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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S M E D I A G R O K A Review of Press Coverage of the Internet Economy ===================================================================== | http://www.thestandard.com | Tuesday, December 12, 2000 TOP GROKS: * Economists: Relax, This Won't Hurt a Bit * Sun Hears It Through the Grapevine * Courts Taming the Wild, Wild Web MORE NEWS: * Go West, Young Wharton Students /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ WANT TO PUT YOUR COMPANY ON THE E-BUSINESS MAP? List your company in The Standard's Directory, and help shape e-business by making your offerings available to the best minds in the Internet Economy. And if you're wondering which "i" company does "i" what, search the Directory's database of over 3,000 e-businesses to find your future partners. Visit The Standard's Directory today and make the connections you're looking for. http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730129 \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ CORRECTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ In Friday's Media Grok we referred to reporter P.J. Huffstutter as "he." Ms. Huffstutter is a "she." We regret the error. TOP GROKS ~~~~~~~~~ Economists: Relax, This Won't Hurt a Bit Most of us like recession speculation about as much as we like tetanus shots. A business forecast from UCLA brought out the big needle on Monday and predicted a 60 percent chance of the r-word in 2001. Like your doctor, the UCLA economists said it would only pinch a little, and then it would all be over. CBS MarketWatch, Newsbytes and MSNBC provided good summaries of the report, which insisted everything would be peachy again in 2002. Newsbytes' Michael Bartlett led with some encouragement for deflated techie egos: "The stimulus of the Internet-led 'New Economy' was enough to keep the current economic expansion in the United States driving forward for four years longer than it might have," he said, paraphrasing the report. Funny how everyone's putting "new economy" in quotes these days - it used to seem so real. The San Jose Mercury News called the predicted downturn "recession lite" and noted that local California readers "will escape the worst of it." (A separate UCLA report on California put the odds of a statewide recession at 40 percent; report author Tom Lieser prefers the term "deceleration.") Many experts expect 3 percent growth next year, so the Merc's Jennifer Bjorhus called other economist to compare notes. One Bay Area econ professor agreed that we may be in trouble, but the UCLA report "has other economists scratching their heads," said Bjorhus. "I don't know of anybody else that's out there that far," said economist Richard Carlson. We do. CBS MarketWatch columnist Paul Farrell wondered if the slump has already arrived, citing Ken Kurson's article "Nine Signs We're Already in a Recession" in Esquire's December issue. Kurson's thesis made sense and "was worth the price of the magazine," but in the end, Farrell shrugged it off. "Neither Esquire's Grinch nor the U.S. Supreme Court is going to steal my Christmas," he wrote. If only we could face the doctor with such self-assurance. - Jen Muehlbauer UCLA Report's Economic Forecast: Recession Lite http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730130 UCLA's Anderson School Predicts 'Mild Recession' in 2001 http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730131 UCLA Economists See U.S. Recession http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730132 U.S. Recession Looming, Study Says http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730133 Recession in 2001? It's Already Here! http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730134 Nine Signs We're Already in a Recession Esquire (Not available online.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sun Hears It Through the Grapevine Didja hear the one about Sun's irregular accounting practices? Sun CFO Michael Lehman did, but by the time he denied it, the stock had already taken a hit. "These rumors have no basis in fact and are false," said Lehman in an indignant (and redundant) statement released on Monday. The rumor said "a short-seller had published a compelling report charging accounting irregularities," explained TheStreet.com. Finer points were scarce, and that's probably just the way Sun spokesperson Mark Paisley liked it. Since the gossip had no source or details, "That should tell you about the quality of the rumor," he told Reuters. After Lehman's official denial, Sun shares rebounded a bit in after-hours trading, showing that some traders who believe rumors also believe prepared corporate statements. Accounting scuttlebutt may have been the catalyst for Friday's Sun selloff, said TheStreet.com, "But more notable was what the book-cooking rumor obscured: a survey from small, Chicago research shop Off The Record Research showing slowing sales of Sun servers to its distributors." The Financial Times also noted analyst's worries about Sun sales, and Wall Street's concerns about Sun's ability to spar with HP, Compaq and IBM. Suddenly, everyone's in the server biz, and Sun's not looking so invincible anymore. Sun did get a bit of good press this week, by helping to form an industry group to develop online audio and video standards. Then again, the group "is sure to create a battle for market control with (media player companies) RealNetworks Inc. and Microsoft Corp," said the San Jose Mercury News. We'll have to wait and see whether Sun shares rise or set on this new development. - Jen Muehlbauer Sun's Shares Plunge http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730135 Sun Micro Denies Accounting Rumor on Stock Slide http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730136 Sun Dims as Investors Doubt Blue-Sky Growth Projections http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730137 Sun Shares Slide on Sales Growth Concerns (Bloomberg) http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730138 Cisco and Sun Teaming Up on Better Streaming Standards http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730139 /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ ARE YOU READY FOR KNOWLEDGE-BASED MARKETING? Primary Knowledge provides outsourced data warehousing and business intelligence tools that help you focus on your most valuable customers. We aggregate isolated silos of online data, giving you a fuller picture of your customers. And, every morning, you are GUARANTEED access to current intelligence and data analysis tools. So you can make decisions based on knowledge. http://www.primaryknowledge.com?a=007008008 \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ Courts Taming the Wild, Wild Web This morning's news was peppered with court cases that collectively reined in profane names, spam and anonymous libel on the Net. USA Today ran an Associated Press story on a case that time and competition have rendered moot. Adult Web-site operators had sued Network Solutions because NSI, at the time the sole registrar of domain names, refused to issue names the AP characterized as "www.