[9717] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Sizing the Internet market
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Lloyd Brodsky)
Mon Jan 17 23:45:19 1994
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 1994 21:36:36 -0700 (MST)
From: Lloyd Brodsky <lbrodsky@rocksolid.com>
To: com-priv@psi.com
I'd like to hear some hard marketing data to place in context
where we are with where we'd like to be in making on-line service
available to and USED. I'm wrestling with these context of some
Internet-related business planning, so if anybody has or knows the
source of answers to the following (especially in a Colorado
context) I'd love to hear about it.
1. How many people have Internet-ready computers (read as a PC or
Mac with a modem)? What has been the historical growth rate of
that figure and has the growth rate been stable?
2. How many people read voluntarily, either for enjoyment or for
personal growth (as opposed to reading things because it is
a job requirement? (I'm asking this question because I've
noticed a high correlation in telecom classes I've taught between
positive attitudes towards reading and satisfaction with my
class)
3. To what extent is the legendarily difficult character-based
VT100 Internet interface you get with almost all dial-up accounts
a genuine bar to access? Put another way if, say, a Mosaic-style
GUI interface were operable over an ordinary dial-up account how
many more people would sign up that would not otherwise? I might
also ask, since a SLIP connection would permit the use of Mosaic,
if it would make a big difference why don't providers hand out
SLIP-preconfigured copies now?
4. What is the price elasticity of Internet access? Put in straight
English, if you cut the price in half, how many more people
would buy? (Perhaps the better question, given that most people
get an account at work or school that they do not pay for out of
their own pocket, is if they did have to pay for their Internet
* Lloyd Brodsky Internet: lbrodsky@rocksolid.com *
* President, RockSolid Communications *
* P.O. Box 101804 Voice: 303-758-7030 Fax: 303-758-7277 *
* Denver, Colorado 80250-1804, USA *
