The dot-com bubble that occured in the 1990's through the early 2000's was said to have left some major negative impressions on the world of the internet and our economy, but that is not necessarily true. Because of the dot-com bubble, there have been many great outcomes that often goes unnoticed before looking past all of the businesses and internet companies that went under when this bubble finally burst in the early 2000's. In fact, many say that the dot-com bubble and burst was actually a needed cause and effect that has shaped the internet into what it now is today. Many people believe that a lot of the websites that existed during the dot-com bubble would have had some sort of success if it wasn't for the network infrastructure at the time. The thing is, not many people didn't have access to broadband and the websites weren't getting the exposure and full potential that it could have received. This is especially true for some websites, such as Broadcast.com (Altucher Confidential, 2011). This very same thought occurred during the dot-com bubble and computer scientists and engineers realized that there was a very much needed improvement to the infrastructure of the internet. In order to correct this, many businesses in the tech industry began using tax money to lay high-speed fiber optic cables so that the internet would be more accessible in certain cities and states. This is probably one of the most beneficial things that came about from the dot-com bubble because it was stated by TechPluto that this advanced network infrastructure, which only took approximately five years, would have potentially taken fifteen-years (TechPluto)! I assume that this is because of how needed it was during this time. It was a very fast-paced and exciting time before the burst of this bubble and everyone wanted to contribute. It is no wonder why there were so many negative effects that came from the dot-com bubble. There were over 250 IPOs in just one year, in 1999. The average was around 30. But because of all of these businesses, which very rarely offered any real value, it served it's real purpose later when the bubble burst. Because of the dot-com bubble, many entrepreneurers began to understand the internet business opportunities that were often deemed unconventional before the internet. To this day, it still serves as the foundation of internet businesses, where they find specific niche's to provide a direct solution to a problem (TechPluto). At the time, during the bubble, many businesses failed to understand this. They were so interested in getting rich fast that they failed to actually provide real quality value to customers. These are the companies that failed and "died." Sites such as Ebay, Yahoo, Google, Paypal, and many more, are still standing strong because they offered value and solutions to people and gave them the power, with the help from their tools. (High Speed Internet). One of the last great things that came about because of the dot-com burst of the bubble was that stock firms, since business owners during this time period often lied and were fradulent about their true return on investments and profit earnings, now require proof from the new companies that there will be true success. (CWnEconomy. 2012, February 24). This is very important because these unethical business practices and failed attempts at running businesses with no real value or even a business plan was what made this burst so dramatic and have such a negative impact. If there were better business practices with real value and a plan for success, followed by great internet infrastructure, there would be less failure and more internet success. As you can now see, there actually were some great benefits that came about because of the dot-com burst of the bubble. We now have a much better networking infrastructure that was able to happen incredibly fast, an idea of just how powerful the internet is, and just how many opportunities there are if only coupled with the right business plan for success, and better business and stock firm standards. Of course, it would have been better if it didn't have to take the burst to happen for all of the good things that came about still were able to happen in the same time period, but this was simple not the case. The burst of the dot-com bubble was definitely needed and has caused a much greater world because of this.
References
1. CWnEconomy. (2012, February 24). Dot-com bubble documentary. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2FybpdrlYM on: 05/01/2014.
2. Norwood, J. (2011). History of the Internet Timeline. High Speed Internet. Retrieved from http://www.high-speed-internet-access-guide.com/articles/internet-timeline.html on: 05/05/2014.
3. TechPluto. (September, 28th 2008) The positive side of ‘Dot com bubble’. Retrieved from: http://www.techpluto.com/the-positive-side-of-dot-com-bubble/ on: 05/01/2014.
4. BBC News. (9 March 2010) Dotcom bubble burst: 10 years on. Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8558257.stm on: 05/01/2014.
5. The Altucher Confidential. (2011) How I Helped Mark Cuban Make a Billion Dollars and 5 Things I Learned from Him. Retrieved from: http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/04/why-im-jealous-of-mark-cuban-and-5-things-i-learned-from-him/ on: 05/01/2014.