Television
Afghanistan Islamists ban TVs, videos (ChiTrib)
U.S. Starts Paid Ad Campaign Against Drugs (NYT)
Internet
Internet Freedom (WP)
How Reliable Are Online Surveys? (CyberTimes)
Can the Internet Cure the Common Cold? (NYT)
Mergers
Europe Clears MCI-WorldCom Merger, With Internet Conditions
(TelecomAM)
EU Backs Merger of WorldCom, MCI (WP)
EU Commission Approves WorldCom-MCI Marriage (WSJ)
Wireless
ArrayComm Pushes a Technology to Wise Up Wireless (WSJ)
Privacy
Plan to Sell Travel Data Raises Privacy Concerns (WSJ)
** Television **
Title: Afghanistan Islamists ban TVs, videos
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec 1, p.12)
http://chicago.tribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9807090134,00....
Author: Reuters
Issue: Television
Description: Afghans have 15 days to get rid of their TVs, video players and
satellite receivers; the Taliban Islamic movement has found them
inadmissible to Islamic morality. The Taliban had already ended television
broadcasts in the two-thirds of the nation that it controls, but a deputy
minister in the Department for Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue
said people continued to watch video tapes and foreign television channels
received on satellite dishes. [Looks like that "Turn Off Your TV" movement
is really taking off.]
Title: U.S. Starts Paid Ad Campaign Against Drugs
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/drugs-ad-column.html
Author: Courtney Kane
Issue: Advertising
Description: The largest Government-financed social marketing effort to date
will be kicked off July 9 by President Clinton and Gen Barry McCaffrey, the
director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The $195 million
campaign will involve paid ads on television, radio, print, billboards, and
interactive media. "For the first time we will be able to buy the time slots
in the best media vehicles," said Thomas Hedrick, vice chairman of the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America in New York, "just like Nike or
McDonald's or Pepsi does on a regular basis." "We're going to pay for the
precise placement we need to get the right message to the right audience,"
Hedrick said, "with enough frequency to change attitudes and, over time,
drug behavior." The first TV ad will appear at approximately 9:15pm
(eastern) tonight on all five networks.
** Internet **
Title: Internet Freedom
Source: Washington Post (OpEd, A19)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/09/113l-070998-idx.html
Author: Charlene Barshefsky (U.S. Trade Representative)
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Today, of all business equipment investment in America, 45
percent is in information technology. These figures may make one initially
think of the growth of technology leaders and large companies. However,
Barshefsky points out that what we may find is that the benefits of
electronic commerce will be greatest for those Americans that are currently
shut out of trade because they are located in inner cities, rural areas or
reservations -- or simply lack the financial means to get started. With the
information highway, "small businesses, individuals with good ideas or rural
cooperatives can find international customers and products in seconds at
almost no cost." At this time, people can conduct a variety of business
transactions basically for free -- "because today, in trade terms, the
Internet is pristine. Today there are no customs on cross-border telephone
calls, fax messages or computer data links. This duty-free treatment
includes electronic transmission on the Internet...But there is a threat to
these bright prospects." Governments may see electronic commerce as a threat
to domestic special interests instead of a way to increase productivity and
help entire nations prosper. Or they may see it as an opportunity for
revenue through taxes and tariffs. "If we act now, we can prevent this, and
the early signs are good....With hard work, we will preserve the Internet as a
duty-free zone for commerce, and set out a work program that eliminates
non-tariff measures, unnecessary paperwork and needless
bureaucracy...Society will be more mobile and offer more opportunity for
even impoverished citizens to become entrepreneurs...It is an opportunity we
will get only once, and by acting now, we can take advantage of it."
Title: How Reliable Are Online Surveys?
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/cyber/articles/09poll.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Internet Use/Surveys
Description: Every week news junkies can, and do, participate in dozens of
polls and surveys posted online. This raises the question: "Which, if any,
of these polls can be taken seriously?" According to a "handful" of
marketing experts, the answer is "not many." For the most part, they say
that polls are marketing ploys designed to attract traffic. Dan Murphy,
director of research and analysis for Relevant Knowledge, a marketing
research company, points out that the more participants a site can pull in
equals more page views and, in turn, advertising revenue. "It's methodical.
