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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill F. who wrote (2506)	3/27/1999 2:14:00 PM
From: Technologyguy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 28311

I think you're absolutely right, Bill. Just because the Internet makes transactions much more efficient for the consumer doesn't necessarily mean that all the companies with Internet-based business models will be successful in becoming efficient, earnings producers. In fact, in some cases, the contrary will be true--because the Internet produces information wealth for consumers, margins for sellers of goods, especially physical, undifferentiated goods (such as books, CDs, videos), will tend to decline. Sure, brand and customer service will continue, just as in the physical world, to be important, but margins may be very low. On the other hand, Internet-based distribution of digital goods and services, especially those in which the company can differentiate itself from the competition, will be a highly efficient, high margin business. That's one reason why I have invested in companies such as GNET, which operates web-sites very efficiently, in a highly automated way, and offers digital goods--entertainment on Playsite, stock info on SI and Stocksite, Internet searches on Metacrawler. How to value such a property is, of course, highly problematical, but I trust GNET's model of how to use the Internet to make money much more than I trust the model of a company such as CDNow, or even Amazon.