Ebay and Amazon

Both of these companies are very important to many shoppers' experience. They have gained competitive advantages by strategically employing emerging technology and bringing large groups of people together. The Internet allowed for this type of collaboration. The peer to peer connections that drive EBay would never have been possible without the Internet. The systems they have developed to manage these transactions securely and efficiently are incredibly important.

Emerging companies owe it to pioneers such as Amazon and EBay. The trails they blazed have acquainted customers with new retail processes and techniques.  Both of these Internet powerhouses use a member rating system that helps to ensure successful peer-peer transactions. The result is something people have called the "reputation economy". This means that the ratings you have on websites such as EBay, Amazon and now, RelayRides, will follow you and affect your life in similar ways that credit scores do.

So, while these companies are exciting in and of themselves, they have done great things and will likely continued to, the truly phenomenal thing about them is their forward thinking and moving spirit. Their lessons and legacy will help teach and guide future entrepreneurs to exalted greatness. The mesh between the online and offline realms continually tightens. As we become more connected a broader range of solutions becomes available.