Yes, that's "billion" with a big b, boys and girls.
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"High-speed Internet access company @Home Corp. today is expected to
announce plans to buy Redwood City neighbor Excite Inc., a top Internet
destination, for about $6 billion in stock, according to published reports.
Such a high-profile deal would give @Home, which delivers the Internet to
subscribers over cable television lines, tools for personalizing, searching
and simplifying the Web that it needs as it battles rivals including
industry giant America Online Inc. for users and revenue sources.
It would also provide Excite with the deep pockets needed to compete as a
destination site for viewers on a field increasingly dominated by large
corporations. Sunnyvale-based Infoseek Corp., for example, has joined
forces with Walt Disney Co. America Online has agreed to buy Mountain
View-based Netscape Communications Corp. And Yahoo Inc. of Santa Clara is
backed by Softbank Holdings."
Okay, I'll admit it: I don't get it. 4 years ago Excite didn't even exist.
Now they're worth billions?
To me, Excite is just another search engine. Oh yeah, I forgot, they're a
"portal". I will also freely admit I don't understand portal mania either.
By it's very nature, the Net and the Web are "anti-portal". You can start
anywhere and go anywhere from anywhere. Exactly what does a "portal" do for
me? Nothing.
My feeling is that next year, "portals" will be forgotten and there will be
another brand new buzzword/concept that everyone will be crazy about (in
1997 the buzzword was "push". Remember?).
I don't really care if some crazed investors get burned paying way too much
for a company. What worries me is that when the Net-mania bubble bursts, it
is going to affect the Internet companies with real value, and we will all
suffer. Media reports will talk about how everything online is over-hyped
and the pendulum will swing in the opposite direction.
Barry
--
Barry Lee Brisco <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Web Design & Development - Online Marketing <http://www.ToTheWeb.com>
Web portfolio at <http://www.ToTheWeb.com/portfolio.html>
____________________________________________________________________
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Join The NEW Web Consultants Association FORUMS and CHAT:
Register Today at: http://just4u.com/forums/
Web Consultants Web Site : http://just4u.com/webconsultants
Give the Gift of Life This Year...
Just4U Stop Smoking Support forum - helping smokers for
over three years-tell a friend: http://just4u.com/forums/
To get 500 Banner Ads for FREE
go to http://www.linkbuddies.com/start.go?id=111261
---------------------------------------------------------------------
