Fool's take on NFLX

to buy or not?

start investing at a young age

fool.com

Satellite Radio - projections

SIRI versus XM

MSFT takes stab at online music

Deja vu?

Invest in what you know

Off fool.com

TV viewers harder to reach than ever

With Ads Easier to Dodge, Companies Eye New Ways to Get Out the Message Naomi Aoki, 08.30.04, 11:10 AM ET BOSTON --

It's a brave new world for advertisers. With digital recorders like TiVo, video-on-demand services from cable providers, and the nation's biggest cable company, Comcast, introducing cable boxes with built-in TiVo-style recorders, people can watch whatever they want whenever they want, gleefully fast-forwarding through every commercial break. Already struggling to capture people's attention, advertisers are placing commercial messages on human foreheads, sidewalks, scoreboards, subway tunnels, and construction scaffolding. They're paying to insert their products into television shows, movies, even video games.

What's next? The Globe asked advertising executives for their predictions. Here are excerpts: Steve Moynihan, executive vice president of ad firm MPG's Boston office: Clearly, the consumer is in control. As marketers, we have to market to them in ways they want. We've got to make our messages interesting and compelling so people don't zap through them. You'll still see TV ads.

There's no other medium out there that lets you reach as many people at once as quickly. But you'll see advertising on a variety of platforms rather than just on TV. The trick is to find places where consumers are receptive to marketing. In the subway, for example, people stare at their feet to avoid staring at other people. You put a TV-style ad in a tunnel, you're giving them an alternative that's better than the status quo. Allie Savarino, senior vice president, Unicast Communications Corp., an online advertising firm: Online advertising is an increasing part of the mix. People are on computers at work, at home, so it's a great way to reach an audience.

Advertisers can now run TV-type spots online. How do you make someone watch them? The same way you make sure someone won't switch away from a TV ad: Good Creativity and relevance. Honda is running an ad online right now that shows a full-screen video and next to it options for finding a dealer, getting a close-up of the inside of the car, getting more information. It's on ESPN.com, and pops up as people flip from one page to another. Eventually, I expect online advertising to become more of the constant ad message supported by product placement in movies, sponsorships, and other types of ads. Marc Gallucci, president of Boston marketing firm Fort Franklin: Branded entertainment started with soap operas back in the 1950s. Laundry detergent companies created dramatic shows for a specific audience -- women who were at home doing laundry. The idea is to make people seek out the advertiser, not to intrude on their space anymore.

The only way to do that is by developing quality entertainment that is wrapped around the brand. Think about the movie "Cast Away" with Tom Hanks. FedEx paid to be in that movie -- it was a FedEx plane that went down; the beach was littered with FedEx boxes. It was clumsily written into the story. But Wilson -- the ball -- was perfectly written in. Ironically, the sporting goods company didn't have anything to do with it. Wilson became a character, and you actually felt something for a ball.

The problem is that there are too many delivery devices for mediocre content. We don't need more places to put ads. People are tired of being interrupted and invaded.

Steve Mooney, general manager of Jack Morton Worldwide in Boston, the event-marketing firm that is helping Greece orchestrate the Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies: Nobody is saying TV advertising is dead. But CEOs want to add other dimensions to the mix. They want face-to-face interactions with customers. That means inviting people to events to raise money for causes that are meaningful to your customers, sponsoring concerts, after-school programs, and community events, and driving people to websites with promotions. People are receptive to it as long as it's relevant. If it's not, they'll just walk by. Messages are brought to where people work, live, and play. But the future isn't advertising everywhere all the time. You can kill a consumer with commercial messages. Tom Simons, president and creative director, Boston advertising agency Partners + Simons: I don't think we'll see a rush to sidewalk drawings, forehead ads, and posters plastered everywhere, because that's an unwanted kind of pollution.

