There's a great article in today's Washington Technology, by Mark Amtower, about the importance of genuine, substantial content, and it's ability to add value to a company and/or website. Amtower's overall point is to emphasize the need for genuine added value, not just generated trivial hallow web pages. But the specific example he provides caught my attention. It's about a company called Carahsoft, and Amtower describes how they set up shop as a reseller of computer software and related products, but supplement their services with informative webinars that are instructional, not just marketing, and Amtower credits this combination for Carahsoft's success. There are a lot of companies who would be wise to pay attention to this. A few years ago, I co-founded a training company that offered courses in how to use certain popular software packages. Those software systems were backed by large companies that offered their own training. But our company flourished – in part – by offering frank instruction on what worked and what did not, and how to implement the software in an effective manner on a given project. We received a large number of student applications from individuals who complained that the software vendors offered "training" that was really just marketing. Even paid instructor-led courses were crticized as a pep rally for the vendor, not a practical hands-on instruction on how to use the systems. The vendor who understands this and offers genuine value to the client will ultimately benefit in the long run. According to Amtower's commentary today, Carahsoft is one of those companies. And the training professional looking for an opportunity should approach the marketing departments of resellers and other vendor-driven value-added businesses, and offer to combine forces in order to ultimately drive sales and satisfy customers.