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But who's paying?
WE all know there are lies, damned lies and statistics. Take these figures from
a recent University of Texas study, for example:
* The US Internet economy generated more than $460 billion in revenue last year;
* It was responsible for 1.2 million jobs;
* Internet workers are 65 per cent more productive than non-Internet workers.
These sorts of figures would indicate that investment in Net-related stocks must be a sure
thing. Yet that section of the market remains the most fickle and temperamental. Last week
saw the listing of Publishing and Broadcasting's Internet division, ecorp. The issue price
was $1.20 a share and many analysts predicted the price would surge past $3.00 on the
first day. But Kerry Packer's cyber vehicle fell well below expectations, opening at $1.90
before closing the day at $1.75.
Despite all the hype about e-commerce, buying and selling on the Net is very much in its
infancy, more so in Australia than the US where some surveys show a massive increase in
online shopping in the past year.
When you sit back and look at how consumers use the Net day by day, it becomes easier to
understand why the online economy is still in nappies. In broad terms the Net is about
finding information, easy communication and interactive entertainment. Shopping and
banking is becoming easier, but the real-world alternatives of doing either activity
face-to-face still hold more appeal. Why sit alone in front of your computer when you can
talk to a live human, or feel the quality (or not) of real produce?
And popular activities on the Net, particularly on the Web, are the sort of things that do
not necessarily generate money. The big exception is sex, where billions are made by
pressing the flesh, so to speak.
Sport sells too . . . we are told. But a browse of some of the most popular sporting sites
in the past month will not have cost a Web surfer one cent. The big sport on the Web until
Sunday was the cricket World Cup. Cricket with long playing hours, its never-ending
statistics and display of most human emotions is perfect for the Web. Workers can look
busy yet be gazing at a match in progress without alerting the boss that they are goofing
off by turning on a radio or TV.
Alex Balfour, chief operating officer of the popular Cricinfo site, was quoted recently as
saying: "The pace of the game suits the medium. You can render the action in text
format and there is a dearly loved tradition of cricket commentary."
Millions followed the World Cup. Some estimates suggest there was a huge audience of
expatriate Indians in the US as well as far-flung Australians, New Zealanders, Pakistanis
and South Africans. Millions of page hits, millions of words in e-mail and newsgroups,
thousands of images looked at and not a penny spent.
The big cricket sites have advertising and there may have been a little knock-on effect to
advertiser sites in quiet periods. But don't bet on it. Unlike TV or newspapers, the
advertisements are neither fixed nor pervasive. A Web surfer bored by a site can easily
click and go somewhere else. All for free.
Is it any wonder the market in e-stocks is still a bowl of quivering jelly?
All articles Copyright: © West Australian Newspapers |
