Jon, I asked Russell about the free e-mail thing last year at a shareholder meeting before it was offered through GNET.
He essentially said that since everyone and their brother already offered it, it wasn't a priority at that point. free e-mail is not a big deal....content is a bit deal. This is how go2net will eventually break into the top 5. This is also why they haven't spent millions in marketing.
It amazes me when you talk to people about their websites and they always want to charge someone to put content on their site or provide a link for them. this is ridiculous. You want as much quality content as possible so people will want to visit your site and the best way to do this is to either buy the content (i.e. go2net buying SI, Dogpile, etc.) or allow others to provide the content as they wish and host it for free (i.e. message boards, hypermart businesses, etc.)
So many people think you owe them if they host your site, provide a link, etc because they are essentially providing a platform for you to advertise your site.
Sure, you get their client's eyeballs looking at your site (which traditional businesses would view as advertising and thus would charge $$$), but they are in essence getting the entire contents of your site for FREE.
The more content you have to offer, the more people will visit your site and use it as a portal for all their needs.
Advertising / Branding is important, but content is the key.
Russell is brewing up a killer batch of wine, but it isn't time to pop the cork yet.
How do they say it...."build it and they will come"
Just my rambling thoughts....regards brk. |
