First, feel free to check out my new article on StartupNation.com entitled, "Women Roar!" about the purchasing power of women in today's economy at:  http://www.startupnation.com/articles/9480/1/women-roar-marketing-to-women.htm

As I wrote to a friend recently, sometimes it makes sense to go against the grain, to not always follow the major trends that are driving so many business models.

As was seen in the July 20th edition of Fortune Magazine, the cover article highlighting Marc Andreessen, noted founder of Netscape, features his insight and how he's wholly focused on the belief that everything will move to the Internet.

My take on this: yes and no.  The Net's biggest problem--as recently evidenced by the security breaches on senstive U.S. databases, including our national grid, thanks to the Chinese, Russians, and North Koreans--is its security shortcomings.

As I well know, companies go to great lengths to protect their trade secrets, those secrets which can encompass something like a formula (e.g. Coca-Cola) to even the management control reports on how to properly manage and monitor the running of a manufacturing plant.  (I've seen these reports and, yes, they do comprise serious secrets that competitors would love to get their paws on.) 

Having said that, and relating back to the Fortune article, it sometimes makes sense for you to think a little "outside the box" and go counter-trend when dreaming up your next venture.

Not every company has to be "green" oriented, and not every company has to have the tech glow that attracts the mind of a Marc Andreessen.  The key, ALWAYS, is to focus on the customer's need: to create a business model that addresses a discernible, provable need.  Technology is merely a tool for, possibly, a more seamless delivery of that solution.

However, as I mentioned, especially as national and corporate espionage grows, the Net may prove to be less reliable due to security problems.  One sure winner: create a superlative Internet security firm, as this is just the beginning