Supply and Demand and the ever changing World Wide Web

Images-3 I keep thinking about what I wrote in regards to the September magazines.  It wasn't so much about the magazines but more about Matchbook and the next generation of businesses that are cropping up in my email box. 

I am seeing ideas that using cloud based technology to manage everything from your family to your doctors appointments that are definitely geared towards the average American family to places to store all of your recipes to online magazines.  The ideas are all different and the designs are completely different.  Where one appears to be designed for the next generation of people that will read Good Housekeeping another is designed towards a more modern crowd.  All interesting.

The Internet has flattened the playing field.  Like a game that changes based on the hand that you play, the Internet is a game that changes depending on where you click.  I am looking at the next generation of people and how they shop as well as how they communicate from saying thank you to figuring out what movie to go to.  For instance, Josh is a total ecommerce guy.  He does his own shopping and it is all online.  As he puts it, why go into a store when you can buy it online.  You can also do more research and find interesting things that allow you to create your own identity. 

If I get my latest magazine on my iPad on Saturday morning, I should be able to read the content and shop at the same time.  Lets say that there is an article on a restaurant in some remote area of the world, how cool would it be to click on any item that you see in the picture of the place and be directed to the architect, the contractor, the place where the art work was purchased, the place where you can buy the tableware or even the place where the restaurateur bought their t-shirt.  I would find myself in areas of the world that I couldn't necessarily travel to that day but could explore on a Saturday morning because eventually every company will have their own website.  Maybe there is only one edition of the piece but I can learn something from that search.  An endless steam of ecommerce while learning at the same time all in a few clicks. 

As more people launch their ideas/companies online, the key is always how do you bring the eyeballs and consumers to your site.  Some of these businesses will create wonderful niche audiences that might end up becoming life style businesses for the owners while others will become much larger.  It is through these experiences of reading content that we should be able to find them.  The consumers desire for demand of their products will help each business figure out their supply.  That supply and demand is becoming more international as the world wide web continues to grow into something bigger than your local shopping mall.  The local shopping will become something that is more community oriented filled with makers such as cobblers, local farm products and dry cleaners or small classes given at night. 

All of this and the ideas I continue to see makes me very excited about the opportunities that are bubbling out there that will help change the economy at a global level.  I hope to go back and read this post ten years from now and see if I was on to something. 

 

Comments (Archived):

  1. fredwilson

    i bet most men would prefer to shop online. i certainly do

    1. Gotham Gal

      Josh obviously does. LOL.

    2. Erin Newkirk

      Not just men! If you consider how women devour magazines and catalogs. It’s a natural next step. Just needs to be easy to return. Fit is harder. And dare I say women can be a little pickier. 🙂 ps. I definitely prefer shopping online.

      1. Gotham Gal

        i prefer the online experience too. there are certain things i just only buy online at this point.

  2. kirklove

    No need to wait 10 tens. You’re definitely on to something.It’s nascent though happening already. I think branching off main content while keeping the visitor engaged with your site is the next frontier of the web. Commerce sites need to borrow the Wikipedia model. That would be killer.PS: I’m a devoted Amazon Prime customer. Love online shopping.

    1. Gotham Gal

      When Amazon first launched I started to shop there. I used to buy so many books that I imagined the staff saying to each other, oh my God she’s back again

  3. Andy Ellis

    +1 for men preferring to shop online! HahaPerceptive piece filled with a lot of potential to be realized. I like Kirk’s notion of a Wikipedia-esque shopping experience, it makes your idea easier to visualize. The idea of, say, Svpply is cool in the sense that you can choose items you like (and often buy them) and it then helps you discover other things you may be into. Etsy could have some potential there as well, as could many others. It will bs really neat to watch how things become more connected, I love watching ways the Web can add a layer of utility over the physical world.

  4. Ryan Drew

    I do all of my shopping online (Amazon (Prime)and many others) and often toggle between magazine/online to find depicted items.Your thoughts on exploration and commerce are on point. Matchbook is the tip of the spear on something great. When my mind wanders (goes ‘Kevin Kelly’ing’) I wonder what will become of ecommerce when the web evolves beyond the inputs/outputs (clicks, flips, taps) to something more ambient. What is the fine line between between informed suggestion and intrusive spam? Ultimately, when someone is initiating/expressing interest, it makes tailored options more attractive and garners a more receptive response to suggestions.

    1. Gotham Gal

      We are definitely seeing the tip of the iceberg and no doubt on to something great. What becomes of ecommerce will be interesting as the line between content and ecommerce merge into unique experiences

  5. Phil Michaelson

    I’m a huge fan of companies that blend the cloud and eCommerce—that is the whole vision behind KeepIdeas and it’s vision of products for a cloud recipe box, home decor project organizer, travel planner, and more.PhilKeepRecipes.comPs.  I’m psyched to try your grilled pizza recipe!

  6. Barry Carver

    It’s interesting about all this online business but what about the small guy that has a gift store in Carlisle, PA.  I think we will once again go back to the local shop as soon as the internet is less unique.  Hopefully they will still be in business when people want some interaction with another human and not the computer.

    1. Gotham Gal

      the small businesses will absolutely succeed but they need to create something that is unique and community oriented. to compete with the online world isn’t worth the effort.