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

To: SHGLaw who wrote (6389)	6/6/1998 10:17:00 AM
From: cm	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9343

Law, Good Questions... Not-So-Answers JMHO, but I think Motro's done pretty well for his first year, all things considered. He had to clear out some folks who weren't gonna get with the program. He had to build a war chest vis a vis the SPO. A war chest that has been barely dented throughout the course of this year. We certainly are QUIET right now. The BIG DEAL was what Motro TURNED DOWN... the NSCP alliance. It is the NSCP Alliance, right now, more than anything else which has given XCIT a (temporary) sheen... after shaving about several points while the Market sorted it out. XCIT jumps... last year... this year. SEEK plods... we get a GREAT DEAL on WBS... etc. What does SEEK bring to the portal war? I think TECHNOLOGY counts... it still can be a differentiator. Newbies want the most reliable search experience as they start their trek across the Web. There is a synergy that exists (and could be increased) between SEEK's main index/engine and their server products and their eventual client offerings. Aptex Software's "profiling" technology as used by SEEK remains A HUGE ADVANTAGE to one of SEEK's key constituencies: advertisers who want the best results. Others are making strides in this direction. But, as the May Wired pointed out, SEEK's already there... doing it. Finally, let's say over the course of this year, SEEK's server product becomes 20% of overall revenues... at that point, I start taking very serious notice of its contribution. Finally, SEEK's distributed search capabilities will make their SERVER product--and main engine--even more valuable with time. But, technology ALONE? No. Not nearly enough. We need deals, alliances, etc. DT was greeted with a yawn by the Street for a variety of reasons: lots of folks Street-side don't know thing one about DT or the German online market. And, porn indictments aside, the potential (actually, reality) is awesome. The Street also yawned because it was an MOU... not a contract. And, so, I hear, it sits. The contract will be THE DEAL. DT wants a presence over here. SEEK wants a presence over there. There have got to be discussions about equity participation, etc. Additionally, thanks to Tom's first and Terri's later post, we know that SEEK has something cooking in Japan. And, "eyeballs" being the currency here, it's obvious that when SEEK FINALLY opens its revamped Personal Finance page... this will be a big boost in the eyeballs game. But, Law, this, with the exception of technological advantages, is ALL me-too-stuff. (I don't see DT in these terms... but right now I don't see any details... so I'm cautious on that score). Me-too isn't a bad game to play... especially when you have holes in your own offering that need to be shored up or positioned around. But, YHOO really sets the pace and tone here. It's hard to find a chink in Yahoo's armor. I don't think there is one. Sure, for search, they suck. But, as a DIRECTORY, they're strong. As a community, they're growing. And as a MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS JUGGERNAUT... they're undeniable. However, it should be noted that this peaceful room is the product of a stock that's lost half its value and a news trough between earnings that tend to be the drivers. And all of that peace could go away very quickly WITH JUST ONE SIGNIFICANT ANNOUNCEMENT. Or TWO. I don't feel we're that far out of the game. And I DO feel we've made some remarkable progress in this past year. In the meantime, by my count at least, about--what?-- $40 million--sits in a money market soaking up interest. If this sounds like raw (or even cooked) boosterism, my apologies... Best Regards, c m