Interesting insight about that with GNET's SEC 242b a couple days ago---
they need the advertisement to compete:
I wouldn't mind pushing ad buttons to make GNET viable even in SI.
Wish mngmt would just come out and say we need to do this (beta SI)
for our competitive level and shareholder value.
(then give us paying members a few shares for the trouble of
helping along a good company--<gggg>)
For SI, I think the paying members are small in number compared
to the overall viewing community.
However they probably use it extensively and are in a position to
be shown more ad banners or buttons at least while eyeballs are
still counted and more relevant than real revenue from ads obtained
by that advertiser. (something i dont know too much about--stop me
when i get stupid)
As far as between old and new - this is their site and its America
and if the new one(SI) is so bad to have to change- there will be probably
some enterprising people who realized the story of this site could
be done again.
beta.siliconinvestor.com
MARKET CONSOLIDATION IS CREATING MORE FORMIDABLE COMPETITORS.
In the recent past, there have been a number of significant
acquisitions and strategic plans announced among and between many of our
competitors, including:
o The Walt Disney Company acquiring a significant interest in
Infoseek; o AOL acquiring Netscape;
7
o Yahoo! Acquiring GeoCities Corporation and Broadcast.com;
o @Home Networks, a provider of high speed internet access
serving the cable television infrastructure and the largest
stockholder of which is AT&T, acquiring Excite;
o NBC announcing that it intends to merge its Internet assets
with XOOM.com, Inc. and Snap.com, a subsidiary of
CNET; and
o CMGI, Inc. announcing its acquisition of AltaVista from
Compaq.
The effect of these completed and pending acquisitions and strategic plans
on Go2Net cannot be predicted with certainty, but all of these competitors are
aligned with companies that are significantly larger or more well established
than Go2Net. In particular, many of them are television broadcasters having
substantial marketing resources and capabilities to assist our competitors. As a
result, each of them will have access to significantly greater financial,
marketing and, in some cases, technical resources than Go2Net.
RECENT ALLIANCES MAY MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO ACCESS OUR PRODUCTS AND MEDIA
PROPERTIES.
The recent acquisitions and alliances discussed above will result in
greater competition as more users of the Internet consolidate on fewer services
that incorporate search and retrieval features. In addition, providers of
software and other Internet products and services are incorporating search and
retrieval features into their offerings. For example, Web browsers offered by
Netscape and Microsoft increasingly incorporate prominent search buttons that
direct search traffic to competing services. These features could make it more
difficult for Internet users to find and use our products and services. Netscape
has an agreement with Excite under which Excite is the most prominent
navigational service within the Netcenter website. In the future, Netscape,
Microsoft and other browser suppliers may also more tightly integrate products
and services similar to ours into their browsers or their browsers' pre-set home
pages. Any of these companies could take actions that would make it more
difficult for consumers to find and use Go2Net services. Microsoft recently
announced that it will feature and promote Internet search services provided by
Alta Vista and signed a long term partnership with LookSmart to provide
directory services in the Microsoft Network and other Microsoft online
properties. Such search services may be tightly integrated into future versions
of the Microsoft operating system, the Internet Explorer browser, and other
software applications, and Microsoft may promote such services within the
Microsoft Network or through other Microsoft affiliated end-user services such
as MSNBC or WebTV Networks. Each of these situations creates a potential
competitive advantage over ours because their Internet navigational offerings
may be more conveniently accessed by users.
OUR COMPETITORS HAVE GREATER RESOURCES THAN WE DO
Many, if not all, of our competitors have significantly greater resources
than we do. In particular, our competitors have greater financial, editorial,
technical and marketing resources, longer operating histories, greater name
recognition, and greater experience than we do. Additionally, our competitors
have established relationships with more advertisers and advertising agencies.
And they are able to undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more
aggressive advertising and subscription price policies and devote substantially
more resources to developing Internet-based products and services than we are.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully against
current or future competitors or that competitive pressures faced by us will not
materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating
results.
INCREASED COMPETITION MAY EXERT DOWNWARD PRICING PRESSURE ON ADVERTISING
CONTRACTS.
We compete with online services, other website operators and advertising
networks, as well as traditional offline media such as television, radio and
print for a share of advertisers' total advertising budgets. We believe that the
number of companies selling Web-based advertising and the available inventory of
advertising space has recently increased substantially. Accordingly, we may face
increased pricing pressure for the sale of advertisements, which could reduce
our advertising revenues. In addition, our sales may be adversely affected to
the extent that our competitors offer superior advertising services that better
target users or provide better reporting of advertising results.
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WE MUST DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A "BRAND IDENTITY" FOR OUR PRODUCTS
We believe that maintaining and building the Go2Net brand is a critical
aspect of our efforts to attract an Internet audience. In addition, we believe
that the importance of brand recognition will increase due to the anticipated
increase in the number of Internet sites and the relatively low barriers to
entry to providing Internet-based products and services. Promoting the Go2Net
brand name will depend on our continued ability to develop and deliver original
and compelling Internet- based products and services. If Internet users do not
continue to perceive our Internet sites to be of sufficient interest and
usefulness, we will be unsuccessful in promoting and maintaining our brand. If
we expand the focus of our operations beyond providing our current Internet
sites, we risk diluting our brand, confusing users and advertisers, and
decreasing the attractiveness of our audience to advertisers. In order to
respond to competitive pressures, we may find it necessary to increase our
budget for developing our products and services or otherwise to increase
substantially our financial commitment to creating and maintaining a distinct
brand loyalty among users. If we are unable to provide Internet-based products
and services or otherwise fail to promote and maintain the Go2Net brand, or we
incur significant expenses in an attempt to improve our products and services or
promote and maintain our brand, our business, financial condition and operating
results will be adversely affected. |
