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From 1998 to mid-2000, the demand for web development services significantly outstripped supply. So in accordance with the law of supply and demand, the price for those services went up, up, up. So did the value of the firms that provided those services, as well as the value of the people that worked in them. Fast, big money wanted to get in on the action, and went chasing for investments in, among others, web development agencies.

And then it all went a bit silly.

Commercial life became a little surreal and very ambiguous, because everywhere you looked, there was money and work. The fact that things didn't always make sense wasn't as important as the fact that there were plenty of other people for whom it made even less sense, but had money to burn anyway. Word documents full of laughable business jargon became "visionary business plans" worth lots of money in the hands of the confident presenters in front of desperate audiences.

Business became a lottery, and lots of people worked out that you had to be in it to win it.

Quite a few punters won, big-time. Besides them, there were also plenty of small prize winners as well - creativity was glamorised as a profession, working conditions improved, pay packets went up, pool tables and espresso machines sprouted in offices everywhere, and clients paid more respect. Hell, clients even had to pitch to agencies to get their work done.

Then bubble has burst.

Tell me something - if someone wins the lottery, does that make them smart? Or good at what they do?

No it don't. They are definitely lucky, and they definitely had enough sense to buy a lottery ticket. They might be smart and good at what they do, but not necessarily.

Tell me something else - if someone wins the lottery, does it really make sense to say that they didn't "deserve" it?

No it don't either. All you can do is wish them well for their good fortune, or sit in the corner and grumble about it.

Oh well. Life moves on.

Be grateful you know how to do your job, well enough that even though the value of what you do may swing up and down, your ability to deliver genuine value is basically always there.

Feel sorry for the people that mistook their lottery winnings for professional validation, and are now "sitting out the downturn," waiting for the market to realise that they really are worth as much as what they were two years ago - the technical term for this response is "denial."

This is not sour grapes from me, just a wake up call. Get over it! Create! Make sure you are good at it. That's what matters.

Cheers!

Andrew

"With all due respect, I think that often it has been more like a game of musical chairs than a trimming of the fat... the bubble bursting was the music being switched off. Those that were at least 'ok' at their jobs kept them if they were lucky enough to be with a company that didn't need to lay people off.... they weren't necessarily the best, but they were there, so they stayed.

I say I am at least passionate about what I do, and the awards and clients I have won tell me I am also pretty good at it, yet I cannot even get an interview...

I still create and dream.... I don't want to be one of the ones that need the reality check, But I wonder, has the original silliness of it all really sent the industry into a tailspin from which it will never recover? I don't believe so. Wallets are closed for the moment, but there is still a lot of work to be done...

Doesn't the economy just need some optimism to mix with this new reality that we all knew was coming anyway?

regards,
Brent Spencer."

"Andrew

I'm a print designer and I have always been interested in the web, however I have seen another change in the web market in the past year. This change is large companies sending employes for a crash course on how to make a website and up-keep it.

Small companies are also doing this, a good example is my mother who first used a computer 3 years ago and is now 54years of age. She can now design and make a fully functional website, though it may not be much chop design or technical wise it is still a website.

So in conclusion I feel this has a lot to do with being either an (A) or (B) web developer/designer.
A) Good design and excellent up to date technology along with a good knowledge of business and pride in their work.
B) Poor uncreative design with old styles and technology with dollar signs in their eyes, who don't produce much if any better than someones mother at home.

In conclusion you are 100% correct, if you're good you will be always have a prosperous business.

Thanks

Sam"

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