The dot-com era was the beginning of really exciting times. It was revolutionary. It was the beginning of people willing to spend money for something that is intangible like a .com domain name. We can definitely learn a lot from those days. A couple of weeks I go I wrote about 5 lessons we can learn from the dot-com boom and bust and that’s not all!

Mentality #1: Let’s play monopoly

It is interesting that many businesses create a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account just because it is “the right thing to do”, to keep up with technology just like how .com domain names were sold like hotcakes during the dot-com boom. Businesses are busy securing .com sites social media accounts even though they have no plans of using them.

While that may seem like a normal thing to do, social media is a different playing field altogether especially if you’re registering the accounts under a similar name such as your brand or company name. A simple query on Google will be able to reveal all of them… buried with dust, which ultimately affects your credibility.

Mentality #2: If it’s online, it’s global

During the dot-com boom, many had the impression that as long they have a website, they can easily be found. True, but also VERY wrong. It is true that if you’ve a website or a social media account your business is accessible globally. However the question is – whether you can be found among the mass of information and websites out there. Even if Facebook has 600 million users, it does not guarantee you 600 million impressions if you have a Facebook page. In fact, it takes hard work to even get your first 1,000 followers if you’re a small business.

Remember, social media is merely a tool – you’ll still need to get down and get it to work for you and people today often rely on search engines and personal recommendations (e.g. Facebook likes, Tweets, blogs and comments) to locate what they need online.

Mentality #3: Information (Part 1) – That’s all I need on my website

Yes, information is important and it still is today. Imagine yourself going onto a website only to find nothing about that particular business. It sure defeats the purpose of having a website. The thing is, businesses should also understand that people today demand more than just information.

Let me ask you this question: would you rather buy from someone that has only pure information or someone with an updated blog and perhaps an active Facebook page?

What makes things worse are sites that have dates beneath their home page that dates back to the past. Does that imply that you’re out of business in the present day?

Mentality #4: Information (Part 2) – The more the merrier

Remember how websites looked back then? Presenting to you the all-powerful frames:

It was really something. Businesses were able to display even more information within a single screen. But is that the case today? Clearly not. In fact, search engines are not very happy with frames. Sites today display a minimalistic outlook to simplify the message – doing away with jargons and boring texts. Is your website overloaded with information? Less is more!

Mentality #5: The almighty enquiry form

The enquiry form is perhaps one of the most important addition to almost every business websites out there. After all, it is one of the easiest way for customers to keep in touch with you. Don’t get me wrong – it still is a powerful tool today. The question is – is it enough?

I don’t know about you but I personally do not like enquiry forms especially if I only have a short / simple question to ask. I’d rather leave a comment, a post on their Facebook wall or a Tweet. Imagine filling in all the fields on the enquiry form just to ask “are you open this weekend?”. Plus, there somehow is a feeling of a ‘black hole’ when submitting an enquiry form – you do not know whether it is actually sent. On social media platforms, you know they’ve received it for sure.

Do you fall into any one of the mentalities above? What other dot-com mentalities have you noticed today? I’d love to hear them :)