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============================================================================== Seidman's Online Insider ============================================================================= Weekly Summary of Major Online Services and Internet Events ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vol. 3 No. 2 January 14, 1996 ============================================================================= Copyright (C) 1996 Robert Seidman (robert@clark.net). All rights reserved. May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes. IN THIS ISSUE ============= -Notes from the Editor -Corrections -Fun With Numbers 1996 -A New Version of MSN -More Daily Doses -YACA -It Starts When You're Always Afraid -How Secure Is It? -Scout it Out -Short Takes -Stock Watch -Disclaimer -Subscription Info Notes from the Editor ===================== Thanks for all writing in with condolences for my ThinkPad and sharing similar horror stories. There was quite an outpouring, and it did cheer me up quite a bit. My hard drive is still dead and were currently exploring data recovery options. The comments ranged from a humorist who wrote in to say I should have put a different spin on my story and used a headline that said: THINKPAD JUMPS RATHER THAN SPEND ANOTHER MINUTE ON THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY My brother Steve wrote in to say he was glad to see that I'd not lost any of the finesse and dexterity I possessed in my teenage years. Between the blizzard and my hardware problem, (and the NFL Championship games) this week, I was pretty strapped for time. The newsletter will be pretty much its normal prolific length, but it will be more informational than analytical. Go easy on me, I'm running without a spell checker! If I use its where I meant it's, forgive me this one week... Corrections =========== Last week I wrote that Dr. Vinton Cerf, while championing the usage of the Internet Protocol (IP), was known to wear a t-shirt that said,"IP EVERYWHERE" Dr. Cerf wrote to correct me, saying that the t-shirt came in a couple of flavors, but the theme was "IP ON EVERYTHING". We can't say if the t-shirt was directly responsible for the success of the Internet, but either way, Cerf seems to have gotten his wish. Last Week, in a brief piece on Dan Fisher leaving LA Times' Timeslink service to join a Microsoft effort headed up by Melinda French (a.k.a. Mrs. Bill Gates), I referred to French as the head of Microsoft's consumer division. Microsoft's consumer division head is Patti Stonesifer, who was recently named one of the top managers of 1995 by Business Week. Fun With Numbers ================ It could be that I got one of my New Year's wishes early. You may remember that I asked for good Internet demographics in '96. A new study released by the FIND/SVP Emerging Technologies Research Group concluded that some 9.5 million Americans use the Internet made up of 8.4 adults and 1.1 million users under the age of 18. The American Internet User Survey was conducted between November and December dialing 1,000 Internet users randomly. The study was preceded by focus groups and a series of online surveys and represents the fourth phone survey by FIND/SVP in the last 18 months. Over 155 questions were asked during interviews that lasted more than 30 minutes each. (Note: much of the data used here was taken directly from the study summary at: < http://etrg.findsvp.com/features/newinet.html > .) According to Daniel Campbell, Director of the Emerging Technologies Group, besides defining how many Internet users there are, since there are so many components of the Internet, it is very important to define who an Internet user is. "Defining an Internet user is rather like defining a telephone user," Campbell said. "Is it a business user, someone who's dialing for information or to place an order, or simply someone who wants to communicate with a personal friend? The Internet has all these features, and more." More important than the "numbers game", says Campbell, is defining the segments and having an in-depth understanding of the different uses people have for the Internet. The study defined "Internet User" as a user who used any one Internet application besides e-mail, and included those accessing from commercial online services, local and national Internet providers and corporate and academic users. Based on that, the universe broke down as follows: -8.4 million adults aged 18 and older use the Internet, including for work, personal, or academic purposes--also at all types of locations (work, academic, home, mobile). -7.5 million total users access the Worldwide Web, including business and personal users who access it from work, academic, home, or mobile locations. -7.3 million home users, including adults and children, use the Internet (for any application) from home. -5.8 million adults use the Internet for business activities, vs. 6.0 million adults who use the Internet for personal activities. Sixty percent of adults use it for both. -1.1 million children under 