow t-shirt salesmen, because back in those days we were all gunning for the same bunch of buyers.

But with the web, with its global reach, and our particular type of marketing, I don’t think we’ll exhaust anybody’s budgets even if we did share the same customers. I am always surprised at the ideas that people come up with, and I never run out of questions I need to ask my colleagues.