"Get Big Fast"

The "get big fast" approach taken by e-bay and amazon seemed far-fetched in the beginning. It was hard to understand how and why a company could have so many customers but not be making a profit. These two revolutionary companies chose to forgo profits and create a need for their service. Once everyone was hooked is when they started to make money.

The idea to forgo profits in the beginning in trade for a large audience has become the business model of almost all new media. Facebook, Twitter, etc. and now they are so much a part of our everyday lives that advertisers will pay the sites money to get to us.

The initial idea that made amazon and e-bay so successful was they both saw the web as an opportunity to do business; where at the time most people were only using it as a source of information. This simple idea has changed our lives forever. I pretty much only shop online now, and if I have to return something to a mall or regular store I think of it as a burden, and usually never gets done.