We'll see advertisers gravitate towardprograms with more immediacy like news and sports that are less likely to be TiVo'd. We'll see more product placement. But I'm increasingly interested in alternatives where people already have control, like the Internet, in creating ads that look like TV spots in hopes that something magic will take place and people will pass it on to their friends. Terry Clarke, chairman and founder, Boston ad firm Clarke Goward: There's always going to be bad advertising. There will always be new places to put ads. But people learn to tune it out. You've got to become known for good advertising, like the Super Bowl, so people tune in to watch. Advertisers have to stop shying away from doing something good or risky. Naomi Aoki can be reached at naoki@globe.com. Editor Notes:(For use by New York Times News Service clients) New York Times Syndicate c.2004 The Boston Globe

Akimbo

Startup Launching Web-To-TV Video ServiceMonday August 30, 8:01 am ET By May Wong, AP Technology Writer

Startup Akimbo Systems to Launch Internet Video-On-Demand Service for Television Sets

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) -- The promise of Internet-based video has long been hamstrung by copyright and piracy worries, slow dial-up connections, technical challenges and consumer disdain for watching blotchy videos on their home computers. But a Silicon Valley startup is tackling those obstacles, hoping to become the first major provider of cinema straight from the Internet to the living room boob tube.

"Twenty years from now, everyone's going to be getting all their video mostly from the Internet," says Steve Shannon, founder of Akimbo Systems Inc. "You see it happening with music. You see it happening with phone service. Video is next."

With new video and copy-protection technologies, and the rapid expansion of high-speed broadband connections, the time may be ripe. Akimbo hopes to tap the vast vault of programming floating on the Internet, repackage it in DVD-quality, and bring it to a set-top box so viewers can easily choose what they want to watch from their sofa -- not from their desktop.
The San Mateo-based startup, which delayed its launch date from the summer to October after it hit technical snags, appears poised to be the first to deliver an Internet-to-TV video-on-demand service. Akimbo is targeting an audience that craves more than the programming on conventional TV and cable networks.

But it's unclear whether even the most dedicated video junkies will be willing to buy another set-top box and pay an additional monthly subscription fee. Akimbo also faces steep competition from larger rivals in the potentially lucrative market.

SBC Communications Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. have teamed up to launch an online movie-on-demand service next year. Digital video recording pioneer TiVo Inc. is also working on a product that will connect Web content to the TV screen.

Video content piped into homes through the Internet does not face the spectrum constraints of broadcast television. Expanding the video catalog -- "scalability" in industry jargon -- is relatively easy by adding more computer servers for storage.

The typical cost of transporting video data over the Internet has dropped from $30 per gigabyte in 2001 to less than $1 per gigabyte today, said Shannon, a former marketing executive at ReplayTV, another pioneer in digital video recording.

"It'll be the nirvana of video on demand," Shannon said. "And the only architecture that can bring that is the Internet."

But will consumers, many of whom already have tall stacks of electronic boxes by their TVs, open their wallets? Akimbo subscribers must first buy a $229 Akimbo Player set-top box, then pay a basic monthly service fee of $10.

"You're competing against a lot of consumer electronic gadgets out there and many consumers are paying almost triple-digit monthly fees for video entertainment, so how much more are consumers going to pay for entertainment in the living room?" asked Sean Badding, an industry analyst at The Carmel Group market research firm.

The company may charge more for premium services, and some shows will carry a pay-per-download fee -- as much as $5 for rare films, or $1 to $2 for a kid's show, Shannon said.
"If you give people content that they're passionate about and that they can't get anywhere else, they'll be willing to pay for it," said Josh Goldman, Akimbo's chief executive.

Programming that users select will be downloaded via a broadband Internet connection onto the Akimbo Player's 80-gigabyte hard drive, which Akimbo says will hold about 200 hours of video. But instant gratification doesn't apply: Download time roughly equals the length of the video, and the download must finish before viewing starts.

Copy-protection mechanisms in the Microsoft Windows Media 9 video format should prevent users from being able to copy shows or play them on PCs or other devices.
At launch, Akimbo promises to have a library of more than 20,000 hours of video from 50 content providers, including independent films and shorts from iFilms and AmazeFilms; foreign language shows from the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East; and a smorgasbord of specialty sports events ranging from boxing to sailboarding.

Adult-oriented entertainment, including Canada's Naked News and Danni's Hard Drive, a sexually explicit Web site, will be available. Parental controls will be included to limit children's access to selected content.

The plan is to offer mainstream content later. Analysts say Akimbo is shrewd to begin with relatively esoteric programming not yet available on cable or major networks.
"That's their competitive edge," Badding said. "They don't want to go head-on right now with cable operators with mainstream content because then they'll be dead."

Some venture capitalists believe the market is ready. Akimbo, which announced its service in February after 1 1/2 years of secret development, recently scored a second round of funding of $12 million, led by the powerful venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Although Hollywood is warming to Internet-based video, offerings such as CinemaNow,
MovieLink or Starz Encore are limited.

