A random conversation on Farmville with C this morning got me into thinking how successful online games are in enticing players to spend money on virtual goods. While it is intriguing to me how the internet has enabled new ways of making money, ultimately, these offerings are appealing to certain fundamental human desires that are constant over time. In the case of online games, the desire to win, and to be part of a community are some of the driving factors.

My scatterbrain then led me to a different thought. Even with a growing segment of female gamers, the majority of gamers are still male under 40 years old. I can’t help but think that these new ways to make money we are seeing now are still limited to a largely male angle, given that most of these tech companies are founded and run by men. In other words, the power and potential of the internet remain untapped for a large fraction of the population.

The fact that Kylie Jenner made herself a billionaire at the age of 23 by selling cosmetics through a series of make-up tutorials backs my suspicion. Only founders who understand what their customers want can leverage the internet to reach a large group of potential customers, and I doubt a tech-bro could come up with a business idea to sell cosmetics online. This means that acknowledging that women and other minority groups have different desires can open up previously untapped markets.