There is another, interesting, way to view the current landscape. Within industries, the "typical" situation of stability implies scaling structure between companies. IE, the #1 company is 2X as large as #2, 3X as large as #3, 4X as large as #4....etc. These are not EXACT figures, but rough scaling guides. The actual numbers may be slightly different, but there is scaling taking place, nonetheless.
The internet, however, has weakened the scaling arrangements in industries, where those in last suddenly have a chance to be first (what was CMGI doing before the internet?). This represents a state of flux, instability and change. Hence, an opportunity for reordering. Guessing who will win the reordering can be very profitable.
This concept of scaling and its breakdown isn't just "made up", either. It is a concept that is well documented in many different fields. And although I have only a layman's definition and approach to it, anybody with a strong mathematics background who is familiar with the concept knows what I'm referring to, and should be able to expand on it.
Basically, my point is that the internet has created an unstable situation within the realm of business and economics. That is not a bad thing. It is probably best described by Schumpeter's "Creative Destruction", which begets great opportunities and advancement for society. |
