More Recycled Dot Bubble Business Plans
from the hey,-we've-seen-that-before dept
Ugh. Not only are we seeing a return of all of the ridiculously overhyped (and subsequently failed) dot com bubble business plans, they're now coming with their very own "social networking" twist. Here's a press release from some company trumpeting the fact that they're a social networking service with a business model - which they think they'll patent (of course). The business model is that they'll let you get a bunch of friends together and buy stuff at a discount. This is patentable? Not only is it a questionable concept to patent, it's clearly been done before. During the boom years, there was Accompany (which became Mobshop after every phone call they made started with "Hi, I'm from Accompany - that's one word, not 'a company' but 'accompany'") and Paul Allen's Mercata. Both got a ton of press during the boom years, and both failed miserably. Now, we get to experience it all over again - with patents, and the ever popular social networking twist.
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Mercata.com
I must admit that during it's time, I shopped more at Mercata than at Amazon. The purchasing power driving prices down made sense to me as a consumer. As a business model, it made little sense. Essentially it was: the more people that buy, the less you will profit (or more you will lose money).
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