Is the Internet a great myth or a tool for people with ideas?
Analyzing the causes of the great crash of Internet ventures, the question arises – where did the error lie? Was the cause of the problems with the new economy a market “overheating,” as some analysts point out? Or was the capital that fueled the newly emerging ventures invested too lavishly? Or perhaps the Internet is just a soap bubble that burst, inflated by its own growth?
Looking closely at various investments in e-commerce, they can be divided into:
1) purely informational – databases, technical information, websites, e-mail, etc.
2) advertising – all kinds of Internet portals deriving profits from advertisements placed on their pages (or sent to e-mail users)
3) selling products, services – where the Internet is treated as a “place” for meetings with the client in order to offer services (shops, banks, etc.)
4) others.
Although the solutions mentioned here are based on the Internet, one can see more differences than similarities between them. Analyzing these applications from a time perspective, we can say that the informational applications of the Internet have certainly revolutionized the economy and communication in the broad sense. In recent years, regardless of the economic climate, the number of Internet users has been steadily growing. It should be assumed that this trend will continue for the next few years. F
unctions of advertising currently remain – especially in Poland – a big question mark. Yes, advertising via the Internet can be effective, because the Internet allows for defining precise profiles of target groups, and through this, reaching the right recipients in a simple way. However, the problem of the “intrusiveness” of Internet advertising arises. Its potential recipient is attacked daily with several or a dozen e-mails describing sensational services, and is also constantly forced to watch automatically launched advertising windows.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 3/2003.