Digital Darwinism

In Digital Darwinism, Schwartz identifies seven strategies that will separate the winners from the losers. These include building a brand that stands for solving something, elastic pricing, affiliate partnerships, and integrating digital commerce with every aspect of business. Schwartz buttresses his arguments with analysis of dozens of companies already competing on the Internet, including Yahoo!, Peapod, Priceline, E*Trade, Dell Computer, and Recreational Equipment, Inc. Schwartz views these early years of the Web as largely "irrational," but anticipates a general rationalization. He writes, "As each successive generation of Web commerce passes, there will be more rational companies and fewer irrational ones, more fit business models and fewer unfit ones. In the future, there may be no such thing as an Internet company. The Internet is becoming so important that all companies will eventually become Internet companies."

Like his previous book, Webonomics, Digital Darwinism is succinct and easy to read. His analysis of the current state of Internet startups, their stock prices, and their probable fate is provocative, especially when viewed from a Darwinian perspective. For managers, investors, and anyone interested in Internet commerce. Recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

Product Description
Don't let the rapid evolution of the Internet economy leave your business extinct before its time. Here are the seven key strategies you need to keep your company alive, growing, and profitable.

The world of Web commerce is today's fastest changing business landscape--and companies that thrive in this cutthroat economic arena need to be smarter, faster, more innovative, and more adaptable than ever before. Natural selection is already occurring, weeding out the start-ups and online ventures that fail to keep pace with evolving technology and customer needs. In Digital Darwinism, Evan I. Schwartz provides an unprecedented look inside the highly competitive world of e-commerce, and distills seven critical strategies that Web-based businesses need to follow in order to survive in what is fast becoming a multi-trillion-dollar online marketplace.

Using entertaining, in-depth case studies of companies that have used surprising strategies to win customer loyalty and turn a profit, Schwartz explores why Web-based businesses succeed or fail and shows why more traditional businesses need to evolve along with the Web--or risk going the way of the dinosaurs. Drawing lessons from well-known consumer ventures such as Priceline and E*Trade, as well as business-to-business start-ups such as Instill and Band-X, Schwartz defines the pressing issues for all companies, such as online branding, creating the best package deals for your customers, making the most of your marketing affiliates, and--most importantly--how to integrate Web commerce into every aspect of your business. His seven strategies give you the nuts-and-bolts information you need to grow and stay one step ahead of the competition, whether you're launching a new Web-based venture, retooling a global enterprise, or simply looking for creative ways to supplement an existing business online.

With its cutting-edge analysis and concrete advice--including a series of "Executive Survival Guides"--Digital Darwinism is a must-have resource for anyone, from novice entrepreneur to corporate CEO, who hopes to succeed in the new Web economy.