(pickanyobscenity).com." (Last year, competing registries began accepting registrations for such names.) The judge ruled that domain names are mainly about navigation, not about communicative speech. The AP carried what amounted to a lively debate among lawyers and Internet experts on possible reverberations from the case. The Washington Post and CNET covered the first libel judgement won by an individual against an anonymous online poster. The Post's story, by Brian Krebs of Newsbytes, disentangled the complicated tale more clearly than did CNET's AP copy. A U.S. District judge awarded $675,000 to an Emory University professor after an anonymous poster accused him of taking kickbacks. The poster, unmasked in the investigation, was a former employee of the company he accused of making the payoff. The Post provided the critical detail that that company had fired the libeler. Krebs quoted Ari Schwartz, a policy analyst with the Center for Democracy and Technology, for the bottom line: "There's not much difference between saying slanderous things online or offline. ... In terms of anonymity, it's probably much easier to send letters in the mail." Two different court cases recently struck blows against unsolicited commercial e-mail. The Los Angeles Times ran an unsigned piece on a rather typical spammer who had hijacked a company's computer to spread millions of spams offering porn and get-rich-quick schemes. What wasn't typical about this case is that the spammer was tracked down and arrested. He pleaded guilty to second-degree forgery and faces up to seven years in prison. Wired News and InternetNews assigned reporters to the other spam case, this one involving Web host Verio's use of "whois" customer information from Register.com in violation of the registrar's acceptable-use policy. The case has not yet gone to trial, but a federal judge ordered Verio to stop using the whois data to barrage Register.com's customers by e-mail, phone and mail. Writing for InternetNews, Clint Boulton detailed the judge's order and talked to outside experts on the possible effects of the judge's order. Boulton quoted a Washington lawyer who emphasized the b-to-b aspect of the tussle: "What this case does is go further in protecting the relationships a business has with its customers." - Keith Dawson Judge Rules Against Profane Web Domains (AP) http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730141 Professor Wins Net Libel Suit http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730142 Doctor Awarded $675,000 in Net Libel Case (AP) http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730143 Computer Hijacker Pleads Guilty http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730144 Verio's Alleged Spam Is Temporarily Canned http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730145 Judge Blocks Whois Spam http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730146 /=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\ NEW PRODUCTS AND SEMINARS FROM HEWLETT PACKARD Hewlett Packard's thinking ahead. Are you? See what's on the horizon and what it'll mean to your business in arenas like e-services, Always-On Infrastructure, and Internet appliances. For the calendar of events regarding New Product Introductions and other details about hp's services, go to: http://www.mmtrack.net/m/s.asp?H2655997803X931346 \=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ MORE NEWS AT THESTANDARD.COM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go West, Young Wharton Students http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730148 Online Grocery Fails in Hong Kong http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730149 Signs of Telecom Life http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730150 CEOs Who Got Rich on a Niche http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730151 DoubleClick Will Miss the Mark http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730152 --------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE LINKS ~~~~~~~~~~ New Jersey Probes Toysrus.com (AP) http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730153 Federal Probe of Commissions Focuses on 1999 VA Linux Deal http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730154 (Paid subscription required.) Police Investigating Alleged PlayStation 2 Supplier Scam http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730155 (Registration required.) Movement to Impeach Philippine President Accelerated by New Technology http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730156 Ellison Insists Oracle Remains Strong Despite Defections http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730157 EBay's Half.com to Buy Deja.com's Technology http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730158 (Paid subscription required.) Sixdegrees Separates Itself From Web http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730159 Amazon, Employees Joust Over Union Effort http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730160 Google Product Tracker Could Raise Privacy Concerns http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730161 Net Monitoring Service Pays Users http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730162 NASA-Led Coalition Aims to Create Crash-Free Computers http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730163 Design for Quantum Computer Proposed http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730164 High-Tech Solutions to a Low-Tech Problem: Catching the Bus http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730165 STAFF ~~~~~ Written by Deborah Asbrand (dasbrand@world.std.com), Keith Dawson (dawson@world.std.com), Michelle Goldberg (michelle@shift.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://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730166 GET MORE NEWSLETTERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Industry Standard newsletters cover the media, stock market, e-commerce, music, law and more. Enter your e-mail address at the following URL and select the newsletters you wish to receive: http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730167 To UNSUBSCRIBE to any newsletters, log in at the following URL and select the newsletters you wish to cancel: http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730168 GET MORE NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go to http://www.thestandard.com for more coverage on the Internet Economy. Media Grok does not review stories from any IDG publication, but includes relevant links to TheStandard.com and IDG.net. ADVERTISING INFORMATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more information on advertising in The Industry Standard Newsletters, contact: West Coast Connie Elliott (mailto:celliott@thestandard.com) East Coast Norma Wesolowski (mailto:normaw@thestandard.com) FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Send letters to the editor to letters@thestandard.com. Please contact us with any problems that arise. http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64349541&;i=284481&d=730169 You can also contact us via phone or mail: The Industry Standard, Customer Service (402) 293-0386 (phone) (402) 293-0794 (fax) The Industry Standard, Production 315 Pacific Ave. San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 733-5400 (main) (415) 733-5401 (fax) Copyright 2000 The Industry Standard
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