I don't know but if you care about the Internet you'll spend some money on it today! It's save the Internet day!
Internet companies try to save themselves from extinction
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 29 (Reuters) - It helped save the whales but can it help the World Wide Web?
Stung by sinking stock prices, widespread layoffs, company shutdowns and a general loss of enthusiasm for their industry, a group of Internet companies are turning to old-fashioned grass roots activism to spread awareness about their plight.
Next Tuesday, they will sponsor a "Back the Net" day, a campaign that sounds a lot like the kind of "Save the Whales" efforts that have helped protect endangered species. The difference: instead of urging consumers to boycott an offensive product, they are being asked to log onto the Internet -- and shop.
"Your help is needed," reads the letter calling people to action.
"The Internet economy has slipped into a recession. If this trend continues, you might soon lose access to your favorite online store, greeting card site, news source, music site or financial chat group. Imagine the Internet without Excite, Yahoo! or Amazon.com."
Iconoclast Inc., an online news site that spearheaded the effort, is asking all consumers to go out and buy something on April 3, a day marking the anniversary of the precipitous 214 point drop in the NASDAQ stock index, which set off a lengthy decline that continues today.
This April 3, consumers who care about the Internet will be urged to buy something from their favorite online store, or better yet, buy stock in an Internet company, and tell 10 of their friends to do the same.
The event is not purely mercenary. Sites participating in the benefit will also offer the opportunity to donate to an online charity.
"The real thing is to focus on people who use the net," said a spokeswoman for Iconoclast, which has so far signed up 27 companies to participate, including the Internet service provider ExciteAtHome Corp.(NASDAQ:ATHM), the online content site ThemeStream.com, as well as iGive.com, a site that funnels a portion of online retail proceeds to charity. |
