Financial Crisis Ripple Effect

As an entrepreneur running a startup online publishing company, I look a the bloodletting on Wall Street -- and my IRAs and stocks -- and wonder what effects this will have on the advertising climate moving forward. For me the losses are paper. It's as if it's not even real. Not yet anyway.

But my concern is how the financial crunch might impact our industry as a whole. The industry was already well into a time of transition and falling revenues. So are even tougher times ahead? Will companies stop advertising? Will people stop taking out classifieds or buying photos from our web sites? Maybe even stop subscribing to the daily paper (I know this already happened) or monthly magazine to cut costs?

No one seems to be looking ahead. We're all rubberneckers driving by a car wreck. But I can't help but wonder -- fear -- what's next.

What are your thoughts or observations?