The catchy title is just a title, and it drew me in to a fun and fantastic read. A bright spot is the examples of entrepreneurs (the real E in e-commerce) finding the Web as an ally in contrast to examples of subsided businesses that relied solely on the Web and Web hype (those with a hammer always seeking a nail; those with a computer seeing business as data). Includes keen admonishments toward certain companies that tout the Web yet deny Web-users access to their products or services (initials are B&N, CompUSA). The lesson delivered is not in the list that frothed to the top but the personalities behind the steps, along with some vernacular mixed in with good narrative. (Dell newbies attentive to low badge numbers; Seven Cycle chapter alone could inspire someone to just start a business; REI chapter makes me want to try out their store. ) Nowadays companies with Web sites scream customer-service-this, customer-service-that. . . . The brightest spot in this book is the back-to-the-future (back to the past?) notion of customers driving business, people service, craft, artisan and manufacturing jobs instead of automation–people can do this kind of thing since the Web allows efficiency (customized products) so companies aren’t concerned so much about stocking warehouses as entrepreneurship. Nowadays companies with Web sites tout “customer- service-this, customer-service-that. ” This book will show why that phrase appears on some companies as a glossy add-on, and why on others it stands for delivering to the customer.

I consider this book to be a general guideline for new comers to the networked industry. This book does not provide thorough examinations drawn from successful and/or unsuccessful examples, nor does it give the reader critical analyses to back up the writer¡¦s own point of view. What we get from this book is a set of rules, reminders, and assumptions which is not practical enough in my opinion, and perhaps only good enough for those who first come to the newly developed internet industry. The idea to link biological Darwinism with industrial Darwinism to explain how the fittest survives in highly competitive business environment is not a new thing. People who have had a certain degree of understanding about it will be disappointed as the writer goes all the way to explain what they have already known. People who have been close enough to the development of the internet industry will find this book uncreative. People who have already been in this business for some time will not be inspired by this book, but most likely be bored by its dragging explanation of how ¡§the fittest survives¡¨¡Xa concept these people probably have already known. Although this book only provides a set of generalized ideas, ¡§7 Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy¡¨ as its subtitle describes, it can be seen as quite a handy book. At the end of every chapter is a brief reminder of how certain problems can be solved. This may be a streak of help when the manager is buried by overloaded work and forgets where he stands. This book is helpful, too, for those who newly come into contact with the industrial side of the internet.