That call to Netscape really doesn't tell us much.
It *does* confirm that Zulu has some sort of relationship with Netscape, selling ad space on their site. I don't think this was ever disputed, though. In fact, Netscape commented (somewhat disfavorably) in one of the Wired articles, and that comment did indicate that they had a relationship.
But the caller approached Netscape asking them if they should deal with Zulu. They didn't approach them "cold" saying that they wanted to buy ad space, and asking how to do that.
If you called a computer manufacturer, and asked them to confirm that Computer City was a dealer, and asked them if you should be dealing with Computer City or should deal with the manufacturer directly, what would you expect them to say? They'd have to protect their dealer, or they wouldn't have dealers for very long.
So, the question remains: what percentage of Netscape's web space does ZULU sell? The call didn't answer that question, nor has anything else I've seen here.
I'd suggest various people calling Netscape, representing companies of various sizes, ad agencies, etc. (will obviously require some connections to do this), and wanting to place ads on various parts of Netscape's site, and see how Netscape replies in each case. |
