NSCP, SEEK... It's All Music To My Ears...
Things to keep in mind as this PROBABLE relationship plays
out...
* The two cultures are somewhat complementary in that they
both have strong TECHNOLOGICAL capabilities. The idea of
Kirsch and (sic) Andreeson in the same room is very, very
provocative. There is a further horizon of possibilities
and strengths that these two minds may envision... that, I think,
will be very promising.
* NSCP has, as I and about 13 million other posters have
pointed out, been in the midst of an identity crisis. I
wonder if, at the end of the day, they won't just spin off
NetCenter as an IPO as has been rumored. They've never really
known what do with that site any way.
* The dollar amounts that have been proposed... aren't
STAGGERING. But, I wonder what happened to the notion of
equity participation. Obviously, I'd prefer that scheme.
* I don't think that AT&T is the ONLY THIRD PARTY that's
sniffing around this table. Maybe, certainly possible given
all the recent flurry of releases, DIS did indeed investigate
some sort of arrangement. But, I think,
a yet unnamed party is going to emerge shortly
after these negotiations. BIG BRANDS have now seen the
merits of the Web direct marketing model... Nestle just
dropped a revealing press release about this very fact the other day...
American Express has a toe-hold now with free e-mail and talk
about a built-in-community of users (an an entree', I'm betting,
to electronic billing presentment and payment.) For all of
YHOO's and AOL's much-vaunted leadership--and MSFT's entry
later this summer barring numerous possible legal distractions
from federal and state authorities--BIG BRANDS--not technology
brands, but these too--have yet to have their final say. And
if your BRAND NAME presence could vault a secondary site into
orbit--wouldn't this give you unparalleled negotiation leverage?
* SEEK is sitting on news. News of new advertising deals
and, I think, a channel sponsorship or two. News of another
online community purchase, a la WBS.
* The final shape of SEEK's European arrangements (DT, Verlag,
and others) have yet to take shape. But, when they do, I think
this will bode a suprisingly vital and vibrant global presence.
I would also expect NewsReal, the SEEK spin-off with dollars
from one of George Soros' pockets and who recently did a deal
with CNNfn, to be ANNOUNCING european deals as well to compete
with some offerings from Reuter's for example.
* The bigger picture is, as friends on another thread have
pointed out, WE ARE ENTERING the second phase of Web
growth and e-commerce, the Mergers & Acquisitions time.
New combinations are emerging by the hour it seems. And
big brands, like Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Corporation,
American Express, Coca-Cola or names of this order of
magnitude will soon be buying or dealing their ways into
the next mass medium.
* For those who claim (or who have claimed) that
the game is over and that YHOO and AOL have
won, I can only say one thing: wait. It's just beginning.
And there will be profits aplenty for all who do their
research... and are patient. Patient, being the key word.
Best Regards,
c m |
