|| Return to On The Road... ||
November 1, 1996
Richmond, Virginia
Dear Budding Web Entrepreneurs:
I've written this journal for a number of months, in my usual way pondering the endless thoughts in my head. My friends call it my philosophical B.S.; I start on one idea, build on it with 5 others, and hopefully come out on the other end with a good suggestion. Sometimes it maybe obscure, but basically it's my thought process derived from designing Web sites. To find that voice to a Web site, that presence, we have to try out a number of ideas and let them all meld. Tough to newcomers, but part and parcel of our business online.
Which is why the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond is such an inspiration. You walk into this hotel and you immediately get a sense of history, of the South that Gone With The Wind tried to represent (matter of fact, a scene from the movie was filmed here.) The huge marble pillars that support this hotel lead into a rich collection of paintings, carpets, cigar-filled taverns with well-dressed gentleman (sorry ladies, but in my visit, it was only the old boys network available) and that feeling of being part of something that has existed for a few hundred years.
Let me tell you, I'm a Northerner and have no idea of Southern culture. But this hotel took me back to an older, more friendly time when people would gather in this palatial place to make their business deals, to hob nob, and to build Richmond into what it is today. There's something about a place that is the center of history that makes it vibrant, filled by the many people who have walked through these doors. The rooms were elegant, with small (non-working) fireplaces.
But what I remember most are the people; the smiles and courtesy you get in the South is a real contrast to the hustle bustle of New York City, where ignoring is the rule, or the rush rush rush of the California scene, where everyone politely passes you by.
In the Jefferson Hotel, they greet you with a smile; they take care of you and remind you of the respect business should have for the customer.
Web sites should be like the Jefferson Hotel, not in the historical sense but as an open invitation to explore the business. It should act as a greeting to the business, opening the front door and inviting people in. Most of all, it should have a voice and feel (what direct marketers call a Unique Sales Proposition, USP, what distinguishes you from other businesses) i.e., why should someone buy from you instead of the competition.
I will remember the Jefferson Hotel for a long time. I know several Web sites that emote the same kind of reaction from me. You should visit a few of them, for instance www.cnet.com, which has the best information for tools to work on the World Wide Web. And it has a certain presence, not as powerful as the Jefferson Hotel, but give it a couple of hundred years...
Peace,
Declan