The Russian Net 4. Russian Web Companies Take Rambler , one of Russia's leading portals, where I just joined the advisory board. One of the first things we did was to talk with Moscow's Center for Business Skills Development, to make sure our people are trained for the challenges ahead. We are also looking for additional staff with experience in marketing, e-commerce, management and strategy. Especially in Russia, where the overall level of commercial expertise is low, no one is going to succeed without lots of help from outside.
Television seems the obvious answer, and was indeed heavily pitched by one of the agencies.
In the West, where the Net itself is becoming a mass medium, television may make sense, but not in Russia. Unproductive workers inevitably lead to low-salaried consumers. Whereas in the West the Net empowers consumers to make better use of their easy money and their scarce time, in Russia its value is more basic. Instructively, this is not because it's the world's greatest web site, but because it's a well-run business. And now it has an easy way of letting prospective retail customers know what's available.