The really big secret about the internet

So I asked how I view the internet - and replied “as just a metaphor for the hundreds of millions of people using it - it is a virtual community”.

True, that’s the people on the internet, who you see through the websites they build.

But the internet is more than that.

Something I often used to wonder - wouldn’t it be great to go back to, say, America in the 1700’s, and lay claim to a few patches of land in places with names like…oh, Manahattan Island, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City…?

Imagine the killing you’d make from such an investment over the past 200-300 years?

Of course, that’s presuming you found a method to cash in on such investments while alive.

But do you want to know what the really big secret about the internet is?

No, seriously?

The big secret that all the really successful internet entrepeneurs are very well-aware of?

It’s simple.

Really.

The internet is like real estate.

And you don’t even have to wait 300 years to cash in on it.

Back in the dotcom boom days people obviously figured this out - a few good registered domain names in the 90’s could have set some people up for life. And anyone with a basic dotcom could sell up for millions.

Then the dotcom bubble burst. Investors got timid. Interest in the internet became tied to NASDAQ share prices.

A core group of internet entrepeneurs, many who had already staked their claim on key marketing niches, expanded out.

They know the secret of the internet. The secret of the internet is that it’s like real estate.

The way you cash in on that is to spend a lot of time and effort developing particular niche interest areas. Heck, doesn’t have to be niche - you can be as broad as you want - but the broader you are, the more competition there is. Better to start niche and grow outwards, then start broad and have to wither.

And then you constantly spend a lot of time - too much time - sweating over developing that niche, until after a few years, what you have is a market leading website that can attract not simply strong advertising revenues, but perhaps even serious purchasing bids.

Obviously, different markets pay different rates - and it needs to be a topic you have real enthusiasm for. After all, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort, and probably money, developing that site. But it’s an investment.

And the reason it is like a property investment is because a domain, a website, is essentially a virtual construction. You build it to a certain standard of quality and quantity, and then can monetise it.

There are a number of websites out there that are regarded as authorities on their subject matter - places such as Sitepoint for web design and development, WebHostingTalk for webhosting matters, SearchEngineWatch for search, and Webmasterworld for general webmaster issues.

Each of them has taken years to develop and get to the size they are today, and each is fairly heavily monetised. iNet are rumoured to have bought WebHostingTalk for $250,000, and revenues for WebMasterWorld conferences can be measured in 7 figures.

At some point, all it took was people with vision and energy, on top of time and enthusiasm, to develop those domains into the topic hubs they are now.

There are fewer such opportunities now on the broad markets on the internet, but there are still plenty of niches to be had.

Funnily enough, in having an interest in business issues, I started a site called Business Talk. But the concept of ‘just’ a forum was too restrictive, so I built up a number of business resources into one single site - Platinax.

There are not many business forums out there, and this place is additionally branded as a place not simply for business, but for entrepeneurs.

I’m claiming my piece of the internet real estate. Let’s see what it becomes in 5-10 years time.

(That’s the theory anyway. Perhaps shelf-stacking for Tescos would be the better investment?) :)