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Anvil
Issue Twenty Nine
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*Welcome to Anvil, a free weekly newsletter and Web site providing
insight into online industry news, issues and trends. Stay tuned-in
and win valuable prizes!
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TOP
INDUSTRY NEWS
*NetDay At The Whitehouse
*Tangles Of WebTV
DESIGN
*Channeling Through Excite
*Multimedia Tools Unveiled At Seybold Seminar
HOSTING
*The Collapse Of The Net?
*The Role Of A Web Developer
MARKETING
*Web Ad Standards For Kids
*Hot Banner Ads
TOP
WEB PICKS
*Comoflow
*Ha!
*Jazz Central Station
*Underground
*Virtual Zoo
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TOP INDUSTRY NEWS
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*NetDay At The Whitehouse
President Clinton and Vice President Gore dusted off the Oval Office
laptop and videoconferencing equipment to participate in the well-publicized
NetDay last Saturday. The effort was more than trivial as Clinton
helped raise a total of $68.8 million this year to help fund Internet
connectivity in schools across the country and in U.S. territories.
Clinton is also pushing the FCC to give schools and libraries a
$2 billion annual discount on Internet access. The FCC is expected
to make a decision on the discount on May 6.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cta307.htm
*Tangles
Of WebTV
Currently, WebTV’s share of the Internet access market is less than
.2 percent. While this percentage is expected to grow as the cost
lowers and technology improves, it’s still not large enough to merit
specially designed sites. Designers hope Microsoft’s technology
and cash infusions will help bring WebTV to the mass market faster
than otherwise possible. So far, the first steps are positive: WebTV
recently reduced pricing by 25 percent to $250, which many hope
is the magic price point. The key to WebTV’s success is to provide
users with multiple browser options and access providers. Currently,
WebTV utilizes a proprietary browser which doesn’t support frames
or Java. In addition, Internet access and other services are only
available through WebTV Networks. Microsoft is not likely to make
any changes in this area. WebTV has created a larger issue as well:
which platform is most cost-effective for Internet viewers, PC or
TV? The answer is, it doesn’t matter, Microsoft will win regardless.
Other companies rushing to market with similar devices: Oracle,
Netscape, Zilog and NetChannel. The bottom line, however, is not
the technology or the company, but the consumer. The difference
in lifestyle and attitude among consumers will dictate which product
consumers choose.
http://192.215.107.71/wire/news/apr/0421webtv1.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cta305.htm
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DESIGN
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*Multimedia Tools Unveiled At Seybold Seminar
Graphic designers and multimedia developers gathered in New York
this week to demo and discuss the latest Web design tools and technology.
Key developers including Macromedia, NetObjects and PaceWorks demonstrated
their latest products which will provide CD-ROM quality sound, images
and speed with an Internet connection. New products of note include
Adobe PostScript 3, Macromedia Authorware 4, PaceWorks ObjectDancer
1.1, NetObjects Fusion 2.0 for Mac, Inso DynaBase and the Live Picture
RealSpace Image Server.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,9895,00.html
*Channeling
Through Excite
Search engine companies are finding new ways to generate revenue
and increase customer base. One of the latest trends, localized
city directories has been copied by most of the top engines. Excite
has found a new angle with the recent announcement of "Channels
by Excite." The 14 channels, loosely compared to TV channels,
compile information from 50 million Web sites. Topics include arts
and entertainment, sports, business and investing, computers and
the Internet, careers and education, games, health and science,
lifestyle, news, people and chat, politics and government, shopping
and travel. Each section provides a plethora of links and related
news. Users can create their own personal channel, similar to My
Yahoo! and MSN’s Personal Web Page. Features include news and links
of interest, weather, TV listings, horoscopes, stock quotes and
NewsTracker clipping service. The depth and convenience of information
is appealing to users while the targeting ability is appealing to
advertisers.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,9873,00.html
http://www.excite.com/
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HOSTING
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*The Collapse Of The Net?
Bob Metcalfe, creator of modern networking technology, or
"Ethernet," recently ate his words. His apocalyptic prediction
regarding the crash of the Internet in 1996 failed to materialize.
At a recent industry conference, netizens got their revenge when
Metcalfe devoured a cake decorated with his now famous column. He
has since downgraded the collapse to a "gigalapse" or
a billion lost user-hours. So far, the best Metcalfe has seen so
far is a "megalapse" when 6.2 million AOL users went without
e-mail. Recently, over 2 million MSN users went without e-mail for
a week. However, compared to phone service, where 30,000 users are
without service every day, the Internet is in little danger of suffering
from total collapse.
http://www.economist.com/issue/19-04-97/wb8721.html
*The
Role Of A Web Developer
Web developers (and ISPs) have a responsibility to clients to keep
products and services fresh. A Web site is not a static entity.
