From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: commerce as a result of the net.
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 92 21:40:51 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

"Gary A. Woodward" <p00140@psilink.com> writes:

>I believe that someday the net will serve the same purpose as the US 
>Postal Service does now.  True, it can't be for profit but it is a 
>vehicle for profit.  An information highway with out the billboards.  I 
>can see how you could conduct business on the net if you just used 
>e-mail and kept your business out of the newsgroups.  

Usenet CAN and is used for profit and not just in email.  It is an 
interesting study in contrasts that the same group of people who 
readily embrace the latest in computer technology stubornly cling to 
the notion that Usenet is some entity regulated by the government.
This model has been dead for years.  

Why is it so hard to understand these simple concepts:

*	Usenet != Internet.  
*	The Internet is dead.
*	Usenet news is transported over a wide variety of transports including
	tcp/ip packet switching networks (like the old Internet), uucp,
	X.25 PSNs, broadcast sattelite subcarrier, magnetic tape, CD-rom and
	who knows what else.
*	Of the interconnected packet-switched networks that look like the old
	Internet, only the NSFnet segments have an acceptable use policy
	that prohibits commercial use and this appears about to change.  
*	Most all the midlevel networks that replaced the Internet such as 
	PSI net, Alternet and so on offer EXPLICITLY commercial service.
*	What is acceptable on Usenet is strictly the function of each site's
	administration.

To the point of this group, Usenet is a very viable vehicle from
which  to conduct business. Templeton's Clarinet is one.  My
(conventional paper) magazine _Performance Engineering_ (TM) is
another.  This magazine addresses the high
technology/engineering aspects of high performance mobility 
(hotrodding, cars, motorcycles, karts, planes, etc.)  The idea
for the  magazine, the early organizing efforts, most
advertising, most writers and  the bulk of my subscribers to
date have come from my presence and  advertisements on the net. 
Everytime I post an announcement to the net about the magazine, 
4 or 5 of the same old people bitch about using the net for
commercial purposes.  Meanwhile, I've serviced over 10,000
requests for free samples  (see my .sig below)  You tell me if
advertising works.  Frankly, PE would have never happened had
the net not been available.  I would have been unwilling to risk
the funds necessary to do a conventional launch. 

Now I'm the last one on the net who would want the net to become
another  mass media channel like TV or (ugh) Prodigy.  There are
several mechanisms in place that will prevent this.  First
factor is a pure text-based medium does not present hype well. 
A quick peek at the new products group bears this out.  The same
ad-agency-generated hype that flies so well in print sucks
bildge water when presented on an 80X25 character screen. Next
factor, of course, is the ability for each reader to interact on
a peer basis.  If a reader does not like the approach, he may
flame away. Another factor is the kill file mechanism.  Someone
who does not like a thread or an author can simply eliminate the
problem.  The dynamics of the net are fascinating to study. 

The net serves another wonderful function in that it permits vendors like
myself to toss out ideas to readers and solicit opinions almost at will.
This wonderful and practically instantaneous feedback is invaluable and
not available anywhere else.  Consider what we might be able to buy if,
for instance, GM used electronic means to solicit opinions on new car
ideas. I'll bet we'd have avoided Vegas, X-bodies, Orca the Caprices
and a number of other, umm, interesting products.

I don't believe paper publications will ever go away.  Computers
will likely never give us the same random access ability as we have
with a magazine when we thumb through it until something catches our 
attention and start reading.  I think paper and electronic media will
nicely compliment each other.  

John

-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine(TM) | Interested in high tech and computers? 
Marietta, Ga                         | Send ur snail-mail address to 
jgd@dixie.com                        | perform@dixie.com for a free sample mag
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
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