18 use the Internet from any location, including home or school. Approximately 700,000 of these children access the Internet from home. -35% accessing the Internet are women, but men are twice as likely to access the Internet from home. These numbers are substantially lower than numbers reported in the recent CommerceNet/Nielsen study, but seem to track well with a study recently done by O'Reilly and Associates. While the numbers reported in the FIND/SVP study may be lower than other studies, the growth of Internet access has been explosive. Over 51% surveyed reported they began using their first Internet application in 1995. The study reported that 4 million people began using the Web in 95. "While web use is growing faster than anything else, email is still more universally used," said Washington, D.C. based management consultant Scott Finer, who worked with FIND/SVP on the study. "21% of the sample does not report using the web yet...so it is not ubiquitous," said Finer. "Moreover, considerable business to business sales (involving fewer people but larger dollar amounts than consumer scale sales) seems to take place via ordinary email," he added. Indeed, the study showed that more people used the Internet for communication than for information. -Email remains the number one Internet application used by more people and used most frequently. Indeed, a striking 41% of all Internet users reported they use email on a daily basis, while another 27% use it at least weekly. -By comparison, some 24% of all Internet users reported they search for information on a daily basis, with an additional 44% who search weekly. -Daily or weekly use of other specialized Internet applications such as Newsgroups, FTP or mail lists is limited to a relatively much smaller number of users. In what may be bad news for some of the media companies launching services on the Web, the study found that " apart from younger techthusiasts, for whom the Internet represents a kind of alternative lifestyle, most users view the emerging Worldwide Web as a reference resource rather than an integral part of their media lives. The good news is that the study found that personal use of the Internet was rising rapidly. Two-thirds of all users tap into the Internet from home, including 37% who do so exclusively from home. Conversely, only 20% said they accessed exclusively from work. 61% percent of all users said their personal use of the Internet is "very likely" to increase in the coming year. Of the users who currently use the Internet exclusively for business purposes (11% of the overall population), 46% said their personal use would increase in the coming year. The study reported that most Web users had visited under 100 sites, with 60% of Web users reporting that they visit fewer than 10 sites on a regular basis (once a month or more). Only 23% had visited more than 100 sites. 35% had visited between 10-49 sites since first using the Web. According to the study director, Thomas Miller, vice president of FIND/SVP's emerging technology group, in a story by the San Jose Mercury News, users could not remember poorly done web sites. "Once they decided it was bad for some reason, they just clicked away and went somewhere else," he said. "Everybody can tell you about bad commercials or lousy programs on the TV, but the zapping process here is built right into the interactivity. People don't have to put up with it. They don't look at it at all if they don't want to." Miller questioned the current use of the Web for advertising. "We feel that the image of the Internet as an advertising and marketing medium needs some adjustment," Miller said. "This isn't mass media, which is the way the Nielsen folks were looking at it, he said. "This is more a telephone Yellow Pages type of model. People actively go out and look up what they want on the Internet. They don't just absorb what you broadcast at them." Time spent on the net is taking away from other forms of recreation. The study shows the average Internet user spends 6.6 hours per week on the Net. 32% of the respondents said TV watching declined (only 4% reported it had increased.) 25% said long distance phone calling had gone down (11% reported increases), videos, magazines, newspapers and radio were also hit, with a 10-15% decrease in each of those categories. In news that surely made Steve Case smile, AOL was the most popular way of accessing the Internet. (Percent of All Internet Users Access Via Method Shown) Via an Online Service 46% America Online 30% Workplace Server 28% Academic Server 27% Internet Service Provider 25% Compuserve 11% Prodigy 9% Microsoft Network 2% The survey also found that online shopping wasn't as likely to take off as some other services, like online banking. "Banking via online or Internet (or insurance, investments) may breakout sooner than retail level shopping in general, since people will trust a known financial brand before they will a small vendor," said Finer. Of all the numbers I have seen, these and those from the O'Reilly and Associates study seem to be the