- by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
    http://www.thenetreporter.com
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As someone who earns their living entirely online, I considered
myself the last person I ever thought would ask the question, "Do we
really need the Internet?"

However, the extended power outage of almost 4 days, ongoing loss of
Internet access, combined with many other events surrounding the
recent Hurricane Isabel caused me to reassess my priorities.

When "high-tech" business gets into a head-on collision with a
natural or man-made disaster, we all need to ask, "Do we really need
the Internet?"

Well, when you’re in line for 3 hours to get gas so you can siphon
the tank to run your father-in-law’s generator in order to save
$1,000 worth of food in three freezers - you don’t need the
Internet, you need the expectation that you’ll find gas.

When you’re driving around for 2 hours trying to find ice so you can
have a cold drink and make your family more comfortable on a 90+
degree day - you don’t need the Internet, you need patience and a
sense of humor.

When a good friend of yours falls 30 feet off a ladder while helping
his neighbors cut a tree off their house, fractures his back and
neck, punctures a lung and must be airlifted to the hospital in
critical condition - you don’t need the Internet, you need faith
he’ll be okay!

When the hurricane’s destruction threatens to ruin the surprise 50th
wedding anniversary party you’ve been planning for over a year for
your parents - you don’t need the Internet! You improvise and set up
a human communication network that spreads the word to dozens of
people who still show up and throw a party that creates memories
that will last a lifetime!

When you can’t turn on your computer to get work done, you can still
grab a good old-fashioned pen and legal pad and get more work done
in the peace and quiet without phones, fax or email to distract you
than you could ever get done when things get back to "normal."

It struck me last night as I struggled to get my high-speed Internet
connection going again that I was much more stressed over getting a
stupid piece of hardware to function than I was over driving 50+
miles to find gas just two days before!

In fact, looking back, I was more proud of the fact that on Saturday
I found what was probably the last cold six pack of beer in all of
Southeastern Virginia than I was about my last successful online
product launch!

And after spending many days and nights in the dark, I realized that
the Internet represents the ultimate convenience, but it’s also the
ultimate business risk because so much can happen to shut the
Internet down or prevent you from accessing it.

If recent events taught me anything, they taught me these three
truths about life:

1. Life is fragile and valuable - don’t take it for granted.

2. Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of
family and friends. Sometimes it takes a calamity to remind us.

3. Anyone who depends on the Internet for their entire livelihood
should seek to diversify how they make their money - just in case
the Internet disappears one day when you least expect it!

– Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author
of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles
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