Word: ebay
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...global online marketplace will be here before we know it, and eBay's refrain "eBay everywhere" seems destined to become a reality. It's something the National Flea Market Association members are starting to accept. Several members of the association have begun moving online, working to put together virtual-flea-market sites like Fleamarket.com And even diehard thrift-shop mavens are becoming reconciled to the fact that the future belongs to eBay. "You can't stop the wheels from turning," sighs Hoff. "In fact, I have to confess: I just bought something on eBay this morning...
After creating one of the Net's top brands, a company with a market value of some $20 billion, Pierre Omidyar hit the delete key. Months before eBay's IPO--the traditional media coronation for a Silicon Valley wunderkind--he stepped aside in favor of onetime Hasbro exec Meg Whitman. "I've obviously tried to push her to the forefront," he says. "Meg's the public face of the company." Omidyar moved to France in part to get in touch with his roots--he was born in Paris and lived there until he was six. But he's also working...
...even 5,600 miles from eBay's San Jose headquarters, he remains the quiet guiding spirit behind the company. Over a few coffees, he set out his personal philosophy--libertarian, communitarian and a bit New Agey. It's a world view that's evident in eBay's headquarters and throughout what Omidyar likes to call the "eBay experience...
...becoming a millionaire from a pre-eBay start-up, Omidyar was captivated by the still nascent Internet. Living in Silicon Valley, where companies were going public daily, he was troubled by how imperfectly the financial markets seemed to be operating. "Institutions and large investors had all the inside information," he says. "What I wanted to do was create a marketplace where everyone had access to the same information." Out of this democratic impulse, the clunky website that would eventually grow into eBay was born...
...people,'" he says. "Clearly, if you're coming from a democratic, libertarian point of view, having corporations just cram more products down people's throats doesn't seem like a lot of fun. I really wanted to give the individual the power to be a producer as well." eBay has hewed closely to this vision. It emphasizes community, and it doesn't run advertisements...