most realistic. New Version of MSN ================== This time it's not America Online with the postal blues, but upstart Microsoft Network, who experienced about a week of problems delivering e-mail in December. The errors were in part blamed on upgrading the backend systems for use with the new 1.2 version of MSN. Some users claim they still have not received mail sent to them in that period. Version 1.2 became available this week. While I've downloaded and installed the new software, my own problems with my computer environment didn't allow me to fully test the software. On first blush, it does appear that some of the systems problem areas, specifically their forums run faster now. Furthermore, the software has been upgraded to allow connections to MSN from other Internet providers, ISDN connections and LAN connections. Microsoft bills the upgrade as one that adds better performance and faster graphics. The graphics do appear to download quicker, but it still seems slow compared to other services. Also, the MSN Web site at < http://www.msn.com/ > is now allowing access to the MSN forums on the stand alone MSN online service. There is a major caveat though, you must be an MSN subscriber to access from the Web. Currently, there are a couple of other restrictions as well: you must use the Internet Explorer browser and you must use the Microsoft Internet connection. Microsoft claims they are working very hard to lift those restrictions. The future of a la carte access to MSN via the Web can't be far away. Will AOL follow? More Daily Doses ================ First there was the Cowles/SIMBA Media Daily < http://www.simbanet.com/ > providing daily info on online/Internet (as well as other media) happenings during the business week. Since then, there have been many additions. c|net updates online and Internet happenings throughout the day at < http://www.cnet.com >, and the offerings range from Suck < http://www.suck.com/ > to the Netly News on Pathfinder < http://www.pathfinder.com/netly/ > . This week, Web Review joined the fold at < http://gnn.com/wr/ >. Web Review is produced by Songline Studios, an affiliate of O'Reilly and Associates. America Online has also invested several million in Songline Studios. My initial impression of this service: it's excellent. It isn't as comprehensive as some other sources, but the pieces are very well rounded and informative. If you'd read it you'd know about: YACA! ===== (Yet Another Censorship Attempt). This time it is the Jewish civil rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center < http://www.wiesenthal.com/ > who have requested that large commercial online and Internet providers drop access to information on hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the White Aryan Nation. "Internet providers have a First Amendment right and a moral obligation not to provide these groups a platform for their destructive propaganda," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Dean of the Wiesenthal Center in the Web Review piece. Those who read last week's newsletter know that I don't think you can censor the Internet. While I am personally opposed to the agenda of such hate groups, censorship is definitely not the answer. It Starts When You're Always Afraid =================================== Milwaukee based Exec-PC which bills itself as the nations largest bulletin board pulled all of its erotic material (files) from its download area because they are fearful of a government crackdown. "Since it is only 7 percent of our service and it could result in the 100 percent loss of our business, the risk is not worth it," said Exec-PC founder Bob Mahoney in a story by the Associated Press. The story quoted Mike Godwin, an attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, saying, "He has a perfect right to choose what to carry, but it's a shame that he feels he has to exercise the right out of fear of what government might do. That's what constitutional lawyers call a chilling effect." How Secure Is It? ================= Last month, Asia Connect, an Internet service provider offering connections to companies in Malaysia offered $20,000 to any "hackers" who could break through their $100,000 security system. Within minutes, Dinesh Nair an information tech consultant and businessman Thian Seong Yee intercepted a private e-mail message intended for Asia Connect president Raymond Cheng according to a story by AP. "We had no malicious intent, but wanted to show the public how insecure their service was,'' Nair said after a demonstration at the Star newspaper's office. "I was amused by it initially, but I guess this is the price that we have to pay for doing business in the Internet," Cheng told the Star. Scout it Out ============ The Scout Report is back and there is a newly formed "Net Scout Services" project. Net Scout Services currently offers the wonderful "Scout Report", which is published by Susan Calcari in conjunction with InterNIC; Gleason Sackman's great resource, "Net Happenings", and the "Scout Toolkit". The Scout Toolkit is "a service