“It's early days but online communities are developing, such as GeoCities, Tripod and SeniorNet, and lifestyle ones relat-
ing to music or brands such as Harley-Davidson,” says Davies. “It's significant because horizontal communications, be-

tween consumers, is growing but companies tend only to think about vertical communications — pushing out brand mes-
sages and treating consumers as if they exist in a vacuum, whereas the net is a fluid environment." The lesson that brand
owners must learn is that the web is an increasingly powerful cultural phenomenon, and the communications tactics they
develop must be as sophisticated for their fiercest critics as they have been for their customers.