Best & Worst Of The Web - September 22nd, 2000

by , 1:00 PM EDT, September 22nd, 2000

There are lots of great articles, and some really bad ones, on the Internet. Though we link to all of them at MacOS News Around The Web, some of them deserve special mention here. Most of what we will mention within these pages will be among the best, but on occasion we will talk about articles that are so bad or so wrong we just have to say something. Consider them mini-editorials on our part about things we think you might also be interested in.

Worst [12:00 PM] IDG - Web publisher says banners have proved a disaster
It is not that often that we have journalists from other Mac sites write with a suggestion for our Best & Worst, but today is such a day. We received a number of messages about this article claiming that banner advertising has failed. While the writing if fine, and it does't appear that the author of this article feels one way or the other about the topic (an example of excellent journalism), it makes our worst simply because of the ideas presented in the article. Silicon Ally pioneer Jason Calcanis was found pontificating about the horrid state of the Web as we know it, and more specifically how banner ads are doomed to fail. Uhhh, Jason, seems to be working out so far. Our favorite quote from the article:

He went on to say that until now, content has been funded by venture capital -- consumers have been getting a free ride. But since the nosedive in technology stocks in April, that model is outmoded.

"We have to come up with a form of advertising on the Internet that's disruptive," he continued.

Ohhhh, consumers want "disruptive". I missed that, my bad. Reviewer - Kyle D'Addario

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Best [12:00 PM] Low End Mac: - Internet Grandma
Aren't parents wonderful? They make you good dinner when you visit, they still treat you like a little kid and buy you stuff, and they all want to get "hooked up to this Internet thing." Joy. This is a great article about trying to train a non-computer using, 70 year old grandmother how to set up a computer and send e-mail...by phone. Done in a VERY entertaining way. Our favorite quote from this piece:

Finally I asked, "Mother, if you didn't have the mouse on the pad, and it was taking both hands, how were you trying to use it?" At this point, I realized the technological Grand Canyon that we were attempting to cross. She was holding the mouse with both hands, pointing it at the monitor, and clicking the mouse button as if it were a remote control on a television set or a VCR.

This person has more patience than I could even conceive of. Reviewer - Kyle D'Addario

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You can find these links, and lots of other links for Mac and Tech Industry stories, at MacOS News Around The Web.