William,
You are quite funny. I do admire your unwavering bullish approach!
I, on the other hand, have been having troubles believing because everywhere I look, there is extreme competition... not just with discussion but every online business opportunity.
Back in 1995 and 1996, SI was the only financial discussion forum on the Web. By early 1997, messages posted to SI represented about 70% of all financial messages submitted in the World, including messages on the proprietary services (AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy). SI might still have 70% of the quality financial messages submitted in the World :), but not 70% of the financial message market.
Like discussion, Auctions is turning into a very competitive industry.
There are hundreds of well funded companies selling merchandise online... price competition and service expectations are extraordinary and will become even more so.
I see an extreme competition scenario unfolding in the online space (competition that will make notoriously competitive industries, such as the hard drive industry, look like cartels). Ironically, Amazon's probably in a good position because they are losing lots of money. |
