incrediBILL - 10:00 pm on Aug 23, 2012 (gmt 0)

I mean would people want to start an online business now if only to find the whole landscape has changed in 5 years?

Would you open a new gas station when electric cars will probably replace them in 10 years?

Would you open a hamburger stand when mad cow or e.coli could decimate your business at any minute?

The internet in some form will survive and trying to predict a disruptive technology before it happens is quite impractical, but short of a global EMP that takes out all electronic capabilities I think the internet will easily be around another 20 years minimum and get bigger and faster, not go out of existence.

The question you need to be looking at is what's the next big thing about to happen, the next google, facebook, twitter or whatever, and ride it's coat tails forward for maximum ROI.

I ask because the internet world is pretty volatile and unpredictable

Which is no different than the real world.

But if you look at it overall, the internet world actually has quite a bit of stability with Yahoo, Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, etc. all being the cyberspace equivalent of anchor tenants that you can build around and not worry about losing your investment in those particular companies.

However, if you build around volatile startups, in the real world or cyberspace, you're more likely to get burned than building around a well established company.

Nothing new really, web or B&M, use common sense and you'll be just fine.