As a species, Web entrepreneurs have their own language. You might be inclined to dismiss "stickiness" and "viral marketing" as jargon, but that would be a mistake. Learning the lingo is useful for communicating with your peers and your partners, but it is also a way to understand Web business strategies.

Consider the concept of stickiness. As the name implies, sticky features draw return visitors and discourage visitors from patronizing competitors. Free, Web-based E-mail is sticky. If you've got an @yahoo.com address, for instance, you'll be visiting Yahoo on a regular basis to read your E-mail. You're hooked.

Viral marketing is another favorite among startups. It lets your customers sell your product for you, as Hotmail did with its free E-mail accounts, all of them with an ad at the bottom of a message. The company, i-drive.com lets customers create Internet-based hard drives for friends and colleagues. Its file storage, sharing, and transfer features captivates viewers keeping them glued to the service.