• Barter - Everything old is new again, and barter is about as old as it gets. At Barter.Com, CEO James Fierro is concentrating on the business-to-business market (he launched his idea at a conference organized by Kevin Jones . He hasn't got everything figured out (his admission of that shows he's Clued-in) but he deserves an 'A' for effort. 
• Bandwidth - The idea of charging for bits, rather than the capacity for moving bits, has always been a "Holy Grail" among ISPs, who have had as much success at this as Monty Python . The biggest problem is accurately measuring real needs for bits. While it makes sense that you'd charge more for streaming applications than e-mail, gauging real demand in real time has always been difficult. Until now, that is. Narus  says it has some software that solves the problem and despite some Clueless reporting on the implications here's hoping they're right. If bandwidth use can be measured accurately, it offers a world of benefits, from lower prices for consumers to higher reliability for heavy users. This becomes more important, not less, in the broadband world, because at that point measuring bandwidth needs on a local level becomes the key to network reliability. 
• Adhoc Group Buying - Mercata is using a form of auction technology to create adhoc buying groups. There's a product in bulk, and individual buyers bid for units. Everyone gets the lowest closing bid, so if there are 100 units and the 100th bid is $55 everyone pays $55. (The sharpie who bid $54 and finished 101st gets squat.) The idea combines aspects of eBay and Costco, and it's not for everyone. But then again, neither are eBay and Costco. The New York Times did a good job covering this story . 
• Department Stores - A week before leaving on this vacation, I ordered some CDs from CDNow. They should have arrived before I left, but it took days to pick the order and the post office had to get them to me. This tells me fulfillment will become a prime differentiator in Internet commerce. Amazon.Com is fighting to win this battle on the consumer front, while Grainger is doing it in b2b, through its Orderzone.com. The advantages here aren't measured in Internet time, but in real time. Get it to me faster than your competitor, get me the discounts I earn more easily than your competitor, and you'll earn my business.
• Market Makers - This battle has already begun, with b2b markets opening everywhere you turn around. Here's an example of the power - AdOutlet . It's a real-time, online marketplace for discounted ad space. We're not just talking about Web banners, either  - but all kinds of ad space. Look at all the space magazines and newspapers devote to house ads, or that TV stations devote to promos, then imagine what happens if those avails have to compete with real dollars from new customers. Who cares if it's 70-80% off the rate card for a one-time ad? It's free money! A Clue for you - advertising isn't the only industry with this kind of problem. Solve it and make money. 

What a lot of these ideas have in common are finding new ways to mediate between parties to a transaction or new ways to integrate separate transactions for the best overall price. These may seem to be separate goals, but if you're a customer they're the same goal. And that's the key Clue I hear over-and-over whenever I talk to people who really understand this field - the customer rules. Enabling the customer's power, "on every level" (as Robert Davis of Lycos might say), is the name of the game. If this is a new age of "Digital Darwinism," then it's the customer who's always at the top of the food chain.

Shameless Promotion
 

Type "A-Clue.com" in the Offer Code field on the INB order form and receive a 15% discount on any order.

You can now get your Daily Clue at ClickZ, putting a "clued-in" spin on the day's news. I'm also a semi-regular on TechEdge Radio and I'm continuing monthly columns for  NetMarketing, Boardwatch, and  Intellectual Capital. I'll also begin work soon with the IC folk on a book project concerning politics and the Internet, which will appear first on the Web. A-Clue.Com is also the Monday e-commerce column of Andover.News. Buy my book now. Subscription instructions are at the bottom of each issue.

Remember that it's still journalism -- checking the news, calling people, listening carefully and writing on deadline -- which keeps the Clues coming. If you're looking for excellent work, give me a call at 404-373-7634. Now back to the show...

The Industry vs. The People

The Internet enables politics in many different directions.

First, the Internet drew the attention of politicians and policymakers in many countries. Australia seems to have done what the U.S. failed to do, namely ban pornography. Both countries are fighting the question of wine sales, while the U.S. is trying to ban a chief Australian Internet export, gambling. We've already seen several cyber-wars - Iraq vs. the U.S., Serbia vs. Kosovo, India vs. Pakistan, even Indonesia vs. Ireland over East Timor. The Web's global nature allows anyone to use it to leapfrog local laws and norms, so it is natural that policymakers would (even with the approval of their people) attempt to prevent the future from crashing in on them.

Second, the Internet's wealth has created new political players, and new political disputes. Look no further than the present argument over AT&T's attempt to have a monopoly on broadband Internet access using its cable. Opponents and proponents of AT&T have both solicited public support, and organized to put political pressure on policymakers. Seeing the small sums political dominance requires (a $36 million down payment for the Presidency?) it's no surprise that the industry has organized. As with steel and autos, this kind of organization is designed to advance the industry's interests at the expense of the common weal. So what if the scientists the Web was built for may see things differently , and have the evidence at hand . While some of the industry's entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, may be closet Democrats, it should also be no surprise that others like Scott McNealy are quite overt Republicans, who will do everything possible to tilt political balances their way.

But there's another impact of the Internet's rise that has yet to be seen, that many feel may never be seen. The Web can be the ultimate political organizer. Votes, not dollars, move elections, and while dollars can buy ads, they can also be collected in small amounts on the Web . What hasn't evolved yet is the use of the Web to actually drive debate, and provide a real feedback loop. That's a necessity in the next Millenium, and it's the next logical step in the Web's political evolution. I think that may be the best story to watch for the next year.

Clued-in, Clueless

Clued-in are British start-ups like Freeserve, a free ISP that went public recently (taking a cut of local telephone revenues), and LastMinute.Com , which took the Trip.Com idea of late airfare bargains into new areas. Many people will be surprised to learn you don't need to be in Silicon Valley to become an online success.

Clueless is Audiohighway's  claimed patent on all portable digital music players . Overly broad patents are often invalidated, and unless Audiohighway tones down its rhetoric, its "big break" will be another form of suicide.

A-Clue.Com is a free weekly email publication registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as number TXu 888-819. Subscribers can receive either a .txt file or .htm file. The .htm version features links that become active from inside a browser. To take your name off the list, simply write REMOVE as the subject, or content, of a message replying to any issue. To request your free copy, write us at Dana.Blankenhorn@ att.net  or +A_Clue . To subscribe you can also write to a-clue@list.mmgco.com  with the word "subscribe" in the subject. (Address your request for the .txt version to a-clue_textonly@list.mmgco.com . You can unsubscribe with a note to the same addresses and the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.. We're on the Web at http://www.a-clue.com and http://www.ppn.org/clue.