Without a product like Akimbo's, video on the Internet can be streamed from a computer to a television. But consumers must have either a PC near the TV or some kind of media adapter and a home computer network -- not to mention technical know-how, drastically reducing the potential number of users.

CinemaNow, an Internet video-on-demand service eager for a new source of customers, will provide its content on Akimbo's service. Only 10 percent to 20 percent of CinemaNow's users go through the trouble of linking their computer network and televisions, said Bruce Eisen, CinemaNow's executive vice president.

"It's not easy to marry the TV with a PC," Eisen said, "but Akimbo takes content off the Internet and puts it on the TV in an easy-to-use fashion."

Severance

N. American execs want severance deal before startingMonday August 30, 1:17 pm ET By Anupama Chandrasekaran

NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - More and more North American executives who are weighing job offers want to know what they would get if the company they join eventually decides to let them go.

Along with such compensation as salary, bonus and stock options, high-level managers are negotiating their severance even before the ink on their employment agreements is dry.
In good times, companies were happy to offer contracts that paid executives through the end of a guaranteed period even if they were kicked out before then. But with cost-cutting still a priority, fewer companies offer such deals, which means executives have far less job protection.
Besides, many executives have learned from the spate of corporate scandals in recent years that their jobs could be in jeopardy if those above them get driven out over an accounting blowup.

"Companies are saying that 'we can hire and fire at will' and a lot of companies are not offering employment agreements (for a guaranteed term)," said Dan Moynihan, a consultant at Compensation Resources Inc. in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. "So the next best alternative is to get a negotiated, upfront, going-away present."

For the company, such an arrangement is still cheaper than a long-term contract, he said.
Many job candidates are following the advice of employment lawyers, who recommend discussing a severance package with the future employer before taking a position there.
During the hiring process, both sides feel very positively about each other, said Ken Suddleson, an employment lawyer in the Los Angeles office of law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP.
"When people are leaving, those feelings have changed, often dramatically," he said, "and it is extremely difficult under those circumstances to negotiate a severance."

But corporate watchdogs complain that such deals could sometimes harm shareholder interests as companies pay millions in severance.

"There should be some employment protection if people lose their jobs for no fault of their own, whether that is because of a merger or through the appointment of a new CEO, but one year's salary is the maximum that should be paid in any of the situations instead of three years' salary and bonus," said Paul Hodgson, a researcher with Portland, Maine-based Corporate Library, which provides corporate governance data.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Moynihan of Compensation Resources said he recently helped negotiate a severance package for a client who was offered a management position at General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - News). The executive demanded the equivalent of one year's salary plus continued benefits, and the conglomerate approved it.

One reason executives are asking for severance at the employment interview stage is that managers below the top tier face an increasing risk of getting fired because of a financial scandal.
Earlier this year, Nortel Networks Corp. (Toronto:NT.TO - News; NYSE:NT - News), North America's largest maker of telecom equipment, fired its chief executive, chief financial officer and controller because of accounting problems. More recently, it terminated seven other individuals involved in financial reporting.

Scandals aside, job-hunting executives also are concerned that the CEO who hires them may not always be there.

Often the team brought in by a departing chief executive is "at the mercy of the new leadership," said Rick Junius, executive vice president at outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison's Los Angeles office. As a result, many executives are asking for some kind of severance deal upfront.

Compensation consultants are also fueling the trend by spreading the word about what a corporation -- say, Company A -- is offering its executives, said Rakesh Khurana, who teaches organizational behavior at Harvard Business School.

"Company B's executives ask 'Why aren't we getting the same deal?'" Khurana said. "Executive recruiters say this is the new norm and this is the new standard."

Craigslist / eBay details

eBay's Craiglist Deal Classified As A Horror StoryBy Ross Fadner Staff WriterFriday, August 27, 2004

On Friday, Aug. 13, eBay announced the purchase of a 25 percent stake in closely-held online classifieds giant Craigslist, from an unidentified former employee for an undisclosed amount. While eBay's intentions for striking the deal remain murky, the news left media publishers with classifieds businesses feeling apprehensive, to say the least.

