Business on the Internet (was Re: Search Engine Promotions)

From: Michael Martinez <Michael_at_xenite.org>
Date: Tue 20 Feb 2001 06:25:58 -0600

MICHAEL MARTINEZ <Michael_at_xenite.org> WROTE:
> THAT is the real reason for why it's so hard to
> make money on the Internet. It wasn't created for
> the purpose of conducting business and most people
> aren't interested in using it that way.

TO WHICH SHARI MONNES <shari.monnes_at_dowellstubbs.com> REPLIED:

> I'm sure I won't be the only one to make this
> comment, but WHAT??!

>Of course the Internet wasn't INTENDED for business
>use, but when has that ever stopped the inevitable
>introduction of capitalism? Television wasn't invented
>for advertising, and neither was radio, but they would
>have died without it.

>And who says "most people" aren't interested in using
>the internet for business? If that's true, then why are
>the most commonly visited sites all business web sites
>(see November's top web sites: http://www.digitrends.
>net/mna/index_13309.html) ..and why do so many people
>make travel reservations online than through any other
>means?

That people are visiting business Web sites doesn't
mean they are doing business with those sites. Danny
Sullivan recently published an article in his latest
newsletter which shows that most surfers are looking
for news and information (generally entertainment-
related). Webmasters in the genre fields have known
this for years.

And who presently dominates the entertainment news
and information listings in the search engines?
Business sites.

Furthermore, MOST Web sites' traffic are not being
tracked. They are not part of the commercial networks
which sign up for these expensive services.

My own domain has been around for almost four years
now, but it's traffic has only been getting partial
stat tracking over the past 2-3 months. And I still
have a ton of content which has not yet been converted
to include the tracking code.

So actual Web-surfing statistics are grossly
underreported. As past discussions on this list have
shown, people don't even trust the advertising
networks because the ads frequently fail to load.

Most people are NOT using the Internet for business.
They are using it for personal purposes, mainly just
to read stuff and download images and free software.
That's the sad fact for the business trying to make
a buck on the Internet.

If it were REALLY that easy to make money on the
Internet, all those well-funded startups which failed
last year wouldn't have failed.

Just because people visit your Web site doesn't mean
they are going to buy anything.

The Internet business community is still in the
process of building up the infrastructure and
reputation it needs to become a major part of the
world economy. One of the obstacles to the
infrastructure is the cost of getting onto the
Internet. There are many, many people who cannot
afford to buy the computers and pay the ISPs for
monthly access. And let's not even get into the
free access providers. They don't care anything
about the surfers' quality of experience as they
flood the bandwidth they provide with advertisements.

A cheap computer (less than $500) is still a
major expense for a lot of families even in the
United States. That's the cost of a washing machine,
a dishwasher, an air conditioning system, or a major
repair for the 10-year-old car in the driveway.
But these people are a part of the economy. They
buy small appliances, clothes, foods, medicines,
and see movies, etc. If a business plan cannot
work them into the pool of prospective customers
then it has to deal with a smaller customer base.

Add to that the fact that a large percentage of
the 300,000,000+ people who are surfing the net
are minors who cannot enter into contracts or make
online purchases, and you've got a really small
potential customer base.

People who are going to do business on the Net
have to understand the Net is not about business.


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Received on Tue Feb 20 2001 - 06:25:58 CST