Conversely, unmoderated boards exist for advertising purposes. If you don't mind all of posting, this could be place for you.

What you'll find could be a place for you to test ads. But understand that you will probably not get too much attention. It seems that marketers who use these forums won't necessarily be reading your ad. They are there to post their ads. Here are just a scant few message or discussion boards that you can visit:

http://www.mlmwoman.com/wwwboard/ http://www.talkbiz.com/cgi-bin/mlm.cgi http://www.freemoneyservices.com/forums/UltraBoard.cgi http://www.mlmforums.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro http://www.mlm.com click on "Forum" http://start-smartz.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi "Kiki's Cafe"

As a reminder: You may want to do some business with some of people on these boards someday so follow those guidelines. Don't forget that THEY might want to do business with you, too.

Usually, people who post on these forums are friendly and willing to lend a hand, in regard to sharing advice or information.

For example, if you are an ezine publisher and would like to find out how to sell or buy an ezine, go to your favorite board, post question, and check in a couple times a day for a few days and see if there are any responses.

Don't be surprised when you log into your email box one day and find a response or two to a post you might have made night before. It happens!

Message boards, discussion forums, whatever you choose to call them can be a great source of exposure for you and your business. They can also be valuable in building camaraderie and relationships. Not to mention, they are an excellent resource for obtaining up to date information, tips and insight.

Inject your own personality into your posts. Above all, go with flow and just have a good time.

We felt like war correspondents, covering fire-hose gush of boom-time developments, watching business world re-imagine itself. Now ecommerce has been absorbed by traditional industry sectors. Now there are real war correspondents back at work covering more grimly serious events.

Ecommerce Business was one of first pubs to go. Cahners shut it down without notice or fanfare and scattered staff to wind. I landed at another Cahners trade, Electronic News, where I get to cover continuing B2B saga at tech companies such as Intel, Cisco and E2opn. My former boss, Lester Craft, now heads up last of pure e-business slicks, Line 56. After Ecommerce Business fell last January it was followed by Business 2.0, which continues in name only as Fortune's eCompany Now. And finally Standard is history.

Many are pleased to see Net economy crumble. The traditional players in finance and industry were disgusted by excesses of hype and hyperbole. They scoffed when new-biz writers speculated that business cycle may come to an end due to endless productivity gains delivered by a globally connected world. The nay-sayers are certainly getting their day. The business cycle, as you may notice, is fully in place.

As I've written many times in this column, Internet business is still in fine shape. A Web-based storefront in a well-established center such as Yahoo! very well may be quickest and cheapest way to launch a small business today. But concept of Internet economy ushering in a new world has been dashed against brutal rocks of history. We live in a more serious time now, not so dizzy with dreams.

The passing of Standard's Website is last tiny sigh of an era passed