A wild world where the rules are still being madeEvery other page in a newspaper carries something about the Internet. Do you sometimes wonder what this world is about? Who are the people who populate it? How do they create so much wealth? How do they go about it? And, an interesting question: is there a connection between the pace of change and the sharing of wealth? My experience of the past year as an Internet entrepreneur says, yes.For 20 years before that, I had been a print journalist. In that world, companies were family owned. They were proud of their heritage, and placid in it. There was change, of course, but far slower than in the world outside. That is why, when the TV boom came, a whole new set of companies captured pole position. They embraced change while print companies found it an inconvenience.I adore print. I mention publishing companies simply because they illustrate a certain way of doing business. Fourteen months ago, I stepped into the net world and saw an entirely newculture. Many of the people were from software. But there were others streaming in from a variety of professions. Most were bright. Many were mavericks. It is a wild world in which the rules are still being made. There is little authority. Competition can emerge from anywhere. Two young people working out of a room can humble a large company. There is an urgency to everything, a sense of time slipping away, all the time. And a fear that some new technological development will come and change everything all over again.Since things are always hot, entrepreneurs need all the allies they can find. Whereas companies in older businesses are isolationists - they want to keep everything to themselves, even their share capital - on the net there is a constant search for collaborators. Net companies which compete bitterly in one area may cooperate in another. This behaviour is fed by their understanding of their strengths and inadequacies.In some ways, a person is oriented towards sharing from the moment hedecides to start up a net company. He knows he will have to sell some of his shares to a venture capitalist who will take the risk and fund the company. Chances are, he will also have to distribute shares among his employees to link their income to the company's success. Shares may, in some cases, also be distributed among the company's suppliers to ensure their involvement.Is there a larger moral in this story? I think so, and it is this: it is insecurity that brings out the best in people.The writer runs agencyfaqs.com, an advertising, media and marketing site
