09.12.08
The Feel-Good Factor
We all like to feel that we are making a difference in the world through our work. I suppose we get a nice warm, fuzzy feeling when we do something nice for someone else.
I remember reading a book a while ago by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt called Freakonomics. This inspired a subsequent blog which also makes for fascinating reading. They could be regarded as renegade economists, if you will, who postulate that economic principles can pretty much be applied to everything. Any motivation to take any action is ultimately driven by incentives. This incentive need not be financial – it could also be social or moral, both real and perceived. Anyway, I digress, but the point I am trying to make is that not everything we do is entirely altruistic.
This morning, a post over at Search Engine Guide by Miriam Ellis was passed on to me by Christine. It’s entitled ‘When this Industry Is One Of The Helping Professions’.
My first thought was naturally, ‘huh?’. However, upon reflection, I understand what she is saying. That got me to thinking about Jail4Bail as a recent example of SEMs trying to make a difference to the world around them.
Ellis’ post is based on an article Mike Moran at Small Business Answers wrote about how the web totally failed him when he was looking for assisted living services for his ailing father-in-law.
There are many industries where SEM, or the importance of SEM, has not taken hold – and perhaps health care, public sector, and NGOs are the most obvious examples of this.
These days, with the web being the powerful tool it is – and many people turning to the internet for guidance, advice and information – it is up to us as web professionals to ensure that the best information is available to the end user.
As Ellis says, any work where one is teaching a worthy business owner to understand the web could be described as helpful. “But I would suggest that the ultimate impact of what you do in a day’s work is going to be weightier if you’re working with the local Red Cross as opposed to the local bakery,” she says.
Obviously we aren’t all necessarily going to run out and seek out the local children’s home and offer our services… (or are we?), but I would like to summarise Ellis’ salient points here as they really do provide food for thought.
- You can design websites with layout and copy that provides people with the answers they need without stress or hassle.
- There is an opportunity to find the expertise that is within a company that has hired you and to bring that out in every aspect of the website. You’ll also know and find all the places where the website needs to be showcased and included.
- You may be able to inspire a professional to start blogging, add an entry to Wikipedia, start a Knol or do something to share their knowledge with the world.
- Finally, every time you build a high-quality, well-ranking website – you increase the chances that a person searching for answers gets a decent offering through the SERPs.
In this day and age of bottom-lines and consumerism, it’s nice to know that some people are still inspired by incentives other than the economic ones. As marketers we feel, and I’ve certainly said it myself, that there is a market for everything – it’s just about how you pitch it.
As satisfying as it is to see a client’s rankings and traffic improve, how much more satisfying is it when you think about the users you are helping to access a resource they need?