Hsiung has nothing in common with Koop. He's not building a supersite, and he's not after the big money. The same thing is happening in other specialties. Experts in various disciplines are taking on the task of building community, without a preconceived agenda, and drawing detailed discussions on their topics of choice . There is a profound lesson here.
Distinct differences exist among discussion, debate, community, and commerce.
Whenever a vendor, a store, an advocate, or a Web community tries to turn a problem into a profit, it may lack the credibility of the true expert. When this happens those who only chase dollars may say that nothing is happening and the business doesn't exist. I hope you've learned today that nothing could be further from the truth. Dana Blankenhorn has been a business reporter for 20 years. He has written parts of five books and currently contributes to Advertising Age, Business Marketing, NetMarketing, the Chicago Tribune, Boardwatch, CLEC Magazine, and other publications in addition to ClickZ. His own newsletter, A-Clue.