<<OT--Sort Of--Bits & Tidbits...>>
* Deal with T is nice and all. It appears Red Herring
got slightly less than one-half of their Seek "insider"
story right, after all. It's not the deal per se
that is interesting... because on first glance... it
looks like familiar ground. It's what SEEK does with
the deal... in terms of further "programming"... Motro's
TV-centric word. (In fact, upon re-reading Motro's comments
in the iVillage release, try to tell me he isn't borrowing
chapter and verse from his cable experience. And I hear
he made that explicit analogy during the CNBC bit.)
I assume that at least some portion of this deal is
revenue-sharing based... with SEEK getting a cut of
stuff it refers to T.
* I may be suffering from ROS(E)Y SCENARIO disease,
but I sure like the way SEEK is adding meat to the bone--
Deutsche Telekom (for global growth), T (portal status and
technology complements), WBS (chat/community--which I assume can use to T's voice technology
as infrastructure--geared toward younger folks), and
iVillage (which appears, according to what I'm reading,
to be the first MAJOR Woman-centric move by a top search
engine). And the thing is, THERE'S MORE COMING. No
question.
* Two stray notes: Wired Magazine sold to Conde Nast.
Wired Digital is staying on its own and expected to
pull a profit by Q4... further proof that CONTENT
can be made to pay. Further, theStreet.com just got
a big chunk of needed venture capital.
* When will SEEK offer fee-based content services?
Indeed, will SEEK offer fee-based content services.
When will SEEK start using its WBS property and other
community assets as a way to start building the SEEKer
self-identification... creating a greater sense of
community?
* Anybody seen the amazon.com TV ad? Nicely done.
Not funny. But perfect for their audience.
* Lost in all the noise is a fact: SEEK WILL be
rolling out a new Peronal Finance or stocks area...
with message board capabilities. TALK ABOUT A WAY
TO ALMOST INSTANTLY PUMP YOUR TRAFFIC! I've been
waiting for this now ever since my little (very little)
e-mail from Steve Kirsch. But, it DOES like they've
been busy with other things.
* In one other way, I am VERY GLAD that the NSCP
thing is off our plates. That HAD to be a management
bandwidth squeezer--those negotiations were a grind'em
out affair. Now, their focus and energies can move
to other more fruitful arrangements.
Best Regards,
c m
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