You know how you look back sometimes and wish you’d paid more attention in school? I’ve been having those moments lately as the conversation has turned toward the Web Economy. Its not that I didn’t like or didn’t pay attention to Mr. Gipson during Ecom class, I just didn’t understand the application to real life. Well, now I know.
The Old (Current) Web Economy
As the Internet has been maturing, our first forays into business online mimicked those of our off-line exploits. Following the rules of the industrial age, it was based on a scarcity mentality… get our products to market first, be the best, horde all the customers and put everyone else out of business. That approach worked really well when, for instance, you were the only car dealership in town. You had a captive audience. It was great!
