|
CYBER CHATTER
Log Out By Arun Katiyar
 The
problem with dotcoms is getting to be clear: they are based on cool ideas
that need hot funding. The funding arrives via vultures dressed in
pin-striped suits and shiny shoes, otherwise called VCS. For those who came
in late, that's venture capitalists. Then the cool idea turns out to be just
that: no better than a block of ice that can't take the heat of real
competition. Puff! Before you know it, the idea vapourises. Mostly, this
happens because VCS operate between fear and greed. They want easy pickings
-- companies that have four to five people, one brilliant-sounding idea, an
owner who isn't sure where his next meal will come from and who likes the
scratching sound a pen makes when moving over a blank cheque. Money gets
invested in an idea with insufficient management and a poor business
foundation. Then the dotcom fails....
Over the last few months, dotcom after
dotcom has failed -- shaking stock markets -- leading people to believe
that the Internet is not a viable business space. Avanthi Shah, president
of a company that assists Internet outfits with software solutions, says
that dotcom fever is dying out in Silicon Valley. She should know: she is
just back from having spent two weeks there and believes that
"companies with solid business models are back in favour". As it
happens, Shah's company is significantly called NextBrick -- and not
NextClick.
What does this really mean for surviving
Internet companies? Vapourware has gone, thereby reducing the number of
people competing for money. Having burnt their fingers, suits and shiny
shoes will be more careful where they put the rest of their money. Lastly,
demand for Internet services is increasing and supply is unable to meet
demand. Clearly, the start-and-sell model of Internet businesses is going
to find a place in the killfile. There's hope for the rest. And no prizes
for guessing why this edition of Cyberchatter is titled Logout. Start
<click>ShutDown<click>Ok<click>.
HEALTH TIP
The great thing about the Internet is that it can actually throw up
some good ideas. Imagine, for a moment, that you are in a foreign country
and suddenly need to have access to your past medical records -- an ECG
report, a result of a blood test and the list of medication that you are
allergic to. And you have about five minutes to do all this in. Now try
www.myemergencyinfos.com or www.medical-file.com -- sites that records
your entire medical history and keep it online ready for retrieval. One of
the best uses of the sites can be to get a second opinion. Just let your
doctor, wherever she may be in the world, have the login and password to
the site and everything is available instantly. Alternately, doctors can
keep records of their patients on line for instant retrieval. Besides
this, these sites list medical terms, medical news and tips on first aid
and yoga. Use them, one day they will come handy.
SUMMER HOLIDAY
First, maybe you want a rejuvenating holiday in the South. Then, maybe you
want to go there (wherever the "there" may be) from New Cooch
Behar. And you want to go by rail. And you want the names of hotels to
stay in. Try the destination wizard at www.shubhyatra.com -- it's a
pleasure to use and it brings up really rich information. For example, I
got to see a detailed time-table for every train leaving New Cooch Behar.
The site features simple road maps and distance calculators, list of
package tours, notes left behind by travellers and weekend places to drop
into, with plenty of travel tips. A veritable kaleidoscope of travellers
travails at one click. One of these days, they will need to add the
ability to book tickets on line, make hotel reservations and get refunds
on bad deals. That's when the power of the site will become evident.
TENDER STUFF
Someone had to do it. A site that deals in tenders -- www.tenderpoint.com.
Once registered, you can access global tenders or statewise tenders. I
spent 30 minutes on the site reading (I hadn't read a single tender in my
life) -- stuff like the need for portland cement in Agartala, request for
road contractors in Andhra, construction of a cargo centre, etc. The site
is designed well, runs on PHP ( available free and an alternative to
Microsoft's Active Server Page) and downloads swiftly.
SMART STUFF
What does a married woman need to know? Little tips on perfumes, handbags,
diapers, parenting, money savers, and interiors. Young women are buying
books by the dozen to catch up with this stuff. But www.smartbahu.com does
it with the click of a mouse. The site features herbal remedies, recipes
and advice on a variety of topics. It's difficult to say how many women
actually log on to it, but going through it was certainly fun.
Arun Katiyar is chief operating officer
of India Today Group Online. His e-mail address is akatiyar@india-today.com. |
|
|
|
|
