Summary: digital darwinism - evan schwartz

This work offers a summary of the book "DIGITAL DARWINISM: 7 Breakthrough Business Strategies For Surviving in the Cutthroat Web Economy by Evan Schwartz"

Charles Darwin, in 1859, introduced the world to the concept of evolution -- in which only the fittest survive as species constantly adapt to the demands of a changing environment or face extinction.

This same paradigm applies equally well to the digital business landscape, where Web-based businesses are being born in huge numbers every day. Only the fittest and most robust of these Web enterprises will ultimately evolve into new business models that will exist into the future.

The World Wide Web is now 10 years old, while the Internet itself is now 30 years old. The initial fear of the Internet generated by a huge proliferation of disjointed businesses and early experimentation with novel concepts like selling a product online has now led to confidence as more consumers begin to trust Internet based business processes. That trust, in turn, has led to faith as the Internet has rapidly become the preferred medium for carrying out research about products and pricing. And that faith has translated into mass acceptance of the Internet and impressive valuations of companies focusing on this area of commerce.

In the natural world, overconfidence has always led to a shakeout where the weakest get eliminated and the strongest flourish. The same thing is sure to happen on the Internet. Therefore, the key shouldn't be trying to get onto the Internet before it's too late. The focus, instead, should be on doing those things that will enable your business to survive the great struggle for existence that is certain to take place in the next phase of digital evolution.