The Internet Effect
What astounds me about the Internet is how it never ceases to surprise. Every now and again, and it seems more now than again, a web site or Internet application comes along and rocks the inter-web. A long time ago, Google came along and changed the face of search forever.
The people behind these applications seldom anticipate the effect of their application on the rest of the world. I doubt that Bil Gates thought Windows would become the operating system it is at the moment. Sergey and Larry didn't thing Google would become the king of search and price of advertising on the Internet.
Steve Jobs tried to conquer the world with the iPod, and to a large degree he has succeeded. What he built to support the iPod had become a powerhouse all in it's self. iTunes, has now been rated the third largest music seller in the world. They sell more music than Amazon.
The reality of an Internet application is that when the developers put everything they can into it, to make it the best, not so that it would make the most money, but that it would attract the most users.
Google didn't make a cent until years after, when the investors started putting pressures on. iTunes wasn't build to make money, more that it was built to support the iPod.
The first version of iTunes was launched on January 9, 2001. It wasn't until April 28, 2003 that the iTunes store was launched, and that's where things really started taking off. So the progression of iTunes has been over a period of 6 years.
I think there is a lesson in this for anyone who wants to make money on the Internet. The lesson is simple: it will not happen overnight. Build your website, work hard and don't give up. I've seen way too many sites selling you an ebook that will make you rich in a couple of weeks. The reality is, that as quickly as you make money, you will loose it, and stop making it. Most of these 'programs' hinge on the back of a small hole in the fibre of the Internet, that will get exposed by millions, and closed in no time.
If you want to make money, make something people want, and will continue to use.
Shawn's Weekly, http://www.shawnsweekly.com is a collection of useful information for anyone who works on a computer.
