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Technology Stocks : INFOSEEK (GO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eddie Kim who wrote (6272)	5/28/1998 10:08:00 PM
From: cm	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9343

Eddie, Others Should Answer This... But... Yes, Yahoo! is way ahead. I just recently read MediaMetrix's new way of measuring site drawing and holding power: minutes spent by site visitors. And Yahoo! is way up there... I suspect because of investor message boards... or at least partly due to that. Interestingly enough, an auction site, www.ebay.com, was in the top five in terms of minutes spent. You are absolutely right to worry a little bit about advertising saturation. But, the numbers show us that most major brands are not committing nearly the dollars yet to their online ad budgets in comparison to off-line efforts. There is TREMENDOUS upside here. Further, SEEK and the others benefit from revenue-sharing arrangements and transaction participation arrangements with various of their advertisers. This is "model" for compensation is of growing importance... as the Web starts proving itself even more as THE DIRECT MARKETING vehicle going forward. Again, SEEK's nearly unique ability to profile site visitors and target them for appropriate advertising is, again, a terrific advantage here. Right now, XCIT and SEEK and LCOS are doing a lot of the same things. They are shoring up their content offerings, e.g. SEEK's move into online games this week through an arrangement with TEN, a premier gaming network. They are trying to establish or purchase communities. XCIT, through its purchase of MatchLogic, is trying to get better at targeting Web surfers who have shown a greater willingness to purchase online, etc... or are willing to opt-in to targeted e-mail lists. This me-too-ism, though made fun of by "analysts," is a pretty typical development in the infancy or adolescence of a new industry. But, right below the surface of me-too-ism, you can discover the characteristics and capabilities that will start differentiating these new mass media outlets. I think SEEK will compete in a manner that is backwards-compatible with its beginnings, i.e., Kirsch and his crew will continue to refine THEIR SEARCH PRODUCTS and, IMHO, re-define the search process... resulting in faster and better results. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION is in SEEK's history and its future. Further, the site will over time become more of a platform for multimedia content... as we move forward to the eventual PC/TV convergence. Again, SEEK's strong technological capabilities, I think will help it build an effective infrastructure for such offerings. Again, I guess, one could claim that XCIT, too, has strong technological capabilities... but, to my knowledge, they don't have anyone of Kirsch's caliber to expand their horizons and re-imagine search. But, technology isn't good enough... unfortunately. Alliances are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. And from what I have learned of Motro, it is in the alliance area that he is extremely strong. He is seen as a PLAYER by other PLAYERS. And his Time Warner background may be valuable somewhere down the road. (It was rumored that Time Warner offered $35 a share late last year for SEEK.) Additionally, the CEO of WBS, has a very strong mergers & acquisitions background that could prove useful over time. Further, what with the Gateway announcement today, I would not be greatly surprised to see SEEK & DELL do a deal whereby SEEK buys the internet access button on DELL's keyboards. SEEK & DELL have enjoyed a pretty strong marketing relationship for a while. I find this possibility very intriguing. But, you must know, I'm not counting on it. I'll leave the rest of the answers to other folks... because I'd like to hear what they have to say. Best Regards And I Share Your Uncertainty About The Market Right Now, c m