The facts reveal that e-business is neither the “road to instant riches” nor a “bridge-out-ahead” detour. The vehicle you choose to drive and the map you use can make a big difference.

Indeed, there are many dot-coms that survived the tumble. While there is no secret formula to their success, one characteristic the companies share is a tendency to focus on the Internet for its unique advantages as a process rather than simply as a pipeline to move product.

Seattle’s Infopop is a leader in the area of discussion boards, online gathering places where surfers can post their opinions, read others’ comments, and ask or answer questions, on a seemingly endless variety of subjects. The technology creates a sense of community letting people share tips, ideas and even recipes, just like over the backyard cyber-fence. What works is that Infopop does it all for their customers. There’s no hardware or software to buy. The bulletin board technology is made available remotely (from Infopop’s servers) where they manage the whole process for you (making them an “ASP” or “Application Service Provider”). This new breed of service model has been meeting with more than a modicum of success.

The Peninsula’s Go2Marine.com is proving that “slow and steady” wins the boat race when it comes to selling quality marine parts and products online. The young boating supplies company, situated just an anchor’s throw away from its “target market” at the Bainbridge Island marina, continually stays in touch with its customer base to monitor their ongoing

They respond with an extensive catalogue of products and fast, friendly phone service. It’s the process, not the products, (many hard-to-find boating items) that is generating sales.

Another major trend is for companies to combine both an online and a real world presence. Northwest leaders such as Nordstrom.com, EddieBauer.com, and REI.com are three picture-perfect examples of “click ‘n mortar” dot-coms.

Visitors to REI can access the Internet site from kiosks located inside the stores and search online for merchandise that may not be accessible on store shelves. This dual-channel capability has allowed REI to construct smaller stores with less inventory in secondary markets.

Nordstrom has committed to bringing its famous brand of personal service to the Web by assisting shoppers with live, online help through text chats and guided co-browsing.

To say the Web is all washed up is, well, hogwash. We’ve only just scratched the surface of the information age. The sun is beginning to break through the clouds once again for our weathered dot-coms. This time, however, net prophets just have to pay more attention to Net profits.