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"The COM"

what it is

"The COM" stands for 4 very important things:

COMMUNITY

It is critical to apprehend (as many internet users already have) that achieving a true sense of community within the Web is only going to happen as we realize that there are no neighbors like the ones who live right here, close to home. The efforts and the successes of many in striving for a global village are challenged by the shear rate of increase in traffic on the netwohrk. This already dramatic increase is still in it's infancy when you consider that those who have daily, personal access to the Web will stretch from the current 30-40 million to a whopping 200 million by the turn of the millennium. (that's almost the entire US population!) When we see what's ahead, it's obvious that, although the internet will maintain and improve it's global and national import, it's users will invariably be seeking a more secure haven of community than simply some interest group to which they belong, or some business network with which they associate.

In response to this, "The COM" will be our local launchpad to the vastness of the internet. We will start out today as a pioneer effort to promote the future well being of our community and will continue tomorrow as a model for other communities to follow. So when you taken a whirl through what the web has to offer and you feel a little travel weary, remember -
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

COMMUNICATION

"The COM" will serve our community in promoting communication in more ways than just the obvious. The information resources available to us have greatly increased with the advent of the internet. We're seeing that opportunities for greater intrest in learning have also increased. People who have turned their TV's off and their computers on have taken a great step toward advancing personal communication by exercising their literary, reasoning, research, and even their typing skills. The internet has provided for us a sense of accessibility to the people behind all the information we are absorbing, and we are learning that we can respond, influence and participate as never before. While all this may seem a little too new for all of us who don't take too quickly to modern media, we should realize that our kids have already accepted that much of their lives in the 00's will be spent in front of a monitor. And much of the remaining 90's will as well.

"The COM" is dedicated to seeing our community excel in exercising these communication skills now before we find ourselves wondering later what happened. The contributors here at "The COM" are working to make our community a model for many to follow in regards to literacy, education, business, and marketing trends. There is no reason why the High Desert needs to wallow in its lack of economy when we are confronted with such great opportunity! The internet is a wide open resource that can bring us face to face with the world, but will we learn the language?

COMME/RCE

1996, like it or not, is THE year to get yourself prepared for what the internet will do to the American lifestyle. If you have any desire to be a business leader by the year 2000, now is the time to get your feet wet. Let's face it, by the year 2000 you will be as heavily involved with the internet as you are today with the fax machine. The difference is, however, deciding to shoulder in to internet business later will leave your business many unnecessary and painful hurdles to overcome. Unforeseen training time, probable increased cost ratios, loss of efficiency, loss of valuable contacts and opportunities, lack of inexperience etc., will all be contributors to reasons businesses still new to the internet will fail in the years ahead. By that time many will probably say, as I heard one business owner tell me the other day, "There is absolutely no way I can compete in such an environment!" - Not true. Personal service, integrity, local proximity, creative marketing, networking, quality product etc., will not be abolished from what people expect as the net expands, instead, they will be seen as treasures. And the ones who learn how to find a place, and build a quality reputation, on the internet will be able to navigate through its immanent inundation.

This holds true for buinesses as well as communities of businesses. Allow me to ask, What is the single largest detriment to the economic prosperity of the Victor Valley? Many people, if asked to choose just one thing, would say that it is our physical isolation from the rest of Southern California, in their eyes and in ours. Let's say someone came along and completely took away that obstacle to our progress, would we be become prosperous? Well, the internet has indeed made a way for us that rain or snow or fog or train cannot thwart in regards to our access to adequate commerce. Whether we take the opportunity to do it will be the true test of our desire for an improved economy.

"Linear broadcasting is dead. Long live non-linear broadcasting. We're at a transition point in history where the old linear models have to be redefined in non-linear ways. The content is always going to be valid, yet the delivery mechanism is new and challenging (thus the widely spread pseudo-politically-correct reference to marketers and advertisers being 'internet-challenged') - Simon Higgs

"The COM" is poised to promote commerce in the Victor Valley in many ways:

First, to help the consumer.

Educating households with comprehensive internet training and tips (flight school) to bring them home from the intrigues and expenses of online services.
Educating households on ways to conserve their finances from unnecessary expenditures. (the money you will save through internet research will justify the purchase of a computer.)
Educating consumers on the principle behind Valley Bucks, promoting the local economy.
Promoting local interaction and contacts. (Many of the people you meet on the internet you will eventually do business with... they might as well be neighbors!)
Promoting education and community activity at all levels.
Praising positive productivity among all Valley residents through interviews.

Equally, to expand the boundaries for the local business owner and corporation.

Promotion of the High Desert to the global community to attract development.
Through "The COM", community servicing businesses obtain a localized permanent venue on the internet, declaring a high level of sophistication, promoting community advancement, and maximizing their advertising budgets with this emerging media.
Through "The COM", businesses and corporations seeking to bring revenue in from outside markets are promoted as never before possible. Interactive information, advertising and purchasing are utilized in a new market unbounded by geography.
Providing services beyond just the storage of web sites; Ongoing promotion and consulting are the key to business success over the internet.
Organized compilation of access links to all participating local governments, chambers of commerce, boards, schools and other organizations, provide for easier and less time consuming interaction, so businesses can concentrate on growth.
Recognition to any and all local businesses that utilize the internet to promote commerce.

COMPUTERS

Although this is the most obvious of the four, please take a deep breathe and consider with me how remarkable it is, and how prosperous we are, that we even have computers here to help us with our daily lives. The rate of change the world has experienced over the last 100 years has been astronomical, and our rate of cultural change has been occurring on a geometrical level. Change, whether we appreciate it or fight it, is inevitable in these times. Computers have, and will increasingly continue to have, the prominent role in modern change. Since these statements are irrefutably true, it is imperative that we establish and promote a proper perspective toward these changes. Agreed? "The COM" believes this approach reflects balance and wisdom toward this:

First, the computer is a tool for our use, and we must not let it's intrigues have mastery over us.
Second, we must utilize these changes for the benefit of others in addition to ourselves.
Finally, we must give higher credence and attention to the things that never change: God, family, life, death, relationships, ethics, justice, mercy, and our desire for freedom.

If we keep this perspective, ease the fears of those unfamiliar with computer use, and do not fear what is ahead ourselves, there is indeed a great future in store for our community, and if other communities reflect the same standard, a world renaissance lies ahead.

keep believing, contributing, hoping and upholding,

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"The COM" of Victor Valley