Creative Narration

My head was filled with ideas; lots of ideas: ideas about people and their networks, creative and beautiful ideas.

And there were jumbled up ideas down at the bottom somewhere about things like Search Engine Optimization and back-links, webmaster statistics, expenses connected with self-hosting, and server technology.

My worst fears were about security concerns: what if my site got hijacked, what if somebody steals my customer's credit card information, and horrifying thoughts like that.

It all seemed so remote from the beautiful and creative ideas about social engagement and community building...

I decided I needed a Sherpa; someone who knew the ropes and could guide me through all the lovely terrain that I knew was there but that I didn't have access to because I needed to concentrate on my business and didn't have time to pour over technical papers about SEO and Security concerns; much less to learn and develop a Content Management System. I wanted to be able to open my browser and type in my latest thoughts (whenever they came to me) without having to look up how to negotiate the latest theme or plug-in updates to find out why everything changed since my last post.

"What can I do to improve my internet presence and my credentials in the new global renaissance? I've heard that the old, tired techniques of manipulations and 'predict and command' strategies are losing peoples interest by the millions. While I've done everything I can to hone

and develop my small business, I either don't have enough hours in the day or don't want to go with the same old corny schmaltz that bores people online. I'd like to build an active and engaged customer base but don't know where to turn..."

I ran into an old friend the other day while walking in the park and he was telling me that the Future is Social. When I asked him what did that mean, he began explaining how the new science was about complexity, that everything is interrelated, and that things grow and emerge organically. Relating that to my business, he shared with me that small business economics and social networks are systems nested within systems and that I needed a social architect who understands these things as well as a creative web designer.

As I watched the people going about their business in the city, I could see how naturally they gravitated into groups and conducted their mutual activities clollectively, spontaneously, and had fun while they are doing it. Most of their thoughts and actions were related to social behavior and networks. Even when they were by themselves they were thinking about somebody while they went shopping.

I knew intuitively that building my business this way, I could have fun too, participating with my customers as part of the group...our group.