One great thing about the Internet is its ability to distribute information globally and ALTER the business model for those who participate. One small example is this blog. You don't have to 'subscribe' to anything or pay money. It is advertiser supported and made possible by Creative Weblogging, who can put together an infrastructure of people like me and provide it to you.

I am watching a new project called FastSupplier. Fastsupplier.com especially targets SMEs in export oriented emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and China as listed suppliers.

The company already built up an extensive directory with more than 7500 suppliers and service providers sorted in more than 400 categories around the world.

Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging explains: "The global marketplace for services and goods is expanding on an even faster pace. Finding the right suppliers and keeping track of new ones is becoming an even more precious asset for each company that wants to compete effectively in a global marketplace."

Fastsupplier.com makes all information conveniently available without extensive searches and allows easy Requests for Information (RFI). Also fastsupplier.com makes use of new emerging publishing standards such as RSS and advanced content syndication.

Fastsupplier.com is currently in beta and offers its services for free for all members. I am always fascinated in finding new business models that work. I wonder how far out in the future I might do the following tasks that are within my field of expertise -- IPTV:

Sign a deal for television content without ever knowing the owners, use digital rights management solutions to protect them, query for set top box manufacture, put together a service support group in India, and contract out the marketing of my own television network. It may be far-fetched by the standards in 2005. But, in the ever-interdependant, globalized world we live in, I wonder if it is impossible.

Tell me what you think of this one.