The World Wide Web is no longer just a curiosity. It has emerged into a mature technology that is part of the fabric of life and business. In spite of this, it has yet to establish an identity. As familiar as it is to us, no one really knows completely, even now, what it is, what it can do and how it best fits into an overall strategy.

Recent events have shown us at least one thing about the web: the luster is gone. In many ways, many of us fell into the same trap as the "paperless office"-- the "wow" factor of a new and exciting technology led us down a garden path that was never really there. Just as the computer has not eliminated paper, the web has not lived up to the early promises of virtual offices and online commerce. While the idea that one could conduct his or her life from the keyboard without ever having to leave the house may have been tantalizing, it overlooked one basic fact of human nature: people like to leave their houses and be with other people.

Now that the dot-com stampede is pretty much over, we can get a better picture of what the web is and what it does best.

E-commerce

If any one of the glowing promises web failed to materialize, e-commerce has to be at the head of the list. The failure, however, was not e-commerce itself. The failure was the promise that oversold the idea and led us to believe that e-commerce was THE solution for all things and everybody. Once again, the adversarial viewpoint prevailed-- the web was promoted as a replacement technology, not as a complementary one.

To be sure, e-commerce can be useful and in some cases it can function as a replacement technology. For some items, there is no need for a "brick-and-mortar" presence. Such things as office supplies, books, and music CDs or videos are perfectly suited to the e-commerce model. You don't need to pick up and look at a box of paper clips to know what you are buying-- the buyer has seen that a hundred times before.

Outside of the ordinary or mudane purchase, the buyer usually wants to see and touch the goods, or at the very least know that there is human being on the other side of the transaction. This is the main stumbling block to e-commerce as a universal marketing model. Its not just issues of secure transactions, its also issues of human nature. Human nature is something that the technology just might never conquer.

Information

One area that the web excels in-- and always has-- is the dissemination of information. This is its strength.

Print and CDs can disseminate information too. The weakness of these media, however, is their static nature. One a page is printed or a CD is burned, the information cannot be updated without going back to press or burning and issuing new CDs.

The web doesn't have these restrictions. Information can be updated as frequently as needed- monthly, daily, hourly, in some cases in real time. The distribution of this information is fast and inexpensive. As fast as you can post new pages, information can be updated. The cost of posting this information in a format that is instantly available to millions of people worldwide is negligible.

As a complementary technology, the web fits into the Intermedia Information System in two places.

As a complement to printing, the web allows you reduce the amount of printed pieces you need. By printing only minimal and generalized information, printed materials can be used to direct people to your web site where more general information is available in great detail. The website allows the viewer to select the information of interest and bypass the rest.

The web also allows the CD to remain current in between updates. The CD can be authored with "hot links" that take the viewer directly to a web site, or, more importantly, to a specific web page. By including update links to specific web pages within your site you can keep the information available through your CD current at all times. For instance, changes in product or special offers can be handled through web pages accessed by clicking a link from the CD.

This interactive capability of the web also serves to make both print and CD less static. By using the web site, requests for quotes, requests for information or just a simple e-mail extends the usefulness of the other two media. The CD, for instance, can be authored to include any number of forms that are filled out locally and transmitted over the web to you only after the viewer has completed the form. This can even include filling out an order form for e-commerce. The viewer does not need to be connected to the internet at all times-- only when the completed form is ready to send. This allows you to run a leaner web site requiring much less bandwidth.

Terrapin Design has been providing web site content to small and medium sized businesses for over 7 years. Whatever your needs may be-- e-commerce, information only, or part of the Intermedia Information System-- we can provide you with web site design and production that fits your needs and your budget.