The information mile: May 05, 1997 issue of New Thinking

May 05, 1997 New Thinking:
The information mile

Website content management

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May 05, 1997

The information mile

By Gerry McGovern

The information mile is as long as any other mile.

The physical world formed itself and then we arrived to populate it. We invented the online world (cyberspace) and every day we invent a bit more of it. Every document, graphic and website becomes a unit in its evolving landscape.

Distance is dead; long live distance!

It’s like each person that arrives in cyberspace brings an acre of space with them; their information and their communication. Yes, physical distance may be dying in many respects but information distance is exploding.

How many websites. 500,000? One million? If indeed there are one million websites, and if you spent 5 minutes at each one, that would be 5 million minutes, or 83,333 hours, or 3,472 days, or nine and a half years. No sleep. Clearly impossible.

As cyberspace opens up, most of us close in. I would say that I visit no more than 10 websites regularly every week. I have the opportunity to visit any number I want (hundreds, thousands) but I don’t, can’t, won’t.

An Internet myth that will die very soon states that the Internet is a level playing field, that there is as much opportunity for the small player as for the large. Not true and becoming less and less true.

The small player in the early days (2-3 years) ago was a very specific kind of person: a pioneer. A few small players, such as Yahoo, reaped the rewards of pioneering activity, of being in first with an idea and brand.

I visit branded sites on the Internet, such as Cnet and The Irish Times. I trust these brands. I know that each time I visit I am guaranteed a certain level of quality and service.

Much of the rest of the Internet is a bit like wilderness to me. Interesting for the occasional holiday, for a trek when I’m feeling adventurous, but not part of my average week.

The Internet is fast becoming an average place with average people who have average needs. Ironically, as more and more average people come online, the opportunity for an average person with an average website to attract traffic becomes less and less.

Have you ever tried to create and maintain a multi-lingual website? Not an easy task. Average people in Germany, France, Brazil, Japan, China, etc., don’t speak English. If you want to have any chance of reaching these people, you will have to communicate with them in their native tongues, not to mention understand their culture and how they like to do business.

In time, cyberspace will have as many restrictions and boundaries as physical space has. Yes, there will be the niche opportunities that simply could not occur in physical space. Yes, people of like minds will be able to congregate and communicate in a way hitherto impossible.

But cyberspace is only beginning to evolve and form itself. This morning the horizon is a few more information miles further back than it was last night. It is a big place and getting bigger and it is big brands that will make it small enough for most of us to live comfortably in.

Gerry McGovern

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In time, cyberspace will have as many restrictions and boundaries as physical space has.