I sometimes reflect on just how incredible the Internet is with its reach across the globe I am doing some work at Starbucks right now, and the guy who stands on the corner collecting money for the homeless walked in to get a cup of coffee. He and I frequently nod to each other and wish each other a good morning, but I know absolutely nothing about him.
As he was leaving Starbucks this morning, he saw me on my computer and asked if I had heard of YouTube before. After telling him I was familiar with it, he gave me a piece of paper with his name on it and told me to check him out on YouTube. Low and behold, there he was beat boxing. His seven videos garnered a few hundred views in about a month, no doubt intrigued by his beat boxing skill and cool personality.
On my way home today, I am going to give him something more valuable than a dollar or spare change. I am going to make a suggestion to him. He should buy the .com of his beat boxing persona (I will even buy it for him). He should then overlay this domain name on his videos to bring traffic to his website. If he adds his contact information to his new website, perhaps someone across the globe will be intrigued by his skill and offer him some work. Even a simple blog site with contact information could give him the exposure he needs to break out of anonymity.
Assuming he takes advice, this will be one time he is happy that I didn’t give him a dollar.