Submitted on:  04/17/2007

Everyone who lives in modern world community cannot do without consuming information. You listen to the radio, watch TV and read newspapers and magazines to learn something new just for fun or for business use. It takes almost no effort to switch on a television or go to a kiosk for a new issue, but you will find it very difficult to find what you really need.

And that is where the World Wide Web appears on the scene.

Where do you look for new knowledge?

The Internet is the largest and (from the author's point of view) the best source of information, larger than any library ever known, and still better organised.

Immense though it is, this giant library is perfectly searchable, since there are search engines that know everything about its content and structure. You just ask them to find things and as long as your requests are specific enough, they deliver what you need. And, as with regular library, there are lots of human-compiled directories to help you.

Suppose you need to write an essay on the history of the Internet, but you know nothing about it. Just type Internet History Articles into Google and click the "Search" button. Straight away, many interesting pages will appear, and the most relevant ones, written by the Internet's creators themselves, will be at the top.

If you write your own article for the Web, remember to add live links to all the sources of information you used while preparing your stuff - just one of the strict rules of "netiquette". By doing so, you pay due respect to the people who made this precious data available for you online (that is, for free). At the same time, your web page becomes more friendly for your visitors, who won't have to go back to the search engine to find more material but will be able to find it through your site instead. That's how the Internet grows.

The Internet community is (or was always intended to be) a friendly community. If you've chosen to become part of the online community, remember that there is nothing wrong in being generous. It's a good idea to search for more resources related to your theme and link to them, too.

The phenomenon of the Internet forum. Your fellow members will become your teachers, your followers, your new family

Internet forums are widespread and popular. They are amazing, too, uniting people parted by thousands of miles into a friendly community, allowing them to communicate and to share interests, knowledge and thoughts.

An Internet forum is the place where you are sure to find good advice from the world's experts in your industry or interest. Forums' value for self-education is hard to overestimate.

But an Internet forum is much more than just that. It is also a place where you can make good friends. An online friendship is a new phenomenon psychologically, something that was unthinkable in the past.

People you've never seen become familiar and cherished acquaintances. Before long, you find out you miss them and long for their company. It's easy to forget that it is just a forum - a dynamic site with a certain standard functionality allowing you to post messages and add threads. You feel like you really belong there and really communicate, and you know that if someone managed somehow to tear you away from your community, you wouldn't stand it for long. It would be like losing a family.

As the number of your posts in the forum grows into the hundreds and your level of expertise is nurtured, you might find yourself answering questions more and more often, and asking them less and less. Your status will change. New members start treating you as an expert, though you may not yet be formally promoted to a moderator status. Great feeling, isn't it? Not to mention that it is another method of improving your personal standing - think how great it would be for your self-respect and kudos! But don't forget that it must be earned.

Every forum has its own unique atmosphere. Even if two-thirds of the members of two communities are the same people, the auras will differ. That depends mainly on the personality of the forum administrator, but also on rules and guidelines that define ethics and law of the forum. It also depends on the activity of each and every forum member. But there is still something that can't be explained by these factors ... something indefinable.

Why do we join one or another forum community? Because we want to ask a question and get an answer? Or because we just cannot bear not to join - after having read a couple of forum threads? I believe the answer is, most likely, the second one.

Read articles, write articles, publish articles. Say "Thank You" to your critics

While ransacking the Internet for the information you so desperately need - have you ever thought how all this invaluable store of human knowledge got here?

The truth is that all these numerous articles, digests, FAQs, forum posts, etc. are the result of the labour of thousands of Internet volunteers who often get nothing tangible in return.

The inspiration behind articles comes from several sources. Some people, on acquiring some knowledge, often experience an irresistible desire to share that knowledge. Others create articles that are paid for, since a good site cannot be created without at least some articles on various subjects related to the site owner's work.

Articles are very effective as a promotional tool. They might help you position yourself as an expert, especially when republished on other sites. Publication also helps you to build links to your site (and if you're familiar with SEO, you'll know how important this is). So if you have already read and done enough to consider yourself an expert in a field, why not write about it? Try and be original, and avoid copy and paste writing style. Find fresh angles and views, highlight the points nobody emphasised before. Letters from grateful readers will be your best reward.

Of course, an article, when written, puts a grave responsibility upon you. Check and double-check everything you've said, then show it to other specialists you can find around you. Still uncertain? Visit a forum, ask a couple of questions. Ask yourself - Have I chosen the right theme?

If your article contains some serious mistakes, be prepared to receive severe criticism at forums. Say "Thank you", no matter what names you are called. It is by no means pleasant to receive such a harsh lesson, but it is a lesson you are not likely to forget. Remember, the critics might be trying to help, even if their means of expression is less than delicate! So, take immediate steps to correct your mistakes. Carry out more research, rewrite an article. Send the corrected version to all the editors who accepted it for publication. They should be able to update it.

There is no justification for a bad article remaining online. But this is no reason to stop writing. Even the most knowledgeable people get it wrong sometimes; their expertise lies in the way they deal with errors.

Only those who do nothing at all never make mistakes.

About the Author:

Name:  Irina Ponomareva Irina Ponomareva has been a practising SEO consultant since 2004. She joined Viscomp, a Russian web design agency, in February 2008. Find out more at http://www.viscomp.ru/