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To: Ralph Bergmann who wrote (2127)	4/6/1999 11:08:00 AM
From: lml	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4298

Internet stock will "correct" when the analysts who value these stocks start to look beyond their noses. Their valuations are based upon historic Q-to-Q & year-to-year growth in revenues, but do not consider, IMHO, the reality of the e-commerce model -- that competition WILL exist & that ultimately revenue growth will falter, & in some situations stop altogether & drop as the market consolidates. In other words, IMHO, a lot of projections assume that each portal out there is going to grab 15, 20, or 30% of the market. And with a plethora of portal companies out there today, & more to come, obviously, its just not plausible for all these companies to actually succeed. This reminds me of that old Mel Brooks film, "The Producers" whereby the Zero Mostel, in an effort to raise cash, went about NYC soliciting investment from old ladies in a Broadway show that he knew would be a flop. He sold 50% to this one, 40% to that one, 50% to another, 30% to another. You get the picture. The only thing he didn't expect was the show to be a success. Similarly, these companies will enjoy success, though short-lived. Their stock will rise enable them to fund future growth, & survive long enough to COMPETE in a more mature, non-nascent market. Payday will eventually come, but when still irks me. JMO.

To: Ralph Bergmann who wrote (2127)	4/6/1999 11:19:00 AM
From: Mark Palmberg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4298

Internet stocks will fall when it becomes obvious that advertising on the internet is of no value. Most internet stocks derive their income from ads. When it is clear the ads on the internet are of little value then the whole potential income source is gone. Wait until studies will show that, I am convinced that this will be found out. E.g it is well known that advertisement in football stadions is of no value because people really doesn't see it. Oh, Ralph. I'd love to see any evidence you can find to support your assertions here. I'll agree that advertising, in and of itself, is of no value. To say that an average company would do just as well without advertising, however, is a premise I can't accept. Good luck to you. Mark

To: Ralph Bergmann who wrote (2127)	4/6/1999 5:22:00 PM
From: opalapril	Respond to of 4298

<<Internet stocks will fall when it becomes obvious that advertising on the internet is of no value>> I mostly agree. The great bulk of Internet sales have, do, and will come from purchasers driven by foreknowledge of an already-desired product or service who specifically went looking for it on the internet. In many instances, their foreknowledge and product desires came from the usual suspects: TV, radio, print, and word of mouth. It is a mistake to confuse the success of Amazon.com with supposed success of net advertising. Most users "heard" about AMZN somewhere other than a 'Net ad and then went surfing for it by name to buy a book. The joker in the deck, however, is how long search engines and WWW guides will remain useful finders for a predetermined consumable. The day is nearly upon us when an AMZN or EBAY or Mom 'N Pop Flowers will be unable to get their url listed anywhere without paying a fee. The technology is here and some prominent engines are doing this already. Kind of like the yellow pages, only worse: in cyberspace there may be no white or gray pages left and you can't just drive by along the street and see a new site. Without reliable, honest, FREE search engines everything else will be as good as in blackout. Only those who pay will get listed.