Tang,
Permit me to wade in and offer my opinion. CMGI is, IMHO, DEFINITELY going to continue to focus its efforts on becoming an OPERATING Internet company. In my opinion, the company is morphing from the investment incubator into a true provider of content, commerce, community, and infrastructure. Think about it: DW's strength and genius (a word tossed around too casually, but which may actually apply here) lies in his way-ahead-of-the-curve understanding of the Internet and its impact. The man has a vision that, I would venture (groan!), to say lies not in being simply a wealthy VC investor but in defining and creating the next generation (and subsequent generations) of the Internet.
iCast, AltaVista, etc. are the tip of the iceberg, I believe. Look for the company to leverage its capital to make many more acquisitions like we saw today.
Think of it this way: Many Internet IPOs start with a couple of rounds of investment -- maybe $10-20 million to get started on their vision. CMGI now has *billions* to fund its vision. It has dozens of companies (essentially independent R&D units -- all carefully selected to complement and collaborate) all working in concert to fulfill this vision. The IPO stage has been exciting for investors in the short term. But it's only a means to the end: a long-term central position in the Internet that I believe can become unassailable if executed correctly. The IPO stage will gradually fade away (but not cmpletely) IMHO, and the rise of the large, consolidated core CMGI operating company will take its place -- over the next 24 months, I'd guess.
Again, IMHO, CMGI doesn't want to *own* the Internet. They want to *be* the Internet.
FWIW, BWDIK
Scarecrow |
