The Interactive 500 is more than a list of which companies
generated the most hard dollars from their web operations in the past year. It's
also Interactive Week's annual checkup on the state of e-commerce. And this year,
surprisingly, the health of the online economy appears to be a lot better than most
people think.Yes, some 330 Internet companies ceased operations in the first half
of the year. And some of the dot-goners — such as Quokka Sports and Streamline.com
— had prime positions on the two previous Interactive 500 listings. Other former
Interactive 500 companies, such as DLJdirect, have been merged out of existence.
And whole Internet groupings — such as the independent e-marketplace sector that
made such a strong showing on last year's Interactive 500 — are being battered.
So
where's the good news? The aggregate revenue of this year's Interactive 500 is a
downright jaw-dropping $378.38 billion — more than double last year's total of $183.56
billion. Many of the dot-coms on the list are profitable, and traditional businesses
continue to be a dominating presence on Interactive Week's annual ranking of e-commerce
powerhouses.
Indeed, just about every metric shows e-commerce is growing, becoming
more profitable and, for many traditional companies, a sharp competitive edge. Properly
mastered, that edge can cut new paths to online opportunity.