eBay vs Amazon: My Take

So, I asked you to think about whether eBay or Amazon is a better company. I pointed out that Amazon’s stock is performing a lot better than eBay’s this year. One of you rightly pointed out that Amazon’s margins are a problem. Indeed, as I discussed at length in the series we just completed, Amazon

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Web 3.0 & Amazon (Part 5)

Conclusion We have reviewed Amazon’s strategy in the upcoming Web 3.0 world over the last few days. Amazon has been focusing on enhancing its technology, introducing new categories of products and services (recently introduced, Amazon MP3 and Grocery), increasing depth of selection in each category, opening new markets (UK, Germany, Japan), offering better shopping tools

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Standing by WebMD

WebMD Health Corp. (WBMD) is a familiar home to anyone who has ever searched the Internet for a cure to bad food, a sprained ankle, the difference between a pulled muscle and torn hamstring, or between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. I covered their business concept at length in an earlier comparison article on health websites

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Web 3.0 & Amazon (Part 4)

Acquisition Targets Amazon has been slow to acquire companies. Amazon acquired dpreview.com, a London-based digital photography review site in May 2007. Amazon needs to use acquisitions to enter businesses that have a higher profitability dynamic in their business models. For example, Amazon could consider acquiring on-demand, customized product creation company CafePress. CafePress.com is a growing

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Web 3.0 & Amazon (Part 3)

Web 3.0 Framework discussion Below is a quick overview of the Web 3.0 framework for the Amazon sites. Context Amazon’s primary Context is shopping. Whether it is for books, music, toys, or clothes, you come to Amazon to shop. Content Amazon has really good content about its merchandise. In fact, the Amazon catalog is a

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And The Dwarfs?

In my earlier series on Online Video Beneficiaries, I covered Cisco and its “seven dwarf” competitors. Let us look at how Juniper, F5, Foundry, Alcatel, and Nortel have fared since then. [3Com is being taken private, and Extreme, we think, is not going anywhere.]

Web 3.0 & Amazon (Part 2)

Vertical Strategy Amazon is the most popular e-commerce site in the world. We will take a look at the Company’s various online verticals below. Books, Newspaper and Magazines Amazon was started as an online bookstore. It is the largest retailer of books online. It allows users to buy books, magazines and newspapers online. Amazon has

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Cisco Grows Fatter, Shows Emerging Market Weakness: Corelated?

On November 7, Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) reported results for the first quarter fiscal year 2008 that ended October 27, 2007. Earlier posts are available here, where I said that Cisco needs to slim down, and here, where I discussed Cisco’s prospects as an Online Video beneficiary. In this post, we will take stock of what

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