According to the Classified Intelligence Report (CIR), "Craigslist-eBay Deal 'a Learning Experience,' Unnerves Newspapers," one online publishing industry newsletter drew an analogy between the eBay deal and "Friday The 13th" killer Jason Vorhees of the horror-movie series.
"Like a certain hockey-masked stalker from Camp Crystal Lake," the newsletter said, "Craigslist threatens to slice into newspapers' employment and real estate advertising strongholds. Add the huge promotional power of Meg Whitman and her team and this is one horror flick you don't want to see."

Craigslist, for those living in a hole or abroad, is an online local classifieds marketplace that-to the chagrin of online publishers that sell classifieds-offers free postings and transactions, but with one caveat: it charges for job postings in San Francisco (and only recently) New York City and Los Angeles. It operates 45 city or regional Web sites, all of which have been developed primarily through word-of-mouth, as Craigslist does not advertise. The company reports more than a billion monthly page views, and 5 million unique visitors.

When asked if he understood how newspapers feel threatened by Craigslist, site founder Craig Newmark told the CIR, "I know they're worried about us; I wouldn't say threatened. If they're worried about us, they're worried about the wrong thing." Newmark later added that he would like to place Craigslist "everywhere on the planetary surface," a feat that most local newspaper publishers would surely rather not see happen in their lifetime.

"Really and truly, [Craig] is right," noted Peter Zollman, founder and principal of CI. "Craigslist is not the threat; it's a symptom or a reaction to the threat," which he noted is the fact that younger readers are using different media, and newspapers continue to suffer from declining readership and circulation, not to mention several recent high-profile circulation scandals involving major publishers. "Newspapers have lost their role as the marketplace [for classifieds]," Zollman added. "Craigslist is the new marketplace."

Zollman said that to compete with compelling consumer services like Craigslist, newspapers need to become the most potent local resources they can be. This means having a substantial Web presence, and while very few have no online presence, he said that many are following poor strategies, such as locking out non-paying subscribers from their classifieds sections.
In the United States, classifieds represent a 40 to 45 percent of a newspaper's advertising revenue, according to CIR, making it a $15.8 billion business at U.S. daily newspapers alone, with an added $28 to $30 million coming from other classified providers such as weeklies, trade publications, and dot-coms.

Because Craigslist is a closely-held private enterprise, it's anybody's guess as to what eBay had to pay for its quarter stake in the company. The CIRreports that Wall Street analysts have estimated the selling price at anywhere between $4 and $25 million; CI's estimate is between $10 and $12 million, which would value Craigslist at upwards of $50 million. Its annual revenue is estimated between $7 and $12 million; CI guessed $7 million for 2003, and $9.5 million for 2004.

According to eBay spokesman Hani Durzy, the company bought the minority investment in Craigslist to learn more about online classifieds and how to reach local markets. We're learning more about the classifieds market... what these are, what it is that makes them tick," Durzy told theCIR.

Zollman believes that in the short-term, eBay's involvement in Craigslist will be minimal. In the mid-term, he said he expects eBay to aid the classifieds provider in its expansion efforts, eliminating the scams that permeate the service, and implementing new technologies. Zollman doesn't expect eBay to fund promotional efforts, at least in the near future.

America to Invade Canada Soon

who you calling Idiot?

Donald U?

Wow, where you can learn how to drive your business into the ground but hype up yourself.

Donald's American Dream

50,000 beers on the wall...

Damn

buy car, get one free...

hey, i like nissan's...

artists turn to web

there goes one business idea

Does this mean I can retire and collect GOOG checks?

google to run adsense on blogs...

robust ad sales online

the growth continues

So long land lines, welcome...

mobile and Web.

Teens and cell phones

So much to the dealer stigma

next google?

where u at?

Media Mogul Davis warns retailers

Too little, too late?

Bezos celebrated offline

Literary award

Four Ways Google Failed

From Slate.com

Another Monday, Another Young Pro

steps to success

Google's one finger salute to Wall Street

On Forbes

Oil bubble: about to burst, or boil further?

Again, great article on Smartmoney.com

Branding's Back

note to self

blog nation

i blog, you blog, he blogs

growth areas for google

It currently boats a P/E second only to YHOO

online music

Like Crack I guess, once you're hooked, it's all over.

Oil Bubble

Now that is a bubble I would love to see bursting

Olympic Propaganda

A New Low For Herr Bush

Retiring GOP congressman states truth

Iraq war was a costly mistake.

Google's investors - a tale of 3 classes

Very interesting breakdown (and potential repercussions for the bullishness they have on the new price) of Google's investors plans to sell shares in the IPO.

