Search

In this article the author discusses aspects of the publishing industry in the United States. A number of topics are addressed including the future of the printed book in the age of the Internet and the economic difficulties face by book publishers in light of the 2008-09 financial crisis. Also addressed is the negative impact on the book business caused by the decline of U.S. newspapers

During the soar-and-swoon days of the late 1990s, many people believed that information technology, and the Internet in particular, were "changing everything" in business. A fundamental change did happen in the 1990s, but it was less about technology than about competition. Under director Diana Farrell, the McKinsey Global Institute has conducted an extensive study of productivity and its connection to corporate IT spending and use during that period. The study revealed that information technology is important--but not central--to the fate of industries and individual companies. So if information technology was not the primary factor in the productivity surge, what was? The study points to competition and innovation. In those industries that saw increases in competitive intensity, managers were forced to innovate aggressively to protect their revenues and profits. Those innovations in products, business practices, and technology-led to the gains in productivity. In fact, a critical dynamic of the new economy-the real new economy--is the virtuous cycle of competition, innovation, and productivity growth. Managers can innovate in many ways, but during the 1990s, information technology was a particularly powerful tool, for three reasons: First, IT enabled the development of attractive new products and efficient new business processes. Second, it facilitated the rapid industry wide diffusion of innovations. And third, it exhibited strong scale economies--its benefits multiplied rapidly as its use expanded. This article reveals surprising data on how various industries in the United States and Europe were affected by competition, innovation, and information technology in the 1990s and offers insights about how managers can get more from their IT investments. INSET: The Challenge for IT Vendors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the impact of the Internet on the wage gap between men and women. Emphasis is given to topics such as the influence of Internet usage on worker productivity, the benefits of Internet use for less-educated women, and the use of the Internet in industries such as finance, insurance, and real estate.

Reports that companies are now offering shoppers more customization options when shopping on the Internet. Example of Mars Inc. offering customized M&M candy tailored for the customer's desire; How the Internet fostered this industrial evolution; Discussion of Nike Inc. efforts to rejigger its manufacturing plants to customize sneakers for individual consumers; How the company can increase revenue by charging more for a customized product; View that this is a welcome service to consumers shopping for clothes who can never find the right fit. INSETS: The Right Stuff;How the Personal Touch Can Flop.

Reports on Internet marketplaces for business to business services. Prediction that B2B online sales will increase rapidly; Changed role of the Internet in business; Companies building their own exchange services such as Heritage Environmental Services, Intel, and Wal-Mart. INSET: Usinghte Web to Make Business Chemistry.

Discusses the future of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as of November, 2000. Predictions that the Internet would destroy the NYSE; Launch of Network NYSE, which allows investors trade instantly; Reasons for NYSE's probably survival, including its size and liquidity; Attempts to overhaul the NYSE by Chairman Richard Grasso. INSETS: DARWINISM ON WALL STREET;GETTING YOUR FAIR SHARES.

Discusses the views of Grady Means and David Schneider, two Strategy Consulting Leaders, on the effect of the Internet on businesses. Details of their book 'MetaCapitalism,' in which they predict the growth of the economy as a result of the Internet; Expected success of companies which rely on suppliers to make their products; Move of companies toward market relationships which form a supply chain.

Profiles George Bell, Chief Executive Officer of the Web site Excite@Home. Biographical information; His competitive nature; His understanding of media in light of involvement in filmmaking, magazine publishing, writing, and television production; Decrease in price of Excite@Home stock; Questions as to the success of Excite@Home; Excite@Home's relationship with its cable partners. INSETS: GEORGE DEBENNEVILLE BELL JR.;BELL'S BROADBAND BATTLE PLAN;EXCITE@HOME VS. THE COMPETITION.

Focuses on the lack of profit growth that should result from the high economic activity spurred by the Internet. Correlation of high profitability with monopoly and economic stagnation, according to Adam Smith; Optimism based on the increase of corporate profits and stock prices; Failure of many companies to build high profits due to the high level of competition on the Internet.

The article looks at efforts by U.S. manufacturing companies to use the Internet to improve productivity and reduce costs. Honeywell uses the Internet to customize prototypes. Ford Motor's AutoXchange is creating an online trading for its 30,000 suppliers. GE Power Systems uses the Internet to compare the performance of its turbines with other brands. One of the Internet's best applications is collecting information on customers and applying it in their product design and marketing programs.

