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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, June 7, 2001 TOP GROKS: * Rough Takeoff for Orbitz * VoterApathy.Co.Uk * Excite's Cyber-Crusade Fizzles MORE NEWS: * Oracle's Silence * Alcatel to Sell DSL Modem Business * Excite@Home Decides to Beat a Retreat in Europe * Tories Win Mobile Phone 'Vote' /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-= **The Standard's new COMPANY INDEX** Find information about hundreds of companies in our new COMPANY INDEX. Browse through the alphabetical listings, industries and categories, or perform a search to find the company you're looking for. The Company Dossier hosts articles, a company profile, stock information and financial overviews, key players and contact information. http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaab7qaaP7YrbVAtCeaaaacSb/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ TOP GROKS ~~~~~~~~~ Rough Takeoff for Orbitz By now you've probably heard about Orbitz, the airline-owned travel Web site that launched Monday to much fanfare. But after most of the hype disappeared, opinions differed on whether the site would ever earn its wings. Most recently, Thursday's Wall Street Journal ran an article about the problems Orbitz had in its first few days off the ground. A fiber-optic cable was severed in Orbitz's home city of Chicago, slowing response times for three hours. Call centers in Florida were swamped. Then Orbitz took the site down for an upgrade early Wednesday and neglected to put up a placeholder. And this is after Orbitz delayed its launch by 10 months "to perfect its service and product offering," the Journal wrote. Washington Post columnist Keith Alexander tested a few sample routes, and Orbitz competitor Travelocity found the cheapest fare two times out of three. WebTravelNews.com reported that the investment bank Pacific Crest did a more formal pricing audit and "found that Orbitz ranked last compared to Expedia and Travelocity when it came to price." Orbitz seems to prefer the results from Arthur Andersen's study, which said Orbitz meets or beats its competitors' low fares in more than four out of five instances. The Associated Press took Orbitz down another peg when it observed that "Orbitz is not the first online travel site to offer consumers the special fares airlines once sold only on their own Web sites." A California company called SideStep has done something similar since November. The Post agreed that Orbitz is "not an original concept." Even Manitowoc, Wisconsin's Herald Times Reporter dismissed Orbitz, albeit from a bricks-and-mortar angle. "The launch of the new Orbitz Web site by five major airlines probably won't have a major impact on travel agencies," said the article. The owner of the local business David's House of Travel wasn't worried, since she assumed Orbitz would split existing Internet customers with Travelocity and Expedia. Happily for Orbitz, Reuters cut the company some slack in an article that took its cue from an Orbitz press release. Because of the chaos the Journal wrote about, Orbitz vowed to double its call-center staff to more than 200 people over the next few weeks. "Having a lot of business is a good problem to have," said an Orbitz spokesperson, keeping the hype alive. - Jen Muehlbauer Orbitz Sees Host of Problems in First Days As Airlines' Travel Web Site Is Swamped http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991866219530530646.htm (Paid subscription required.) Orbitz travel bookings soar above expectations (Reuters) http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6210285-0.html Orbitz Enters The Web Travel Fray http://www.washtech.com/news/software/10305-1.html Ta da! Orbitz launches! So how are its prices? Hmm... http://www.webtravelnews.com/article.html?id=773 Someone Beat Orbitz to Best Air Fares (AP) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010603/tc/orbitz_sidestep_3.html Airlines launch travel site http://www.wisinfo.com/heraldtimes/local/060601-4.html ------------------------------- VoterApathy.Co.Uk Thought you could escape more Internet politics until 2004? Not if you're reading the British media. England voted for prime minister on Thursday, and the digital gimmickry involved may be more interesting than Tony Blair's probable win. The most brazen high-tech pitches have been the Labour Party's text messages to about 5,000 mobile phone users. They range from the overly cute ("thursday. It's a date then! X Labour on jun 7") to the vaguely issue-oriented (one that the Guardian's Textmessage-ese-to-English dictionary translates as "20-billion-pound cuts or extra money for schools and hospitals - you decide on Thursday"). Both the Guardian and the Times seized on the cryptic "d:*O WUCIWUG #:-O VTE LBR 2MORO" - supposedly the first four characters represent Conservative candidate William Hague in a baseball cap. Silly, but Labour seems willing to try anything to woo the 80 percent of under-25s who don't intend to vote. Labour hopes the recipients will forward the messages to their friends. Media Grok hopes to win the lottery. The Register offered a different solution for voter apathy: Go to 4noneoftheabove.com and register your displeasure with the candidates. That site may make as much of a difference in the election as the candidates' and parties' official sites. "Attempts by the political parties to address voters directly through official Web sites look set to be judged a flop," said the Financial Times. "The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour all paid out handsomely to develop Web sites, but the real high-tech battle is raging over the nation's phones, e-mails and television sets." It's not much of a battle if you believe the Democracy Online Project's Michael Cornfield, who told the BBC, "What the Internet does not do is convince undecided people to go one way or another." If you can stand any more talk about this subject - in other words, our British readers are excused now - there are plenty of philosophical pieces on the nature of digital politics. The Guardian's Mike Anderiesz and S.A. Mathieson pondered the effect online voting could have on politics, while the BBC rehashed the effect the Internet has had on U.S. elections. (McCain had the technology, but Bush still won the primary). FT.com has a "Cyber election" package that has followed Britain's e-politicking antics since early May. We particularly like the one about spoof sites such as