Beauty & the Beast - soccer players and their other half's

Hilarious

Russia vs. USA

Mach II

The "Dick" Intervenes

Move over Donald, Dick is in town.

War is a waste

file under "no shit sherlock"

Investment banks hiring in europe

Beyond M&A and IPOs

Exactly Who is in Charge in the US?

Pentagon backs off halliburton threat

Google grounded

google's IPO comes back down to earh

Of Beers and Bears

Branding counts!

best places to live

according to forbes

Popups, spyware and blocking

Good pt re: banking.

Email victim of own success

No shit sherlock

Russia replaces Nukes with Nature

Oil, that is.

Investing in Fine Art

One day...

TiVo ripe for Apple takeover?

At $300 million, not a bad idea...

Forget the Price to Sales ratio in this one, at 625,000 clients, that would be $480 per client, not too bad at all.

oil, oil, oil

very good article

Spyware

good info

Olympic-sized Oppression

Better leave the Pepsi and Whopper at home.

10-year anniversary of e-commerce

Industry Luminaries to Celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of E-CommerceThursday August 12, 4:01 pm ET

CNET and VeriSign Host Industry Event to Look Back on the Last Ten Years of E-Commerce and Forward to the Future of the Internet

SAN FRANCISCO and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In honor of the 10th anniversary of the first e-commerce transaction, CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNET - News) and VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN - News), announced they will lead an industry-wide celebration of ten years of e-commerce on October 14, 2004. The celebration will feature a panel discussion among top executives from companies that helped foster the exponential growth of e-commerce over the past decade.

"Ten years ago, the first transaction occurred over what was a fledgling new medium," said Shelby Bonnie, CEO of CNET Networks. "And while the progress the industry has made in the ensuing years is extraordinary, there is still much more to come as e-commerce develops into a major underpinning of the global economy."

The panel, to be moderated by Dan Farber, vice president of editorial, ZDNet, will discuss how the past ten years of e-commerce have revolutionized the business world and changed the way consumers and enterprises interact. Panelists will draw upon their extensive e-commerce experience to predict what the future holds for the Internet, and address challenges such as phishing, fraud and cybersecurity.

"VeriSign and CNET Networks are bringing together the technology community to celebrate what has become an essential element of commerce and communication: The Internet," said Stratton Sclavos, CEO, VeriSign. "As the company that helped secure some of the first online transactions, VeriSign can fully appreciate how far the industry has come in the past 10 years, and we look forward to joining with others in the industry to discuss the challenges we will all face in the coming decades."

The full line-up of panelists, which will include, among others, Shelby Bonnie, chairman and CEO, CNET Networks and Stratton Sclavos, CEO, VeriSign, will be announced at a later date.

About CNET Networks, Inc.
CNET Networks, Inc. (www.cnetnetworks.com) is a premier global interactive content company that informs, entertains, and connects large, engaged audiences around topics of high information need and personal passion. The company focuses on three categories -- personal technology, games and entertainment, and business technology -- and includes such leading brands as CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, MP3.com, GameSpot, CNET Download.com, CNET News.com, Computer Shopper magazine, and CNET Channel. With a strong presence in the US, Asia and Europe, CNET Networks has operations in 12 countries.

About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. delivers intelligent infrastructure services that make the Internet and telecommunications networks more reliable and secure. Every day VeriSign helps thousands of businesses and millions of consumers conduct commerce and communications with confidence. Additional news and information about the company is available at http://www.verisign.com/ .

