Video Conferencing’s Unrealized Potential

I recently did an interview with Bob Hagerty, CEO of Polycom, which I strongly suggest you read. My earlier post on the company as one of the online video beneficiaries is available here. Here’s an update on its earnings for Q3 2007 and some analysis of the stock.

Web 3.0 & MSN (Part 5)

Conclusion Microsoft has been reorganizing and rebranding its online properties. The Company has rebranded MSN Messenger and Hotmail as Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail. Microsoft is working on improving the underlying technology behind MSN and introducing new features but all this is yet to trickle down to the bottomline. There are rumors of

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Neither Blockbuster, Nor Netflix

I still have my ten foot pole out and it is NOT pointed towards the movie rental industry. Starting with Blockbuster (BBI), I had zero confidence in their ability to execute on a compelling online Web 3.0 strategy. Blockbuster’s past efforts to battle competitor Netflix had cost the company dearly. Trying to dilute Netflix’s momentum,

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Online Travel and Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline

I wondered earlier if Priceline (PCLN) would reach its all-time dot.com high of $104/share ever again. The company not only reached the target but exceeded it, and is currently trading at $120/share. Priceline recently posted earnings for Q3 totaling $104.4 million versus $48.8 million in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Q3

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Web 3.0 & MSN (Part 4)

Acquisition Strategy Microsoft acquired Medstory and aQuantive this year. Actually both were very good acquisitions. Online Health is a large segment with 31% of the total U.S. Internet users or 55.3 million U.S. Internet audience visiting health information sites each month during the first quarter of 2007. Buying aQuantive was a shrewd move. With the

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eBay vs. Amazon: Which is a Better Company?

Holiday shopping is on everyone’s mind. All e-commerce players stand to gain. Here are 4 charts that compare eBay and Amazon’s performance. I would like you to take a look at them and provide your comments on which one is a better company, and why.

Web 3.0 & MSN (Part 3)

Web 3.0 Framework discussion Below is a quick overview of the Web 3.0 framework for the MSN sites. We have not gone into the details of all the properties, but you can review the Web 3.0 section of this site for detailed discussions on some of the vertical categories. Context MSN Astrology provides horoscopes and

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Will Mark Hurd Write a Book?

On November 19, Hewlett Packard Co (NYSE:HPQ) posted its Q4 earnings that beat all estimates. Revenue went up 15% y-o-y and 11.4% q-o-q to $28.3 billion. GAAP operating profit was $2.6 billion and GAAP diluted EPS was $0.81, up from $0.6 in Q4 2006. For full fiscal 2007, net revenue was $104.3 billion (up 14%),

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