I was at my neighborhood hot tub last night enjoying a glass of wine and conversation with my husband when a stranger appeared. This is always an awkward moment. You don’t want to be rude and leave, but you also don’t want the stress of engaging in what will most certainly turn out to be meaningless conversation. That was not the case this evening….

Introductions were made and then our guest got to the point: “Our economy is in a downward spiral, we are in a recession, consumers are not spending money, and a considerable portion of our population is illiterate- what factors and or industry will be able to counteract our dismal future as a nation?”

And I was waiting for, “Did you catch the last episode of ‘American Idol?”

Needless to say, this gentleman had an agenda and wanted answers. While his visceral line of questioning left me focusing on keeping a cool head, he got me thinking.

Inevitably, my answer was this:

Overall, I am optimistic. I think my generation and my industry have the potential to positively influence attitudes and the economy. Generation Y’ers are motivated, frenetic, and kind people. They are not going to sit idly by as the economy circles the drain. They will move in and amongst industries building a varied knowledge base. This knowledge base will allow for innovative solutions to problems that are inconceivable to current leaders. This is not a knock on older generations, but rather a recognition that innovation can kick-start the country. It will come from intellectually curious people who have statistically grown up more tolerant and with more access to technology.

This brought me to my colleagues and my industry. I used SEO as an example under the greater umbrella of technology. First of all, the people I have met so far in this industry have been encouraging and helpful. The attitude is just plain different from my past experiences. While competition exists, people recognize the importance of knowledge sharing and community.

These attitudes inform the product, which ultimately helps businesses gain visibility on the Internet. The 10 cent version (from a novice) is, consumers are increasingly going online to buy. SEOers help proprietors and their products be seen. Optimization services have changed marketing strategies and ad models. Additionally, the reach of these campaigns is greater due to the fact that the size of the audience is exponentially larger.

The big picture (from a novice) is we assist in the globalization of services and products. Borders are evaporating due to the transformative powers of the Internet. The leaders in the search industry, be it Google engineers or marketing entrepreneurs, have a major role to play. Whether search engines like it or not, we play a significant role in their success. The overall presence of search engines and the information they disseminate is changing the way people do business. This has significant implications for our economy and the world’s at large.

Now, I am not saying SEO is going to save the world or that Generation Y is a super power, but I do think the people in this industry and the platform of this industry have the opportunity to be transformational. What can I say, I am an optimist and as such have great confidence in the abilities of my peers and the significance of my industry.

This answer did not satisfy my fellow spa goer. He was more interested in playing Larry King while shielding himself with his dogma. He continued to focus on problems and offered no solutions, no insight, and little perspective. I breathed a sigh of relief as I listened to his wet feet plod away into the night; at least I had gained some clarity from the conversation.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the soapbox portion of my post.

I am really interested to hear what all of you experienced SEO professionals have to say about our collective influence on the future of the economy. I know this is a very broad question, but commentary on any aspect would be greatly appreciated.