dot.com revisited

Over the past few months, the pink pages (that's the financial ones in Europe) have been talking up the new dot.com era; the generation that consists of Web 2.0, Mashups, Google and YouTube. Social networks are the new messiah and Web 3.0 & 4.0, the promised land.

I thought it would be interesting to revisit the past.

In 1999 - 2000, HB Internet in London was 'BT e-business Solution Partner of the Year'. We worked closely with BT's Webworld team to develop a range of web-based products including WebWorld CustomWeb and WebWorld EasyStart websites for their SME customer base.

Part of our Partnership with BT involved engaging with potential BT business partners in the dot.com space. One such potential partner was called VerticalNet. VerticalNet was a well financed (US$ hundreds of millions) US dot.com start up that focused on building vertical marketplaces and supply chain solutions. I visited their offices in Brick Lane, London. They were massive, loaded with high tech equipment, highly paid staff and high expectations. The only ingredient they lacked was operational revenue.

I took a look at their NASDAQ ticker today - they are now known as Vert. They are still afloat. That is the good news. They appear however to be a shadow of their former self. On the basis of their operations then, I am not surprised.

Seven years on and a lot has changed in the Internet space. Increased broadband, much greater acceptance and use of key web applications and protocols means that the online world in now a much more integrated element of peoples lives and business. High expectations are now more readily matched by high deliverables and high returns.

The first dot.com era was an exciting time, but one that was ultimately doomed. Today, the online world is much more mainstream and much more measured. The new dot.com era is here to stay.