INTERNET STOCK NEWS™
internetstocknews.com
The Premiere Internet Industry Communication Vehicle
March 10, 1999
___________________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
1. ISN Mid-Week Market Update
2. New Featured Company: Topclick International, Inc. (OTC BB: TOCK)
___________________________________________________________________________
1. ISN MID-WEEK MARKET UPDATE
We want to give you a quick update of our views regarding the state of today's market. As the Dow approaches a new high, the number of stocks hitting new lows still outnumbers the number hitting new highs on a consistent basis. In addition the Nasdaq is moving somewhat independently of the Dow Jones and is well off its previous high. The Advance/Decline ratio may be signifying that this is a false movement upwards. Combining this information with the exuberance displayed by today's retail investors who continue to give Internet stocks high valuations and we see that
investors are still overly excited about the stock market. General
technical analysis tells us that it may not be much longer than a few weeks until we see the markets make a true drive for higher ground. We think this recent pullback in the markets may spell future volatility. Instead
of experiencing a sell-off resulting in another bull market period, we may see new highs in the near-term and then a large sell-off later this year. Nevertheless, we do feel that there is a strong outlook for Internet stocks. Our Ones to Watch in 1999 list is now up over 118.62% since January 1st, 1999. Aside from the fact that we may have accurate theories applicable to picking Internet stocks, this percentage increase in the
current correctionary period may be a foreshadowing of how Internet stocks will perform in upcoming Bull markets. As we invest heavily in Internet stocks just like you do, we certainly hope this is the case.
March 3, 1999-At Market Close: Ones to Watch in 1999! UP 118.62% since
January 1, 1999:
ATHM 73 to 122 1/2 UP 67.81%
CMGI 108 to 194 7/16 (388 7/8 Pre-Split) UP 260.07%
DCLK 45 to 109 1/4 UP 142.78%
EGRP 53 to 49 9/16 (99 1/8 Pre-Split) UP 87.03%
FRTI 5 to 7 1/8 UP 42.5%
ONSL 42 to 40 DOWN 4.76%
TMCS 55 to 38 7/16 DOWN 30.11%
SNMM 1 ½ to 7 ½ UP 400%
SPLN 16 to 50 3/8 UP 214.84%
SPYG 17 to 10 1/2 DOWN 38.24%
XCIT 43 to 113 1/4 UP 163.37%
2. NEW FEATURED COMPANY: TOPCLICK INTERNATIONAL, INC. (OTC BB: TOCK)
topclick.com
As Internet business professionals and Internet investors, we have all heard talk about how traditional portal companies such as Yahoo! and Excite will be undercut by more efficient next-generation web search tools and how web content portals are quickly becoming an item of the past. This week, we are proud to profile Topclick International, Inc. (OTC BB: TOCK), an emerging web-based media company that is developing a potential leading next-generation web portal. We will post a profile of Topclick on our web site and also will consider the company for a spot on our Ones to Watch in
1999 list. Please read the Topclick International, Inc. profile as well as our disclaimer below or on our web site.
TOPCLiCK International, Inc. is a web-based media and content company that functions as a one-stop information portal to the Top Ten Internet Guides and to the Top Eight Web Sites by information subject. Providing links to top Internet websites from Yahoo!, Excite, Alta Vista and other prominent Internet portals, the company is able to provide a, easy to use, comprehensive source of information and content (a portal) for Internet users through their Topclick.com Internet site.
While numerous high-profile Internet portals such as Yahoo!, Lycos, Excite, and Infoseek scour the web or their own databases for information about a particular subject, there has yet to emerge a comprehensive Internet tool for searching the entire World Wide Web while still focusing on relevant information and eliminating redundancy. Newer Internet search engine companies such as Dogpile and Metacrawler have programmed their search algorithm to utilize multiple existing search engines. However, the information that results from the compilation of these numerous search engines leaves much to be desired, as the amount of relevant information that is retrieved from these comprehensive searches becomes largely diluted
by tangential and nonspecific links.
By uniquely and strategically compiling their own database of the most relevant links on the Internet as retreived by other prominent search engines and databases including Yahoo!, Excite,Lycos,Infoseek, GoTo.com, Go Network, Ask Jeeves, Dogpile, Northern Light, Looksmart, Snap!, Webcrawler, AOL, Netfind, HotBot, and Alta Vista, Topclick is able to provide its users with relevant, focused information and content from quality sources that currently accounts for over 95% of all search traffic on the Internet.
Organizing a database in a manner similar to David Filo and Jerry Yang did in the early stages of Yahoo!, Topclick's founders have integrated a user-friendly front-end system (graphic interface) as well as a top-notch back-end system (programming) on top of their comprehensive database to allow for easy navigation. Topclick has also vowed to avoid using banner advertising thus allowing users to quickly navigate to the top sites on the World Wide Web without distractions.
The benefits and potential value of Topclick are readily apparent and
easily appreciated, especially for novice Internet users. Their web search tool is extremely accurate, efficient, and user-friendly. The company believes that their web search technology could provide formidable competition with other comprehensive and exhaustive search engines such as Metacrawler and Dogpile. The company will generate revenues through sponsorship advertising, e-commerce links, and the sale of Internet traffic research.
Topclick's business model, in this day and age, reminds us most of Buy.com. If you haven't visited Buy.com (http://www.buy.com ), you should take a look at their website. Buy.com is a privately-held Internet company that sells many items below cost, generating revenues through sponsorships from e-tailers as well as advertisers. While not extremely scalable in terms of profit margins, Buy.com is able to provide Internet users with a one-stop source to buy items quickly and cheaply. Since this is a resource that, to this date, no other Internet company has been able to provide, they may be able to generate a large user base in a relatively short period of time.
As is the case with most web-based content and commerce companies, once they are able to generate a large user base, they can leverage those users into dollars such as Yahoo! does when they, effectively, sell their user-base books from Amazon.com, CD's from CDNow, Gifts & Gadgets from Sharperimage.com, etc. through advertising and commerce links on the Yahoo.com site pages. They then generate revenue commissions from these links.
While still in its early developmental stages, Topclick International has announced plans to scale its infrastructure to a team of 80 marketing, financial, and product development staff, including an office in Northern California. Metacrawler was once a scrappy upstart which used other databases and search engines to provide to users a comprehensive web search tool. Now, Metacrawler, with its sister sites in the Go2Net Network, is worth over $700 million. Topclick (OTC BB: TOCK) has a similar goal to Metacrawler, but plans to focus their site on the more discerning web users. For those interested in searching the web from Top down, check out topclick.com and make it your home page.
Cheers!
-ISN
___________________________________________________________________________
INTERNET STOCK NEWS (ISN)© 1999
___________________________________________________________________________
|
