42244 0 3 econsultancy_xml <p>Gates told reporters: </p> <blockquote> <p> <em>"There are a hundred YouTube sites out there... It's very complicated in terms of what are the business models for these sites."<br /><br />"We're back kind of in Internet- bubble era in terms of people thinking: 'O.K., traffic. We want traffic. We want traffic. There are still some areas where it is unclear what's going to come out of that."</em> </p> </blockquote> <p>While Gates has a point, in that many <a href="/blog/079-will-the-geeks-really-rule-the-world">Web 2.0 startups are overly reliant on the ‘get scale, get acquired’ maxim</a>, the latest internet boom is built on foundations that are far more solid, when compared to the dial-up era 1990s.</p> <p>Consumer internet behaviour has now caught up with previous forecasts and valuations are rooted in reality – startups now tend to sell themselves to bigger firms, rather than relying on the over-hyped stock market flotations of yore. <br /><br />That said, Bill Gates has a point about <a href="/blog/221-paul-graham-says-don-t-sweat-about-business-models">business models</a>. There is more to creating a successful online business than just having some cool technology – the challenge remains figuring out make money from the people visiting your site. </p> <p>By contrast, Y Combinator founder <a href="/blog/221-paul-graham-says-don-t-sweat-about-business-models">Paul Graham believes that web startups shouldn't worry too much about business models</a>. </p> <p> <em>Do you think we're in a bubble?</em> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>Gates told reporters: </Paragraph> <Block> <Paragraph> <Quote>"There are a hundred YouTube sites out there... It's very complicated in terms of what are the business models for these sites."<LineBreak /><LineBreak />"We're back kind of in Internet- bubble era in terms of people thinking: 'O.K., traffic. We want traffic. We want traffic. There are still some areas where it is unclear what's going to come out of that."</Quote> </Paragraph> </Block> <Paragraph>While Gates has a point, in that many <Link URL="/blog/079-will-the-geeks-really-rule-the-world" Window="New">Web 2.0 startups are overly reliant on the ‘get scale, get acquired’ maxim</Link>, the latest internet boom is built on foundations that are far more solid, when compared to the dial-up era 1990s.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Consumer internet behaviour has now caught up with previous forecasts and valuations are rooted in reality – startups now tend to sell themselves to bigger firms, rather than relying on the over-hyped stock market flotations of yore. <LineBreak /><LineBreak />That said, Bill Gates has a point about <Link URL="/blog/221-paul-graham-says-don-t-sweat-about-business-models" Window="New">business models</Link>. There is more to creating a successful online business than just having some cool technology – the challenge remains figuring out make money from the people visiting your site. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>By contrast, Y Combinator founder <Link URL="/blog/221-paul-graham-says-don-t-sweat-about-business-models" Window="New">Paul Graham believes that web startups shouldn't worry too much about business models</Link>. </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Quote>Do you think we're in a bubble?</Quote> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2006-11-13T11:31:00+00:00 0 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Speaking to journalists in Belgium last week, Bill Gates warned against the rush to new web-based software service, and compared this to the doomed 1990s internet bubble.</strong> </p> <p>Google's deal to pay $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube, an online video company that has yet to turn a profit, has led <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/technology/10deal.html?ex=1318132800&amp;en=d8a82aacfcbbe1ee&amp;ei=5090&amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;emc=rss">some commentators to revive talk of an internet bubble</a>.</p> <p>We've always stopped short of calling it a bubble, for a number of reasons, but certain recent funding rounds are making us reconsider our stance...</p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Speaking to journalists in Belgium last week, Bill Gates warned against the rush to new web-based software service, and compared this to the doomed 1990s internet bubble.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Google's deal to pay $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube, an online video company that has yet to turn a profit, has led <Link URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/technology/10deal.html?ex=1318132800&amp;en=d8a82aacfcbbe1ee&amp;ei=5090&amp;partner=rssuserland&amp;emc=rss" Window="New">some commentators to revive talk of an internet bubble</Link>.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>We've always stopped short of calling it a bubble, for a number of reasons, but certain recent funding rounds are making us reconsider our stance...</Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 503 362118 Bill Gates says internet bubble is back false 2006-11-13T13:44:00+00:00 bill-gates-says-internet-bubble-is-back 2009-04-28T22:37:48+01:00 2009-04-28T22:37:48+01:00 176