Something John Beckley of Sorted Sites said about ‘tribes’ (he was channelling Seth Godin at the time) came to mind the other day as I was wandering about the web.

I’ve never been afraid to get lost and think doing so is about the best way to get to know a new city. Well the internet is like that too. You can follow your usual treaded path or step out of your comfort zone and just see what tribes you discover.

It is amazing how many interest groups you may stumble over unintentionally as you just follow your nose through the mass of links that helpfully litter the web like shiny pebbles waiting to be picked up.

Just this morning I found a report on the Derby Arona Tenerife One Loft Race. Now if you were a pigeon fancier you maybe knew about that already. I know about pigeon hobbyists. I have one behind me who coos and calls his birds in every night and there use to be a man a few houses down that had a pair of tumblers. But I had no idea that there was an annual pigeon race in Tenerife with a purse of €60,000, did you?

I also came across the website for the beautiful Hacienda Cristoforo in Costa Adeje, an ecological centre and retreat in Costa Adeje and found out all about the various courses and seminars available there. If you are looking for seminars or classes in Reiki, Rebirthing, Art, Hatha Yoga in Tenerife or would like to learn more about ‘The Sacred Clown as Healer‘ then the Haciendo Cristoforo is the place to go.

If you think of the internet like a large city, then the commercial concerns are always the easiest to find. They throw money at the best locations and hire marketing staff, PR companies and advertising agencies to make sure they are on every map. But anyone who really knows a city, knows that the most interesting of craftsman or curio shops, the best tailor, jeweller or spice trader is often to be found off the main thoroughfares. These traders thrive for many years on word of mouth and have no need to pay the rent for flashy office or shop space. But if you are not talking to the right people or walking up the right side-street you might never come across these hidden gems.

Often too, the people behind the niche or specialist websites are not really that interested in the internet itself. Their websites are only a means to an end; a communication tool for their current clients. Often the sites are unsophisticated and lacking in the basic steps that would make their websites easier to find in the search engines.

The only way you are going to stumble over some of these hard to find specialist sites is by letting yourself get lost. So go on and give it a try and if you find any interesting tribes, let me know. And if you happen to be a hard to find specialist then send me an email now and I might just be able to help you get closer to the main thoroughfare.