Ricard

Fundamental Restructuring Is Underway

I sincerely hope articles like this get more attention.

"The internet, now closing in on 15 years old in its mainstream incarnation as the worldwide web, is in many cases the underlying cause of these business failures.

Bits of information flowing over a wire (or through the air) are just more efficient than physical infrastructure."

This type of change takes time, and given the setback tech underwent in 2000, now seems a good a time as any to retool the economy.


eBay is probably a great example to cite as to how the "new economy" cited in the dot com boom is evolving in reality. eBay was a novelty site, the world's biggest garage sale when it first came out -- compared to retailers that have set prices and distribution channels, it is now appropriately shrinking and taking what I think is its true place in this new retailing atmosphere. Sites like Amazon deserve more business, because in the end, their model is more efficient, and sells what more buyers want - new products at low prices. eBay's recent strategies are making it more Amazon-like, which robs it of its own identity, unfortunately.

Sorry if that was slightly divergent - I wanted to demonstrate how the process of businesses adapting to the Internet is still in its early stages. My main point is that this article, and those like it, are probably prescient in predicting the outcome of the current turmoil. To that end, I'd say that once employment settles to a comfortable range, Obama's stimulus package may shift from supporting roads and interstates to supporting the information superhighway and the internet. I've been long tech since 2002 (luckily went defensive two years ago), and think that eventually, the restructuring stated in this article will come true, with a second large spending spree to boot. Tech is generally cheaper now than it was in 2002...something to think about, as the retooling continues.

BTW great article, if I haven't said so already.