It's been a hectic week for me so I only have one item for this week's Lighten
Up segment -- but it's a beauty!
TheKumara - Dyson
I just love political parody -- and here we have it done to perfection.
This site (TheKumara) is a little gem that I'd not seen before this article
was brought to my attention. Come on guys, you've got too much really good
stuff here to overlook some decent online promotion.
Well, I guess you're getting some today -- I hope it helps.
Free ISPs Starting To Tumble?
Surf4Nix, one of
NZ's free internet ISPs has just tossed in the towel and handed its operations
over to former competitor i4Free
according to reports published today.
Unlike most of the others, Surf4Nix didn't rely on a piece of the interconnect
revenues to sustain its business operation and, according to IDG, has run up
some $130,000 in communications charges during the short time since its launch.
Clearly the advertising and direct-sales based free ISP model is not living
up to expectations, at least in this case.
Surely this can't come as a huge surprise to anyone -- it hasn't worked in any
other country so why should tiny little New Zealand be any different?
Anyone care to place bets on which free ISP will bite the dust next and when
it will happen?
That E-Commerce Summit
The Government's e-commerce summit is now over and, based on the reports
published in almost every news paper and news-site today, it was a success.
However, if there isn't someone running around this morning and preparing
to offer a similar event for the hundreds of thousands of SMEs that are
looking for some advice and direction in the practical side of getting their
products and services online then I'd be very surprised (and somewhat disappointed).
It would appear that there is huge consensus that the Seminar didn't really reach
the huge numbers of small traders who most stand to benefit from its message
(didn't I say that yesterday?)
Come on -- let's see a road-show of low-cost regional seminars that introduce
those who don't wear suits 8 hours a day to the theory and practice of ecommerce.
But please, please, please -- check the credentials of those who would be presenting
such seminars. The last thing we need are a bunch of self-proclaimed "e-commerce ekspurts"
and cowboys regurgitating stuff they read in a book. We want presentations and
insight from those who have actually been successful in building PROFITABLE
online commerce ventures.
That kind of rules out the few high-fliers who have succeeded at nothing more than
rounding up large chunks of other people's money and running large ventures that
continue to bleed red ink. Hell -- almost anyone can make an unprofitable
e-commerce site, we don't need to be told how to do that do we?
The Weekly
Yes, I know the first edition of the weekly has yet to appear -- but I'm
still working on it.
Hopefully (if current leads pan out) it will include a very interesting expose'
into the astoundingly bad behaviour of a group of local "new economy" company
directors (some of who are also on the board of a public company). Just how
competent and ethical are the managers of some of our hi-tech public companies?
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