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THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: The internet is explained in easy-to-understand lay terms for any small business user.

THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET

Now that there are cost-effective solutions to help small organizations take advantage of the wide range of business services and global marketing opportunities on the Internet and the Web, business owners and managers are asking, "Exactly how would I use the Internet?" and "How do I get started?"
Access to the Internet requires a computer; a modem, a phone line and an "Internet account" with an Internet Provider costing $20 to $50 per month. You'll also need additional software to speed the connection, but most Internet providers include this in the cost of your service. If not, you can buy it at your local computer store.
Once you've accessed the INet, you can run one of the many easy-to-use Browser programs directly on your computer. These browsers let you make use of GUI/WIMP (Graphical User Interface/Windowing Icon Mouse Pull-down-menu) features, view multimedia information, and interact fully with menus and hypermedia applications like the World Wide Web (WWW).

World of Capabilities
On the Internet, you'll find a whole new world of opportunities. You can:

* Send and receive e-mail. Suddenly, you can communicate directly with
people you've had difficulty contacting. You can use it to instantly and
inexpensively send product information, purchase orders, product problem/complaint messages, news releases, articles, spreadsheets, engineering drawings, digitized photos, illustrations and graphs. In short, you can send almost anything you would send via overnight delivery or "snailmail." Best of all, you can get a response or feedback just as quickly.

* Participate in group discussions. This includes e-mail mailing lists, Usenet news groups, product user forums, business and professional chat roundtables. These are excellent places to seek help in working through a business, technical or product manufacturing/application problem. If you have a question or problem, you can be certain that someone, somewhere has been in the same situation and developed a way around the problem or has already solved it for you. On the Internet, there is a group discussion on almost any subject you can imagine.

* Get the news. Logically, here's where you're going to see the announcements and related news about Internet products and services first. You can also (at little or no cost) "subscribe" to Usenet Groups, news wire services, business and trade publication on-line news, financial and weather data services, local and national newspapers, as well as special interest groups.

* Search the news. You can do searches on Dialog, Dow Jones, Ziff-Davis, CMP, McGraw-Hill and thousands of other news, business and technical databases around the globe. The searches may or may not be free, and you will pay to access specific articles or to download specific files.

* Surf and browse the Web. You can search census data, flaming desserts, Internet security, global warming, vertical market demographics, semiconductor manufacturing processes, pharmacological indications/contraindications, international monetary
fluctuation, state and local RFQs (requests for quotes), state and local construction and employment statistics. It's all there waiting for you.

* See what your competition is doing. If your competition is using the Internet, you can browse through their Web site to learn about new policies, products, programs, technology and growth/direction plans. In many instances, you can also access the home pages of market research firms for an overview of your market's growth projections and trends.

* Be knowledgeable, well-informed. You can find the latest information on a wide range of topics, including the best dive sites in Belize, the best night spots in Tokyo, the best condominium rentals in Hawaii and the political/business climate in China. You can even download and play the latest version of DOOM.


Simple Learning Process
Learning how to use the Internet isn't any more difficult than learning how to use voice or electronic mail. In addition to being able to double-click a mouse, all you have to be able to do is find the UP/DOWN/RIGHT/LEFT ARROW keys and a few others.
Books like Internet for Dummies and Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet are excellent starting points. There are also courses available. In no time at all, you'll be taking advantage of the rich store of information that service Internet veterans (Neterans) have enjoyed for years.


A Few Rules
As a newcomer (or newbie) to the INet, it is best to start slow and to follow a few common sense rules:

* Remember that anything you say on the Internet's public areas may be read by your family, friends, and your boss, so don't say anything you don't want to read on the front page of tomorrow's paper.

* Don't post your company's message to lots of mailing lists and/or Usenet Newsgroups. Called "spamming," it's unwelcome and can result in some very unkind flame mail (very nasty comments).

* Don't post a message to a mailing list or Usenet News group until you've found, retrieved and read the appropriate FAQ (frequently asked questions) or other introductory document. Read the postings to the discussions for at least two weeks to familiarize yourself with the group before posting anything. This will help you avoid common beginner errors.

Properly used, the Internet can be a tool that enhances your productivity and your profits. In a very short period of time, you'll wonder how you were able to carry out your company's business and your job without it.

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