GGR: GeoGlobal Resources Inc [was GEOG was BOWG] (2000 + )

Top 111. Oct 9, 2000 6:21 PM

» Hugs - That's cute.

What a crack up, phish! What a riot this place is, eh? (I mean... come on now... who did the oinker expect to find here other then a few zealots?)

Bacon for Thanksgiving!
Smoked ham for Christmas!

Oh, and hey guys... you want to know the really best part about that last "clip" (which, I was finding and writing about before I was aware of piggy's return...) is? Well, I didn't tell you. And, neither am I going to. But... If you're clever... and, if your curious enough... just maybe you can figure it out on your own. (It has to do more with the context of the article that I pulled it out of.)

Ha....

Ha...

Ha.

(now... see if that don't just make you think a little more. No kibitziing.)

-- posted by Hugs

Top 112. Oct 9, 2000 6:28 PM

» matttheduck - i'll be interested

to see how the possible revenue-generating model hugs describes plays out. assuming that s101 can get "retailers" to pay them for access to members, and assuming that those "retailers" will continue to pay for that access regardless of actual sales, it could work very well. it's hard for me to evaluate as i simply don't consume enough. if i spend $100 a year in total on the web, that's a big year. perhaps it's worth it to a potential retailer to pay s101 to try and talk me out of each year's $100. time will tell.

naturally, i get plenty of spam from amazon asking me to buy other stuff, but never have, even if it's stuff i'm "interested" in. whether spam filtered through s101 will make a difference to large numbers of people is the big question.

-- posted by matttheduck

Top 113. Oct 9, 2000 9:25 PM

» JenL_2 - Matt....

....You say you only spend about $100 on the web in a year. But you probably spend way more than that in retail stores. Don't you think that as time goes on, and retail shopping becomes more and more inconvenient with traffic, parking, waiting in line, bad service, etc, and e-tail shopping becomes more and convenient, trustworthy, and cheaper - that you will tend to choose e-tail over retail more often? I find myself slowly slowly moving in that direction.....Jen

-- posted by JenL_2

Top 114. Oct 9, 2000 9:32 PM

» Hugs - Mr. Duck...

Yes, it will very interesting indeed. I trust that you do realize that I haven't described much at all of it, but rather have only hinted at a few aspects of it.

Retailers pay for access to "members" (i.e. consumers) all the time. That's S.O.P. (standard operating procedure). There's nothing at all new about that. Why would you think they they would ever "cease" to pay access to their targeted market?

Ah, but maybe they real question in your mind is how "successfully" s101 can step inbetween. Right? And, maybe you do only spend $ 100 or less on the web. But, I'd venture to say that number is going to grow in the coming years, especially if you find out it's possible to "buy" certain things on the web that you normally buy anyway, only not on the web. Just out of curiousity... Can you guess how much "information" you might buy in a year's time?

But now. here's a killer question for you... Do you trust anyone enough to actually tell them exactly what it is that you spend $ 100 a year on?

What if s101 tells you they'll not only "filter" the spam out of your junk mail... stuff that you have no interest in receiving... and then "pay you" a litlle to look at solicitations or offers of those few things that you might be interested in, or tend to buy? How attractive might that be?

Do you think a "retailer" might be interested in spending 3 or 4 dollars a pop to advertise directly to you, understanding that the odds are quite likely that more than "one out of ten" people "just like you" are going actually buy that 100 dollar or more "something"? Or, do you think they like "going for bulk numbers" and paying five or ten cents each.... and hope for one out of a thousand?

There is (and should have been much sooner) a growing concern for internet privacy. If I know that s101 is charging venders for my personal profile information, and my "spending habits" and then sharing some of the revenues with me... do you think that I am going to be concerned that they're going to sell my name to some junk mail outfit to spam me to death? Or, any other spending or financial information about me? That's not in my best interest, not theirs. It's sort of what is called a "symbiotic relationship" for mutual benefit, Maybe I even get a "group discount" price break on a few things that I might happen to buy.

I don't know, Matt. Maybe some of what plays into the picture is whether (or to what degree) you view you own demographic and spending habits information to be fairly valuable or not. Maybe some people don't care who or what people or group of people "out there" have access to it.

But, I'd venture to say that some people do care. And, if and when more people learn and realize that there may be a value to it, maybe they'll care more about it too. I'll also venture to guess that the people who's personal information is the most valuable, also tend more towards knowing that, and are much more careful or cautious about "who" they give that information to.

