To: Fli-by who wrote (763 ) 8/3/1999 11:07:00 AM From: Jorjenzak Respond to of 18222
I HATE 'em but does not good to watch what they are doing. I know what they are doing and they will continue as long as they can. I hope Tom sics Shawn and the SEC on them as that is the only way to get their attention and get them to shape up a little. Here is an excerpt I thought was interesting. Thrust of the argument appears to me to be that advertising revenues will not do it for I-net companies, unless you are HUGE, and that those with a plan to profit in other ways off the I-net (ECNC has a way!!!) will be the new leaders to emerge: As the realm of Internet advertising is defined, it is slowly losing its appeal. Only the largest portals have the reach that allows them to charge the necessary dollar amounts to support their business infrastructure. As is the case with all businesses, more and more money is gravitating toward the leaders. The typical scenario on the Internet, however, is that one person comes to market with a fee, only to see a competitor give the same product or service away a few months later. The Internet is still uncharted water. I suspect that at some point, a company like CBS or MSNBC, for example, ties up advertisers to a lucrative television-advertising contract (still the traditional and more effective form of advertising), and includes as a bonus, for free, a significant amount of Web banners. The Internet is still uncharted water; in fact nobody has all the answers, and in the words of a current Internet chief executive, the successful companies can only hope to identify all the right questions. I think the big question that an investor has to ask is, where else is this company going to generate its revenues? If you can't come up with that simple answer, you may want to find a different parking spot for your money.