11 March 2010
There's Only One Ranch Dressing
There are many things in life that suffice for the original. In other words, I'm not a "brand man" when it comes to every little thing.
I can eat any brand of pasta - all tastes the same to me.
I can wear clothes from basically anywhere as long as I like the look of them (although I do have my favorites: The North Face, Keen and Under Armour to name a few...).
I am even pretty neutral when it comes to pizza. It's just good no matter where I go.
But when it comes to certain things - there is no alternate - nothing can compare to the original.
For me this applies to ranch dressing. Hidden Valley Ranch is amazing. Others are not. Simple as that.
Another is my HTML editor and web graphics program. Adobe Dreamweaver and Fireworks in combination wins hands down over anything else I've tried.
Making the Web Application
When it comes to our websites, we could ask ourselves the same question:
Are we simply being the alternate to something people already use - or are we the original - giving people something they just have to have from us?I know this gets sticky at times - because we (specifically church websites) are promoting the gospel - which is not original to any of us.
But what is it about your church (and in turn your website) that fills a need in the people of your community?
If you closed shop tomorrow - what would people say, "Wow, I really miss that..." about?
If you can identify this thing (or things) - you'll be one giant step in the right direction. You'll be able to strengthen the identified strengths in your church and make them available online through your website.
In other words, if you're going to do it right, be Hidden Valley Ranch!
