In 2008 the stock market fell into shambles, the real estate market tumbled, big companies announced big layoffs, VC investors became more careful, and the entire world economy went downhill. It’s enough to put a sour face on the most optimistic person.
But now contrast this with what happened with the Internet in 2008:
- The number of websites increased by 20%.
- The number of domain names increased by 19%.
- Not to mention that there were more than 1.4 billion people on the Internet, a number that will keep growing.
So, while everything else shrinks and decreases, the Internet just keeps growing. It probably isn’t growing as fast as it would if the overall world economy was blossoming, but it IS growing at a healthy rate.
This would indicate that the Internet as a whole operates on a separate level from the general economy.
Cut back on the doom and gloom, will you?
Things simply are not as bleak as you might imagine from watching and reading the News. And we are speaking from our own experience here, as a team of Internet entrepreneurs that it is going well for.
We are frankly a bit tired of the overly pessimistic picture that is being painted every day in the news, at least as it concerns our part of the world: the Internet. By permeating the image of financial doom and gloom, without any counterbalance, this kind of reporting may actually be making things worse by scaring consumers from consuming.
We’re not saying that the media should stop reporting on the recession, but rather that perhaps it’s going a bit overboard.
More people, more opportunities
If you liken the Internet to a market place, there are now more and more people in it. Their wallets may be a bit tighter than they were a year ago, but there are more of them. There is plenty of opportunity for businesses to thrive.
In other words, don’t let the recession (or watching the News) scare you away from doing business on the Internet. On the contrary, right now it might be the best place to be.
(If you’re interested in more 2008 Internet numbers, check out this post from last week.)
Photo by Phil Romans.
