Internet economy looks strong, some experts say

The ever-growing Internet economy should be less susceptible to a U.S. economic downturn than many other industries, with more and more people shopping and doing business online, a group of commentators and businesspeople said Friday. Although many segments of the U.S. economy are slowing, there's little indication of a downturn in online sales, with e-commerce growing four to five times faster than traditional retail, said Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. IT, including the Internet, is currently the major driver of economic growth in the U.S., he said at a Google-sponsored event examining the Internet economy. While some commentators have worried about a second Internet bubble bursting, Atkinson suggested the first bubble in 2000 and 2001 may have been overstated. Many of the companies publicized as failures during that time frame are either still operating or their business models have become successful through other companies. "The Internet is not a bubble," Atkinson said. "A lot of dumb, bad companies went out of business [earlier in the decade], but the industry continued to grow."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/25/Internet-economy-looks-strong-some-experts-say_1.html