The internet presents an enormous opportunity to the entrepreneurial inventor. Never before has the there been the ability to research, network and market like what is now available on the internet. Each of these areas is a major component of the product development task and the access the internet provides creates a time and energy saving that is unique in the history of creativity.
In the last few years the services and capabilities of the internet have greatly increased with the birth of companies that do nothing but help people and companies get onto the net for every reason under the sun. From games to databases, and from newsgroups to "web" sites, the internet is now a place of data, industry and commerce on a vast scale. You can browse cyber-stores for merchandise, review art, pornography, news, statistics or just "Surf" the net in search of new and exciting people and data. The internet grows in possibilities every day and it is a place that every entrepreneurial inventor must know.
Research: the capability of the internet to link the user to an almost unlimited number of databases around the world is the greatest factual research opportunity available to the entrepreneurial inventor. Access and download is usually immediate and the data is free!(most of the time). The availability of various "search engines" creates a multi-directional research resource that is as near as your desktop. Imagine, you can search libraries, commercial and government databases and private resources in the literal stroke of a key.
Sometimes the data you will find can be confusing and overwhelming, but thatΓÇÖs better than not having information on your selected topic. Different search engines organize and display data differently and you will have to become familiar with the variables. But once you have mastered the rudimentary controls and protocols for navigating the net, you will have joined the next great wave of the future as part of the first generation of people to communicate and research globally, interactively, without the need to travel or work in a dedicated paper medium.
Another beauty of research on the internet is that you get uncensored, unrestricted access to almost every type of information without the need to pay for long distance calls, and usually the data is free from any sort of charge, other than your costs to be on-line.
Networking is the lifeblood
of the entrepreneurial inventor
and the internet.
It is possible to directly connect to, and communicate with, millions of other users and "sites" (Web Sites). By sending out queries and messages you can hook up with large numbers of people and businesses that you may never have experienced in any other fashion.
Marketing on the net is still new and very exciting! Companies and individuals are constantly creating "web sites" called "home pages" that are the equivalent of an electronic store front on the information super highway. The creation of a web site for the marketing of your new product or service can lead to global exposure. Although all the rules of operation are still in flux, commerce on the net is not just alive and well, but exploding! Almost every major corporation has a site where you can link into product data, news releases and even the direct sale of their products. Every entrepreneurial inventor worth his (or her) salt should consider the possibility of creating a presence on the internet.
You can reach us on the net at: invent1@goldmind.com
You can reach me (R.J. Gold) on America OnLine (see below) at: Invent1
On Line Services
Using the Net does not have to be terribly complicated and can be accomplished via some easy to find and use resources like America Online (AOL) and CompuServe.
AOL is the equivalent of a hosted, guided and safe exploration of a new land. You can access some of the vast internet from AOL and you wonΓÇÖt ever feel like youΓÇÖre lost in some foreign database or canΓÇÖt find a friendly face (or Icon) to take you back to your safe harbor. AOL is a world unto itself with resources, games, downloads and a large selection of services that the novice and expert can use.
Most access to the internet is now much more friendly than it used to be. GUIΓÇÖs (Graphical User Interfaces) like your icon based WindowsΓäó or MacintoshΓäó screens are now the norm, instead of plain-jane text menus. Navigating on the net can be accomplished by typing in the correct communications protocols, but is rapidly becoming as easy as point and click on icons, words and pictures. Thousands of "hypertext links" are created between different sites on the net on an almost daily basis. This is why "surfing the net" is so popular. You can be in a university in your home town one moment, then link to a business in Europe, then to its distributor in another country, then to a government database, then... you get the idea. More and more people will get access to more and more information as the net increases in size, availability and ease of use.
Click on the buttons below and left to link to more data on the net and common terms that you should know before starting your own exploration of cyberspace.
