"Say that again please."

My most frequent request for half of my life, and the most asked question... pardon? I have impaired hearing and it's been getting progressively worse over the years.

I'm not totally deaf and hearing aids do help, but it's bad enough to interfere with earning a living. The conventional employee work place has become increasingly remote for me, and self-employment still presents severe problems. Telephone conversations and face to face contact are not taken for granted by the hard of hearing.

Put simply, it's difficult to conduct an intelligent conversation when you're only hearing your side of it. Sadly it's extremely easy to come across as an idiot.

Stupid I'm not. I've been involved with computers and their systems for more than 30 years, and climbed to quite high management positions before striking out on my own.

I acquired many "people management" skills along the way and, at least as important, accumulated wisdom as well. With conventional media, the advantage of much of this "education" faded away with my hearing.

This has nothing to do with prejudice, but we live in a practical, competitive world and I couldn't compete with my peers who possess full-strength senses.

The Internet as a new medium has changed everything for me. It's opened up a new market place ... one with a completely level playing field. I don't have to ask people to RAISE THEIR VOICE nor fiddle with the volume control of my hearing aid.

If I choose to use the sound / voice capability of the World Wide Web, I can reach for my headphones and crank up the volume. Imagine trying that during a normal job or client interview!

Computers are in my blood and always will be, so it's been second nature for me to keep up with them. Therefore it's been easier for me to anticipate the benefits and use of computer and Internet technology to solve my problem.

I don't have to tell the Virtual world of my limitations but I choose to do so in order to help others. Hence this article. I'm not disabled, many others have it worse than me... I just needed a little help.

I started back up the ladder by becoming a Founding Member of a start up Community site called Suite101.com and then decided to try out my writing skills by applying to become an editor.

I was accepted and took as my subject the one thing I spent most of my surfing time looking for. "Freeware" is my weekly column, and has been running for about a year now.

When the Managing Editor position for my section became vacant, I applied and moved up another step. Now I also manage several other computer and Internet related sections as well.

Apart from my weekly article, I'm largely back to being an administrator supervising the work of others and helping us grow. Most of my skills and all of my experience are back in use, although I've had to adapt to a virtual office rather than the real ones I was used to.

It's been fun and a challenge. It's unlikely I'll ever actually meet any of my colleagues but they are just as real and pretty much as well known.

Any number of communication methods are available to us. E-mail, discussion forums, newsletters and chat sessions are the basic staples but who knows... video and sound can become prevalent before much longer.

I don't expect to get rich from this, certainly not in the short term but I'm in this for the long haul. Besides which you never know where something may lead.

My wife Dee shares my fascination with all things computerized and when we first met, relatively few people knew about these things. She has always assured me that being a "computer Guy" was not her sole reason for marrying me! Not too long ago I introduced her to an acquaintance who needed help, and now she is co-owner of a rapidly expanding site called FreewareHome.com

Another long outstanding ambition fulfilled. Sitting side by side in our own home office we both now work full time on the Internet. Our four legged kids love it ... curled up on our laps or around our feet.

The bottom line. I'm back to being useful and productive in the area I have always loved... people and computers. My self-respect is back and I'm in the thick of what will probably provide the greatest boost to computers... the Internet.