There's too much clutter on 'Net and it's hard to find anything - I agree totally. I believe we will see 'Net cleaning up in years to come - not through government intervention, but through market forces. In meantime, think about this - when you first drove a car, did you know how to drive it? No, you had to learn. The Internet is same deal, learn how to use it properly and it will serve you well. Like in driving, Internet is full of obstacles. As we learn to drive, we acquire knowledge of avoiding those obstacles to assist us in arriving at our destination safely.

Our inboxes are full of spam - Go check your letter box, or turn on T.V. Much same there. We have free-to-air T.V. because of advertising. Public T.V. is usually paid for from pockets of taxpayers. Spam mail can be minimised, learn to drive "the car" and you'll find out how. There are some articles on our site regarding spam reporting.

While I condone web advertising, I do believe we need to become more responsible in how we advertise. Scumvertising is out - responsible representation is in. Consumers are not stupid, and while they may be bitten once or twice, they learn.. and they remember!

I have heard many misquote about original intentions of Internet. The fact is that it was a cold war initiative - a computer network designed to survive a nuclear attack. The World Wide Web which sits on top of Internet was not designed to be a free show. In words of Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of World Wide Web, from his book entitled "Weaving Web":

"Buying books from Amazon.com and stocks from E-trade is not all there is to Web. Neither is Web some idealised space where we must remove our shoes, eat only fallen fruit, and eschew commercialism."

The intention of Web was never (as some have romanticised and I originally thought myself) to be a free ride. The fact that I can obtain information I need and communicate with others 24/7, partially subsidised by me viewing annoying ads, is a small price to pay for world it has opened up.

And remember, governments don't run countries - big business does.

So, in answer to "What happened to World Wide Web?"....

We happened... - We are all consumers of products of this money driven world..... - It is up to us to change face of Internet.............. - But first we'll need to change world.

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Michael Bloch michael@tamingthebeast.net http://www.tamingthebeast.net Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community. Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions. _____________________________________________

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If you do intend to utilise a pay-per-click option for gaining traffic, you'll first need to work out your current visitors/sales ratio. If on average one out of one hundred visitors to your site makes a purchase then bidding 5 cents for a position on a paid search engine placement will cost you an estimated $5.00 per sale. If your profit margin is $10 per sale, then it's viable. If it's $4, then it's very risky. These figures are only a "guesstimate", but you get idea.

You will find it more beneficial to bid on words and phrases that are not so popular. In comparison to example mentioned previously, a search on "computer parts" showed that top bidder only pays US$.36 for each click; a difference of over $9.60 on term "computer". Using this strategy will cut down costs of each visitor that you acquire. Remember, customers who know what they want to purchase will be more specific in their search criteria.

For web masters who offer a great deal of free content, as we do, a paid search engine placement is usually not an option. In fact, any cost involved with advertising will probably turn out to be a loss, especially if you rely on advertising on your site as your major source of income. If you are in this position, there are a number of other articles on our site that can assist you in generating visitors, without expense.

To view a listing of these articles:

http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles/articlemain.htm

Michael Bloch michael@tamingthebeast.net http://www.tamingthebeast.net Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community. Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions. _____________________________________________

Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to website (www.tamingthebeast.net) & send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety & this copyright statement must be included. Thanks. Visit www.tamingthebeast.net to view other great articles FREE for reproduction!