Having grown up in the Silicon Valley during the dot.com era, the internet is probably my favorite technology topic. And, despite the events of 2001, the internet is back! These days, people often cite web 2.0 businesses as an indicator of a rebounding internet-economy, businesses such as YouTube, but are these businesses truly successful?
I think this article brings to light some realities that web businesses face:
1. How do you create a business (and bring in revenue) when so many people are able and willing to produce content for free? Is ad revenue sufficient? Is it sustainable?
2. We normally think of high traffic as a good thing–more customers, right? But, with the high storage and bandwidth costs for some businesses, I was amazed to learn that YouTube’s costs are so high! How do you control your costs?
