Keynote Via Disembodied Voice #2: Mary Meeker
Mary Meeker, from Morgan Stanley (presentation here) is bullish. From where she sits, internet oriented companies look like a good bet.
So, I have to admit, it was a bit surprising for me to see the graphic showing that we are past the boom market caps of March 2000. Of course, it was limited to only the Top 5 Internet companies, companies like Amazon, eBay and Yahoo. I'd like to get a bigger picture than that myself. Because my own portfolio? Still mired in 2001's doldrums. Then again, I don't own Amazon, eBay or Yahoo. I own the companies I worked for mostly. Me and half of Silicon Valley.
It seems like there's a contest for "most rapidly accepted product/technology ever." Meeker nominates Skype. Of course the bloggy folks I know would nominate blogging or, even more enthusiastically, podcasting.
Meeker threw out some other interesting little nuggets, like:
-The U.S. is about the only country where Internet users outnumber mobile device owners.
-The amount of Internet consumed vs. the amount of money advertisers spend there indicates that the Internet remains (despite Google and Yahoo burgeoning income stats) an vastly underfunded channel.
-40% of all clicks post-search are on sponsored search results. It surprises me only because I think everyone is like me and turns their nose up at such hits...even as I, myself, advertise via search. Hey, I never said I was fair.
-92% of conversion from product search to purchase occurs *offline*. This one kind of blows my mind. I mean, 100% of Amazon's conversion happens online, right? I don't know, I feel like I missed some key qualifying metric here. Anyone have a different recollection of this point?
Meeker sees a future in paid content, and I admit I'm skeptical. She'll pay $2 to see Tiger Woods' Augusta-winning shot. OK, people will pay for special occasion content. But to really be a viable business don't people have to be convinced to pay for every-day content? Isn't that the old one-time vs. recurring revenue story?
I know when the NY Times wants to charge me for an old article I would rather spend the two minutes Googling to find it somewhere else than to pay. I'd rather watch the ad than subscribe to Salon. But I might just be a cheapy.
Anyway, I like a presentation that provides the quantitative info to go along with sweeping qualitative statements. Meeker provided enough eye-chart slides to make me feel like I got my money worth.
