Meckler on Media: The Steve Harmon Story;
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Meckler on Media: The Steve Harmon Story; More Industry Standard
By Alan Meckler
Steve Harmon, one-time internet.com columnist and Director of Business Development, was featured in the July 9 issue of Business Week. In a story entitled "Fallen Back to Earth," I am quoted on two occasions about my dealings with Steve during the period he worked with me (1996-1999).
The reporter did a fair job in presenting the facts, but these stories always have a bias. The story spotlights Harmon's time as CEO of the company he founded (after leaving internet.com) called Zero Gravity Internet Group. I will not rehash the history or the story, but rather will tell you about Harmon as I knew him during his years at internet.com.
Harmon's insights into the future of the Internet in 1996 and 1997 were brilliant, correct and far ahead of other pundits both in the press and on Wall Street.
We all know that he became famous for his Internet stock selections. The higher Internet stocks climbed, the more Harmon moved away from strategic thinking about the Internet's future and the more he focused on stock selection. I cannot blame him. But the shame is that Harmon is now tarred by the Internet stock crash and we have all forgotten that he was a terrific strategic thinker.
Harmon always wanted to be placed on same pedestal with the Mary Meekers of the world. Ironically, he got his wish and is listed with Mary Meeker and other Wall Street analysts who helped propel the Internet stock bubble.
More On The New Standard
The New York Times on July 2 ran a story similar to a commentary I wrote two weeks ago on The Industry Standard's Internet Summit coming up at the end of this month. The article also mentions the redesign of the magazine. My favorite executive, John Batelle, the chairman of Standard Media International, the magazine's publisher, is quoted about the magazine's new look: "We had been preparing this for a while and then the markets got bad and everyone assumed that the redesign was our attempt to shore up ad pages. I think we made the magazine more readable but we may have also unintentionally confused some people. We're working to clarify that.
This is odd thinking. If the magazine was able to attract 991 ad pages in May 2000 (according to the Times story), then why change anything? Sure, we have had a downturn in the tech and Internet industries, but why abandon the coverage of what made The Industry Standard a good read until a few weeks ago?
The real message from Batelle (and the magazine's redesigned content) is that he does not believe in the Internet and is really a trend publisher -- someone who capitalizes on a trend, but has no real belief in anything other than what can sell ad pages.
The Industry Standard was a terrific magazine. Now, even the chairman of the company has admitted it has lost its way.
As to the Internet Summit Conference at the end of the month, I doubt anyone really wants to hear any of the speakers except for Steve Ballmer of Microsoft. Why? Because Microsoft has not lost its way -- it keeps its nose to the grindstone and is laser-focused on its business no matter what the economic climate (or landmark legal decision facing it).
I guess the Mary Meeker and Bill Gurley invitations did not cut it for the "Big Summit" nor did the e-mail spam that Batelle has been sending me these past few weeks (and for that matter for several years). In other words, the "Big Summit", like the magazine, has lost it way --- or as Batelle so aptly phrased it: "we may have also unintentionally confused some people."
See you next week.
*Alan Meckler is CEO of INT Media Group, atNewYork's parent company. His column appears each Friday in atNewYork.com. Send feedback to atNewYork@internet.com |
