Americans Losing Grip On The Web
Americans have dominated Internet commerce virtually since its inception, but there are signs of a change in the wind.
A new report by International Data Corp. credits growing use of the Internet and economic recovery in Asia for a boom in economic commerce outside the United States.
Based on current trends, non-U.S. Internet commerce will jump from 26 percent of the worldwide total last year to 46 percent by 2003. And the trend should continue further into the future, IDC says.
Global Internet commerce — both business-to-business and business-to-consumer — totaled $50 billion last year, according to International Data. Of that, $37 billion was spent in the U.S., while other nations accounted for $13 billion.
But robust growth is expected in Western Europe, where the Internet and online commerce are becoming consumer tools rather than the playthings of techies.
Widespread Internet use in Australia and Asia should mean strong e-commerce gains in that part of the world.
Here are a sprinkling of new or interesting Web sites to explore:
King of the castle: Smithsonian Magazine, like its parent institution, is known as a class act. And the magazine’s Web site for kids lives up to that reputation, as well.
Billed as “a safe, educational, free and fun place for kids ages 8-16 on the World Wide Web,” the site offers a rich collection of things for youngsters to see and do.
http://www.kidscastle.si.edu
The big picture: The Web is cluttered with sites pitching books, CDs, videos and other entertainment products.
But streaming video technology has allowed this site to raise the bar by offering visitors the opportunity to view clips of movies available for sale.
If nothing else, it’s an intriguing example of what’s possible on the Web these days.
http://www.blowoutvideo.com
Nothing’s sacred: Everything is fair game for the writers and cartoonists featured on this Web site that pokes fun at sacred cows.
While the Web site name may be a putoff for some Net surfers, the site has attracted enough traffic to lay claim to being the longest-running daily publication on the World Wide Web.
It mixes satire, commentary, news and cartoons in a style described as “reminiscent of `Mad,’ `Harper’s,’ `Life Is Hell,’ `Spy,’ and finer insecticide catalogues everywhere.”
http://www.suck.com