ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

The financial crisis will have effects far beyond Wall Street, and even beyond Main Street. It's already resonating through cyberspace. Here are some thoughts on how it will impact online business, and how to deal with it.

Michael Sprouse over at interactive agency Adotas offers up a thoughtful analysis of Market Chaos: How It Will Affect Us.

Interestingly, he's not convinced this means an automatic slowdown in online advertising and spending, but does offer these five observations/predictions:

1. With great challenge or struggle always comes opportunity. Sprouse sees those opportunities in performance marketing more than branding or impressions.

2. This could be the time for "survival of the fittest." Sprouse says to look for dramatic industry consolidation, with new M&A opportunities, more chances for partnerships, and a good time for companies to perform internal gut checks of how they do business.

3. Though the chaos occurred in the financial sector, it impacts businesses in every sector. If credit becomes harder to get, we'll all have to take a closer look at how we conduct business.

4. Upcoming macro changes will not solely affect the way that United States-based interactive marketing companies do business. This is clearly a situation with international repercussions.

5. The long-term prognosis should be “Proceed with Caution” but should not be ultimate "doom and gloom" for online advertising. Just as the dot com bust wreaked havoc but ultimately led to stronger online companies, this could also be a long-term opportunity to build better, more-stable companies.

The trick, as always, is to stick around long enough to be in position to take advantage of the new opportunities.

More From bMighty: Financial Crisis Survival Kit