Cindy Loves Jenna

August 13, 2004 -- PORN queen Jenna Jameson tattles on all the horny celebrities she claims have hit on her in her new book Â- including Cindy Crawford. In "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star" (ReganBooks), Jameson recounts her encounter with the supermodel, whom she met while Jameson was doing a guest-hosting stint on the E! channel. "I kept getting a weird vibe from her," writes Jameson, an avowed bisexual who's had sex with hundreds of women. "I knew what it meant, because I'd experienced it so many times before, but I kept dismissing it. It couldn't be true: she was Cindy Crawford, after all." The X-rated icon continues: "When I turned my back . . . Cindy reachedover and rubbed the back of my neck. 'Ooh,' she cooed. 'Look at your beautiful tattoo!' "She touched my neck so softly and sensually . . . It was too much. Shewas so larger than life that I couldn't even imagine running my tongue along that trademark mole of hers. So I excused myself to get a drink."(Crawford, who once bought a full-page newspaper ad with then-hubby Richard Gere declaring their heterosexuality, has always maintained that she only likes men.) On another occasion, Jameson had a run-in with "Blade" star Wesley Snipes, whose suave pickup line was, "Do you like it up the [bleep]?" "Being a porn star, I was used to such questions," Jameson writes. "But Wesley had no idea I was a porn star. Either way, I was offended. I looked at him blankly, stood up, and walked away. That was the first and lasttime I ever saw him." Bruce Willis fared only slightly better. At a party once, "He didn't say a word," Jameson recalls, "He [just] pushed me up against the wall andkissed me. After 30 seconds of passionate tongueing, he just walked away withouta word." As Jameson was leaving the bash, she writes, "A bodyguard walked up tome and said, 'Mr. Willis is waiting in his limousine.' 'He's going to be waiting a long time,' I responded. There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and he had crossed it." Elsewhere in the book, co-written by former Times music critic NeilStrauss, Jameson recounts her sex sessions with the "massively endowed" Marilyn Manson and her encounters with Nicolas Cage who smelled like "thedistilled sweat of homeless people."

Solution to spam? Apparently, Communism

China Mobile suspends Sohu service for one yearFriday August 13, 1:26 pm ET

NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chinese Internet media company Sohu.com on Friday said state-controlled China Mobile had suspended Sohu as a supplier of mobile multimedia picture services for one year for unsolicited marketing.

The Beijing-based company, whose stock was halted for trading ahead of the news, said China Mobile Communication Corp. was punishing it for an incident in Sichuan province in which Sohu sent out 1,374 solicitations to customers without state-controlled China Mobile's prior approval.

Shares fell as much as 17 percent when it reopened for trading on the Nasdaq. It was down $2.26, or 13.4 percent, at $14.43 at 1:23 p.m. (1723 GMT) in New York.
Sohu said in a statement its affiliated Beijing Sohu Online Information Services Co. Ltd. was one of four service providers that were being punished by China Mobile. It did not name the other concerns.

The one-year suspension and a recent move by China Mobile to cut billing rates for messaging services provided by Sohu and others, will hurt Sohu's third-quarter revenue and profit, Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Zhang.

He said third-quarter revenue would be cut by between $1.5 million and $1.8 million, and that net profits would fall by between $1.0 million and $1.3 million.

In late July, Sohu had forecast revenue of between $28.1 million and $29.1 million.

Workaholic monkeys

Good to know.

Rapist wins $12 million

Where's the justice?

guardian in deal with msft

microsite

Goog fairly priced

forbes.

No longer Immortal: Google

the saga continues

Netflix for Video Games

Now that is a good business idea...

Fed boosts rate by another 25 basis points

The Fed would have shocked the markets by changing stance, so he did the right thing, suggesting that overall, the economy is on the upswing and robust enough to merit this hike.

Credit Card Nation

Top 300 schools get $1 billion, yikes!

To charge or not to charge?

Premium sections

Keywords blocked to stop porn

all about the keywords

Trump fires himself?

NYSE actually forced the move.

Moritz on the next Google

The man's track record speaks for itself.

Modern-day Greek tragedy

Now that's love.

Macro fears create opportunities in US equities

good points.

Digital World

Next wave of search

VLCK and DCLK

online ad info

wireless: staying ahead of the curve

cell revolution

google - feared or scared

stepping on other's toes

Search vets shy away from Google's IPO

Search vets shy away from google's ipo

Church vs. State

Separating church and state, at least identifying each one appropriately.

Win a Green Card

Reality TV programming hits new low.

Men vs Women Search habits

What men and women search for (click and scroll down)

Matchnet files for IPO

You would think they would turn a profit on quarterly sales of $15.9M, no?

Google IPO snub

not surprising...

Prospectus

Read the fine print.

Search Elders Reflect on Google, Going Public

Pontifications on Google

Reinventing Advertising

The Lost Boys
Online gaming all night: Cool. Hour after hour downloading MP3s and porn: No problem. Thirty seconds so you can try to sell me something? Outta here. How the 18-34 male is reinventing advertising.

Shameful

"McCain told the AP the ad was "the same kind of deal they pulled on me" during his 2000 presidential race, when the Arizona lawmaker ran against Bush in the Republican presidential primaries."

