Not long after you begin you are totally disoriented, take wrong turns and are not sure where to go, or how to get back. The oppressive heat drenches your body with sweat and, attracted by moisture, flies buzz around your head driving you nuts as do pop-ups that fly up your screen.

A rustle in undergrowth accentuates your awareness of a lurking danger, not unlike fear of being ripped off by some shady character hiding in anonymity of Internet.

The eternal fear of unknown blurs your sanity, impairing your decision-making ability. Uncertain whether your next step should be forward or back you suddenly realize that you desperately need guidance. You look up and pray for direction, hoping that line to Man upstairs is still open, despite your irregular communication.

The tens of thousands of people joining Internet every day, and millions that are already there, experience same sense of helplessness and desperation. Many of them are aware of, or have been stung by, one of numerous Internet scams. Most have been disillusioned by hyped money-making schemes.

Will it bring us a sound business model?

Yes!

During 2001, two simultaneous and drastic changes took place on Internet. Thousands of unprofitable websites closed down and business philosophy of “FREE” changed to “PAID”.

Economic reality has forced webmasters to realize that spending lots of time and money attracting thousands of freebie hunters to their websites is a ruinous business.

Although one can still pick up some useful free software here and there, most freebies are either outdated e-books or disguises for entry into paid programs.

The realization has dawned that it is better to have 10 buying customers than 10 000 bandwidth wasting freebie hunters. Bandwidth costs money.

Another notable change on Internet is rapidly diminishing number of programs making “overnight millionaires”. Not only has hype become ineffective, but it is also counterproductive. What sounds too good to be true, normally is.

A sound business model is gaining recognition it deserves. The calculators are out. Quality is replacing quantity. Prices are rising.

Hosting, time, bandwidth and other fixed costs are becoming powerful catalysts that are forcing a rethink of business strategy and philosophy.

What does this mean for Internet business in 2002?

An escalation of profitable business models. Flexibility will be a decisive factor in long-term success of any business enterprise. In an environment of rapid technological advances, a business model has to be able to adopt new technologies as they appear to avoid becoming obsolete.