Hey WA,

I’m just back from a 10 day holiday with my wife in Maui Hawaii. Was a great trip and a much needed refresher for the mind!

So many exciting things are happening at WA and the Open Education Project platform is starting to show its potential. Sometimes you need to force yourself to take a little break even during exciting times like this.

While I was away I had some time to read a book that I’ve had sitting on my bedside table for a number of months collecting dust. Steve Jobs... The biography of the world’s most influential technology inventor, and creator of the MAC, iPod, iPad! While reading the book my mind wandered as it frequently does when I can relate to topics.

Steve was an erratic and intense mind with 100% focus on the user experience and pushing the envelope in terms of offering usable, user friendly pieces of technology.

One thing that Steve believed in was creating amazing first impressions where people can see, touch, feel, and immerse within the culture of a product. When reading it reminded me of when I was in New York city at the Apple store on 5th avenue. It was one of the first times in my life that I truly appreciated the culture of a product. I spent quite some time with the latest macbook and iphone. It was a great to be able to see how it felt in my hand, and how I liked the user interface.

While reading the Steve Jobs biography I instantly remembered my time in the Apple Store and related it to our new model for WA. Very soon WA will be free to join. Just like walking into an Apple store, people will be able to come directly inside WA and integrate themselves into the culture of the community. Learn, Network, Build, Succeed. Why not give people the opportunity to determine what WA is to them?

Currently we have very little information about what WA is because we’ve been waiting for this moment to launch an unconventional website where we provide a high level explanation. What is WA to you? Is WA is a place to Learn, Build relationships, build businesses, and ultimately achieve success in the online world? The experience is slightly different for everyone.

We need to make the Open Education Project available to anyone who wants to try it out. We want to let people determine what WA means to them so they can make an informed decision about joining.

Most of what I read is related to technology and business, it’s something I find incredibly interesting and I love to hear different perspectives from people who have similar interests. I’m slow as heck when reading sometimes.. I don’t whiz through a "good" book because in many cases I will read a paragraph then stop and think...... Relating what I read to my own situation is something I love to do.

During one of these pauses I thought about this analogy (probably spurred by the fact I was craving an ice cream cone at the time!):

If someone you don’t know was to come up to you on the street and tell you that the Ice cream store at the end of the street has the BEST ice cream in the world, would you run down and get a double scoop? Let me add another layer by giving you the knowledge that this person is getting PAID to tell you this? How about now, would you try the ice cream? Maybe you would because you just LOVE buying ice cream but most won’t, and they might even be scared away wondering why this ice cream store needs to pay someone to tell you it’s so great!

Now, if that same stranger came to you and offered you some free ice cream to try, would you try it then? How about if they let you try a whole tub, threw in some fresh waffle cones, and a nice ice cream scoop? You would be much more likely to give it a try and if it really was the BEST ice cream in the world you’d buy it without a doubt.

This is what Steve Jobs did with Apple stores. Many people will tell you that Apple is the best but why believe them? Go to an Apple store, spend as long as you want with any product in their line-up and decide for yourself. Even get support, training, and ask any question that you want.

This is exactly what we will be doing with WA when we open the doors for people to try it for FREE. Of course there is a cost involved, we are a business (Like Apple), but before you spend a penny, give us a try. We believe 100% that the Open Education Project is the best place to learn about online business in the world.

This little analogy explains the direction of WA perfectly, and at a higher level outlines marketing in general.

Maybe you share WA when it’s free to friends, family, website visitors, facebook, twitter? Maybe you are too busy with other marketing campaigns and angles.. either way the underlying theme of the ice cream analogy is: Offer people a chance to make their own mind up about a product or service. Offer people a ton of helpful information about a particular topic and within this content link to a few recommendations. Easy.

Apple stores offer tons of helpful information and there is ZERO pressure to buy. You can go into an apple store 100 times and not buy anything but the staff and experience will be outstanding every time. With marketing you need to think this way. Offer value, over deliver, and give people an experience they will benefit from.

Now I want to ask you a question:

Are you the next Apple Store? Or are you the stranger on the street selling the "Best" ice cream in the world?

Carson