Corporate Takeovers: The rise of a new dot-com era (Part 2)

With the fall of the dot-com bubble, new innovation and opportunity arose. Larger companies started arising again such as Google, Netflix, Excite, and Sun Microsystems. This began a new global revolution of being able to join communities all over the world via the internet. As Internet Service Providers started supplying high-speed access to residential areas at lower prices, the limitations of what could be done on the internet started diminishing. People could now download media and streaming audio with no loading times as well as view large images and interactive media such as Flash and Shockwave without having to wait. This opened up a new market and niche which progresses technology even further beyond its current boundaries. Investors speculate that we’re starting to evolve into a new dot-com bubble. With recent acquisitions of start-ups such as MySpace, YouTube, Skype, and Alienware, this leads us to believe that a new wave of technology is upon us. As well as interactivity and an online presence, online gaming is becoming an even bigger player in the industry.

With faster connections and better technology, users are able to interact online and play games in real-time. Michael Dell recently stated his awareness in the gaming industry due to its rapid increase of global interest. Dell stated his perspective in investing in the growth of this multi billion dollar industry with the acquisition of Alienware, a Miami-based maker of gaming systems which filed 200 million dollars of revenue in 2005. Dell is not the only contender in the gaming industry. Large corporations such as Intel, nVidia, AMD, and ATi are also following suite in the growing gaming industry. These companies are endorsing players and clans who are active in such games as Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, and Battlefield 2, with hardware and paraphernalia. Cyber Athlete Professional League, an online gaming organization specializing in organizing clans to battle each other for prizes and sponsorship deals, launched a world tour in 2005 which resulted in prizes in excess of 1 million dollars.

Other endorsement deals by Creative Sound, Abit, and XFX resulted in the branding of Fatal1ty products. Johnathan “Fatal1ty” started professional gaming in 1999 by entering the CPL (Cyberathlete Professional League) in Dallas and won $4,000 for placing third. He then flew to Sweden where he competed in a tournament against the top 12 players in the world. By winning 18 straight games without loosing a single one, he became ranked as the number on Quake III player in the world. Since then, Fatal1ty has traveled the world and has branded products under Creative sound cards, Abit motherboards, and XFX video cards (Fatal1ty 1). These corporate sponsorships have landed Johnathan with a growing residual income. Johnathan is just one of many examples of how corporations are using an online identity to leverage their sales and recognition.

Unlike the previous dot-com bubble, corporations are starting to see the power and use of an online presence. Companies like Dell provide all their services and sales online without the need to have stores. This allows them to keep overhead costs low while generating considerably more revenue. Other organizations are seeing the control of being able to market to a global audience and using it to their advantage. This can be used for good and bad.

Organizations like PETA are using the internet to educate individuals about animal cruelty and prevention without having to resort to using books or magazines. Royal Bank of Canada is allowing subscribers of their online banking service to be able to access their monthly bank statements online without having to mail them out every month. This reduces the amount of paper used in the processes of printing these documents and helps in sustaining the environment.