The Internet: Fad or Fortune?

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The Internet: Fad or Fortune?

Many people have rushed to Internet much like the gold diggers rushed to California in search for the illusive gold that laid hidden in the hills somewhere. People have come to view the Internet almost as a money tree where all they need to do is put up their business site and within weeks they will be making hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nothing could be further from the truth. Much like the siren’s songs in sailors’ legends, consultants, venture capitalists, and others have painted a picture of how the Internet was going to change the world and make everyone who was a part of it rich. A few success stories were all that it took for everyone to jump in and take their stab at it. Now that many dot-coms have crashed and the dust is starting to settle a bit we can take a better look at what has gone wrong with this overly simple and optimistic paradigm.

The Internet is an amazing and powerful business tool if it is used in a way that will help an existing or new business become more profitable than it would be without it. There are four basic things that a company or person must keep in mind when trying to take their organization or idea online. These considerations are to 1) know exactly what you want out of your website, 2) know how this website connects to every other part of your business (internal environment), 3) know how this website meets your customers / suppliers needs (external environment), and 4) know when to say “when.” This list is not meant to be an exhaustive list or a complete set of criteria by which to judge a company’s integration into the World Wide Web. Rather it is a list that is meant to invoke some careful reflection on the part of the business owners or managers before jumping into the shark tank because every body else is. Each of the four considerations will be discussed below.

Know what you need first

Far to many people jump into the Internet game not really knowing what it is they are after or what they are going to accomplish (aside from some pipe dream to be the next internet millionaire) with their Internet presence.

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