Frontier Towns and the Internet

I live in a city that is celebrating 200 years of history this year. It got me thinking about what it was like back then. With a few thousand dollars and the spirit of adventure, you could set off into the wild and not just strike gold, but build a city. Heck, lots of people were founding cities. You bought some land, ideally along a river, path or railroad, and you started your buzz marketing campaign. “Come live in the best new city in Ohio…” Practically anyone could do it. If you got a good location and good buzz, you succeeded. The Internet really is the new frontier. Myspace is a big city. Look at the July 2006 trend briefing at trend watching. If you think of your new Web 2.0 system as a new city you need to create buzz for, you have a much bigger chance to succeed.