Does anyone else think it's strange how marketing is all abuzz with "relationships" and "1-to-1" techniques at the same time there's a huge controversy over privacy on the Internet and the right to anonymity?

I took a straw poll and now it's official - 4 out of 5 people agree that there can only be a 30% confidence in 80% of all survey data.

Next year my New Year's resolutions will all be about e-mail. I don't think I'm really an egregious offender on any of these, but somebody needs to take a stand. I vow:

• To never try to extract anyone's emotions or attitude out of a text message

Are any of the people who predicted the demise of the Wall Street Internet Gold Rush surprised that it actually happened? How many of these folks sold off their shares in time?

Seven years ago I a) didn't have email; b) had no web access; c) had no cell phone; d) had no beeper; and e) had no PDA device. Today, only A and B have changed, but I can't imagine life without them. My hope is that email and the web will mature quickly enough so that I can completely jump the curve on C, D and E.

Pound for pound the best historical work on the origins of the PC industry is the PBS serial documentary "Triumph of the Nerds." It's a much saner, accurate and more complete account of everything depicted in last year's sensationalistic TNT made-for-tv movie, "Pirates of Silicon Valley."

When Steve Jobs sits among his fruit-colored iMacs and his new PowerMac that looks like either a bread machine or a cookie tin, I wonder if he ever smirks at the memories of his old paradigm-challenging black finish NeXT computers. Even if you hate him, you have to admire the fact that the man just never gives up. The guy deserves his own wing in whatever the hall of fame is for the PC industry.

"For six years American business has been diverting a substantial part of its attention, its energies and its resources on the speculative game...Now that irrelevant, alien and hazardous adventure is over. Business has come home again, back to its job, providentially unscathed, sound in wind and limb, financially stronger than ever before."

--Business Week, November 2, 1929 (three days after the infamous stock market crash that catalyzed the depression era) [1]

The Internet IPO bubble has burst. If you haven't noticed this on Wall St. this summer, perhaps you've been on Mars...in a cave...with your fingers in your ears...yelling "La La La La La!" If that's the case, we forgive you.

This phenomenon has not been missed, however, by @#$%&*Company.com, one of the most irreverent websites in Internet history. "@#$%&*Company.com" is not the real name, which we can't print here because it's comprised of a familiar expletive which is humorously apropos to the site's content.

In a brash and often ranting style, @#$%&*Company at first seems a parody of the popular Fast Company, the People Magazine of business publications. But only their mastheads look the same.* @#$%&*Company provides a daily report of Internet companies who have crashed and burned, and is quick to point out all the embarassing details of these companies' failures, announcing such things as layoffs, money lost, board member dismissals, and creditor gossip. This website seems to revel in the "I told you so" style of journalism that, frankly, many of these overhyped businesses deserve. But it is a little harsh, so we must warn you that the language appeals more to the Howard Stern type of audience.

Not really a news site, @#$%&*Company was created by someone who is only referenced to by the name "Pud," as an alternative-style stock market game. The subtitle of the site is "the dot-com deadpool." Players select Internet companies who have gone public and earn points when they fail, i.e. have layoffs, site shutdowns, bankruptcy, etc. You get bonus points for being the first to predict a company's misfortune.

Metrics Survey
The deadline for the GGI Metrics Survey has been extended to September 5. Results of the survey will be presented by GGI's Brad Goldense at our Metrics conference in Chicago this November. [Download Survey]

Innovation @ Warp Speed
We're pleased to announce a new workshop we are offering focused on creating an effective and sustainable innovation strategy, instructed by Tony Ulwick, CEO of Strategyn. For more information, click here.

Call for Papers - Product Development and the Supply Chain
We are now in the planning stages for our next conference on product development and the supply chain, and would like to hear from anyone who may have an interesting and valuable case study to share. For more information, contact Tracey Kimball at tracey@roundtable.com.

Download these .PDF Files
Our website now has available complete information on the following events as downloadable acrobat .pdf files: "Innovation @ Warp Speed," "Product Differentiation Bootcamp," and "Portfolio Metrics."

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