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Predicting the Future When There’s Hardly a Past

Those of us in the business of web marketing all face similar strategic questions. In some ways, the Internet business-to-consumer paradigm is predictable when based upon traditional marketing concepts. In others, consumer reaction hasn’t come close to our history-based projections. James Fallows, author of "Breaking the News," has written a concise commentary in the article "Future Shocked." While he examines the near past of the Internet evolution on a business scale, he fills this essay with those little nuggets of information for which we seem to search when trying to rationalize a unique approach to marketing and advertising in the new technology. You know, those bits of quotable statistics we can pass along to the CEO to reinforce our correct decisions or lend credence to a new direction. From a quick take on "wealth shifting" and "perfect markets" to the handling of the disruption caused by an inevitable "shakeout," Mr. Fallows quotes some recent research and comes to the conclusion that it is, perhaps, unrealistic to try "to predict all the ways the Internet will add value" to business operations and customer service.

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:35:03 -0800