Internet and Businesses Online

Medium to Global Businesses

Yes - like smaller entities, large corporations can behave in exactly the same manner and follow a similar model, albeit with more seed money and with the aim of gaining a larger slice of the pie. In fact this approach was taken by nearly all large businesses during the first Internet boom, simply because there was no established model or pattern to follow. To a greater extent, this is still happening, even when the most seemingly-savvy media companies are involved.

To large businesses the Internet is often viewed as an enormous retail opportunity: b2c - business to consumer or b2b - business to business (supply chain), but that misses the wider picture. Discounting eBay, which is reselling goods through thousands of small traders, the first retail outlet in the WWW, Amazon, doesn't appear until position 35 (in the top 500) - the next is Amazon again (the Japanese version) at around 120. So the vast, vast majority of traffic on the Internet is not shopping. A small proportion is - which is still a very large market - but tapping into what everyone else is doing, is the unrealised value for large businesses.

The Internet is another channel for global corporations, and awareness can be raised by exploiting this channel. The Internet is like the largest of school playgrounds. The teachers (corporations) may be theoretically running the show, but everyone in the playground knows what's going on in the school, long before the teachers do. 'Britain's Got Talent' experienced this recently when the broadcaster (ITV) was very slow to react to the show's extended reach on YouTube through the Susan Boyle phenomenon (despite the winner from 2 years earlier, being one of the most watched YouTube videos of all time). Eventually after 2 or 3 shows, they printed a link in the final credits pointing to their own site, where the full program and clips could be downloaded. Too little, too late? Despite the tardy response, traffic still leapt by 1,200% on what was already a busy site.

The Internet is a communications 'playground' as the simile above suggests. Corporations can extend their reach in almighty jumps, by creating content and services *aimed* at this target audience. Find out what they're doing and like to do, and then commit to it. Nothing will fail more rapidly, than a corporation making a half-baked attempt at social networking. Research, discover, deliver and then commit. The Internet is a useful learning tool and some good bargains can be had - but it's main use, as all the traffic reports confirm is - a place of social entertainment. I'm not suggesting the teachers start coming to school in bling, with a mobile clamped to their ear, for 'mingling' purposes. Just that they build an awareness of what people are doing.

Innovators

The last category is the smallest, with the highest barrier to entry. It generally (but not always) presupposes some technical ability, since you're often creating something new.

That's just it - create something totally original, that will move everyone forward a further step. It's far more likely to come from a 2 person enterprise than a corporation so don't be put off. Google, Facebook (neither of which were original - just improved executions of existing ideas), Twitter, MySpace, Digg, Flickr, Skype. Hang in for a year and Google will probably try to buy you for several hundred million dollars. Or take the approach of Mark Zuckerberg. He turned down $1billion from Yahoo and then later $2billion from Google (though this was probably just rumour). Currently at 250 million users he should hang on - and consider buying them further down the line.

Conclusions

Yes, there are ways to make money on the Internet, but 'sit-back-and-get-rich-quick' schemes are ways of getting your attention and traffic. They have seriously diminishing returns and little longevity. Research and target your niche, get help - the Internet is awash with helpful individuals and communities - and start working hard. The rewards always tend to come, just when you're ready to give up.