P2P
(pee.too.pee)
adj./n..
1. Peer-to-peer adj. Describes a network or other technology that enables users to trade files directly without requiring a central database or server. 2. Person-to-person adj. Describes a payment service that enables one individual to pay another for an online transaction (such as an auction sale). 3. Path to profitability n. The strategy a company plans to implement to become profitable.
Example Citation:
The RIAA and the labels took an aggressive stance as soon as online music file sharing became popular. They won an early victory in 2001 by shutting down the seminal music-sharing service Napster.
The site was an easy target because Napster physically maintained the computer servers where illegal music files, typically in high-fidelity, compressed, download-friendly MP3 format, were stored. [With P2P networks, the files are stored on individual user computers; special software lets consumers "see" the files and download them onto their own hard drives.]
—Daphne Eviatar, "Record industry, music fans out of tune," The Recorder, August 20, 2003
"The tchotchke transfers have also helped make X.com the Web's leading financial site, with more than 2 million weekly unique visitors — more than double the traffic of E-Trade, the nearest competitor. . . . So it's no wonder that dozens of companies are tripping over themselves to get into the person-to-person, or 'P2P' payment race."
—Noah Shachtman, "Does P2P Fit Consumers' Bill?," Wired News, June 12, 2000
"New Rule No. 1: Get profitable sooner. Forget B2B or B2C: The new catchphrase among dot-coms is P2P, for path to profitability. Venture-capital investors once tolerated profits forecasts three or four years in the future. Now they're looking for business plans that target profitability less than one year after an initial public offering."
—Dennis K. Berman, "Dot Coms: Can They Climb Back?," Business Week, June 26, 2000
