Reading books and magazines may help, but companies with vision enough to understand the importance of what's taking place in this new market arena simply don't have the luxury of time being on their side. Companies need to be able to establish working relationships with this Exchange to begin planning their effective presence on the Internet. More concretely, they need to know precise costs and timelines for creating such a presence so they can adequately assess the advantages and risks, then rapidly decide how they will proceed. Credibility has to do with understanding not just the technical arcana surrounding the Internet, but critically, requires an intimate understanding of how corporations operate and what they hope to achieve. As with any emerging technology, there is currently a significant credibility gap between existing Internet technology companies and their prospective business clients.
Critical mass has to do with how such a knowledge exchange is actually implemented.
What I am suggesting here is not simply a clearinghouse for information about commercial Internet presence, but rather a pragmatic avenue for actually achieving such presence in the near term. Companies that want to reach Internet markets need to be assured they are not going to end up in some cyberspatial backwater that attracts little or no customer traffic. Think of critical mass in terms of a successful mall. Anchor stores create the foundation for dozens or hundreds of smaller businesses and boutiques to display and sell their wares. Location and cooperative market positioning bring customer traffic capable of supporting the entire operation.