Wonder why nobody talks about the "new economy" any more. Why, just 4 years back, it was the most uttered jargon of every other business & finance analyst!

1999. The peak of the "dot com" era. That short, colourful, exciting period which defied all laws of economic gravity. Heady days of wet-behind-the-ears entrepreneurs & venture capital funds. The first launched new businesses based on wild ideas (which rode on the new Internet technology). And the second believed the wild ideas could be implemented as profitable businesses - and so funded them lavishly. Both worked to multiply overnight, the equity "value" of their fledging companies - aiming for an early IPO - to realize the all-American dream of creating "instant" wealth!

Help became available in the form of ad agencies, P.R. firms & a (sudden!) crop of Internet consultants. (Many consultants were conveniently connected to stock-broking & venture capital firms.) And all partners worked in perfect tandem to create mass hysteria, resulting in the now infamous "dot com" boom.

Internet - the Genesis
Here's how a global network of a million+ computers was created in a span of a few years:
1. Any computer could become a part of a global network by converting itself to a registered Internet Server
2. A central body managed & issued unique codes (I.P. addresses) for each registered Internet Server
3. Free software (called Internet browsers) which could access & display the contents of Internet Servers were distributed to all computer users around the globe
4. To become a registered Internet Server involved the following simple, economical steps:
     a. Register with the central body for a permanent I.P.address for a small annual fee
     b. Install free Internet Server software in the computer & store the assigned I.P. address
     c. Keep the Internet Server computer connected to a telecom backbone with a modem
5. Local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), for a small fee, hooked up any local computer to access any desired Internet Server. The local computer itself needed to connect to the ISP via telephone line/modem

Soon there were hundred thousands of Internet Servers, which were accessed by millions of Internet surfers from their computers via their local ISP. And ultimately communicate instantly with each other at minimal cost (via email & instant messengers).

All this was possible in a short span of a few years because the cost of setting up an Internet Server was minimal. As was the cost of accessing them. And since each Internet Server was maintained by its owner who ensured rich content, colourful displays & increasingly innovative use of software to attract "surfers", there was no overall centralized investment. And hence very little central control.

Internet as Mass Communications Medium
From the beginning, Internet browsers offered colour graphics in addition to text viewing. As communication links became faster, graphics gave way to animation and moving pictures. This was probably why too much was expected from the Internet as a broadcasting medium. Some even saw it as an eventual threat to the television medium. And much hype was spread about advertising revenues on web-sites - mostly to inflate stock value of the dot com company.

Not many people may be aware, but the humble telephone was initially promoted as a mass medium for information & audio entertainment. The 1930s & '40s saw telephone companies launching services like "Dial 199 to listen to Waltz Music" & "Dial 200 for Weather Report". And as usual, business analysts of the period announced the demise of radio - then the most popular mass medium!

As we all know, the telephone found its success as an "instant" communication tool. And radio as a medium is thriving 70 years later. Cheek-by-jowl with television!

Back to television. Broadcasting technology has progressed very rapidly in the last few years. Digital satellite broadcasting, direct-to-home TV, Conditional Access Systems, Interactive TV and SMS TV are here to stay. And today, it is Cable TV operators & digital pay-TV platforms who offer Internet access as an additional feature. Not vice versa.

Like its humbler partner, the Internet's role as a traditional mass communication medium was a non-starter.

Finally, Internet as Low-cost Tool for Intelligent Communications
So what is the best description for the Internet? A vast, distributed global database? An inter-connected network of computer resources? The platform for the indispensable email service? Or a low-cost global communications network?

Consider the imminent convergence of voice, data, mobile communications. Acknowledge their increasing dependence on the Internet. And the fact that the Internet connects computers & computer-based devices. It becomes clear that the Internet is an ideal, low-cost network for intelligent communications.

And by the way, the new economy is upon us! And it is the myriad uses of the Internet as a tool for intelligent communication that this new economy rides on. Connecting software applications & databases. Between computers, television set-top-boxes, PDAs, mobile communication devices. And a host of future 'internet devices'.