Wow! The sentiment on this board is looking pretty bleak. Some real, substantial news could make quite a difference. Here are some of the positives I see:
1. Redesign of www.go2net.com - new site makes features that I often use much more accessible and puts go2net over the top as my favorite home page on all new systems. Metacrawler still provides the most relevant results for my searches, though Google can often find hard to locate URLs.
2. Metacrawler mail and calendar has excellent interface and provides sticky service revenue as well as upsell potential.
3. Wireless access will help to improve "stickiness" as well.
4. Generally much improved "stickiness" as well as upsell opportunities.
5. Net2Phone agreement considered positive, but more tenuous IMO, as I personally find Net2Phone's service quality akin to a fresh breath of camel dung. I am hopeful that it will improve.
5. Exploding revenues - 333% revenue increase to 18+ MM in revenues last Q bodes well for profitability and future growth.
6. They're attracting good people. The people who I know going to Go2Net are talented, experienced and very positive about the company's prospects.
Negatives:
1. I was hoping to see more interactive games on Playsite over time. The current old favorites may be great for a small number of people but do not have mass market appeal.
2. I was hoping for some level of more dynamic marketing. They've got a huge cash hoard, great services, and they still need to get people to try it out for their stickiness to work.
3. While they may be competitive in e-mail services, I'd like to see them pull ahead with some innovative features either there or in other areas. The way I see it, Silicon Investor is their most unique, valuable property. I believe they should be innovating more in the area of service offerings or integration of services.
Overall, I believe that Go2Net, the company, is still on an upward trajectory. The point that a languishing stock price will create internal tension is reasonable, but if the internal vision is strong and positive, this can be overcome.
To me, the current price represents an excellent buying opportunity because the potential reward is enormous. I do agree there is some downside risk, but I would not be able to sleep well if I were short this stock. IMO, any substantial news or more effective marketing, and this stock takes off.
Mike |