Offers a look at several chief executive officers who have left traditional companies to lead Internet corporations. John Costello; Bob Bowman; Richard Nanula; George Shaheen; Others; Their compensation at their former jobs and their present jobs. INSET: Can Wolf Schmitt Save Value America?.

Discusses the possible competition between Microsoft Corp. and AOL Time Warner, in light of the proposed merger between America Online (AOL) and Time Warner. How both companies are preparing to compete for dominance in the Internet; History of relations between the two companies, including comments by Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Bill Gates that Microsoft would buy or bury AOL; AOL's success at avoiding Microsoft's business practices; Effect of a United States Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.

Discusses the Internet brain drain caused by managers leaving traditional companies for online businesses. Efforts of offline business to keep talented people, including increased salary, perquisites, and flexible schedules; Lure of stock options in startup or online companies; Examples of people who have joined Web companies, including former Disney executive, Richard Nanula; Why the brain drain trend concerns educators.

Focuses on the possibility that the Internet may have a large impact on poorer regions of the world. Removal of race, class and gender as barriers to progress on the Internet; Frequent use of the Internet by senior citizens; Increase in online entrepreneurship in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Discusses electronic commerce in late 1998. The ease with which people can begin selling products over the Internet; Security issues which have held electronic commerce back; Con artists on the Internet; Why most Internet industry analysts feel the Internet is safe for electronic commerce in December of 1998; Types of products which sell well online; The control that consumers have on the Internet; Sites to visit for computer products, travel, automobiles, books and online brokerages.

Focuses on MP3 technology and its implications for record companies. Function of MP3s; Software versatility and control as the appeal for MP3s; Reponse to dropping sales attributed to MP3s by record companies; Other technologies proposed, such as the Secure Digital Music Initiative, by record companies to make money from the MP3s; Software by Microsoft to reduce free downloading of music on the Internet.

Presents a compilation of the best shopping sites on the Internet. Auctions; Autos; Books; Bridal registry; Computer hardware and software; Consumer electronics; Food and wine; Investing; Music; Sporting goods; Toys; Travel; Videos; Unclaimed baggage.

Describes the use of online shopping in the Christmas, 1998, season. Popularity of the practice; Stumbling blocks to online shopping; Companies that dominate so-called E-shopping; Improvements in the design and operation of Web pages; Expected online retail sales this season; Shopping on America Online; Impact of online shopping on United States retail practices and consumption patterns; New technologies which may make online shopping more popular. INSET: A credit card is your best weapon on the Web, by Margaret Mannix.

Discusses why the Internet is not truly a revolution in itself, but part of a series of technology-related revolutions. Why the Commercial Revolution was a true revolution; How the advent of the Internet can be compared to almost every major new product or technology since the 1850s; What makes a technological innovations truly crucial.

Discusses the acquisition of startup companies by established portals on the Internet. Advice to entrepreneurs from Paul Deninger, executive of Broadview International, a technology investment bank; How startups are being used to guage public interest in an idea or business plan; Why a portal buys a startup; Acquisition being a viable alternative to initial public offerings.

Focuses on Amazon.com and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos as of fall 1999. Plans of Bezos regarding the role of Amazon.com in the world of electronic commerce; The company's climb from an online bookseller to one of the largest retailers on the Web; Question of when the company will turn a profit; Influence of Bezos enthusiasm on people.

Discusses a growing trend among individuals in the United States who control their own stocks and stock trades. Statistics on households with stocks and the number of assets invested online; Trend the result of competition with traditional brokerage firms and brokers; History of online trading; Statistics on online trading, including the growth of the industry; Future directions of online trading.

Profiles the online trading company Knight/Trimark and its chief executive officer Kenneth `Kenny,' Pasternak, as of 1999. History of the company; Statistics on its size and the number of online trades it controls; Changes in the industry; Knight/Trimark's stock; Worries concerning the company; Pasternak's earnings.

Profiles the company Internet Capital as of 1999. Its founders Walter Buckley and Ken Fox; Details of Internet Commerce's initial public offering; Its involvement in business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce; Statistics on B2B commerce in the United States; Predictions on the sector's growth; How Internet Commerce invests; Its business model.

