Today is the kickoff of a new annual event - One Web Day - to celebrate all that the Internet has brought into our lives. I like it too because I get to make a wish at the end 
For me, the greatest gifts have been community and connections. My life has been enriched by the ability to log online and meet people all over the world who have grown into dear friends or colleagues as a result of participating on an email list or forum. Sure, the possibility exists that I may have encountered one or more of these people in correlation to business, but honestly, the odds are pretty slim.
The Internet allows my friend Akiva Penaloza to share the inspiration (complete with old family photos) behind her latest film. Jen Burke uses the web to tell stories of coping with chronic illness that make me laugh and cry at the same time. Sally Bellerose is getting the first chapter of her book, The Girl’s Club, out to new readers and fans. Maria is re-purposing her law school skills into editorship with a book that came about, in its entirety, as a result of technology that didn’t exist ten years ago.
The McLaughlin’s are using the Internet to help small and medium businesses connect with new customers, which creates jobs and fuels the economy. Mike Heppert is building a community of people interested in solutions to childhood obesity. Sure, both of these businesses would be fine without the Internet, just as they were before it, but the web amplifies their expertise and allows them to innovate faster as a result.
Of course there are days when I get 400 pieces of junk mail and think, “oh, life was so much easier before computers,” but there aren’t many. When I get frustrated by obnoxious marketers, I can think about how the Williams Syndrome Association is able to help new parents find resources at 2:00 am without having to raise the funds to pay for a staffer to answer the phone.
One Web Day’s slogan is “One Web, One World, One Wish.” My wish is to see the Internet used not only for community, sharing, and commerce, but also for liberation. Technology holds great promise and capacity for those who cope with disabilities and chronic health conditions. These are precisely the people whom Active Grey Matter (AGM) wants to reach to make “business unusual” possible for through technology. Since AGM is a virtual business incubator, it is not bound by physical or geographical limitations, nor even by the clock. As such, it expands the business and human potential for everyone, but most especially, those who need liberation from traditional employment markets the most.
So, what’s your wish this One Web Day?
Tags: One Web Day
