(rcn) Additional analysis of 3/3/00 Friday's News
To: jemuel r. mapanao who wrote (40079)
From: ztect
Monday, Mar 6, 2000 1:00 PM ET
Reply #40085 of 40085
Actualy Jemuel...your thoughts were my gut reaction too. BUT...
That was until I signed up for the service to fully
understand what General Search is really about.
Yes GS is ostensibly a "search engine" and search engines
make money through advertising and "prefered placement".
Yes, there are a myriad of other search engines
available and better known
Yes GS wouldn't be the first search engine I'd use.
(I like "dogpile" and "hotbot").
But GS isn't just a search engine.
Obviously you know GS is a free ISP too line Netzero,
Freeinternet and Juno.
None of these companies make money like traditional ISP's
(Mindspring, AOL, Erols, et cetera) through subscriptions.
The free ISP is an enticement then for what?
.............INFORMATION........................
I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning, and on the
morning report there was a dialogue with Joe Messarus (sp?)
an editor at large for "Fortune" Magazine.
JM was discussing the "new" Internet economy.
He noted that many businesses haven't been as altered as
anticipated by this "new" economy since many new businesses
dont have profitable b-models.
In his opinion, the greatest change the Internet has made
is the ability to gather information. He then said that the
"single most lucrative source is the gathering of information".
He mentioned two terms: "mass customization" and "monetize".
Through info "volunteered" and info gathered through
browsing habits (ie "cookies")companies that use that info
gathered to provide advertising to those most likely to
respond to what is being offered.
"Mass" marketing like mass mailings, for example, only
anticipates a 2% return. Money spent on the other 98%
is money wasted.
Mass customization tailors info to the specific wants
of customers who have either stated those wants or surfed
to similar sites. The banners you see on your browser
are different than the ones I see because we surf different sites.
The internet facilitates the accumulation of info to
mass customize and also makes mass customization possible.
The term "monetize" meant how do you term that info into money.
Now if you sign up for GS, you "volunteer" info about
what are your demographics (age, income, et cetera), and
you also "volunteer" info about what are your interests.
This information is gathered. Affiliates that offer
products that coincide with your interests pay or barter
for that "mass " customization information by advertising
on the site directly, on the advertising browser and/or
through preferred placement on conducted searches
(ie. type music, tsig or amzn name is near the top)
to maximize "monetization".
Now since affiliates either pay for directly or have
bartered arrangements for advertising and placement, GS
generates revenues through the info they gain and share.
GS is using traffic generated by tsig.com which signifies
that tsig.com generates enough to them to "expand" tsig's
relationship with them.
GS, unlike netzero and others, isn't spending all their
income on expensive television ads. GS isn't offsetting their
revenues with advertising costs like these other
"free nets". GS is benefitting from "the Music card"
directing traffic to their site and through
their 470 plus other affiliations, and GS is profit
sharing a percent of its advertising income for the
traffic and subsequent info it received that is either
volunteered or gathered.
z (spellin' not checked) |
