Internet is a road to knowledge
Editor’s note: Billie Moreland is a Spokane freelance writer specializing in technology, business and science. Her Web site: www.billiemoreland.com.
Rolling down Interstate 90 at 70 miles per hour, the nuances, subtle beauty and gradual change of the Scablands provoke thought, educate a little and provide amusement. But beauty soon takes a back seat to the stresses of the road, especially when it’s crowded, and you wish you were “there” long before you arrive.
The Internet “super highway” is like that. The amusement value of “surfing the Web” has become just above what cruisin’ North Division would be to an octogenarian.
Like those other roads, the Internet is a stellar tool – one of the very best means to an end. When writing about technology for the Terabyte Triangle Newsletter (www.terabyte triangle.com) and other clients, I am constantly doing research. I look at the Web site related to every article’s subject to better understand the topic, e.g. Lingraphica at www.aphasia.com. I research issues and technologies.
There is a white paper or technical report on almost anything you want to know out there somewhere. To find them I generally rely on Google.
In my work as district director for SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, I visit the same business resource Web sites often. The site www.scorespokane.org has information for Spokane area business workshops and free face-to-face business counseling. The national SCORE Association Web site at www.score.org leads to free e-mail business counseling and online learning ( www.score.org/ learning_center.html).
Many SCORE clients ask about grants. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) www.wsbdc.org/ index.asp?pageid=591 has an excellent write-up about available grants with links to other Web sites. Another financial resources Web site is www.sba.gov.
The State of Washington’s all-purpose site called “Doing Business” ( www.access.wa.gov/ business/index.aspx) is an important business-related resource. This site explains licenses, permits, and inspections; taxes and reports; and employment issues. There are links available from this site, and an especially important one is to the Secretary of State Web site – www.secstate.wa.gov – that explains incorporations.