Fame, power, wealth and stature...

"Disabuse yourself of the notion that greatness is somehow inextricablylinked with fame, power, wealth and social stature. Some of the greatest human beings have been mostly unknown. The essence of your beauty may never be fully appreciated by more than a few people."

Craiglist

Craiglist.org

Google too good for its own good?

google brings up stolen credit cards

The path less taken.

Celebs road.

Smell the Roses...

Jay Mohr looks back at his career on SNL...

Cuban re-enters Search Industry

Mamma.com yesterday; IceRocket.com today.

Cuban Fahrenheit

bootleg copy being shown in Fidel's backyard.

4 year old terror threat

Washington DC and financial sector in NY?

Hmm... could they have been talking about the WTC and Pentagon?

Gee...

Magazines chase online ad $

From Reuters

Decline of Western Civilization: "Tigger molested me..."

Wow.

Search Engine Inventory

Search Engine Ad Space Is Running OutAccording to a July 19 report from Nielsen//NetRatings, the demand for search-engine advertising (such as Google Adwords or Overture) is growing far more quickly than the supply of available advertising spots. This means that before long, popular keywords will become prohibitively costly -- at which point those search-engine ads would cease to make economic sense even for the largest online advertisers.

A Drop in Search Engine Ad Supply," by Bob Tedeschi at NYTimes.com.)Lurking between the lines of this report, I think, is a hidden opportunity for online publishers, including news sites. As search-result pages from Google and Yahoo get increasingly crowded by competing ads, programs that syndicate ads out to third-party sites may become even more attractive to online advertisers. But those services need to improve. I recently started running Google Adsense ads on my own weblog, Contentious, and the results have been disappointing so far -- mainly, I think, because Google's method of categorizing my blog's content is so ham-handed that the service winds up displaying ads that offer little appeal to my readers. I know my readers better than Google does. Why can't I suggest a list of relevant keywords and phrases to guide the type of ads that will be displayed on my blog? Right now, all the ads on my site are for blogging tools -- but my readers are far more interested in writing/editing services and e-learning. The clickthough rate would be much higher if I could somehow communicate this insight to Google.My point is this: I think that third-party sites offer at least as much, if not more, potential to advertisers and ad syndication services if that market was only handled smarter, with more input from the publishers regarding ad placement. That could vastly increase the amount of available ad space, and ease the pressure on search-engine ad space.

Media Ownership

Good info on NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN.

Return of M&As

Content M&A's in Europe At A High

Tech M&As are booming again, with content and services sectors leading the way, and software way down the list, according to a new European report by Regent Associates.
The electronic media and content sector in Europe saw the largest increase in activity, with 229 transactions in the first half of 2004 compared to 93 in the equivalent 2003 period, an increase of 146 percent.

Church versus State

Forbes.com: The Article Is the AdThere's some good and bad when it comes to advertising techniques deployed by Forbes.com. The bad, as you may have read, is that the business-news site has begun using technology that turns words in articles into ads when you move your mouse over them. Words like "money" are highlighted with a double underline to indicate that they're ads. Mouse over the word and a small ad box pops up; click on the word and you go to the advertiser's website. (This article includes examples.) You've heard all the arguments against this many times -- the principal (and valid) one being that mixing advertising messages this closely with editorial content is a clear violation of basic editorial ethics. Then again, the other argument goes, online is a different medium than, say, print and old rules shouldn't always apply. Personally, I think this is an affront to editorial integrity, but that's just my opinion.A better advertising trick on Forbes.com is the use of its navigation drop-down menu for ads. Mouse over one of the selections in the horizontal navigation bar and at the bottom of a list of links you'll spot an ad. I much prefer this approach. It's using hidden space for advertising (the ads aren't visible until a user expands the menu), and the ads can be targeted somewhat to the topic of the menu. That's innovative without setting foot on the slippery slope.

Satellite Radio

With the Feds censoring more and more content, satellite radio will only further take off...

The madman speaketh again

Satisfy Your Appetite for Spec Stocks
Tuesday August 3, 11:56 am ET By James J. Cramer, RealMoney.com Columnist

People always want speculative stocks. They want some cheap stocks that could amount to something that are basically calls, long-dated calls, where the worst that could happen is that you get diluted to the point of oblivion, but the best that could happen is lightning strikes.

