It seems strange how fast things have changed for businesses in the online era. In 1998, a romantic comedy featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan called "You've Got Mail" had the message that big businesses like chain bookstores are putting their independently-owned competition out of business (a message that could have been about dozens of other industries as well). I started thinking about how different the world is now when the movie came on television recently.
In the 14 years that followed, that world has turned upside down, thanks in large part to the Internet. Newer business models have emerged that have put a major chain bookstore, Borders, out of business; it is the same model that also closed a large number of record shop chains.
While the independents are also still hurting, Internet marketing and sales capabilities have at least given them an even footing with those larger businesses, plus a common enemy.
This is also true in the mortgage origination business, where giving the consumer an online application makes it just as easy to do busy with the small guy compared to the large one.
Another lesson—Changes are coming fast and furious and to survive, a business needs to be able to adapt; for example, Barnes & Noble has its own e-reader to compete with Amazon and tablet computers. (On the other hand, there is the price-fixing lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Apple and a group of publishers.)
Even the movie title, “You've Got Mail,” is a quaint legacy of when dial up Internet access what more predominant than high-speed connections. AOL, once large enough to buy Time Warner, is now struggling for survival.
