Can a website change your life?

Back in the dark ages of dial-up, a friend of mine uttered what turned out to be a prophetic statement: The Internet will transform society when women decide to shop on it.

Fourteen years later we have broadband and Blackberries, best-ever sale prices delivered via search engines and purchases landing on the doorstep without the hassles of parking lots or salesclerks. It’s been years since I bought a gift for out-of-towners any other way.

And it’s gone way beyond shopping. For me and many of my friends the Internet is quietly transforming much of the rest of life. Through it all – whether recipes, research or news – I’ve applied the same yardstick to determine my online participation. It’s the same one my friend used a decade and a half ago:

Does it make my life easier? Does it save me time, save me money and cut my stress?

With the blogosphere explosion and social networking I added new criteria: Does it validate me? Entertain me? Enlighten me? Does it connect me to community?

Most recently I’m faced with a question I never would have expected to ask regarding technology: Does my digital participation make me a better person (or nudge me closer to the person I’d like to be)?

Here at Kitchen Scoop Alicia and I strive to create an online space that lets you answer YES to the basic yardstick questions. At the very least we intend to make your life easier and save you time and money with recipes and tips. But can Kitchen Scoop entertain, enlighten and validate? Is it possible to create community and inspire new personal heights on a website that’s basically about food?

That’s a very tall order. We’d sure hate to think we had to do it by ourselves. We’d love to get your input on this, but most of all we’d love to have your help!