A while ago, one Small Farm Central member wrote to me to say that views of her farm had ended up on a commercial because a video producer was able to find her farm through a quick Google search ("Macadamia nut farms in Maui").

A farmer wrote to me last week to tell me about a local, like-minded business that had been quietly digesting the farm blog. The business has ordered consulting services from the farm on how to start a rainwater-collection system on the strength of the blog, website, and of course the farmer.

You never know who is looking for you online and they can never find you if you do not have a website. Even if you feel like your website is in some damp, unloved corner of the web, someone out there is looking for you. This should not be the only reason to have a website because these stray connections often lead nowhere, like the sweet potato enthusiast who contacted me with detailed information about restaurants in his area that serve sweet potatoes. He wanted information about sweet potato festivals or conferences and I pointed him towards a few resources. This connection did not serve the interests of Small Farm Central, but sometimes these contacts will make sense for your business and you will be glad that your name and thoughts were out there for that person to find.

This is the serendipity factor.

Of course, a professional and up-to-date website with high visibility will garner more of these happenstance contacts.

Do you have any good stories of chance Internet encounters? Leave them below in comments.

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