Re: UKNM: Wimps?

[Stefan Magdalinski]

Jamie Unwin wrote:

> >However, my original post was intended to draw attention to the fact that

> >practically all the web innovations (and their commercial manifestations)

> >have thus far originated in the US. While people on this list are winging on

> >about the "impact" of such-and-such a piece of javascript, our counterparts

> >in the US are drawing up plans that result in soon-to-be ubiquitous

> >properties such as Amazon, Expedia, Excite, Yahoo, SixDegrees, AOL,

> >AltaVista, Planetall etc etc etc.

> 

> Most of these site aren't NEW and have succeded because they were the FIRST in a fast >evolving medium....


err. hence "innovations", I believe. The whole point is that banks and

VCs in the US are willing to invest early in risky ventures. 


> Yahoo - Stanford Graduates project, 5+ years old - start of the web

> Altavista - same story, research turned money making, been around for a long time

> Amazon - got in very early, still showing no profit....

> AOL - got in early, may possibly die out ?

> Expedia (Microsoft) - Huge amount of cash, and I'm sure smaller operations tried online hotel 

> booking systems but failed because they didn't have the clout to sucessed.


Preview travel are doing very nicely thankyou. 


What exactly is your point? Yahoo, Amazon, and AOL all got VC funding

very early on. I'd wager a hundred pounds that if Steve Bezos had walked

into a UK bank talking about on-line bookstores, the response would have

been 'what the fuck are you talking about? get out!'


> Its similar to TV, one of the resons the BBC are where they are is because they have been >around since the start of the medium,  this itself is an advantage, trying to start a new and >innovative TV channel now is much harder (you also need alot more money !)


separate from the spuriousness of your analogy, this is bullshit.

starting a tv channel has never been easier.


<snip>

> Finally software development, within such a fast moving industry is very risky, a risk I >would not like to take with my own money and would therefore need an investor who would be >wiling to invest in technology which may be out of date by the time it is realised and >therefore unmarketable ?


go fucking tell that to Kleiner-Perkins. Tell it to marimba, netscape,

intuit, dimensionX, Real, macromedia, adobe, Avid, Headspace, inktomi.



Maybe they'll follow your sensible advice, and not be so stupid next

time.  


stefanclunkclunkclunk