Frankly there's is no new and no old economy. And that is the context in which we must look at the so-called new new economy. Amazon is a point in the distribution chain of selling books where the Internet tries to replace certain other intermediaries. So branding, as a concept has existed before the dawn of the Internet, it will survive any technological changes. No, I totally disagree with that.
Brand building has nothing to do with the speed of the microchip.
It is a process, which is based on the mind of the consumer. The fact is Amazon comes from the Internet and soap comes from your local store. But you are the same consumer, you have the same mind, same emotion and the same way of processing information. Therefore it will take the same amount of time whether to relate to a brand of Amazon or brand of soap. Therefore I don't think the time of brand building becomes shorter in the new economy.