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Perspective Insights, analysis, and commentary on the state of E-business from four editors of Business Week e.biz. A Perspective column appears every Monday from one of the four editors on a rotating basis. 2000  1999 1999 Mar.   Apr.   May   June   July   Aug.   Sept.   Oct.   Nov.   Dec.
December 1999
Dec. 27		Looking for Winners Now That E-Christmas Is Over Heather Green: The early traffic and sales data have drawbacks, but together they suggest that the strong brands may have done best
Dec. 20		The Christmas Cyber Jitters Give Brick-and-Mortars a Boost Ellen Neuborne: "Just in Case" Net shoppers -- nervous that e-tailers won't deliver -- are running to earthbound stores for last-minute backup gifts
Dec. 13		This Lawsuit Is Cranking Up the Volume over MP3 Mike France: People can use Napster.com to swap copyrighted music on the Web. But is the site responsible for its users' illegal actions?
Dec. 6		A Corner Bank Shames the Cyber Laggards Geoffrey Smith: Salem Five Cent Savings Bank near Boston hit the Net early, and its success online could teach some large banks a thing or two about the wizardry of the Web
November 1999
Nov. 29		The New Gift Services Race to Wrap Up Market Share Heather Green: Online registries are partnering with e-merchants to ease the stress of holiday gift giving -- and lock in consumers for themselves
Nov. 22		These E-Tailers Have Toys, but How About Trust? Ellen Neuborne: A flurry of TV ads for online merchants may build brand awareness, but during toy season, e-shoppers will head for stores they know
Nov. 15		Why Microsoft Can't Count on the Appeals Court Mike France: The D.C. Circuit judges who sided with the software giant in 1998 may not get this case, and anyway, the legal issues are different
Nov. 8		Will Banks Miss the Boat on E-Billing? Geoffrey Smith: If they don't arrange for you to get -- not just pay -- your bills online, they could lose out to Net-savvy players
Nov. 1		A Pair That Pool Buying Power and Help Build Web Brands Heather Green: Two new services, PeoplePC and Vstore, offer Net companies innovative alternatives to the increasingly costly portal marketing deals
October 1999
Oct. 25		When Will E-Tailers Deliver for New Moms? Ellen Neuborne: Working mothers would love to shop online for what their babies need. But e-merchants will have to work harder to capture this ideal cyber niche
Oct. 18		Day-Trading Reform That Could Be a Nightmare Geoffrey Smith: Vaguely worded proposed SEC rules will likely do little to protect traders, but they could make online brokerage firms juicy legal targets
Oct. 11		These E-Commerce Services Help Consumers Join Forces Heather Green: Sites like Accompany and NexTag pull consumers together and give them a chance to affect prices. That could make the portals less powerful
Oct. 4		The Government Shouldn't Be the One to Make Microsoft Pay Mike France: A punitive consent decree would shackle the whole industry for years. Instead, let any injured parties extract cash in private suits
September 1999
Sept. 27		P&G Could Follow in Dell's Net Footsteps Ellen Neuborne: If Reflect.com, its site for custom-made cosmetics, takes off this Christmas, Procter might wallop Net newcomers and -- like the PC giant -- cut out the middleman
Sept. 20		The First Amendment Still Reigns -- On and Off the Net Mike France: A recent case suggests that U.S. courts will extend the same free-speech protection in this new medium that journalists and other citizens enjoy offline
Sept. 13		How the Titans Will Try to Lure Gung-Ho Traders Geoffrey Smith: Schwab and Fidelity are rolling out superfast Net trading products -- both less than ideal -- for wealthy, aggressive investors who value speed over cost
Sept. 7		Movies and Music: The New Breach in Portal Walls Heather Green: Now Amazon offers the studios a rival place to promote their films, and giant E-tailers could zap the portals in music distribution, too
August 1999
Aug. 30		The Net Is Knocking Furniture Sellers Out of Their Rockers Ellen Neuborne: Online retailers have found new ways to lure consumers -- and old-line outfits aren't taking the changes sitting down
Aug. 23		Behave -- or Lose Your Domain Name Mike France: Here's one way of bringing some order to the lawless Web: Yank the name away from a renegade site
Aug. 16		If Funds Are Smart, They'll Get Net-Friendly Geoffrey Smith: Mutual-fund investors are flocking to the largest fund companies, and it could be because those big players also have the top Web sites
