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To: MaryinRed who wrote (196)	2/18/1999 9:11:00 AM
From: MaryinRed	Respond to of 419

AOL & ICQ info: When AOL bought the instant-messaging product ICQ last year, >ICQ had 16 million users, but no revenues whatsoever. What >was AOL thinking? > >Fred Singer, the AOL-appointed CEO of ICQ Inc., paid a visit >to the Red Herring yesterday. He explained that his >company's new business strategy will be built around one-to- >one marketing. It's the same concept that's propelling Free- >PC: Develop a medium in which you know a lot about your >consumers individually (as opposed to statistically), then >create a system to deliver targeted commerce-based content >straight to their desktops. This strategy makes excellent >sense and casts new light on the potential AOL/ eBay deal >that the Wall Street Journal just reported on. > >As it turns out, a large number of ICQ users have posted >detailed information about their interests and hobbies in >the ICQ "white pages." Whether they want this information >shared with retail businesses is unknown, but clearly, AOL >is betting that they will. > >- Rafe Needleman, Editor > rafe-needleman@redherring.com > > >FURTHER READING >* Do you ICQ? > redherring.com > >* Idealab launches Free-PC.com > redherring.com >