Customer Reviews

Digital Darwinism: 7 Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I consider this book to be a general guideline for new comers to the networked industry. This book does not provide thorough examinations drawn from successful and/or unsuccessful examples, nor does it give the reader critical analyses to back up the writer¡¦s own point of view. What we get from this book is a set of rules, reminders, and assumptions which is not practical enough in my opinion, and perhaps only good enough for those who first come to the newly developed internet industry.

The idea to link biological Darwinism with industrial Darwinism to explain how the fittest survives in highly competitive business environment is not a new thing. People who have had a certain degree of understanding about it will be disappointed as the writer goes all the way to explain what they have already known. People who have been close enough to the development of the internet industry will find this book uncreative. People who have already been in this business for some time will not be inspired by this book, but most likely be bored by its dragging explanation of how ¡§the fittest survives¡¨¡Xa concept these people probably have already known.

Although this book only provides a set of generalized ideas, ¡§7 Breakthrough Business Strategies for Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy¡¨ as its subtitle describes, it can be seen as quite a handy book. At the end of every chapter is a brief reminder of how certain problems can be solved. This may be a streak of help when the manager is buried by overloaded work and forgets where he stands. This book is helpful, too, for those who newly come into contact with the industrial side of the internet.

The catchy title is just a title, and it drew me in to a fun and fantastic read. A bright spot is the examples of entrepreneurs (the real E in e-commerce) finding the Web as an ally in contrast to examples of subsided businesses that relied solely on the Web and Web hype (those with a hammer always seeking a nail; those with a computer seeing business as data). Includes keen admonishments toward certain companies that tout the Web yet deny Web-users access to their products or services (initials are B&N, CompUSA). The lesson delivered is not in the list that frothed to the top but the personalities behind the steps, along with some vernacular mixed in with good narrative. (Dell newbies attentive to low badge numbers; Seven Cycle chapter alone could inspire someone to just start a business; REI chapter makes me want to try out their store.) Nowadays companies with Web sites scream customer-service-this, customer-service-that.... The brightest spot in this book is the back-to-the-future (back to the past?) notion of customers driving business, people service, craft, artisan and manufacturing jobs instead of automation--people can do this kind of thing since the Web allows efficiency (customized products) so companies aren't concerned so much about stocking warehouses as entrepreneurship. Nowadays companies with Web sites tout "customer- service-this, customer-service-that." This book will show why that phrase appears on some companies as a glossy add-on, and why on others it stands for delivering to the customer.

With a title like Digital Darwinism: etc. etc. one is set with the expectation that this book is a kind of silver bullet. But the question is for whom? Throughout the book I had a constant feeling of a big so what? Who is the audience here? Certainly not me and I am not a player in the web economy. Yet. I certainly neither absorbed nor abstracted anything more that I have from the examples that proliferate through reading profiles in quality business journals or talking to business colleagues. Perhaps maybe an artsie-but non-techno-literate-I-wanna-know person would find it appealing?

Aside from this, the book is written in a style that is supposed to engage through permitting the reader to abstract it's key messages from storylines. I felt that it uses a set the scene, stream of consciouness, I am going to tell you a story style that makes Europeans sometimes nauseous and feeling "just get to the point please, the book is small enough!".

Go for a book that's not hyped-up from the start and delivers a simple structure for your mind to frame concepts, remember points for further reference and doesn't state the obvious.

If you follow the web and the industry closely, this book is NOT for you. Does a good job of reporting on existing industry players (as of 1999) but presents few original ideas, and in 2000, looks a bit dated (perhaps another testimonial of how fast this industry is moving?) If you have NOT been following the developments and strategies on the web, this might provide a good primer, but clearly should be a beginnning of your research, not the end.

I picked up Digital Darwnism from a library to get an understanding of what the e-strategies are and how some internet businesses successfully implemented them. This was one of the books recommended by my professor at MBA school to read as part of an eCommerce class.

