Its lightning-fast inventory and purchase cycles terrify its competitors, and its analysis of customer orders allows it to adapt to trends ahead of the curve. Brain power can't be tallied on a ledger sheet, but it's the prime factor driving the New Economy. More than ever in history, huge value is being leveraged from smart ideas and the winning technology and business models they create. So the people who can deliver them are becoming invaluable, and methods of employing and managing them are being transformed. It's accelerated by the network.
Communication is so easy on the Web, product awareness spreads like wildfire.
So once a company reaches critical mass, it can experience increasing returns leading to explosive growth. This principle means that in the New Economy, first-mover advantages are greater than ever. It rises exponentially with market share. For products that help establish a platform or a standard, the network effect is even more pronounced The more plentiful they become, the more essential each individual unit is, a striking exception to the economic rule that value comes from scarcity. In addition, some companies give away their products to establish market share, then sell linked services later on.