Empowering People

A week ago, we released the House of Good Cards and the House of Bad Cards. We didn't advertise it. JoAnn still hasn't sent out our official email about it to the people in her network across Texas. But one week after release, the sites already have about 20,000 page views.

We've never paid any advertising for it. If what you create satisfies a hunger that people have for the content you create, then you'll spend far less than someone might expect to get traction. I expect somewhere between 100K and 200K page views by the end of August, and perhaps a million or so by the end of the year. Grassroots Priorities already has about 7 million page views for the year. All for zero marketing dollars. And we don't push it on social media...

Why did these websites get traction? Because they empower people with irrefutable information that they need.

A client of mine wrote me tonight about the frustration she's having with a website that was written by someone else and it's hard to manage. It was written with Wix or WordPress. It has outdated content on it. She needs a new page with new content, and that content will need to change frequently. These websites weren't really built for that. I couldn't have built GP or HOBC/HOGC with that framework. Dynamic data-driven websites, to be really effective, have to bend to the data and to the best means of comprehension for the viewer. That requires some creativity and freedom by the developer, and an understanding of what people want.

What people hate most about computers and the Internet is feeling stupid and inadequate. Computers are a tool that, at their best, empower us. If the content and abilities on a website make people feel smarter and empowered, they're more likely to return to it and use it again.

On the other hand, if the website information is outdated, confusing, or difficult to access, then people will struggle for a reason to return.

Ditto on the management of a website. Normal humans aren't techies. A website should be easy to manage and not require a book and a 6-month course to feel confident with it. Here on Opinion Paper, I wrote the whole thing, and my lovely wife, Nicole, is no techie. But she manages my calendar on here like a pro because it doesn't make her feel stupid. I've been building a backend ToDo management system into the site to integrate with the calendar so that my time is well-managed and I don't drop any balls. I'm also setting up an invoicing system in it to manage billing my clients. Nicole doesn't know HTML or databases. But she knows organization. Giving her a tool that empowers her strengthens her natural ability to organize.

The Calendar is the smartest thing I did this year. It allows anyone to go to my schedule and see what time I have available for them and then they text me and claim it, whether for a seminar or a consult. It empowers me and it empowers others.

DataRepublican on X does an extraordinary job of this, creating functional tools that empower people. Her work gets effortless traction because she's good at it, and people feel empowered through her good work.

Software should serve people, which is why "Software as a Service" (SaaS) became a thing. It works best when the emphasis is service that empowers people and not software that makes you feel confused.

It's easy to feel dizzy sometimes around technology. It's refreshing when it's easy to use and gives you what you need and makes you feel smarter.

It should make our lives better. Which is why I'm very concerned about AI, but that's a different topic for another day.

5 Comments

Shelby Chamberlain (Aug 2, 2025 7:56 AM):

Your So Awesome .. and God has granted you with patience to deal with technology dummies like me . Thank you you for always answering my questions - making videos that explain how things work - Your an Amazing Patriot Brett , and you are so very Appreciated by many people like Myself..

Randy Reeves (Aug 2, 2025 8:06 AM):

Ditto, to what Susan said. You're truly a God send, Brett Rogers.

Janice Carter (Aug 2, 2025 11:23 AM):

Thank you for all that you do to help us know what our legislators are actually doing and not what they say they are doing. Janice Carter

Sb (Aug 2, 2025 1:51 PM):

"What people hate most about computers and the Internet is feeling stupid and inadequate." YES! Thank you for stating this truth so clearly and plainly. I love your content because it is honest and real.

Michael B (Aug 3, 2025 12:35 PM):

Brett, it was like you are reading my mail, thank you so much for this "opinion " as you absolutely hit the target for me on the subject of using or attempting to use the computer for research or any number of things which are not intuitive at all and frustrating at the very least. Thank you for understanding and making it so much easier to deal with the difficulties of poor,outdated and bad software on so many sites.