This is really a great book on e-strategies whether one is a novice with respect to internet businesses or an avid entrepreneur who's waiting to strike it big. The seven strategies - solution branding, dynamic pricing, affiliate marketing, value bundling, selling custom-made products online first before manufacturing them, cybermediation and integration of digital eCommerce with absolutely everything- that Schwartz presented are very interesting and truly practical.

He has a narrative approach throughout the book. He compares and contrasts many companies, for e.g., AOL, Priceline, Yahoo, eBay etc who have or have not implemented the seven strategies and expands upon the success stories. It's like reading a story book. He also presents opinions of some of the highly successful entrepreneurs like Tim Koogle, Mark Andressen, Jim Barksdale etc which can give a good insight to the reader on the past, present and the future state of eCommerce.

The main drawback that I found in the book is it's a little outdated when it comes to the implementation details of some of the companies. This is because the book was written couple of years back and there have been humungus changes in the internet infrastructure, software, hardware and a variety of paraphernalia which may prove costly factors if one wants to follow what has been presented in the book. It can be a good reference book for early stage internet business strategies. I haven't read too many books of such kind but I do like reading stuff off the internet as it's more up to date and current compared to Digital Darwinism.

The concepts in the book can give a head start to any new internet business. But ultimately what matters for the business to be successful is great business model, state of the art implementation and highly regarded customer service

Excellent. As a .com marketer this zeros in on the big stuff fast. The chapter on creating valuable bundles of information and services is worth the price of the book itself. Will recommend highly to my team members.

I've read quite some books on e-commerce after his first book "webonomics"( the best e-commerce book before this one).None of them was as good as Webonomics. This one is even better. No high level nonsens. Down-to-earth, real-life view on the e-commerce world. I suggest : after reading this review, buy this book !

Being in marketing for over 15 years, and in the Internet business for six, I have yet to read a better book. I read this book in two days, and I got more ideas and insight than any of the dozen trade publications I receive weekly and various other books I have read in the past. And those so-called Internet marketing gurus out there who tout themselves as "experts" will want to get a few ideas from this book as well. The only real expert here is Evan Schwartz...

I would've paid TWICE as much for this book. A must read. Invaluable.

When I first got hold of this book, the foreword immediately struck me. It is the kind of book that will get you glued and make you want to finish it. It is fully packed with content on various topics surrounding the e-commerce paradigm. The biggest help that this book gave me is the full appreciation of affiliate marketing and partnering with Amazon.com and Linkshare.com. If not for this book, I would have start in a different way in my digitalfilipino.com web site. I find the case studies informative as well as it gives a reader a full perspective on how the Internet business model is different from the traditional one.

Schwartz provides what the subtitle describes as "7 Breakthrough Strategies for Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy." Unlike so many other subtitles, this one understates the importance of the strategies discussed. The objective is really not survival; rather, to achieve and then sustain a position of dominance or at least primacy. In business, obviously, there is an on-going process of "natural selection" which determines which companies are sufficiently fit and which are not. Schwartz is dead-on when suggesting that it is a "logical" process: "Fear naturally gave way to experimentation....Successful experimentation soon led to confidence....Confidence inspired trust....Trust led to faith...Faith led to mass acceptance."

Schwartz devotes a separate chapter to each of the seven "breakthrough strategies":

Build a Brand that Stands for Solving Problems

Allow Your Prices to Fluctuate Freely with Supply and Demand

Let Affiliate Partners Do Your Marketing for You

Create Valuable Bundles of Information and Services

Sell Custom-Made Products Online, Then [italics] Manufacture Them

Add New Value to Transactions Between Buyers and Sellers

Integrate Digital Commerce with Absolutely Everything

Obviously, with all due respect to Schwartz's excellent insights and suggestions, it remains for you to determine (1) which of these (and other) strategies are most relevant to the specific needs of your own organization, and (2), the nature and extent of resources which can be allocated to their implementation. Also, obviously, as needs change (and they will), the combination of strategies must be modified to accommodate them. One final point: Whatever the initiatives may be, it is imperative to have "buy in" throughout your organization by everyone involved, from top to bottom. Otherwise, your organization will be eliminated by a "natural selection" process measured in years and even weeks, not centuries or even years.