>>> STRM has a brighter future probably than AOL and I'll tell you why: Competition....<<<
That's a very bold statement. I've been accumulating STRM since it dropped into the 40's subsequent to IPO and I like it a lot.....as the current leader, its blue-chip venture capital investors, the well-roundedness of the web-site, the marketing campaign. the first to market advantage, etc. But I think that if AOL, Yahoo, or MSN wanted to really get serious about Latin America they could cause a lot of problems for StarMedia. They could bring some serious competition to StarMedia.
As Espuelas said before STRM went public, (paraphrase) "Yahoo would have to spend $20 million on the Latin American market, like we have done already, in order to get the same market share".
Well, Yahoo can spend a lot more than that if they believed the market warranted it. MSN and AOL could easily spend a hundred million without even denting their budget, if they were really interested. Don't get me wrong, I am very long on STRM and like everthing I've seen so far, but there is potentially plenty of competition upcoming. Those other Spanish portals are just a joke, I think PASA is a good short candidate, but that's the only thing good about it. Yupi.com is not even on the horizon, they can't compete. They should close shop and just lay out in their Miami Beach sun. |
