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A group of Cuban economists are sticking a virtual thumb in Fidel Castro's eye by launching a web site that criticizes the government's official version of the state of the island nation's economy. The organization behind the site, the Cuban Institute of Independent Economists, also lists many of the island's dissident groups. The web site, www.cubaicei.org, features photographs of Cuba's poverty and opinion pieces to counter the government's somewhat rosier portrayal of the state of the communist nation. Its funding comes from Cuban dissidents in the U.S. Given that the site is actually operated from the island, its future remains in question. After all, the economic group's director, Martha Beatriz Roque, just spent three years in jail for inciting sedition.
Poll: CEOs remain bullish about the internet
Sure, they have a vested interest in saying so, but the titans of technology don't think the internet is going to fade away. Ever. According to a poll conducted by the Business Software Alliance, a trade association that includes companies such as Apple Computer, Intel and Microsoft, the CEOs of such companies believe that most people in the industrialized world will be online constantly within nine years. That connection will be possible through widespread penetration of gadgets such as handheld computers and mobile phones. Additionally the CEOs predict that by 2010, consumers will put as much faith in e-commerce as they do in bricks-and-mortar retail, and that it will be the norm.
Long and bumpy transition for Excite@Home users
After last week's dramatic bankruptcy of broadband provider Excite@Home, more than half a million customers abruptly lost their internet access. The reason: Excite@Home got permission from the courts to cut off access to the companies that paid it for access to its infrastructure. Chief among those was AT&T Broadband. AT&T has scrambled to get its customers back in the internet and email business. In all, about 850,000 AT&T customers whose old email addresses ended in @home.com now have been switched over to AT&T email addresses ending in attbi.com. But Excite@Home has not made an effort to have the email that was sent to former @Home addresses forwarded to the new attbi.com addresses. Additionally people whose email was stored on @Home servers have lost access to often-valuable messages. Both AT&T and Excite@Home blame each other for consumers' woes, with both companies claiming that the other is responsible for lost and missing mail.
DoubleClick sells research biz to Dynamic Logic
Rampant media consolidation has taken another casualty and left Dynamic Logic as the only game in town for brand-oriented research on the web. DoubleClick has sold its Ad Effectiveness research practice to Dynamic Logic, which hopes to integrate the business into its AdIndex offering. DoubleClick will obtain a 10 percent equity stake in Dynamic Logic, as well as rights to additional equity crumbs in the future. A non-voting observer will now be appointed by DoubleClick to Dynamic's board of directors. The move in effect makes Dynamic Logic the effectiveness-testing research firm for DoubleClick. The resultant combination will utilize pre- and post-exposure surveys to test campaign creatives, formats, frequency, brand impact, and return on investment. Rather than leading to lower quality service, the two companies said the merger will provide an industrywide standard for gauging online ad-effectiveness.
White House shows off Xmas décor on the web
This year, there won’t be any tours of the White House’s always-elaborate holiday decorations, thanks to tightened security in the wake of Sept. 11. So the First Residence is to be showcased--how else?--on the web. People who log onto the White House’s official web site can partake of a virtual tour of the mansion. The online tour features six rooms, namely the East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, State Dining Room, Center and Cross Halls. Web site visitors can scroll up, down and around the images and read detailed descriptions of each room’s holiday ornamentation. Still, some critics think the web is a pale imitation of the real tour, which is something of a tradition. Additionally critics say that President Bush is violating his own edict that Americans should defy terrorism by behaving normally.
December 10, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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