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Tim,
I got here late, as usual. Guess you'll have to start referring to me as 'the late Cheri Merz', lol. One advantage is that you can read everything others have written and see how the conversation has developed.
First thing I have to do is disagree with Caspar about what we were doing with computers in the early '90s. I started using computers in the early 80's-the bad old DOS days-and by the 90's I was using mine for all kinds of office work, from word processing and spread sheets to database management and what we now know as PowerPoint. In those days, the internet wasn't for commerce, you had to use all kinds of awkward unix commands, telnet, etc. and you had to have some government or science reason to be here.
Imagine my surprise when I encountered it again after Windows, the WorldWideWeb and ecommerce got going! Wow, a whole new world. I view it as the greatest communication tool ever. In my opinion, though, most of what's going around as a way to earn a living with it is pure garbage, sorry.
The author's points 1-6 are right on the mark IF you don't interpret them to mean that the latest, greatest replicated website is going to be your salvation. To his points, I would add, use your own creativity and passion for a subject to build a real business. Signing up for a program and then sitting back and waiting to make tons of money is a sure way to get discouraged.
Use your brain a little! (Not your brain specifically, Tim--I know you're not the audience I'm speaking to.) Stop and analyze your business model, here. How in the world do you expect people to find your speck of land in the internet universe? And don't fall for all that SEO drivel, either. Virtually every trick that any clever internet marketer has figured out and then written a book about has been long gone by the time you get a chance to buy the ebook. Save your money.
I'm not saying you can't make a living on the internet, though by the percentage of people on Adland who are posting that they are broke and/or discouraged, I'd say most of this community isn't. But the internet isn't the magic panacea that people have been hyped to believe it is. It is a communication tool, nothing more, nothing less. If you don't learn to use it properly, it won't help you. If your business wouldn't be viable without the internet, chances are it won't be with it, either. Wake up and smell the coffee!
Everyone who starts an offlne business expects to invest in education, the tools of their industry, perhaps inventory and a physical location. Most people who start an online business expect to do so for free or very little. Does this make any sense at all? Not to me, at least not now. There was once a time when I thought there was a magic money-making machine in my office, but I'm here to tell you, it isn't magic, it's work. And before work it's education. Like Caspar said, success leaves clues. Study the clues, but don't believe everything you read--especially when it's the author tooting his own horn.
There is a genuine internet marketing and web design expert right here in Adland, giving away her knowledge on a daily basis. It's too bad that people only want to hear what they want to hear, because if you listen to her she will tell it like it is, and you will learn to make a profit on the internet. Tim, with your permission I'll post who she is, but I don't want to lead people away from your forum without your consent, so let me know.
Thank you for a very thought-provoking article. I'll take my soapbox and go home, now, lol.
Cheri
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