Considers how the Internet will change the relationship between consumers and producers. Changes in retailing from the 1950s to the 1990s; Rate of Internet revenue growth; Impact on consumers expectations about convenience, speed, comparability, price and service; Inversion of the traditional logic of advertising; Declining importance of geography; Efficiency of Internet shopping; What it will take for businesses to succeed online.

Presents an introduction to The Forbes 400, a listing of the 400 richest people in the United States as of October 1999. People on the list who made money from Internet companies; Increase in the number of billionaires on the chart; Combined net worth of all the people listed.

Profiles a number of the wealthiest people in the United States with links to the Internet. Jeffrey Bezos; Pierre Omidyar; Jay S. Walker; Jerry Yang; David Filo; Others.

Profiles Masayoshi Son, Founder and president of Softbank Corp. His investment in E-Trade; His personal stake in the Internet trade; Investment strategies; Career highlights; Comments from Son. INSET: Internet: `The safest bet around'.

Presents Time Digital's 1999 online shopping guide, which offers shopping suggestions and advice for purchasing gifts over the Internet. Categories including books, music, and videos; Toys and games; Apparel and beauty; Consumer electronics; Computers and software; Food, wine and flowers; Luxury goods; Department and discount stores.

Discusses how businesses can use the Internet for electronic commerce. Contacting local Internet service providers (ISPs); Business advantages of the Internet; Number of businesses using the Internet; Costs involved; Options; Selling products online; Providing customer service; Technical support for a website; Matters about which to be cautious.

The article profiles Andersen Consulting and focuses on its efforts to guide its corporate clients in their information technology (IT) and digital operations. Topics covered include the exploitation of the Internet's proliferating business-to-business links and consumer systems, and the plan to style the firm as part operator, part venture capitalist and part toll-taker on the digital highway through partnerships. Also discussed is the marketing strategy of Andersen consulting. INSETS: Taking Over DuPont;Building Iridium's Infrastructure;Seeking 15,000 George Shaheens.

The authors assert that a second generation of electronic commerce (e-commerce) is emerging, one that will be shaped more by strategy than by experimentation. Key e-commerce players--branded-goods suppliers, physical retailers, electronic retailers, and pure navigators--are battling for competitive advantage. Incumbent product suppliers and retailers have to recognize that their value chain is being deconstructed, and if they wish to continue competing, they must build reach, affiliation, and richness, and redefine strategy and scope. It is determined that every aspect of organization, incentive, and operating style will need to change. Many incumbents have found that the only answer to the challenge is to separate the new venture as much as possible from the established organization. INSETS: The Three Dimenions of Navigational Advantage.;The Doomsday Scenario.;From Your Perspective.

Discusses Webvan Group Inc., the venture created by Louis H. Borders, which sells groceries over the Internet. Discussion of the logistical problem of delivering perishable groceries to the consumer during a 30 minute window; Statistics on the startup capital raised by Webvan; Discussion of the online grocery industry; Webvan's distribution center and how it compares to traditional supermarkets; Capital investment required to startup Webvan; Outlook.

Reports on the use of the Internet by companies in an effort to discover and discern customer behavior. Use of data mining; Methods that companies are attempting to use; Implications of information gathered over the Internet; Examples of companies like NextCard Inc. and Yahoo! Inc.; Examples of software which provide the ability to data mine, such as provided by E.piphany; Privacy issues; Trends; Outlook. INSET: WHAT YOU NEED IN YOUR TOOLBOX FOR MINING DATA.

Provides a guide on what chief executive officers should know about electronic commerce and how companies can survive the Internet Age. Reasons management should reengineer their companies to benefit from the Internet; More global competition facing companies online; Buyers' capacity to dictate the terms of transactions online; Customer service; Creation of an online sense of community; Outsourcing and the instant communications power of the Internet; Way to take advantage of brand name and purchasing power online.

The article looks at the benefits of improving mobile internet quality to a poor country's economy, government, and public health. It cites the example of Africa where software company KaiOS Technologies is working to make inexpensive smartphones with better battery performance.

Offers assessments of online equities from Henry Blodget, Jonathan Cohen, and Brian Oakes. Question of whether the stocks are in a bubble; Activity of K-tel International's stock; Other companies, including Yahoo, America Online, Infoseek, and Excite; Recommendation to invest cautiously.