The Internet is Hyoooge

The reporter had asked me to comment on the state of VC investing and the fact that the internet sector is heating up. He brought up the term "frothy", and I agreed with him that "frothy" was an appropriate term to use. He told me that there is great interest on the part of VCs to fund consumer internet services right now. I had to chuckle. Two or three years ago, when I could've really used the funding, to mention those three words, "consumer internet services," to a VC would have been like saying "invest in my indie film" or "wanna buy the Brooklyn Bridge?" Now, consumer 'net services are hot. Go figure.

So I told the reporter that while there's lots of hype, you have to understand that there is no denying that the size of the internet market is incredibly large. I cited the Morgan Stanley numbers of 1 billion internet users with only 23% of them in North America. It's a staggeringly large market, and it's growing like you wouldn't believe. Sure, there will be fly-by-night companies trying to cash in, but that doesn't mean that a legitimate opportunity isn't there.

I mean, just look at mobile. Mobile is in its infancy, and it's huge already. The internet is still in its infancy, and it's huge already.

But, alas, as always happens when one gets mentioned in the paper, the quotes get chopped up and squished down to, "The thing that is just absolutely undeniable is that the Internet is huge."

I'm imagining Homer Simpson saying that. Or worse, John Cleese from the old Monty Python skit: "The internet is hyooooge! My brain hurts!"

Posted by brian at October 25, 2005 07:34 AM