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THE STANDARD'S M E D I A G R O K A Commentary on What the Press Is Reporting and Why ===================================================================== | http://www.thestandard.com | Thursday, May 31, 2001 TOP GROKS: * PC Connection Buys Exploding Gerbils * An FTC Decision About Nothing * The News Gods Aren't Crazy, Just Desperate MORE NEWS: * Microsoft Set for Office XP's Launch * U.S. Jobless Claims Hit Highest Point in a Month * Deutsche Telekom Completes VoiceStream Acquistion * Alcatel Says Plan B Will Include Job Cuts /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ Save time and $$$. Enroll in Hertz' Business Account Program http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaacjqaaP8GobVAtCeaaaacSb/ \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ TOP GROKS ~~~~~~~~~ PC Connection Buys Exploding Gerbils Cyberian Outpost and its Outpost.com site, best known for gimmicks such as free overnight shipping and amusingly tacky commercials, have been scooped up by rival hardware seller PC Connection. All things considered, this was probably a better move than that Super Bowl ad with the gerbil cannon. PC Connection will acquire Outpost in an all-stock deal alternately described as "complicated" and "complex." We won't attempt to explain it, either; News.com did a pretty good job. It's simpler to describe Outpost's sorry state: Various reporters noted that the company cut 30 percent of its staff last month, it has credit problems, and executives have been fleeing in Yahoo-like numbers. And those off-the-wall commercials exemplified bad dot-com marketing circa 1999, since they cost a fortune and didn't even mention what Outpost.com sold. Plenty of journalists ignored Outpost's notorious marketing history - whether out of respect or amnesia, we're not sure. Cyberian Outpost is more than a dot-bomb, so a few outlets tipped their hats to the six-year-old biz. It "pioneered selling computer equipment on the Internet," said the Newsfactor Network, and it "has long been known for its customer service efforts." The AP said the deal "combines two of the Internet's best known computer and software resellers" and quoted PC Connection's CEO gushing about Outpost's "very strong following." The Hartford Courant seemed to mourn the sale of Outpost, "one of (Connecticut's) best-known Internet retailers," though Outpost.com will hang on to its brand name and continue operating out of Connecticut. Home-state loyalty aside, the Courant's John Moran provided solid coverage of Outpost's rise and fall. PC Connection's CEO acknowledged that job cuts are likely, though he's "hoping that we can achieve a lot of it through attrition." As long as he doesn't shoot anyone out of a cannon. - Jen Muehlbauer Outpost Agrees to Takeover Deal http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26777,00.html?nl=mg Outpost Finds a Way Out http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_775261,00.html PC Connection Acquires Outpost.com http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/10103.html Internet Retailer PC Connection Acquiring Cyberian Outpost (AP) http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/050956.htm PC Connection to Buy Cyberian Outpost http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-6103275.html Cyberian to Sell Itself to Rival http://www.ctnow.com/scripts/editorial.dll?fromspage=CG/articles/business.htm&;categoryid=&bfromind=377&eeid=4650380&eetype=article&render=y&ck=&userid=1&userpw=.&uh=1,0,&ver=3.0 PC Connection Agrees to Acquire Cyberian Outpost in Stock Deal http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991232674624154701.htm (Paid subscription required.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- An FTC Decision About Nothing If "Seinfeld" weren't long gone from NBC's airwaves, Amazon's recent FTC wrist-slap would have made a great non-plot for the show about nothing. The FTC declared that Amazon's comparison-shopping subsidiary Alexa explained its privacy policy in ways that "likely were deceptive." It also said that since Alexa has fixed the problem - partially by eliminating an information-collecting software programmed named zBubbles - the FTC's work here is done. Amazon and Alexa said nothing to the AP; Amazon directed media queries to Alexa, and Alexa neglected to return the AP's calls. Alexa did talk to the Wall Street Journal. The company used to say it didn't use personal information, the Journal explained, but Alexa's president says it has changed its disclosure note to "many pages describing that what we do with this information is nothing." Still, that's not quite the same as saying the data is anonymous, and that's why privacy gadfly Richard Smith complained to the FTC in the first place. Meanwhile, Amazon settled related class actions to the tune of $2 million, while continuing to insist it did nothing wrong. Smith isn't happy, and neither is Junkbusters boss Jason Catlett, a source who we notice has become a bit less ubiquitous. InternetNews.com supplied a Catlett quote that a New Yorker like Seinfeld might appreciate: "The FTC's current system for protecting privacy is about as effective as using a flashlight for eradicating cockroaches: On the rare occasion targets get found, they simply scurry away." - Jen Muehlbauer FTC Says Amazon Unit Probably Deceptive on Privacy (Reuters) http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26767,00.html?nl=mg Amazon May Have Been Deceptive (Wall Street Journal) http://www.msnbc.com/news/580113.asp FTC: Amazon Practices 'Deceptive' but Won't Act (AP) http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/05/30/ftc.amazon.ap/index.html Amazon Dodges Another Bullet http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_775621,00.html Officials - Deceptive Tech Advertising Is on Rise http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166266.html FTC Rules Amazon Unit Was Deceptive About Privacy, but Takes No Action Against Internet Giant http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134301226_amazon310.html /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ THE STANDARD GOES WIRELESS! Now you can get The Standard's cutting edge Internet Economy news and information delivered straight to your Web-enabled phone or pager. Whether you log on for breaking news, stock quotes, or company and people information, you can now retrieve critical intelligence on the Internet Economy anytime, anywhere you go. Just enter "thestandard.com" on your key pad to get The Standard's powerful