At the end of the day, consumers are loyal to brands, not feature frenzy. Edwards' success helped establish the importance of branding on the Internet, and drew a flurry of imitators. The pipeline had to get laid. The content thing happened two years in, and now we seem to be in this branding phase. Now half my practice relates to young, emerging e-commerce companies looking for CEOs or vice presidents of marketing.
Technology is important, but it's the means to an end.
The key to success is building a brand that meets customer needs better than anybody else. I find many of the key components of brand building are similar in the Internet space, but taken to the nth degree. Because of this proliferation of choices, brands will win the day. Before, marketers and manufacturers had control, but the Web opens up more choices. For the first time in the history of marketing, the consumer is in control.