It must be continually updated and improved, based on improvements
in technology and new company information. The primary benefits
of the Web medium are the low barriers of entry, timeliness and
global reach. Additionally, revenue streams can be augmented by
subscription services or advertising. A good web developer or ISP
will help clients leverage these benefits to increase the bottom
line. If your developer or ISP isn’t proactive with new ideas incorporating
the latest technology or commerce capabilities, it’s time to move
on. What should potential clients look for in a developer or ISP?
How about talented graphic designers, knowledgeable programmers,
personable and timely service, fast and reliable hosting service
and robust marketing experience.
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?/features/970421isp.htm
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MARKETING
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*Web Ad Standards For Kids
A battle that has been raging for years in the TV and print industries
recently moved online. Most recently, tobacco company Brown &
Williamson took heat from all sides when netizens realized the San
Francisco-based e-zine "Circuit Breaker" was actually
a stealth marketing site for the new Lucky Strike Filters. Many
parents believe online marketers are using questionable tactics
to target children, who are too young to understand their rights.
Under pressure from special interest groups including the Center
for Media Education (CME) and Parent Teacher Association (PTA),
advertisers worked with the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU)
of the Better Business Bureau to create voluntary rules for marketing
to children on the Internet. CARU, responsible for policing the
fairness and appropriateness of ads directed at children, recently
revealed the guidelines. Advertisers hope the announcement of rules
will alleviate the need for the FTC to review the matter in June.
The guidelines allow for the sale of products and use of children’s
characters on the same site. Advertisers may also collect information
on children without permission from parents, but are instructed
to make "reasonable efforts" to do so. Critics believe
the rules are too lenient and not enforceable. Similar to advertising
regulations in other media, the issue will never be fully resolved.
The responsibility still remains largely with parents and teachers,
who must help educate and inform children regarding their rights
and obligations.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,9900,00.html
*Hot
Banner Ads
A recent article by Jane Weaver of MSNBC discusses prime examples
of clever, innovative and offbeat banner ads online today. A large
majority of banner ads today are uncreative or poorly executed.
The best banner ads must be able to grab and hold attention long
enough to deliver a message and create a call to action, usually
in the form of a "click-through" to the advertisers site.
While only five examples are reviewed, they do show what works and
why. Featured ads include Mars Inc. for M&M’s by BBDO and Interactive8,
U.S. Robotics for X2 technology by Leap Partnership, The Discovery
Channel, Sony Online Ventures for The Station by Kirshenbaum Bond
& Partners and Toyota by Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/69527.asp
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TOP WEB PICKS
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*Comoflow
Confused and disoriented by the Web? Comoflow offers comprehensive
yet easy-to-use directory of unique sites, organized by topic. Feel
free to submit a site of your own.
http://www.comoflow.com/
*Ha!
This site is a real laugh. Bookmark and visit Ha! for a new joke
each day. Looking for more? Surf the new joke archive or search
the huge database by keyword or category of phrase. If you’re not
happy with the selection, add your own, or if you like what you
read, buy a Ha! T-shirt.
http://www.hardyharhar.com/
*Jazz
Central Station
A goldmine for the wired jazz-junkie, Jazz Central Station is a
cleanly designed and useful site with a wealth of sound and movie
samples as well as information on events, tour-schedules, and album
reviews. The designers chose to use a subway-line metaphor for navigation
throughout the site, which works well with the high-quality, consistent
graphics. Of particular note are the easy to use "subway"
site-map and the listening car.
http://www.jazzcentralstation.com/
*Underground
Underground serves as a clearing-house for information on security
issues related to the Internet. There are sections devoted to posting
all industry-relevant news releases, security hole solutions, tools,
and expert contacts. Just for entertainment value, it’s worth a
read through past news-releases concerning famous hacker break-ins.
Thoughtful design features include "page flipping arrows"
at the top of the window, where users can easily flip through new
and previously-viewed documents.
http://underground.org
*Virtual
Zoo
A fun site for animal lovers of all ages, the Virtual Zoo provides
detailed information, including related links, sounds, images and
movies for over 26 animals spanning five classes. Check out the
Kids Zoo site and endangered species information as well.
http://207.71.29.70/zoo/main.html
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CREDITS
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*Kent Lewis, Managing Editor
*Michael Pearo, Graphic Designer
*Monica Simmons, Copy Editor
*Theo Jones, Jeremy Huffman, Programmers
*Send
questions, comments and suggestions to
editor@anvil-media.com.
*Visit
the Web site at http://www.anvil-media.com
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