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» Rande - matttheduck,

Correctamundo! I've been feeling a bit schizophrenic about the Nets for some time. Have tried not to play both sides so as to seem "right" either way (homey don't play that game), but there are certainly two sides to this coin. On the one hand, the Net is big (REALLY Big) and is still in the "early innings" of it's eventual pervasive impact on global society, business, education, government, information flow, entertainment, etc. I do believe it will be everywhere -- from the in-dashboard Net device that will eventually come with new cars so music and video (played on pop down or back-of-seat displays) can be digitally downloaded (making CDs and video cassettes scarce, if not obsolete) to Internet-ready t.v. sets. More importantly, the disinflationary and productivity-enhancing potential of business-to-business Internet activity is nothing short of HUGE. That said....

Ultimately any business must make a profit. With no cash flow, there is nothing to say how much a company is worth except what people are willing to pay based on hope and expectation. That's okay, so long as the hope is not ill-founded and the expectations come to pass. Fred Schwed, Jr. said it best in "Where Are The Customer's Yachts?" (paraphrasing) -- "If you answer 'to make money' when asked 'What is the purpose of business?,' you may be suited as an investor. But only if you answer so immediately and only if the answer comes from all up and down your spine."

<img src=http://www.internetcount.com/1867857677.cgif width=5 height=5>

-- posted by Rande