Six years ago, I got a call asking if I wanted to join an online publishing
company. Internet.com, as this company was called then, was opening a
Boston office and needed local writers.
It was a gamble. I knew little about technology (my previous employers
considered hulking terminals with tiny screens and cell phones that looked
like World War II field radios as high-tech) and even less about content
sites.
But the offer was attractive. I could help shape a growing company and learn
from two editors that I respected. So I took it.
Working in, and writing about, the “new economy” in 1999 was thrilling. The
allure of big money was certainly part of it, but so was the sense of
possibility.
It was a youth movement. People in their 20s and 30s were suddenly free from
the notion that they had to slog it out for 20 years to be taken seriously.
Suits and ties were out. Gap khakis and blue oxfords were in.
There were crackpot ideas and jackpot ideas, but there were ideas, and all
of them were big.
Of course, confidence curdled into hubris. The flip side of not having to slog it out for 20 years is lack of experience.
Pets.com was losing $5 for every $1
of Kibbles ‘n Bits it shipped. My business school friends would call this
“an unviable plan.” At least the sock puppet had his 15 minutes.
Big public companies weren’t any better; some were worse. Sales and profits
were first fudged, then fictionalized. Good companies are still paying for
their mistakes with new compliance requirements, but that’s another story.
In hindsight, WorldCom balance sheets remind me of the Raymond Chandler
line: “From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away
she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.”
We all should have known better.
The fall was ugly and swift, marked by waves of layoffs and Chapter 11
filings. The survivors stopped buying hardware, software and IT services — fearful that they, or their vendors, wouldn’t be around to see the contracts
through.
By 2003, however, the economy clawed its way back, and as usual it began
with the startups. Since then, it feels a bit like 1999 in some sectors,
although with some perspective.
Search, 3G wireless, VoIP and converging
communications are booming. It’s nice to see the enthusiasm and the big
ideas return.
A few weeks ago, I got a call asking if I wanted to join a financial
services firm. The offer was attractive, I could help shape a growing
company and learn from businesspeople that I respect. So I took it.
Jupitermedia has been good to me and so have the entrepreneurs, executives
analysts and PR staffers I’ve worked with every day. I’m sure this company
will continue to prosper without me and will benefit from the infusion of
new blood.
Preparing for this column, I searched the archives for my previous stories.
The first piece I wrote here – six years ago to the day — was about
Massachusetts farmers using the Web to sell Christmas trees.
It certainly didn’t win any prizes, but the seasonal symmetry somehow seems
appropriate.
So, to all of you that I’ve worked with, and for, during the last six years,
Thanks. It’s been a gift.
