Entrepreneurs
From AMI@Work Communities Wiki
[edit] Entrepreneurs
Fresh thinking and research about what types of sites and online services young people and college students are using and how their engagement differs by socio-economic background and user attributes. Some of the new blogs are all about a pretty face and self exposure.
Top down to grassroots movements
The old story of technology in business was a top-down affair. From telephones to computers, big companies came first. The phenomenon is a big step in the democratization of information technology. They could afford the latest innovations, and they reaped the benefits of greater efficiency, increased sales and expansion into distant markets.
Small Innovators
The new technology is also giving small businesses the freedom to pursue new strategies. The new Web technologies have also given a second life to sleeping and not-so-well-known small businesses. Niemi Product and The Frö Collection are good examples of this new emerging movement.
As a technology spread and costs fell, small businesses have joined the parade, though from the rear. The bottom-up and grassroots business models are emerging. But how well do we understand what happens in this field?
Small markets
One truism has been that while small businesses represent a huge market — companies with fewer than 10 to 50 employees, the government reports, account for a big part of th nation's economic output and a large percentage of all new jobs — it is highly fragmented and hard to reach.
Hungry tigers
Students of small business have often noted that the most economically significant companies are the "tigers," small businesses that become dynamic fast-growing companies. The new Web-based technologies could foster a proliferation of new start-ups, stimulating job creation and wealth across the economy.
Collaborative work spaces
Smaller businesses have now taken the lead in spending on information technology. They are using collaborative work spaces online where people can share and edit Web-based documents and databases for project management, help desks, recruiting, selling, product development and other tasks.
Soft is strong
The rise of software as a Web service, combined with search marketing, has totally changed the economics of supplying and selling technology to small businesses.
