The Power of the Internet

The web is a funny thing. Some days I can't find what I want and I think all this online stuff is just a big waste of time. (I sound like Mark, don't I? No, this is Alison.)

But other days, I think it's great. (That's better.)

For those of you who don't know, Hardwood Artisans is also on Twitter. What's Twitter? It's like a blog, but everything has to be said in 140 characters or less. It's an interesting mode of communication because it requires you to be concise. Sometimes I feel like I'm back in 11th grade English with Mrs. Avery telling me to eliminate all flowery language. No adverbs! No infinitives! If you use "however" or "anyway" you will be shot!

Anyway, this week, I sent one of Tom Heath's Washington Post columns over to a guy named Ben McConnell, who wrote "Creating Customer Evangelists". He then sent it out to all the people who read him as a great example of marketing coverage by mainstream media, giving me credit. If you're a rock music fan, this is like being acknowledged by Mick Jagger or Eric Clapton. Wow.

Next, Mark was trying to design a piece of furniture for a customer that involves round legs. Since we don't usually do round legs, we were going to have to buy them from someone who does, but we couldn't find an appropriate supplier. Luckily, I happened to have met someone on Twitter a few weeks ago who does hand-turned wooden furniture legs: Within just a couple of hours, I had a drawing, I had a price and they told me they could mail them out today if I wanted them that fast. Wow again.

Just when my faith is lagging, something like this happens and all is right with the world again.

P.S. You can follow us on Twitter @furnituregirl.