There's lot's of good information about "privacy issues" out there on the internet. Here's a few good reads for you:

Randi Barshack, "Shades of Gray: Privacy and Online Marketing," E-Commerce Times, 8/28/2000.

Esther Dyson, "I of the Beholder," Forbes ASAP, 10/2/2000.

It's hard to keep up with this stuff, it's moving so fast. But, I guess I have a sense for where it's headed. And that, my friend, is in part why I've chosen to park myself here. I got a hunch... and I suspect my demographic info is worth a little more than 10 bucks a year to some retailers out there. And I fully intend on keeping it from them...

-- posted by Hugs

Top 115. Oct 10, 2000 7:54 AM

» Jaynee - I'm the Queen of Online Shopping

Speaking of the online shopping - I do it ALL the time. I spend a minimum of $100 a MONTH online. You name it, I've probably bought it online. I hate going to malls, I hate waiting in lines, and if I can get the item I want delivered straight to my door, then I get it online. And I can usually get it for a great price too, which makes the shipping cost worth it.

I'm the exact kind of person they are looking for with regard to online retailers. And I'm not the only one - there are a lot of us out there who do everything online when given the chance.

Heck, I even met my HUSBAND online! =)

-- posted by Jaynee

Top 116. Oct 10, 2000 8:06 AM

» JenL_2 - Jaynee....

..I agree with you totally - the trend is from retail to e-tail. I keep seeing articles saying that this holiday season will be make-it or break-it time for e-tail. IMO there'll be some winners and some loosers, but internet shopping is only going to increase, regardless of what happens this Christmas.

Just like retail businesses do marketing research to determine their target population, and the best place to locate stores, e-tail businesses have to do the same. Thus I can see the inherent value in our Suite 101 community.

BTW - Hope He's Your Best Online Bargain!....Jen :+)

-- posted by JenL_2

Top 117. Oct 10, 2000 8:59 AM

» matttheduck - not the best person

i'm definitely not the best person on which to judge this whole model/question, since i don't know all the details. the $100 i spend is almost solely on books. it's possible that i may choose to buy more and different kinds of things in the future, but i have yet to find it really compelling. furthermore, i think there's a real question about whether retail can survive on the web. take a look at priceline's efforts to expand into gas and groceries. how many web companies devoted to retail are making money?

i don't know exactly what hugs means by "information" but i do pay $13 a month for cable and another small sum for a subscription to sports illustrated. i can get the newspaper and virtually anything else i need for free online (unless you want to count the $10/month for my isp, which my employer pays - and i could have that for free too if i wanted). can't imagine what else i need to know that i can't already find out without any additional cost.

in addition, i'd consider email from suite 101's retail partnership operation to be spam. i'd delete it without even opening it, just as i do with the stuff i get from amazon, political groups, etc. they may want to pay me just to receive it, but i would be very unlikely to sign up for such a program in the first place.

i can only evaluate this from my own perspective. i'm sure it's a brilliant idea that i'm just failing to grasp, or am the wrong kind of person to appreciate.

-- posted by matttheduck

Top 118. Oct 10, 2000 9:09 AM

» Kirk - Matt

what if Suite101 allowed you to read it in a special place like we have now for sending post cards or reading SuiteMail? What if they PAID you $1 to read it and you could then apply that $1 towards buying your books or donate it to charity if nothing else?

Perhaps I could get them to allow members to apply the $1 to paying the editors of your choice? 8)

Hey... I just thought of that one! I have to get to work posting an email to make that suggestion! 8)

-- posted by Kirk

Top 119. Oct 10, 2000 9:36 AM

» dewam - my demographics are for sale

Or, maybe others could tell me what they need, and I could go find the best deal for them. Shop through those hard to find pages. take the hassle out of it. And it is a hassle. Every time I have to buy something in a new product line, it eats up hours of research. The money I save the first or second time is not worth the effort. I use over a dozen search engines, and nothing works like a human who is cheap. Once you find the best deal including shipping, you have to find out if there is a coupon, or special introductory offer. Yesterday Kirk posted a link to a coupon for a buy site, almost every site has coupons available, but you have to find it. I buy thousands off the web, most for other people, or businesses. What I need is a site that helps me do all the research, a site that knows I'm cheap, but do spend. Den

-- posted by dewam