The Internet Economy in 60 minutes or Less
For a good 30 minutes, I was pretty sure I was in the wrong session. Despite a panel of great minds representing journalism, analysis, investment, agencies and social networking, the discussion was overwhelmingly about social networks, building large audiences and the ability to target based on demographics, context and behavior.
Perhaps the highlight of the first half was the lively discussion between Imran Khan, Managing Director, JP Morgan Research and Bob Davis, Managing General Partner, Highland Capital Partners, as to whether the future is in aggregating a large audience or effectively targeting individuals in an infinitely segmented landscape.
Fortunately, moderator Oliver Ryan of Fortune pushed the group to quantify expectations for future deals, as well as to the types of exit to be expected. After much belaboring, the general answer was "yes, there will be more deals." Audience questions - clearly from start ups eager to sell their own firms - focused on the most important criteria to secure a successful sale.
I particularly appreciated Davis' honest response that building a firm solely to sell it is to become a victim of the times. He insists that if any value is to be created at all, a firm must have a sustainable model as a stand alone.
Regarding the future of M&A activity, Gene DeRose, Co-Founder and CEO, House Party, Inc. suggested that it is in the execution of good software, or software itself, that will become most valuable. It is a very interesting point, considering that software is rarely considered a medium itself.
To wrap up the session, Larry Harris, President, Ansible Mobile agreed that we would all see many more game changers as well as strange bedfellows, along the lines of the matchups between WPP and 24/7, Google and Doubleclick, and Microsoft and aQuantive.
