Overcoming the Fear of Doing Things Online: Setting up an Online Savings Account and Bill Pay

For some, getting started using the Internet to conduct business is easy. Whether it is because they have an adventurous spirit or they grew up in a household where using the Internet was common, some people are able to dive headfirst into the electronic world. Others feel more comfortable watching from the side of the pool and gingerly sticking one toe in the water.

E-mail, blogging, MySpace, YouTube, web surfing and instant messaging are ways they stick their toe in the water. There are many, many people out there who feel perfectly comfortable doing these things, but who are tentative when it comes to e-Commerce.

Some of this fear is from the unknown element of it, some of it is due to complacency, and some of it is due to horror stories you hear with sites like Ebay.

If you are reading this, I can assume you are at least somewhat comfortable using computers and that you fall into one of the two groups listed in the first paragraph (if you fall into neither group, I can only assume you have mistaken the monitor in front of you for a TV and that you are pushing buttons on your remote as we speak). If you are in the "stick toe in water" group and you desire to join the "dive headfirst" group, this article is for you.

Is it Safe?

Is conducting business online 100% safe? No, it's not. But neither is the real, "offline" world. If you buy groceries, there is a possibility the employee at the checkout counter could short you on change. If you buy a car "as is" at a local dealer, there is a possibility it'll turn out to be a lemon.

If you buy a "no tears" shampoo, there is a possibility you may still cry if you pour the entire bottle into your eye sockets. I do not say this to bring out the paranoid maniac inside you, but merely to point out that few things in this world are completely, 100% safe.

However, just like you can defend against a dishonest grocery store employee by immediately counting your change and against a dishonest car salesman by thoroughly researching the vehicle before you buy, you can defend against the unknown when conducting business online. You simply have to educate yourself.

Kev's Two Rules for Doing Anything

Overcoming the fear of "online things" is easier said than done.

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