LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dead Cats on the Web

Chances are, when you look for information or contact someone today it probably involves the Web (if you are a Web user).

Our online veterinarian was contacted by someone on the East Coast with an emergency. They had a small cat that had been dipped in flea bath and was unable to breathe well. The cat was in crisis, but the person went to the Internet and emailed Dr. G. on a Sunday morning. Of course, Dr. G. isn't on the Web as often as some of us, and the end result was that the cat died. This story illustrates the developing relationship between people and the Internet. Some, like Dr. G., are on the Web at most once a day and not every weekend. Others think of the Web as their telephone.

IDC International Data Corporation forecasts that $200 billion will be spent on goods and services over the World Wide Web by the year 2001. It will grow from 28 million users in 1996 to more than 175 million users by 2001. The key differences between their most recent prediction and the past is that they underestimated some of the growth area capabilities.

California represents about 20% of all the Web traffic in the U.S. We have at least twice the normal density of home computers and modems. Ninety-five percent of all businesses in Southern California have a Web site.

What the near future holds is upgrading of the value of the Web. Faster response and better information sites after you sort through the chaff. Search engines have been changing over the last few months. Have you noticed they're a little more like they were in the beginning? Now you can pick a subject area and they will provide you with sites that have good content and are related to the subject you selected. "In the beginning" there was Yahoo. Yahoo was a bookmark list of the favorite sites of a couple of guys from Stanford. The experience was generally good when you went to Yahoo. Then there were too many sites on the Web and the "search engines" had to become real search engines. Now there is so much material available that any key word you enter is likely to yield 10,000 or so sites, most of which are not of value to you. So, now the improvement is to have a good bookmark list along with the search engine, and search engines are providing content like local directories, maps and more.

IDC's "primary research indicates that already one-half of commerce transactions are completed over the Web (as opposed to by fax or phone)." People do business over the Web. They communicate with their families and friends over the Web. It's becoming so commonplace that I received an invitation and directions to a reception…via email from a co-worker in the next room. Still, thinking back to that unfortunate cat, it's a little scary that someone would use email in an emergency. I hope that if I ever have a heart attack, my savior uses the phone to dial 911. Then again, 911 has been so clogged with stupid questions of late that email may be catching up with the phone…

-Don