9/97
Since I see the question raised so often, I figured the friendly
Wee People from Ireland, the Leprechauns, would know. What I wasn't
prepared for was their knowledge of exactly who is making money.
Mr. Leicitis put it quite bluntly.
He said, "The pornographers are making money hand over fist.
They love the Internet, the World Wide Web, Usenet, FTP - the
whole nine yards. There are some very wealthy sleaze artists out
there as a result of the Internet."
Ms. Prisse joined in immediately saying, "As much as it pains
me to admit this, Mr.Leicitis is right. The sex sites are the
big money makers. Yahoo, CNET and Pointcast struggle to make money
but the pornographers are raking it in. They take advantage of
every new technological gain. And because I dislike the pornography
trade so intently, I point an accusatory finger at the large communication
companies like AT&T, Sprint and MCI as well."
This accusation kind of jolted me. I wasn't surprised that the
slimy side of the net was making money but I didn't fully understand
where AT&T fit into this. I asked her to explain.
"Well, O lover of Pineapple Upside Down Cake, you obviously
either haven't been to some of these sick sex sites or you have
visited them and are trying to act innocent," she said, giving
me a hard eye-contact stare. I shrugged and she continued, "Most
of these sex sites that exploit women rely on two things to make
money.
"A major source of income is what they call `membership.'
They try to get a monthly or annual fee from the despots who visit
them regularly. But their second stream of income is from the
vulgar pay-per-minute numbers they entice viewers to call. At
the rate of $2 to $3 per minute there are thousands of demented
men, and a handful of women, who call and listen to this tripe.
"So in addition to the pornographers, isn't it quite clear
who else is making money?" I nodded my head in agreement
that the telephone providers had to be making a killing off of
pornography. I was trying to phrase a question when Mr. Scathe,
who is about as subtle as a walrus on ice, asked the question
for me.
Mr. Scathe demanded, "What do you think the phone providers
should do - play censor? Are you advocating that the Internet
become a Big Brother morals watcher?"
I suddenly started thinking of ways to change the conversation
because I knew the fur was going to fly. And it did when Ms. Thunder,
who is rather large for a Leprechaun, joined the fray. She swaggered
up to Mr. Scathe, placed her hand on his chest and pushed him
backwards two steps. She then said, in a voice that could be heard
a mile away, "Don't be asinine Mr. Scathe. We are not talking
censorship. We are talking common sense.
"Just look at the images reflected in the monitors of today's
users. There's far less acne and pimples on those faces and an
a lot more eye glasses, wrinkles and makeup. Internet users are
older and more mature now. Plus there are a lot more women. Today's
Internet users dislike two things about the Internet. One is the
spammers who disrupt their e-mail. The other is the smut kings
who disrupt their sense of morals.
"Spammers are on their way out because Internet users are
demanding it. And I will predict that in two years time the sex
sites will be greatly diminished simply because that's what the
users want. Neither of us are attorneys so I won't get into the
rights issue. But I'll tell you that sex sites and pay-per-minute
telephone services are not going to last that long on the Internet
with today's audiences."
It was Mr. Scribe who broke the long silence following Ms. Thunder's
outburst. Addressing us all in his baritone voice he said, "Enough
of this. Let's change the subject. Have you read the latest issue
of Newsweek?" I told him that I had so he continued, "Then
you have seen the full page advertisement from Sun Microsystems.
The one where they applaud FedEx and its successful use of the
computer in tracking shipments. Sun ends its spiel by saying "The
Network Is The Computer." I hesitantly nodded yes, waiting
for the other shoe to drop.
Mr. Scribe said, "Then did you notice that Sun did not publish
their Web address? Sun Microsystems, the company touting the Network
Computer using the Web as an operating system failed to cite their
own web page." We all smiled broadly and Mr. Scribe continued,
"I wouldn't want to be accused of breaking my arm to pat
us all on the back - but about a year ago your faithful Leprechauns
predicted that at least half the major advertisers in magazines
like Time and Newsweek would be publishing their Web site address
within two years.
"Well, we were off just a tad. In the May 12 issue of Newsweek
over 80 percent of the advertisers put their WWW address in their
ads. There were two exceptions. Sun Microsystems, of course, and
Volvo automobiles. Isn't that a hoot?"
We all laughed and silently thanked Mr. Scribe for rescuing us
from a potentially disturbing battle over censorship and the Internet.
But as I watched the Leprechauns disappear into the cracks and
crannies of the keyboard, I knew this battle was very young and
would be fought hard and raucously over the next 24 months. I
didn't need the Leprechauns to figure this trend out. It is kind
of self-evident.
As one zips around the World Wide Web, which may not be the most
important segment of the Internet but is certainly the most visible
and talked about, the old question arises over and over again
- is anyone making any money at this?
An outburst of indignation
Changing the subject
Phrases that need translating
"The PC model has won out.'"
[Bill Gates addressing the 100 top computer-related chief executives he invited to Seattle for the Microsoft CEO Summit in May.]
Translation: Get lost Sun Microsystems and all you other Network Computer enthusiasts.
"CompuServe is really a struggling company right now."
[Peter Krasilovsky, an analyst with Arlen Communications.]
Translation: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty together again.
"We have reorganized product development. This will enable us to quickly bring to market the solutions our customers want."
[David House, CEO of Bay Networks Inc.]
Translation: We needed to figure out why we lost $167 million in the first nine months of our current fiscal year. So we've reduced our work force by 115 workers. But I'm still here.
"We pool and integrate our expertise with the combined solutions of the industry's market leaders."
[Compaq President and CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer explaining Compaq's new server technology.]
Translation: We beg, borrow or steal from anyone. If need be, we even license new technology.
(The following is a re-translation [stolen] from J.R. Wilson's CompuWeb
New Translation:
"Now that we've alienated people we know, it's your turn."
