Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Suddenly, It Could Be TRU

I ran into Mia Kim, great gal and editor of the successful blog, PopGadget.net. Turns out we've been noticing the same thing: Net Money!
Not long ago (last year?), the Net seemed to be all about information, FREE information. Now we're thinking: How do I turn a dollar? How do I get click-throughs? What's the Sense in GoogleAds?
Case in Point: CafePress now has 2.6 million stores and 200 million products (put that in your senior greeting, Wal-Mart!). This little purveyor of teeshirts, bags, mugs, wallclocks and calendars didn't even open its portals until 1999! And just yesterday they replaced a teeshirt that I ordered in the wrong size (my fault). New shirt, no charge, no shipping. "We want you to be 100% satisfied with our service," they said. "I am, I am," I thought.
Looks like the Net is a business, after all: free, yes.. but only for customers. Is THIS the New American Economy? Umpteen billion stores, all under T.R.U. -- transborder retail umbrellas? Ebay.... Amazon ... Cafe Press ... NetFlix ... TRU dat.

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