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Sunday Times Article - The Internet Revolution

AN economic revolution is under way, as profound and irreversible as the industrial transformation of the 18th and 19th centuries. The driver of this change is the internet. It offers an unprecedented opportunity, representing a community of more than 1 billion people connected to each other. It is now the world’s largest information, communication and distribution network, and businesses need to adapt or rewrite their plans to make the most of its potential. Just a few years ago, the internet was for people who understood computers. Now people spend up to seven hours of their spare time a week online — twice as long as reading a newspaper. Teenagers spend more time on the internet than watching TV. The internet has radically changed the way we consume media — for many it has become their primary source of information and entertainment. Dustbag is the UK’s largest supplier of vacuum bags and accessories. The founder, Nathan Wood, realised that even the biggest superstore couldn’t possibly stock the 500 different types of vacuum bags now on offer. He spotted a gap in the market, but knew the answer lay online and now has an operation that is growing by 50% a year. Wood doesn’t have to worry about shelf space. His customers aren’t limited to a town or even a country. His marketing costs are cheap and he is now offering his service in several languages. There are hundreds of thousands of similar stories across Britain. Thanks to the internet, people are casting a much wider net to find products and services that match their needs much better than before. Companies such as Dustbag are benefiting from what has been dubbed the Long Tail — the switch away from a small number of products and services that are commercially viable to a huge number of niches in the tail. The Sunday Times / Time Online Date: May 18th 2008 By: Nikesh Arora