DaYooper,
long term positions in AOL, RNWK, YHOO and a couple others, really no different than taking long positions in INTC, MSFT, CSCO, and ORCL a few years ago.
I must ask you to reconsider this statement. INTC, MSFT, and CSCO produce enabling technologies and have very high barriers of entry to their competitors. They have tons of intellectual property and have dominated the niches for many years. In the case of INTC and MSFT, they created their niches and were the discontinous innovations that created their niches. Switching costs are huge for all three.
Perhaps RNWK can be described in similar terms to INTC/MSFT/CSCO. It has IP, but switching costs are low. But YHOO and AOL have no significant IP. They have brand name going for them, but no proprietary enabling technologies. AOL's main barrier to entry is its somewhat proprietary interface, but switching costs are practically nill.
AOL and YHOO can never accomplish Gorilladom. Royalty is best rank they can attain. RNWK may become a Gorilla, but I do not believe their IP is strong enough for them to achieve anything more than a crown of King. |
