building (houses|sites|trust)
DIY is a weird business: it takes a normal concept (building a house) and turns it into something special. It does this, because people in the West have stopped building their own houses. Construction has become a specialty.
This means that from the point of view of the carpet, paint and DIY stores, not just their goods, but also their knowledge has become something valuable:
- “Do I need an undercarpet with this carpet?”
- “Of course you do.”
Does that mean I need the undercarpet? No idea.
Shopping for the new place has made me take a new, fresh look at my own web building business. Websites are funny things: everybody has a fourteen year old cousin who can make them a website for the price of a new mobile phone, or an iPod. But on the other hand, you know that there are websites that cost millions to make. What’s the magical difference? How do you know you have made the right choice for a supplier? Where can you find honest advice?
The answer is of course, as with DIY, that if you invest time, the answers are right there for the taking. But if you had time to invest, you would not be looking for the right supplier in the first place.
It will take dozens of years (probably beyond the lifespan of the web itself) before people will have figured out the web. Until then, suppliers like me should work to build trust, and to earn that trust.