Very well done, this is a good read and a realistic look at the Internet economy.

I think they can. The stucture has to be right and the business plan has to be solid. Much like any business. The bubble burst and now web sites have to deal with the lack of structure pre-bubble and trying to prove how they can biuld a better site and make money.

I think once the real businesses and worth while websites come out of this with real leadership and a game plan that works, there will be better web service for all. It will be hard though, because allot of people either do not understand how to do it or just don't know hat to do. I am not sure what can be done except making a better REAL business plan. That, for sure, is the best starting point.

Great article. I still could use a good coffee mug.

You're a bitter bitter man Mr. Wardell. Well written.

One thing that was not mentioned was selling users email addresses to spamers. I in no way advocate it. In fact I think it should be illegal. I was just wondering how much a website can make by selling their users list?

I don't think most websites are in a position to sell their email lists. And I hate spam too much to even suggest it. Makes me ill even thinking about it.

Another point of interest:

Take WinCustomize as an example. The primary objective for WinCustomize is to provide a central repository for skins and to support the skinning community via news, message board and the libraries. Making money through Wincustomize really was not in the original plans. But once it was decided that we needed WinCustomize to bring in revenue we had to redirect some of our resources to achieve this. Now some of the resources devoted to WinCustomize is now split between providing the content and by trying to bring in revenue. But all to often we do not follow through well enough on our revenue making goals. We tend to sit back and think that the site will just maintain itself.

I guess what I am getting at is that once you decide on a business model you need to follow through with it. It needs constant attention. Looking back at our T-Shirt and Hat sales, even though the sales were not strong, they could have been much better if we had better follow through. Its too easy to just throw a product out there and expect it to sell itself.

For websites that are created with a business model in mind this is probably not as much of a concern for websites that are original created as a hobby.

True, though the main problem with selling goods like T-shirts and hats is the per unit net on them. You just have to sell a bazillion of them to make it worth it.

In WinCustomize's case, like T-Man said, it wasn't launched with the view that it needed to generate any revenue since it would be a skin repository for the community. But as the cost of having it increased and increased, it slowly became more and more necessary for the site to be able to generate enough revenue to pay for its bandwidth and eventually the IT costs.

So in our case, we have it a bit easier since we're not looking for WinCustomize to be a "profit center". If you're looking to have your site be an actual business, then things get much tougher.

If I could get my spam on a coffee mug.....

Well I wouldnt mind paying a small monthly fee. But just how? As a dane there are several problems like:

What are my rights when buying something in the us? Then buying a little proggie from taiwan then another thing in another country. Theres as many laws as there are nations.

The most used creditcard in denmark is the "Dankort" which is not used internationally (its cheap though). So id have to pay extra to get a visa or mastercard.

Those 2 put together isnt really motivating to giving up ur credit card number is it?

you are great!