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Friday, October 29th, 1999 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs Amazon.com Dominating Online Book Industry Gomez Advisors, a provider of e-commerce research and analysis, has released its Fall Online Bookseller Scorecard where Amazon.com received the top ranking. Showing its strength in the online book industry, Amazon won an unprecedented six of the nine categories in the Gomez Online Bookseller Scorecard. Following Amazon on the Scorecard is barnesandnoble.com, Books.com, Borders.com and gohastings.com According to Gomez Advisors Senior Analyst Krista Pappas, "Amazon is clearly the Goliath of the online book market. They are the hands-down market leaders in technology, and marketing, and they have some of the best personalization on the web." Despite recent industry speculation that Amazon's expansion into new markets such as auctions and Z-shops could hurt its core book offering, Pappas says this is not the case. "As Amazon continues to broaden its Internet empire, its book offering has in fact grown even stronger. Their dominance in technology and channel management means that barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com and other online booksellers are constantly playing catch-up and juggling the challenges of their bricks-and-mortar enterprises," she concluded. As the critical holiday shopping season approaches, Gomez Advisors expects fourth quarter global online book sales to surge to $570 million - more than doubling fourth quarter 1998 revenue of $237 million. "Gohastings beat every other bookseller in terms of pricing, but we don't expect cost to be the deciding factor in the fourth quarter," Pappas said. "The name of the game this season is customer confidence - people want to buy books from a reliable source and they will pay a bit more for that peace of mind during the holidays," she noted. Borders.com ranked number one in customer confidence in the Fall Online Bookseller Scorecard. One advantage barnesandnoble.com and Borders.com have over pure Internet booksellers is their ability to leverage brick-and-mortar stores. Both chains have strong brand recognition. Borders is marketing their web presence in retail outlets and they are promoting policies that allow online customers to bring returns to their stores. "Market opportunity is slim in the online bookseller world," Pappas said. "Between Amazon's overall dominance and the brand recognition of other large players like barnesandnoble.com and Borders.com, smaller online booksellers will be squeezed out," Pappas concluded. BEA Offers $1,000 for Best Stories About Life on the Web BEA Systems, Inc., has issued a call for entries for its "Life in the E-Generation" story contest. Stories submitted between today and August 31, 2000, vie for $1,000 prizes awarded each quarter to each of three winners. Further information, sample stories, and complete rules are available at: www.beasys.com. "We take the e-generation very seriously, and we want to hear from them," said Bill Coleman, chairman and CEO of BEA Systems, Inc. "BEA sells to the companies that must satisfy the demands of the e-generation: the online population that has evolved as the toughest customers in the history of business. We already know our customers well -- 3,600 of the world's most successful companies such as Amazon.com, E*Trade, and Federal Express. But our success rests not only with our customers, but with theirs as well. And that's what this contest is all about. We want to hear from and learn from our customers' customers." Stories will be judged on five criteria: Relevance (how well the story illustrates one or more aspect of the e-generation), Interest (how compelling the point or subject of the story is, and how well the story is told given the nature of the experiences related and the age of the storyteller), Context (how unique and relevant the subject of the story is), Believability (how authentic the story appears), and Appropriateness (the degree to which the events of the story are typical for users who are similar to the storyteller). Prize winners -- three for each three-month period -- will be selected and announced in November 1999, February 2000, May 2000, and August 2000. Entries for the first three-month period must be received by 11 p.m. United States Pacific Standard Time on November 15, 1999. The winners will be required to sign and return a photograph of himself or herself, an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release, and a Publicity Release (except where prohibited by law) within 20 days of the date they are notified that they won. The contest winners will be posted on BEA's website and the entire winners list will be available after September 1, 2000. Vault.com Signs Deal with Ingram Book Group Vault.com, an online career network, and Ingram Book Group, a book wholesaler have announced an alliance that will enable Vault.com to develop an online bookstore dedicated to career management and professional development. "Our partnership with Ingram is a cornerstone in Vault's strategy to create the ultimate source of career-related products and services for our young professional audience," says Vault.com CEO Samer Hamadeh. "With Ingram's expansive warehouse facilities, e-commerce systems, and real-time inventory management systems, Vault is well-positioned to become a powerhouse in e-commerce." New Monthly Publication Helps Law Enforcement and School Officials Prevent School Violence Quinlan Publishing Group has announced the launch of a new newsletter publication, School Violence Prevention Report. "The purpose of this newsletter is to help law enforcement and school officials work together to prevent violence in their schools," explains Mike Quinlan, president