Xref: utzoo misc.misc:7402 misc.forsale:7100 news.admin:6520
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!mcdchg!ddsw1!karl
From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: misc.misc,misc.forsale,news.admin
Subject: Re: Franchise Opportunity
Summary: Oh, I think that it probably IS ok, considering all I've seen of late
Keywords: Commerce, commercial, business, etc
Message-ID: <1989Aug9.140945.5371@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Date: 9 Aug 89 14:09:45 GMT
References:  <434@tp2.Waterloo.NCR.COM>
Reply-To: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc., Mundelein, IL
Lines: 52

In article <434@tp2.Waterloo.NCR.COM> howard@tp2.UUCP (Howard F. Steel) writes:
>In article  dp22+@andrew.cmu.edu (David
>Bruce Pinkus) writes:
>
>	--- some stuff about a fabulous new franchise deleted -----
>
>I was under the impression that the NET was not for business advertisement.
>If it is, I have a number of friends who would like to advertise throughout
>North America for free.

Actually Howard, you may be wrong.

A few months ago there was a big flap about people using the network
resources (whether by posting, or reselling the stream that we call
"Usenet") for their personal profit.

Now, we all know that lots of sites resell the stream -- they ask others to
share the costs of importing their feed(s).  This includes Unido, UUNET, and
hundred of other smaller systems.  That, it would seem, is something that is
considered "ok" by nearly everyone.

Some people wanted to restrict the right of others to resell parts of the 
net that they claimed to be "theirs".  I was part of a big flap about this,
and gave up in disgust -- no one really cared, or so it seemed.  Even though 
there is a distinct distribution for this kind of thing (biz.* groups), people 
didn't want to restrict the commerce and compilation copyrights to that area
-- as long as their champion was doing the commercializing.

Now it comes full circle.  I have seen two nice commercial ads in the last
week.  This franchise deal was one, the other was some new hardware product 
(fax?) that was posted to some 7 or 8 groups.

Me thinks that it is only a matter of a very small time period before the
net becomes the next big advertising medium.  

All of you who said "oh, it's ok if  copyrights and sells that 
group, and it's ok if  posts ads for their book or whatever on 
the net, even though it's a commercial enterprise" will realize just what 
you have condoned.  The snowball is rolling downhill, and gathering both 
size and speed.

Personally I don't care anymore.  If it becomes common practice, well, heck, 
we may as well post our ads to the net too, right?  Looking at it from the
point of view of a corporate marketing manager, this is one hell of a cheap
way to get some publicity; 500,000 users across the world.  Not bad for a
few hundred bucks a month in telephone costs.

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, !ddsw1!karl)
Public Access Data Line: [+1 312 566-8911], Voice: [+1 312 566-8910]
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.		"Quality Solutions at a Fair Price"