Very little NEW on the internet...

[GordonJ]

The biggest ONLINE opportunity is...

the opportunity to WASTE your time.

And today, even more so than in 1998, with all the "socializing" opportunities...there is even more chance to waste time, spin your wheels, get distracted, etc. etc.

Dien and I set this forum up to fill our personal desires to have a place that could discuss a wide variety of topics, with a major focus on Entrepreneurship and a minor on WHATEVER. I feel we have accomplished that and it has been a pleasure to see Dien Rice grow as an Entrepreneur and to test and explore many things. I personally enjoy reading the Hidden Business Ideas Letter and also the Entrepreneur's Hotsheet.

Back in 98 there were many "business" forums, most have disappeared. Some are still going strong, others have been put behind closed doors with membership and subscription sites and BLOGS have seemingly taken over the net, although, I'm personally hard pressed to find FIVE blogs that I care about. HARD PRESSED. I am sometimes at conflict with my own opinions, why care what someone else thinks? AHhhhh.

And for this:

Originally Posted by Sandi Bowman

Most of the new discoveries regarding promotion and so forth are just re-cycled offline info from years back. . It may not be as revolutionary as the hype would lead you to believe.

Sandi Bowman

I agree Sandi, ask one of my friends, Jim Staw or Harvey Brody, both of whom have been around a half century in their businesses...IF they have seen some revolutionary NEW discoveries regarding promotion...and I'll bet you a doughnut both would laugh at such a thought.

My Internet tank is full. I find myself wanting less and less of the Internet, and to that end have removed myself from many, MANY lists, especially the lists of the Internet gurus and Internet Marketing Crowd. My very biased OPINION is that far too many of them are, simply put, full of crap.

And the crap has gotten above my waders...I choose less Net, more REALITY. There was a time when I might spend a full work day ONLINE, and now it is barely an hour a day...and that seems like too much.

Our world in America has come down to ONE thing...

ADVERTISING. Or promotion, if you prefer. You can either join in or stand aside. The reason MS even wants Yahoo? ADVERTISING.

How did GOOGLE become the 400 pound gorilla? ADVERTISING!!

HOW can aol, et al, be saved? ADVERTISING!!!

And that is, SPINNING as our politicians do... and I have a conflicted feeling about it...

One one hand, perhaps, stupid people get what they deserve when they fall for the latest scam, buy the latest LAZY product or succumb to immediate gratification...

YET, people should not be allowed to get away with just saying anything they want, especially while taking people's money, without some repercussions.

OF course, the Internet is just a tool, and you can use it as you want, and if you are disciplined and FOCUSED, it is the greatest tool ever created for the small guy to play on a level field and to prosper beyond belief.

For those less FOCUSED, without a good FOUNDATION to build on, and without a FRAMEWORK to work around...they could be doomed by the strongest evil unleashed from Panora's box ...

HOPE.

Gordon Jay Alexander