Aug. 9		People Power Is Waking Up Old Web Services Heather Green: Stand-alone sites are taking the portals' search and shopping offerings and reenergizing them -- with the help of the Internet masses
Aug. 2		How to Forge a Faster Net: Competition Peter Elstrom: Encouraging investment in speedier Internet connections is the best bet, and forcing cable companies to share their networks will hardly do that
July 1999
July 26		Now You Can Sell Anywhere -- and Get Sued Anywhere Mike France: Courts are starting to grant jurisdiction for lawsuits far from an E-merchant's home turf, and that can be costly
July 19		A New Weapon in the Arsenal of Online Brokers Geoffrey Smith: Fidelity's Personal Investments Review is a big advance in helping investors understand how to manage their portfolios. It will surely spawn rival versions
July 12		The Latest Online Must-Have: A Corporate Portal Heather Green: Companies that give both employees and customers one-click access to info and services (even sports scores) can reap big payoffs
July 5		Time for Retailers to Face Their Web 'Terror' Ellen Neuborne: Many traditional sellers have Web sites but wait timidly for customers to find them. A few brave souls are taming their fear of cannibalization
June 1999
June 28		Why Can't Congress Let the Internet Alone? Mike France: Despite their rhetoric, the supposed enemies of big government are close to burdening cyberspace with heavy-handed rules
June 21		Why Online-Only Banks Won't Hit the Cyber Jackpot Geoffrey Smith: Net banking can't offer consumers the kind of savings cyber trading has. Still, it's E*Trade that may set off a race to develop banking portals
June 14		Getting the Right Ad Play -- without the Portals Heather Green: Ad networks like DoubleClick can deliver a wide variety of Web audiences to advertisers, sometimes more cheaply than the leading portals
June 7		Weddings and the Web: A Marriage Made in Cyber Heaven Ellen Neuborne: Wedding-related sites are popular because they've marketed themselves as problem solvers for the stressed-out. Other E-tailers should take note
May 1999
May 31		The E-Sales Tax Holiday Won't Last Forever Mike France: States and localities will not pass up the chance to collect these levies. But E-commerce will survive and a more rational sales tax system may result
May 24		Extend the Safety Net for Cyber Investors Geoffrey Smith: Two areas on the Web -- day trading and microcaps -- need more stringent regulation, not just tougher enforcement
May 17		Big Media Storms the Net -- A Little Timidly Heather Green: Despite their flashy portal deals, media giants like Disney and NBC may not be moving boldly enough to match Yahoo! and AT&T
May 10		The Delivery Dilemma Could Box In E-Commerce Ellen Neuborne: Few E-tailers worry enough about onerous shipping charges and how to get all those containers of consumer goods to busy buyers. They ignore the problem at their peril
May 3		Crafting a Magna Carta for Cyberspace Mike France: A new consumer-group alliance may worry some E-businesses, but it's healthy for the Internet and the search for lasting cyber government
April 1999
Apr. 26		How the Web Could Spawn a New Breed of Business Lender Geoffrey Smith: If nonbanks started financing their customers' businesses over the Net, they would give bankers, especially local ones, a run for their money
Apr. 19		Why Portals May Not Be Packing the Same Marketing Punch Heather Green: With the masses coming online, E-merchants can use a wider variety of brand-boosting techniques -- and move beyond the Web gateways
Apr. 12		Why Famous Brands Often "Fracture" When They Hit the Web Ellen Neuborne: Too many retailers rush their wares onto the Net without making sure that customers will get the experience they're expecting
Apr. 5		A New Voice for the Web's Worldwide Business Community Mike France: The group, known as the GBDe, will try to solve some fundamental E-biz issues. The hurdles are high, but the stakes are even higher
March 1999
Mar. 29		A Richer Future for Online Investors Geoffrey Smith: Soon to be available for all: More elaborate tools for enhanced research and -- perhaps most important -- for custom advice
Mar. 22		Content Is Prince Heather Green: Despite renewed buzz saying unique information is key to online success, deep data about an audience is still king
Mar. 15		The Malling of Cyberspace, Part II Ellen Neuborne: After some false starts, new-style virtual malls are gaining strongly