It's a business model," said Murphy. Yet some scientists and polling
organizations say that you can gain some valid assessment of an issue by
polling online. One of the inherent advantages of conducting surveys in
cyberspace is the medium's wide reach and affordability. Harris Black
International, publisher of Harris telephone polls, believes that online
polling, if done correctly, can be statistically valid. Leonard Bayer, a
chief scientists for Harris, said that the company believes that it has a
good enough understanding of the population on the Internet to find samples
that are representative of the population at large. "If we need to reach
10,000 people with a particular medical condition, say multiple sclerosis,
we can do so virtually overnight," Bayer said. Before, "it was unaffordable"
to do so, he said.
Title: Can the Internet Cure the Common Cold?
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/circuits/articles/09heal.html
Author: Katie Hafner
Issue: Telehealth
Description: "Being a highly involved patient was possible before, but only
for the most dedicated, committed people," said Dr. Tom Ferguson, editor and
publisher of The Ferguson Report, a newsletter about online health
information based in Austin, Tex. "Now all the information is available to
anyone with an Internet connection." There are more than 10,000 health
information sites available online -- bringing about an unparalleled shift
in the way doctors and patients interact. At best, the information online
can elevate a doctor-patient relationship into a partnership and save lives.
At worst misleading, inaccurate information can waste a doctor's time,
create false hopes for patients, and put a life in danger.
** Mergers **
Title: Europe Clears MCI-WorldCom Merger, With Internet Conditions
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: Pending the sale of MCI's Internet assets and business
activities to a
buyer acceptable to the European Commission (EC) and the Department of
Justice (DoJ), EC has approved the merger of long distance carriers MCI and
WorldCom. European Competition
Commissioner Karel van Miert said as part of the conditions for approving
the sale, the two companies also agreed they would not compete with the
eventual buyer of the Internet assets. The DoJ is still reviewing the deal
and a decision is expected soon.
Title: EU Backs Merger of WorldCom, MCI
Source: Washington Post (E2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/09/198l-070998-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Title: EU Commission Approves WorldCom-MCI Marriage
Source: Wall Street Journal (B7)
http://wsj.com/
Author: WSJ Staff Writer
Issue: Mergers
Description: The European Commission yesterday granted conditional approval
to merger of WorldCom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. The Commission, the
European Union's executive body, affirmed the merger on the condition that
MCI sell its entire Internet business. The EU's announcement clears the way
for approval by the U.S. Justice Dept. as early as next week.
** Wireless **
Title: ArrayComm Pushes a Technology to Wise Up Wireless
Source: Wall Street Journal (B4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Quentin Hardy
Issue: Wireless
Description: Martin Cooper, who built the first portable cell phone 26 years
ago when he was at Motorola, now owns a start-up called ArrayComm Inc.,
based in San Jose, Calif. Cooper's group is working on developing and
selling a "smart" antenna for wireless networks. For all of the advances in
wireless systems, antennas have changed relatively little over the years.
Cooper thinks it is now time that antennas were made that are capable of
interacting with cellular users to pack more customers onto a given system.
The company says that by targeting the transmission and reception of calls
more precisely it can reduce the amount of interference and the amount of
spectrum consumed so more people can get on the network at a time.
** Privacy **
Title: Plan to Sell Travel Data Raises Privacy Concerns
Source: Washington Post (E2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/09/204l-070998-idx.html
Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Issue: Privacy
Description: The Sabre Group, the nation's largest airline reservation
system, may soon sell information about passengers' destinations, hotel
accommodations and other travel arrangements under a new marketing proposal.
The plan would use data warehouses -- "sophisticate computer technology that
vastly increases the speed of information processing" -- in a variety of
promotions. "We are looking at potential marketing and business
opportunities with data warehousing," said company spokeswoman Jennifer
Hudson. "We can use these types of projects to help travelers get better
deals." But Sabre's plans have raised questions about privacy, in part
because as information is collected, marketers and others could potentially
track an individual. "This brings to light the fact that airlines in
particular have a ton of information. They have where you're traveling to,
who you're traveling with, the car you drive, what you're eating," said
Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
"This is personal information." Sabre released a statement yesterday after
questions were raised about their plans stating that "We do not sell
passenger names or other private information to third parties without the
consent of the passenger, and have no intention of doing so in the future."
*********
Yesterday's summary of the WPost story "Puerto Rico Paralyzed by
Strike" should have been labeled solely under the issue "telephony," not
"international/telephony" as Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S. and
decidedly not "international." Please accept our apologies for this error.