I think these "calls" are good to have as part of a portfolio; in fact, I would advocate that discretionary portfolios could put up to 20% into some specs, with the idea that a couple get wiped out, a couple break even and the rest pay for the whole shooting match and then some.
Two years ago, I put together a speculative basket of big-name telcos that paid off in spades. I am looking right now at a bunch of speculative names that I think could be long-term calls on some big trends. This time I am not putting my money where my mouth is, in part because of trading restrictions that keep me from taking action, and in part because I already own some of them or analogs that already are leveraged to these industries.

But I like these specs, so I am sharing them with you.

Here goes:

1. Sirius (NasdaqNM:SIRI - News): NFL made ABC. NFL made Fox. NFL made DirecTV. I think it can do the same for Sirius. Everyone thinks that Sirius paid too much to get the NFL deal. Everyone thought ABC, Fox and DirecTV paid too much, too. I don't think so. Possible downside: Sirius dilutes the heck out of you if it doesn't go cash-flow positive in a couple of years.

2. Revlon (NYSE:REV - News): The same bad news just keeps getting discounted here. How about if Jack Stahl pulls it off? He fixed the balance sheet. Can the sales be that far behind? Everyone's giving up on this brand, but it is a brand, a famous one at that, and I don't mind owning a $2 call on that industry.

3. Lucent (NYSE:LU - News): How can this company be trading with Nortel (NYSE:NT - News) when it is doing better than Nortel with no accounting issues -- total transparency -- and better management? I own Nortel, just bought more, because I think it is doing better than people realize, but the price in Lucent is ridiculously compelling. Buy it, put it away, forget about it. It will come back.

4. JDS Uniphase (NasdaqNM:JDSU - News): Listen to the conference call, gosh darn it. The company's got big orders, great balance sheet. It is stuck at this price because of a hefty convert that has convertible guys leaning against the common. Can't last forever.

5. Avanex (NasdaqNM:AVNX - News): This company reported a terrific quarter just now with revenue projections nothing short of terrific. If they can get some gross margin improvement, you get a double.

Again, it is possible that all five of these go down. I just find that hard to believe in the cases of Lucent and JDS Uniphase, both of which have much better balance sheets than people realize. I know that the short-term numbers with Revlon are disappointing but the market cap of the equity here is $700 million. That's about one quarter of the cost to build the brand out from scratch. Too silly down here. Avanex and Sirius: I like rapid revenue stories even if they aren't making money. These two could pan out.

Speculative but exciting, cheap, but not on earnings. Classic calls. Grab 'em.

Google IPO

Off Fool.com

Lessons of Terra Lycos

the sound of $12.405 billion evaporating...

MLB.com to go public?

MLB.com To IPO In October?

MLB Advanced Media, the interactive arm of MLB, has been itching to go independent for a few years, and renewed IPO talk has been floating around for a few months. The company has also launched a digital sports ASP recently... In this story on MLB.com's success ("In 4-1/2 years, MLB Advanced Media has become a cutting-edge company in a former factory located in New York's hip meat-packing district), some more details: the company may go public at World Series time in October. Executives with the company have been meeting since the spring with bankers from investment firms to discuss an IPO.
The spoils would be split equally among baseball's 30 teams, who each chipped in $4 million spread over four years, for a total investment of $120 million. The return from a stock sale could help level the playing field between big market teams, such as the New York Yankees, and poorer teams in places like Kansas City and Minnesota.

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ironically $120 million is also what mlb paid to buy the expos, though it seems that the team is a harder sell to pull off.

Chappelle's $50M deal

Wow.

Infospace's turn on local search

Switchboard.

Ask Jeeves strikes on Local Search

Who knew that the search space was an oligopoly?

Digital World: CNET

Masters of the Digital Universe?

Yahoo! strikes on local search

Yahoo!'s move

Music business meltdown

"Perry said the increasing focus on sales and marketing has shut out many talented young bands who can't get signed, and squelched creativity in favor of the familiar."

Joe Perry, Aerosmith

Racism, Ageism... Fatism.

Too much time on their hand.

Say it ain't so Roger

Wow.

Nokia slipping market share

Not good...

Employee Options

Intel repercussions

Investing: Buying is half the battle...

Selling matters, too.

Orrin Hatch not a Technologist

Blogs, IPods and TiVo would all disappear according to the man from Utah.

Camera Phones

Growth #s

Lycos sells for $95 M

That's it?