Over a decade ago, the Internet was going to be the magic bullet that changed the world of commerce forever. It was going to be an engine that would grow the business world exponentially. This never happened. The market crashed in 2001 and 2008. In Bloomberg Businessweek, Charles Kenny sums up the problem: the Internet isn’t the magic bullet a lot of people thought it would be. Kenny’s article, “What the Web Didn’t Deliver” lays out why we haven’t seen the rapid economic growth that business leaders predicted. It’s a lot easier to shop now, and we can pretty much find whatever we want online, but Kenny says that the economic prosperity that Jack Welch and representatives from the most developed nations predicted back in 2000 hasn’t happened.
Kenny uses data to back up his opinion. Even though innovation has remained strong and retail sales have increased, GDP growth and productivity haven’t. The Internet hasn’t really made a dent in unemployment, and even though companies’ investments in technology have brought profits, they haven’t been earth-shattering.
Because the Internet is such a distraction, it’s negatively affected productivity. Kenny says that a high percentage of workers surf online, which is no surprise to any small business owner. Even though technology offers time-saving tools, people end up killing a lot of time on their computers and smartphones.
It sounds depressing, but business owners and managers don’t have to think so negatively when it comes to their own goals. This information can make companies become more innovative when it comes to increasing productivity and being more creative in their marketing efforts. After all, we’re still seeing changes in communication, and helpful tools are being invented all the time that can really help us be strong instead of flabby. It’s also a good opportunity to look at your own business: when was the last time you did a productivity check? Are there new ways you can communicate with your customers, or new products you can launch? Let this seemingly disappointing news be a wake-up call.
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