designed to collect, organize, and annotate a subset of the most effective network information tools available for accessing quality resources on the Internet. The Toolkit is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of all network tools, rather a select collection of tools organized by function. Internet users can investigate a sampling of subject catalogs, searchable indexes, and annotated indexes and decide which tool best fits their needs. The best ways to stay current on Internet news and resources are also provided." Check it out on the Web at < http://rs.internic.net/scout/ >. Dom's Domain ============ No, it's not a chat room on AOL, it's another viewpoint on the connected world by Dominique Paul Noth. Noth, who has a pretty diverse background ranging from acting to theater critic to university professor and journalist, offers weekly commentary concentrating on newspapers and magazine efforts in cyberspace. Catch the December column plus a special extra and find out why Dom says the Blizzard of '96 hurt print media's ego and that the online gains from the blizzard are iffy. Exclusively on the Web until Dom wises up and decides to distribute it via e-mail. Sorry Dom, I couldn't resist. In the mean time point your browsers to: < http:/www.arcfile.com/dom >. Short Takes =========== Okay, I'll admit it, with the exception of the FIND/SVP survey results, this whole newsletter has been choc full o' short takes. Sue me, the NFL conference championships only come once a year. Pittsburgh and Dallas in the Super Bowl, a flashback to the 70's when life was good and I was still a few years away from that first Timex-Sinclair 1000. Speaking of the superbowl, there's all kinds of superbowl info on the Web, but you can start at the official NBC/Microsoft site at: < http://www.superbowl.com/> -- SPEAKING OF THE Super Bowl, Microsoft isn't missing an opportunity to distribute their Web browser on CD-ROM to all in attendance at Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona. Personally, after the recent snowball game at the Meadowlands, I'm a little worried of what might happen if the game gets as boring as most Super Bowls. "Look Ethel, there's a little multi colored frisbee on my seat! I bet I can get it through the uprights!" -- SPEAKING OF BROWSERS catch last Thursday's Wall Street Journal Personal Technology column by Walter Mossberg for commentary on the infancy of the Web Browser war at : < http://ptech.wsj.com >. Walt, we hope you finally got your car dug out. -- ENCRYPT AWAY? Federal prosecution have dropped their case against Phil Zimmerman, who developed the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software for encrypting electronic communications. "I've had worse days than today," Zimmerman joked. Still unresolved is the issue of government control of encryption technology and whether distributing controlled material via the Internet constitutes an export. Stock Watch =========== This %Change 52 52 Week's Vs Last Week Week Company Ticker Close Week High Low ------- ------ ------ ------ ------- ------- @Net Index IIX $210.91 ? $259.85 $185.76 America Online AMER $36.75 -3.3% $46.25 $12.31 Apple AAPL $33.88 -1.1% $50.94 $31.38 AT&T T $65.63 -1.9% $68.88 $47.75 Bolt,Beranek & Newman BBN $34.88 -6.7% $48.88 $14.75 CMG Information Svcs. CMGI $79.00 ? $100.50 $11.00 FTP Software FTPS $11.56 -6.1% $40.63 $11.13 General Elec. GE $70.25 -3.6% $74.38 $49.88 H&R Block HRB $36.88 -9.5% $48.88 $33.38 IBM IBM $86.38 -2.5% $114.63 $70.25 MCI MCIC $26.75 +2.4% $27.50 $17.38 Mecklermedia Corp. MECK $11.50 -8.0% $24.38 $2.63 Microsoft MSFT $85.75 -0.7% $109.25 $58.00 Netcom NETC $34.50 -4.2% $91.50 $19.00 NetManage NETM $10.88 -31.8% $34.00 $10.88 Netscape Comm. Corp NSCP $137.25 -1.4% $174.00 $45.75 News Corp. NWS $21.63 +0.6% $25.13 $14.75 Oracle Corp. ORCL $42.63 -0.6% $48.75 $26.66 Performance Syst. Intl PSIX $16.50 -24.1% $29.00 $12.00 Sears S $43.13 +2.7% $43.63 $21.75 Spyglass Inc. SPYG $43.50 -3.3% $61.00 $13.25 Sun Microsystems SUNW $40.13 -0.9% $51.75 $14.94 UUNET Technologies UUNT $48.00 -14.3% $98.75 $21.75 Disclaimer ========== I began writing this newsletter in September 1994, at the time I was working for a technology company that is now owned by MCI. In March, I began working for International Business Machines Corporation. As of July, my management has agreed to allow me to do some work on the newsletter during business hours (probably about 6-8 hours a week). I speak for myself and not for IBM. Subscription Information ======================== To subscribe to this newsletter by e-mail: Send an e-mail message to: LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM In the BODY of the message type: SUBSCRIBE ONLINE-L FIRSTNAME LASTNAME Example: Subscribe Online-L Robert Seidman If you wish to remove yourself from this mailing list, send a message to: LISTSERV@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM and in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF ONLINE-L . A Web version of the newsletter is available at: <http://www.clark.net/pub/robert>.