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01/02/01
Internet Still Thriving
by Jake Davenport
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the death of the "dotcoms", especially in the mainstream press. The NASDAQ has been a roller coaster of dramatic ups and downs over the past few months as a result, leaving investors scrambling and the economy slowing. Rumors have been flying about that some of the big players in the Internet industry are losing money by the fistful. Some pundits are even reporting the death of the banner ad. Others are speculating that perhaps the Web is really just a fad, as Bill Gates himself proclaimed not so long ago.
It’s all hype.
The Internet - that is, the commercial Internet - is only about five years old. During these past five years, we’ve seen an unprecedented upheaval within our economy and our culture. We’ve seen incredible advances in technology. The Internet has torn down barriers and given us all a new window to look through at the world, and the power of the Internet is only now being realized.
We are witnessing the birth pains, not the death throes, of a totally new medium. This medium is one that is instantly interactive and completely customizable. It is rich in content and limitless in size. It is not controlled by one entity but it is instead governed by everyone, and it is fluidly dynamic and ever-changing. Many companies have tried to force the Internet into business models made for other media, but the square peg has been found not to fit in the round hole. The marketplace is now recognizing those failures, but the Internet has already moved on.
Over the next two years new technologies and new approaches - combined with a lot of tried-and-true strategies - will reshape the commercial Internet into something both viable and profitable. The stock market is wising up, the venture capitalists are realizing that there isn’t gold in every hill, and the prospectors who didn’t make it are going back home. But there are companies out there making money on the Internet, and there are companies out there who are committed to the long haul. The Internet, with whatever face, will be with us for a long time. I hope you’ll continue to be there with us.
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