Contents: July 26, 1999
Cover Story
The Information Gold Mine
Whether they're online upstarts or old-school behemoths, companies are scrambling to cull mountains of data on purchasing and window-shopping patterns. It's about getting customers to buy more, reveal more, and to come back later--willing to pay a premium for the tailored products and services that result. This ultrapersonal closeness is a dream come true for companies--but will it be a nightmare for consumers?
Editor's Memo
The Road to Webville
Home Page
The cyber wedding invitation; an auto insurer that follows your every move; asking about Ask Jeeves; truckers with keyboards; finding relief online
Perspective
Data Mining: What's In It for Me?
Consumers are being begged to send E-mail to marketers, respond to their surveys, and register at Web sites--but they're not getting much in return
Data Mine
The Kids on the Net
Soon, youngsters will spend billions online. What are the implications for merchants--and for parents?
Strategies
Opening the Door to Profits
In the heart of Wisconsin, Weyerhaeuser's "dead dog" of a door factory perked up after it fired up an intranet information system
Personalities
Halsey Minor's Major Plans
The CEO sees CNET as a one-stop shop for everything there is to know about tech products and news
Upstarts
Can You Sell Food Like Books?
Bookstore founder Louis Borders has taken on perhaps the most ambitious venture in E-commerce yet: An online grocery store
Invasion of the E-Vikings
Nordic entrepreneurs are rushing to capture Western Europe's Web markets with customized sites that speak the locals' languages
Tokyo's Valley of the Netrepreneurs
A new organization called Bit Valley gives startups a way to swap business tips and nab capital
Net Worth
Everyone into the Pool
Venture capital is drawing cash from everywhere -- and with returns this amazing, it's no wonder
Net Culture
Lemonade Stands on Electric Avenue
Anyone can sell anything on the Web -- and does. But how much clout do Netrepreneurs have vs. the big boys?
Clicks & Misses
Taking in the Travel Sites
The top sites for trip planning -- Microsoft Expedia, Travelocity, and Preview Travel -- are all found wanting
Cutting Edge
A New Race of Giants?
Instead of being a great democratizer, the Web is in danger of creating a breed of competition-stifling colossuses
|
|
 |
Keep up with developments in the fast-paced world of E-business at ebiz.businessweek.com. The site offers the latest news from CNET and the staff of Business Week magazine and Business Week Online. Check out what we'll be analyzing in
our upcoming set of regular E-business features.
Monday
Perspective: Columnist Geoff Smith previews upcoming advice software from Fidelity's online-brokerage unit (July 19).
Tuesday
Company Closeup: A look at HyperMart, Inc. (July 20) and a closeup on Preview Travel (July 27).
Wednesday
Movers & Shakers: Profile of Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder of online retailer Rakuten and a leader of Japan's emerging "Bit Valley" mecca for Net startups (July 21).
Thursday
Street Wise: A weekly commentary on E-business stocks and the markets.
Friday
Clicks & Misses: A review of venture-capital Web sites (July 16) and a critique of CNET.com (July 23).
Also
Watch for daily additions to our Data Mine, a collection of facts and figures, and sample occasional opinion pieces by staffers, researchers, or executives.
Browse through stories from Business Week and Business Week e.biz.
ebiz.businessweek.com. is a free area of Business Week Online, although some stories from the magazine may occasionally be available only to subscribers.
On the Cover: Photo-illustration by Aaron Goodman,
background photograph by Michael Melford, suit courtesy of Banana Republic, stylist: Karen Kozlowski
|
|
