Who Am Us Anyway?

Greg Falken

My name is Greg Falken and I’ve been working professionally with technology, personal computers and the Internet for – um – a long time (1982 if you want a date). Lots of people come to me for help when their computer has done something they didn’t quite expect, their emails go missing or they want to start a web site. Quite often, I find that if they just had a few crucial bits of information, the whole problem would be much less of a mystery.

The aim with this site is to build a collection of articles and references that will bridge the knowledge gap that exists for most newcomers to the Internet, allowing them to view the Internet less as a mystery and more as an interesting new landscape to explore. This site is all about making the Internet useful to you, in either your business or personal life.

Computers (and by extension the Internet) are a paradox. On the one hand, they operate in a very linear, step by step, fashion and just about anyone can understand how to use them. On the other hand, they are the most complicated machines ever built by humankind and beyond a certain level, I think nobody understands them.

The number of small businesses that make use of the Internet is shockingly small. And those who are already online have a hard time keeping up with technologies that could provide them with useful business tools. Why should they? After all, they have a business to run. Our “Beginner Business” category contains an expanding collection of information for small businesses, in easy to swallow bite sized chunks.

Another (often ignored) group that I hope will find this site useful are those who I call Internet Caregivers. People like me to whom others turn for help (hi, Mom). It can be very satisfying to bridge that knowledge gap and give them an “ah-ha” experience, when moments before they were completely baffled.

So, there you have it. We’re at the beginning of a road that should provide an interesting journey though the Internet landscape. I look to you for help in choosing which paths to explore and to let me know if we have gotten off track. Please feel free to comment on any of the writings on this site or to contact me directly at greg {at} internetnewcomer(.)com.

If you’re interested in things I do elsewhere, you are invited to follow along at FriendFeed or Twitter.

Thank you for joining me.

-Greg Falken
March, 2008

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