Well duh!

Readers Say Don't copy -- innovate. Don't compete - RobK Have Your Say

How do people like Eric Watson make their money? I mean -- what on earth possessed the man to invest in a business which was an almost perfect clone of another online business that also burns investor cash like it's going out of fashion (which it is).

I refer of course to the way in which Flying Pig simply tried to be the Amazon.com of the South Pacific.

Come on guys -- if you're going to copy someone else's business model then at least choose one that makes sense and makes money. Did you really expect after copying Amazon.com that, through some miracle, your version would burst into profit while Jeff Bezos and his venture continue to burn millions of dollars in capital every month?

It makes me cry that, while so much money keeps getting poured into ventures that lack imagination, insight or even a basic understanding of the Internet as a medium, technology, marketplace and culture, there are hundreds of other brilliant Kiwis with great ideas who can't find a penny of funding.

Let me repeat my own mantra for the benefit of those who have more money than sense:

Don't copy -- innovate. Don't compete in existing markets -- create new markets and own them

All you need to put this into effect is a single good idea -- and this country is loaded with people who have a lot of good ideas. Unfortunately, those people and their ideas seem to be vastly undervalued.

I can say with some certainty that, although the Net has matured significantly over the past two or three years, only a tiny percentage of the business models and strategies that will ultimately succeed in the online world have yet been conceived or implemented. The real road to success lies in coming up with those, as yet undiscovered models before someone else does.

Late Update: This morning's column was written before 4  this story appeared on the IDG site. It would appear that great minds think alike!

The Government Fax-Spams?
What would you think of a seminar that was promoted by fax-spamming?

What would you think if that seminar was one that dealt with the upcoming issue of e-government and included speakers from WINZ, the State Services Commission, Statistics NZ and a bunch of other government departments?

If you're as cynical as I am, you'd probably think "yeah... it figures."

One Aardvark reader reports that he received over 30 copies of a 3-page fax promoting the "Government Online New Zealand" conference, a $1795 two-day chance to listen to these speakers rave on about how the online world will affect your dealings with government.

It appears to me as if 4 the promoters couldn't organise a party in a brewery! And, after their little fax-attack, I for one certainly wouldn't sign up for any of their email lists!

A refreshing contrast to that fiasco is the upcoming 4  e-Commerce Summit being organised for November 1-2 in Auckland.

Having spoken to one of the people behind the scenes of this event, I'm happy that it has the potential to deliver some useful information to those who can afford the $460 registration fee and are looking for some guidance on how they can utilise e-commerce in their business activities.

And -- the organisers of this event understand the importance of not pissing off their prospective attendees!

IDG's Crystal Ball Breaks Again
In the online news game there's incredible pressure to be first with a story and to develop an ability to look ahead and identify upcoming stories that might become a scoop.

Unfortunately IDG's crystal ball seems to have developed a few bugs of late.

Last week they announced that the website for the government-organised e-commerce summit was "up and accepting registrations" -- when it wasn't. After it was brought to their attention in this column they quickly back-tracked and revised their article (but too late guys -- I'd already got a screen capture).

Well -- now they've done it again!

In 4 this story (screenshot here if it's changed), we're told that the new E-Zebra site is already launched.

A visit to the 4 e-Zebra site however tells a different story -- IDG were 10 days early with that story.

But hey -- I'm not criticising, just musing -- I still find the IDG site a "must visit" on my daily circuit of the Net.

I'm Scratching
As it's Labor day in the USA I've really had to scratch around for news headlines. It seems that even the Net-world takes a bit of a siesta when the USA has a holiday.

As always, your feedback is welcomed.