The_Internet

The Internet The Internet: It Was To Be the Great Equalizer The Internet, with its octopus-like, global reach and affordable commercial real estate, was going to rewrite the rules of commerce, giving corporate CEOs and small-time home-business owners even odds at pioneering this digital shopping frontier. Online advocates gushed over how the Net would foster never-before seen head-to-head competition between the commercial Davids and Goliaths in a forum where ideas and ingenuity, not just money and clout, marked the boundaries. But as competition builds on the Internet, it appears that equal footing is gradually slipping away beneath small and medium-sized companies. After investing $50,000 just to get a seat at the commercial Internet table a year ago, Baxter Phillip sees the Internet-induced level playing field as myth. Net commerce still slants against the little guy, says the vice president of the Chicago-area-based Phillip's 1-800-FLORALS, and he faces a steeper incline all the time. "The Internet is like a huge mall in the middle of the Sahara desert," Phillip says. "Once you get there, which is the first hurdle, all the competitors are lined up together, one next to the other. So where do you go' You gravitate towards the brand names you already know -- the biggies." While Web site affordability has made it easier for companies like Phillip's to establish an Internet site, says, web, sites, music, online, internet, out, competitors, companies, hundreds, competition, big, world, vestige, takes, phillip, offering, offer, now, little, last, know, good, flowers, even, commerce, cd, business, because, away, while, unique, time, thousands, stiffer