Corp. appeared headed for a lucrative niche in delivering education over the Internet, with its plan to deliver free computers and satellite links to schools. But that was before Ralph Nader's Washington-based group Commercial Alert attacked the company for commercializing the classroom. In October, ZapMe abandoned the project, alerting schools that they could buy the computers or return them. E-learning is no exception.
Education can be a pretty sensitive area.
Whether because of political opposition, real-world competition or unrealistic expectations, plenty of online education companies have had to scale back or leave the field altogether. The pie is expanding, but there are too many slices. The smart companies will stay solid, the second-tier ones will merge. The bottom third is going to quietly disappear into the night. The lessons of those that have come before should be sobering to those hoping to strike it rich in the e-learning market.