of Quinlan Publishing. School Violence Prevention Report will help officials find the successful programs that are working to prevent school violence in cities and towns across the country. "Our knowledgeable team of advisors, editors, and experts work diligently to bring police and schools the latest trends and strategies in preventing school violence and saving lives," continues Quinlan. "There's a lot of information out there, but we'll tell you what's actually working." School Violence Prevention Report offers solutions for community members to use in the fight against school violence. The Report includes step-by-step guides on how to initiate violence prevention programs and practical information to help calm fears and prepare communities, school leaders, and law enforcement before, during, and after a tragedy. A free two-month trial subscription is available by calling 1-800-229-2084. "I think law enforcement and school officials are going to appreciate our no-nonsense focus, straightforward approach and easy-to-read format. And, if they decide to become a regular subscriber and are dissatisfied for any reason, I'll refund all of their money at anytime," promises Quinlan. "And with their trial subscription, I'll also send a free report, A Commitment to Safety: A Model Crisis Management Plan, to help officials implement their own crisis management plan." Independent Music Magazine Network Debuts On PlayHear.com PlayHear.com, a provider of music news and information, has announced the launch of MagNet, a network of independent music publications. MagNet members will be able to publish unique content in a centralized location. Content offered by MagNet members includes feature interviews, album and concert reviews, and information targeted toward musicians and industry professionals. News on artists can be found by browsing articles by genre or by magazine, and by conducting a search using keywords and names. "We're very excited to have the opportunity to be the first music source on the Internet to offer audiences a one-stop shop for a variety of music needs," said Darren Taylor, PlayHear.com's president. "Users can easily access what type of, and how much, information they want, ranging from the mainstream to the more obscure, in whichever genre of music they prefer. It's all about choice, and we provide more tools to further expand the community." International Web Page Awards Enters Its Second Year The International Web Page Awards is receiving entries to its website competition from around the globe. Entries have been received to date from 14 different countries. According to Edwin Fish, Chairman of the International Web Page Awards, "We currently are on track to double the number of entries we received last year." In its first year, the festival received over 450 entries from 13 different countries. The International Web Page Awards has established 30 categories including advertising, arts, entertainment, corporate, finance, education, health, news, personal Web pages, religion/philosophy, science, sports and travel. Sites can also be entered for audio qualities, graphic qualities, print/Zines and video qualities. All Judges are recruited from the entries received. Entries may be submitted for consideration by Web page designers, advertising agencies, corporations or individuals who wish to spotlight their creative achievements in interactive graphic design on the Internet. Entry fees are $85.00 U.S. per website, per category. Entry deadline is November 30th 1999. Camp Chaos Announces Launch of 'Monkey for President' Website and Weekly Cartoons Web-animation team Camp Chaos has launched a new website, Monkey for President, featuring weekly short Flash cartoons centered around the Presidential candidacy of Monkey - a mischievous, animated primate - who made his first appearance in the Camp Chaos video game 'Spank the Monkey'. The cartoons are presented in the form of C-SPAN style reports, or in this case C-SPANK, and they center around the Monkey character wrecking havoc everywhere he goes, as a Bulworth-style satire of Presidential campaigns. One of the pilot episodes has Monkey facing off against Pat Buchanan while both are promoting their respective campaign publications. Camp Chaos founder and lead animator, Bob Cesca, said, "We plan on releasing a new animated report every week between now and Election Day 2000. And a lot can happen between now and then." "The hook," Cesca said, "is that Monkey is simply that -- a monkey. He's not anthropomorphized at all, yet he's running for President. It's mostly satirizing the mood of this campaign, with all the non-traditional candidates throwing their hats into the ring. In this case, Monkey is throwing his feces into the ring." Episodes are written and animated by Cesca, along with Tara Donnon, Tim Panella and Mike Cervantes. Around the Web A Conversation with Bob Wallace MediaBuzz Clues to the Mysterious Life of P.D. James Electronic Telegraph Disney Book Co. Loses Jacket Case Mercury Center Election Regulators Clear the Way for Online Debates NY Times The Harsh Realm of Cancellation MediaBuzz How Does Thriller Writer's Wife Figure In The Plot? BookWire Jeeves Goes to Hollywood Red Herring Loss of a Newspaper Rattles S.F. L.A. Times Publishing Vets Launch Christian Distributor PublishersWeekly Reuters Staff Told to Keep Their Cool After Fall in Share Price Financial Times Stephen King Starts Writing From Scratch Jam Books Viacom-CBS Merger Causes Concern AP Web Directory To Adopt Dewey Decimal System Newsbytes Who's Buying the Voice? Editor&Publisher Writer-Director Abraham Polonsky Dead E! Online Writers Bring Back Serial Format Washington Post Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2007 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