Toryparty.co.uk, which once declared, "Hague's election pledge: free petrol for all." Even better, The Register reported the happy coincidence that WilliamHague.com is the homepage of a nudist from Surrey. - Jen Muehlbauer Tories Win Mobile Phone 'Vote' http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26939,00.html Text messaging election poll kicks off tomorrow http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/5/19428.html Labour 'texts' young voters to combat apathy http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,501823,00.html WUCIWUG - LBR is on msg for Uth http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001191499,00.html Find out who to vote for tomorrow http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/19515.html UK Election 2001 - Cyber election http://specials.ft.com/ukelection2001/cyber.html Internet lesson from US elections http://news.bbc.co.uk/vote2001/hi/english/newsid_1372000/1372901.stm Click here for your candidate http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,502669,00.html Political cybersquatting: who owns what http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/52/19142.html ------------------------------- Excite's Cyber-Crusade Fizzles So the Internet isn't exactly Omaha Beach. On the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Europe, ExciteAtHome fessed up that its techno-liberation plans on the Continent were kaput. The only surprise to most outlets was, what took it so long? According to reporters, Excite is saying adieu, auf wiedersehn and adios to its operations in France, Germany and Spain, and it will close another half dozen Euro portals. It's also axing 85 jobs. Excite blamed the closings on - what else? - the decline in online advertising. It was reported to have been shopping itself around since April. The Register reminded readers that just two months ago, the Euro division's managing director told the Financial Times that the company "would rather sell the business for $1 than withdraw from Europe after all the time and money we have invested." Before you rustle around your pocket for the change, Reuters and the Associated Press noted that the closings came just one day after Excite said it was in talks about restructuring its commercial relationship with Comcast and Cox Communications. That's Internet time for you. The London Times tipped its hat to Excite as one of the best-known Net brands in Europe, but one analyst told the Wall Street Journal that the Euro Net scene had been "waiting to see some of the also-ran portals close up shop." Looks like Excite was one of them: It led in no markets, according to stats the Journal quoted from Jupiter Communications. Excite said that for now, its portals in Italy and the U.K. will remain open. Yeah, yeah, toe-tapped the Register. "For how long?" The skeptical Guardian pegged the sites as intact "for the time being." Crusades just ain't what they used to be. - Deborah Asbrand Excite@Home Decides to Beat a Retreat in Europe http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26933,00.html Excite@Home Closes European Portals http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&;c=Article&cid=FT3V24B4NNC&live=true&tagid=FTDDMJNIFEC Excite to Close Portal Businesses In France, Germany and Spain http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991831518499584574.htm (Paid subscription required.) Excite Slashes European Operations http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4199510,00.html Excite to Close Portals as Net Advertising Slumps http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,5-2001192405,00.html Excite Exits France, Germany and Spain http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/19505.html Excite@Home May Exit Europe http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/articles.html?id=010413003424&;query=Excite%40Home Excite@Home shuts three sites in Europe (Reuters) http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-6202277.html ExciteAtHome to Close Operations in Germany, France, Spain (AP) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/06/06/financial1215EDT0192.DTL&type=business --------------------------------------------------------------------- /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-= NOMINATIONS WANTED FOR THE BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION AWARDS Nominate your favorite company for The Industry Standard's Business Transformation Awards, to be announced in October at the Net Returns conference. Click on the url below for more information. http://click.email-publisher.com/oaaack1aaP8MHbVAtCeaaaacTb/ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oracle's Silence http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26948,00.html?nl=mg Alcatel to Sell DSL Modem Business http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26965,00.html?nl=mg Excite@Home Decides to Beat a Retreat in Europe http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26933,00.html?nl=mg Tories Win Mobile Phone 'Vote' http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,26939,00.html?nl=mg --------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE LINKS ~~~~~~~~~~ Among Code Warriors, Women, Too, Can Fight http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/07/technology/07WOME.html (Registration required.) HP Warns of Sales Decline http://www.latimes.com/business/20010607/t000047308.html Ahem, Bob Davis Was Right http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,127382,00.html Can Two Paid Digital Music Services Co-Exist? http://www.msnbc.com/news/583022.asp Prospects Remain Grim For Dotcoms http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=24677699&;i=351092&d=1449180 Valley leaders aid charities in rent struggle http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/nonprf060701.htm SurfControl Opposes Mass. Mandatory Net Filtering Effort http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166546.html They Think They Feel Your Pain http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,44245,00.html Group Sues to Publish Flaws Found in Anti-Piracy Technology http://www.washtech.com/news/media/10333-1.html 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) 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/maaacoiaaP8XCbVAtCeb/ 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/maaacoiaaP8XDbVAtCeb/ 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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