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To: jerryriti who wrote (10752)	11/20/1999 11:49:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 54805

jerry, would you consider [the guides in Circuit City's ads for TVs] to be indicative of yet another aspect of lining up the pins (market penetration phase) or the very beginning of the tornado? I learned from reading Inside the Tornado that management of companies selling consumer products that have crossed the chasm should not use bowling alley tactics to grow their company. Instead, they should use tornado-based tactics. I won't take the time to discuss the reasons that are evident after reading the book, but it's important to realize that Gemstar is covering every possible base to get their product adopted rather than going after niches (bowling pins). The most important ramification for me about the advertisements is that this is the first time I've seen a print ad that shows what an electronic guide looks like onscreen. Previous to this ad I've only seen the guides referenced in the text. This tells me that both the retailer and the television manufacturer (in this case, Circuit City and Thomson, respectively) clearly feel that prominently advertising the electronic guide as a feature of the television helps sell the television. I'm not sure how strong the implications are regarding the start of a tornado, but it's can't possibly be bad news. Is there an assumption that GMST can achieve gorilla status prior to adoption of IPG? If you differentiate as I do between EPGs and IPGs, I think the answer is a resounding "Yes." If you don't make that distinction, I think the answer is a resounding "No." However, the dramatically increased revenues and margins will come from most everything associated with the IPGs, not the EPGs. --Mike Buckley