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Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 23:18:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Nancy Ammerman <emoryu1!phoenix.Princeton.EDU!nancyamm>
To: Jackie Ammerman <[email protected]>
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CHAPTER 13:  Business on the Net



13.1  SETTING UP SHOP


    Back in olden days, oh, before 1990 or so, there were no markets in
the virtual community -- if you wanted to buy a book, you still had to
jump in your car and drive to the nearest bookstore.
    This was because in those days, the Net consisted mainly of a series
of government-funded networks on which explicit commercial activity was
forbidden.  Today, much of the Net is run by private companies, which
generally have no such restrictions, and a number of companies have begun
experimenting with online "shops" or other services.  Many of these shops
are run by booksellers, while the services range from delivery of indexed
copies of federal documents to an online newsstand that hopes to entice
you to subscribe to any of several publications (of the printed on paper
variety).  A number of companies also use Usenet newsgroups (in the biz
hierarchy) to distribute press releases and product information.
    Still, commercial activity on the remains far below that found on
other networks, such as CompuServe, with its Electronic Mall, or Prodigy,
with its advertisements on every screen.  In part that's because of the
newness and complexity of the Internet as a commercial medium.  In part,
however, that is because of security concerns.  Companies worry about
such issues as crackers getting into their system over the network, and
many people do not like the idea of sending a credit-card number via the
Internet (an e-mail message could be routed through several sites to get
to its destination).  These concerns could disappear as Net users turn to
such means as message encryption and "digital signatures." In the
meantime, however, businesses on the Net can still consider themselves
something of Internet pioneers.
    A couple of public-access sites and a regional network have set up
"marketplaces" for online businesses.
    The World in Brookline, Mass., currently rents "space" to several
bookstores and computer-programming firms, as well as an "adult toy
shop."  To browse their offerings, use gopher to connect to

       world.std.com

At the main menu, select "Shops on the World."
    Msen in Ann Arbor provides its "Msen Marketplace," where you'll find
a travel agency and an "Online Career Center" offering help-wanted ads
from across the country.  Msen also provides an "Internet Business
Pages," an online directory of companies seeking to reach the Internet
community.  You can reach Msen through gopher at

       gopher.msen.com

At the main menu, select "Msen Marketplace."
    The Nova Scotia Technology Network runs a "Cybermarket" on its
gopher service at

       nstn.ns.ca

There, you'll find an online bookstore that lets you order books through
e-mail (to which you'll have to trust your credit-card number) and a
similar "virtual record store.'' Both let you search their wares by
keyword or by browsing through catalogs.

    Other online businesses include:


Bookstacks Unlimited    This Cleveland bookstore offers a keyword-
                       searchable database of thousands of books for
                       sale.

                               Telnet: books.com

Counterpoint Publishing Based in Cambridge, Mass., this company's main
                       Internet product is indexed versions of federal
                       journals, including the Federal Register (a daily
                       compendium of government contracts, proposed
                       regulations and the like).  Internet users can
                       browse through recent copies, but complete access
                       will run several thousand dollars a year.  Use
                       gopher to connect to

                               enews.com

                       and select "Counterpoint Publishing"

Dialog                  The national database company can be reached
                       through telnet at

                               dialog.com

                       To log on, however, you will have first had to
                       set up a Dialog account.

Dow Jones News          A wire service run by the information company
Retrieval               that owns the Wall Street Journal.  Available
                       via telnet at

                               djnr.dowjones.com

                       As with Dialog, you need an account to log on.

Infinity Link           Browse book, music, software, video-cassette and
                       laser-disk catalogs through this system based in
                       Malvern, Penn.  Use gopher to connect to

                               columbia.ilc.com

                       Log on as: cas


The Internet Company    Sort of a service bureau, this company, based in
                       Hudson, Mass., is working with several publishers
                       on Internet-related products.  Its Electronic
                       Newsstand offers snippets and special
                       subscription rates to a number of national
                       magazines, from the New Republic to the New
                       Yorker.  Use gopher to connect to

                               enews.com

MarketBase              You can try the classified-ads system developed
                       by this company in Santa Barbara, Calif., by
                       gopher to connect to

                               mb.com

O'Reilly and Associates Best known for its "Nutshell" books on Unix,
                       O'Reilly runs three Internet services.  The gopher
                       server, at

                               ora.com

                       provides information about the company and its
                       books.  It posts similar information in the
                       biz.oreilly.announce Usenet newsgroup.  Its
                       Global Network Navigator, accessible through the
                       World-Wide Web, is a sort of online magazine that
                       lets users browse through interesting services
                       and catalogs.


13.2  FYI


    The com-priv mailing list is the place to discuss issues surrounding
the commercialization and the privatization of the Internet.  To
subscribe (or un-subscribe), send an e-mail request to com-priv-
[email protected].





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