What is the Internet? Is it a technology? An industry? A medium of communication? A new kind of society?
If a technology, is it computers? Software? Audio? Graphics? Video? Systems?
If an industry, is it hardware manufacturing? Communications? Distribution? Retailing? Education? Marketing? Entertainment? Export/import? Publishing?
The Internet is all of these and none of these. It is an ecological system.
James F. Moore, in his new book, "The Death of Competition" (HarperBusiness) states that the old type of competition between companies in a given industry is dead. Instead,
"....executives need to think of themselves as part of organisms participating in an ecosystem in much the same way that biological organisms participate in a biological ecosystem."
Yes, the Internet ecosystem, and all the ecosystems it may spawn, will grow, be attacked, build up and decline - just like other ecosystems.
Today, most of us are concerned with growth. And growth requires, not so much competition as cooperation; not so much individualism as community.
A look at what Netscape did is instructive. Instead of mounting a campaign of blaring advertising, it gave away its browser in order to build a community of users. Instead of competing with other software vendors, it set up alliances that help both it and its partners.
As soon as Netscape achieves success in establishing an ecosystem around its browser, along comes a predator, Microsoft. Microsoft is not so much competing with Netscape as attacking the entire Netscape ecosystem. To do this Microsoft also is giving away browsers and forming cooperative alliances.
What is leadership in this new environment? Moore says that it is the ability to create "frameworks for participation that draw in and coordinate the efforts of disparate actors." I like to say that leadership is influencing people by helping them learn.
Learning is the key to mastering the ecology of the Internet. Learning is the key to marketing on the Internet. To be an effective marketer you need to learn:
- the major internet ecosystems
- how they developed in the past
- current rivalries
- how ecosystems may change in the future
- to adapt your business skills to the expected environment
For effective Internet marketing, make your website a Learning Fountain that helps you build a community. Learn to find and use other Learning Fountains to gain an understanding of technological, business, and sociological forces impacting the ecology of the Internet.
Forget about competition. Focus on cooperation, building community and learning!
