I remember salivating over this very idea in 1999, when I was just getting into my technology ackee - was working for an American dot com and had just won a Press Association of Jamaica Award for the Internet Guide my business partner Susan and I created and published. The idea was laptops and flipflops...working from home, coming into a small office only to meet clients or brainstorm with other team members and on Fridays we go out for a drink some place to talk shop, laugh, network or hide in a corner and Observer. All quite buttoned down, sorta like Steve Jobs -tees, jeans and sneaker or flipflops

Fast foward to November 1, 2006. I'm there. We're there as a company. Back then, the Jamaican culture wasn't ready for that. They wanted to see you in a big office, a company sign on the door and you in acceptable corporate clothing. Now while we don't go to client meetings in flipflops, myself and Susan and the team we've been building have a pretty decent rep and track record and now that one of the new buzz phrases is virtual office - we're set.

Yeah Jamaica is typically 5 years behind in some things, but technology - it's cheapness and increased accessibility has almost coerced traditional companies to button down and embrace a variety of working cultures and an approach long accepted and legislatively supported in The States and Europe.

So we've gone remote and the team is loving it! 2007...Bring it on!!

The Ecommerce Bill has been passed they say. And of course it misses the radar or traditional mass media. But that's not my point here. The Sunday Observer did a report on the passing of the Bill and had a quote from Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce,Phillip Paulwell that makes me hope he really didn't say this and pray that they took it out of context.

The story said: "Paulwell pointed out that the recently passed e-commerce Bill would deliver greater prospects to small businesses, as they would be able to bypass expensive advertising to reach a greater market via the world wide web."

Fact: Yep the Internet, a website can be a great leveler for a small business. And yes You can get greater mileage, tracking and measurement for your online advertising efforts with a smaller budget than spent in traditional mass media. BUT bypassing expensive advertising to reach a greater market cia the world wide web...ahhh no Sir. I think what you should have said was thet the Internet at this moment offers what traditional media has never been able to offer - measurable results for ad money spent. But the expensiveness or not of your advertising is highly dependent on - your product, your audience, your marketing goals and your offline and online strategy.

The Minister said: "A web presence today can get you into the living rooms of thousands and millions of homes across the globe and that is where we want to be especially if we are marketing to niche areas," the Minister said.

Yes it can Minister BUT: Let's not make it seem so easy, because it isn't and some may take it lightly. Having a website is not a case of building it and they will come. In fact because there are tens of millions of websites online, it's so easy to get lost or become forgotten.

So just like in traditional media- you have to know who your customers are, speak to then in tehir language, make them products and offers they can't refuse or not being offered by your competitor, market online and offline to build your brand. So having a website is not a panacea and uses some elements of the success formulae - a great product, good ideas, targeted marketing strategy, listening to customers and constant tweaking to win the game.

I know they said speechwriting pays, but I hope he didn't pay for that one.