content. http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaacbdaaP8dRbVAtCeaaaacTb/ \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ The News Gods Aren't Crazy, Just Desperate Among the guilty pleasures of a down economy are the wacky and the madcap items that qualify as news stories. So on this day, when the Washington Post quoted a Valley exec bemoaning a Jimmy Carter- era melancholy across the land, we review the newsworthiness of spam, and we don't mean just the junk mail. That would be SPAM, as Hormel Foods pointed out. The Minnesota maker of canned meat announced it is resigned to its brand name as a euphemism for junk e-mail, as long as folks remember that references to the "pink luncheon meat," as reporters wrote, should be in all caps. Who could argue with such magnanimity? Not reporters. Still, it wasn't much of a story for scribes to dig into, so Reuters and ABCNews.com padded their coverage with more about SPAM than most would want to know. ABCNews.com scored with a comment that the news site attributed to an author named Carolyn Wyman. According to ABCNews and Wyman, the Net "has helped Hormel bridge the divide between SPAM's 'early adopters' - the Depression and World War II vets who found the canned pink pork product on their extremely limited menus - and a new generation of consumers." Who says the Net was over-hyped? Meanwhile, MSNBC reported an attack of spam (note the lower case) at SETI, the earnest organization whose formal name is Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. MSNBC played up the story's tech angle, noting that the program, SETI@home, roams through radio data for hints of otherworldly life, and that with 3.1 million users, the software is "the world's largest experiment in distributed computing." That's perhaps more impressive than the Memorial Day weekend hack, which sent the following fearsome missive to "hundreds or thousands" of users: "Dear Seti@home user. Seti@home Webpage been exploited. We have the intire user database as well all your information about you. SEE FOR YOURSELF. have nice day." It's as if an ethereal managing editor somewhere gave us a one-day reprieve. - Deborah Asbrand So Down in the Valley http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A290-2001May31.html Hormel Drops Slang Fight http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/DailyNews/spam_campaign010530.html SPAM Maker Cans 'Spam' Complaint (Reuters) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6110030.html Invaders Exploit SETI@home http://www.msnbc.com/news/580466.asp SETI@home Hacked, Crypto-Jocks to the Rescue http://www.space.com/searchforlife/setihome_cheats_010524.html /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ GET 4 FREE ISSUES OF THE INDUSTRY STANDARD The Industry Standard is the only weekly newsmagazine devoted to covering the New Economy--and you're invited to sample 4 issues--absolutely risk-free! Click on the url below to order today. http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaab7saaP7YtbVAtCeaaaacUb/ \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ MORE NEWS AT THESTANDARD.COM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Microsoft Set for Office XP's Launch By Dominic Gates Redmond's new suite of productivity applications is ready for takeoff. But will it be everything the company makes it out to be? http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26787,00.html?nl=mg U.S. Jobless Claims Hit Highest Point in a Month By Reuters The pace of hiring seems to have slowed, according to a government report that depicts a weakening labor market. http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26791,00.html?nl=mg Deutsche Telekom Completes VoiceStream Acquistion By IDG Shares in the German telco remain close to a two-year low as the $4.2 billion snack is digested. http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26789,00.html?nl=mg Alcatel Says Plan B Will Include Job Cuts By Kristi Essick - Paris Bureau Chief After the collapse of the Lucent deal, the telecom equipment maker goes back to the drawing board, and CEO Serge Tchuruk says layoffs are on the way. http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26764,00.html?nl=mg --------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE LINKS ~~~~~~~~~~ Why Microsoft May Buy AT&T Broadband: Fear, Greed & Envy http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=31901&pod_id=13 Two Groups Back Microsoft's Online Strategy http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6119362.html Lucent to Make Tough Choices to Survive http://www.latimes.com/business/20010531/t000045379.html Identity Thieves Thrive in Information Age http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A77996-2001May25.html Firm Sues Napster Over Old Radio Shows http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=chronicle/archive/2001/05/31/BU63417.DTL&type=business Not All Luxury E-tailers Are Dead http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/30/0530luxury.html Online Bill Paying Coming of Age http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/billpy053101.htm STAFF ~~~~~ Written by Deborah Asbrand (dasbrand@world.std.com), Michaela Cavallaro (mcavalla@maine.rr.com), Keith Dawson (dawson@world.std.com), Jen Muehlbauer (jen@englishmajor.com), Lori Patel (loripatel@hotmail.com) and David Sims (davesims@sonic.net). Edited by Jimmy Guterman (guterman@vineyard.com). Copyedited by Jim Duffy (jduffy@thestandard.com). GET THE MAGAZINE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4 RISK-FREE issues at this URL: http://click.email-publisher.com/maaackiaaP8JobVAtCeb/ GET MORE NEWSLETTERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Standard newsletters cover the media, stock market, e-commerce, music, law and more. To SUBSCRIBE to other newsletters, click here: http://click.email-publisher.com/maaackiaaP8JpbVAtCeb/ To unsubscribe, click here: http://thestandard.email-publisher.com/u/?bUrKAM.bVAtCe ADVERTISING INFORMATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on advertising in The Standard Newsletters, contact: Erik VanderKolk (evanderkolk@thestandard.com) FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send letters to the editor to letters@thestandard.com. Please contact us with any problems that arise: http://www.thestandard.com/service customerservice@thestandard.com You can also contact us via phone or mail: Standard Media International, Customer Service 866-776-9890 (phone) Copyright 2001 Standard Media International
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