OH dear, it all seems to have gone a bit pear-shaped.

Jan 29 2009 by Steve Grainger, The Journal

THE world is in turmoil. The economy is in meltdown, the banks have run out of money, the pound has achieved parity with the chocolate button, and the typical high street has more gaps in it than a tramp's smile.

And all because some stupid Americans lent some money to some even stupider Americans who, let’s face it, were never likely to pay it back.

Is it just me, or does this recession seem to be getting more hype than a Spice Girls reunion? If we believed everything we read, it would appear that we’re about to enter a new dark age of nationalisation, horse and carts and dysentery.

So that got me thinking. Where does this leave all those bright young digital and online innovators who have been the business media darlings ever since our last collective doomsday predication (the millennium bug – anyone remember that)?

Having never quite got the hang of fashion, I can’t help but be a little more optimistic. The world is still turning, business will still continue to be done and it seems reasonable to assume that companies which continue to offer a good competitive service will continue to thrive.

In fact, tucked away from the screaming credit crunch headlines, the news for tech entrepreneurs is rather better.

Indeed, whisper it , but it seems that businesses embracing online and using technology to provide a better service for their customers are actually doing rather nicely.

E-commerce sales continue to rise – up 14% year on year – and now represent around 15% of total retail spending in the UK.

Companies that showcase themselves effectively via the web are seeing inquiries and orders grow as customers increasingly do their pre-sales research via the web.

And the best online specific businesses are among fastest-growing companies in the world. Ten years ago nobody had heard of a price comparison website . . . now it’s an industry worth more than £1bn a year.

So, the message seems to be that there are still plenty of opportunities for businesses who are brave enough to invest in their online activities to give them an edge over their competition.

Adversity has a habit of bringing the best out of people and it wouldn’t surprise me that when we look back on 2009, as well as remembering all the casualties, we will also see a significant number of businesses that used it as a springboard for their future success.

For some at least, perhaps 2009 won’t turn out to be quite as bad as the tabloids would have us think after all.

Steve Grainger is managing director at new media agency Enigma Interactive