VIEWPOINT: Time for a reality check

This time last year, there was just so much hype surrounding anything cyber. It went to the ridiculous extreme that when anyone mentioned the launch of a new website there was invariably also talk of an IPO. The 'get rich quick' gleam was in everyone's eyes. This was noted at last year's Internet World Conference and Exhibition in Hong Kong. But this year - with a number of major dotcoms scaling back their operations in a big way both in the West and in Asia following the bursting of the Internet bubble - there is a different story to tell. Delegates and speakers at Internet World this time around talked about the best business models, the best way to advertise and market their online operations and the type of creative and strategic they should be using. They also asked practical questions like: "How many times can I email a group of people within a week before I start to piss them off?" and "What constitutes a good return on investment?" Needless to say, talk of IPOs have almost completely ceased. And about time too, because IPOs detracted from the main issue of the day: that is, running a business to serve the needs and wants of a specific market niche or the mass market. Most of the big agencies have adopted the correct strategy for some time: they were picky about which dotcom or Internet-related company they would serve. And for those accounts without the support of a traditional bricks and mortar business behind them, there were no 30, 60 or 90-day credit terms. Ironically though, these same agencies were banging the cyber drum with the best of them at the height of the Internet hype. At the end of the day, it has to be said - and it has been said many times before - that the Internet is simply another medium through which advertisers can talk to people. It is a place where people go for information, to chat, play games or whatever. And yes, there will likely be convergence of technologies but the hype of a year ago will have us believe that the Internet would take over the world and usher the beginning of the end of television and print as we know it. That might be. But right now it seems to be a long way off.

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