The attacks on lawyers Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel for advertising their services on the Internet were swift and overwhelming. The two admit it was discomfiting to receive thousands of E-mail messages deriding them as "parasites" or "two-bit merchants." But the death threats were downright scary.
"There's a group that wants to be sociopathic about the Internet." Siegel said.
The outcry notwithstanding, Canter and Siegel continue to push the boundaries of Internet marketing, amid the ongoing debate over the proper role, if any, of advertising on the vast computer network.
The two lawyers have given up immigration law for a cyberspace consulting practice. Their new 10-person firm, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Cybersell, helps others develop guerrilla marketing tactics on the Internet.
They've also written a book. In "How to Make a Fortune on the Information Superhighway," the pair seek to explain the Internet to would-be cyberspace capitalists.
Although there are more comprehensive how-to books on doing business on the Internet, the book is noteworthy as a narrative about one of the Infobahn's biggest crashes to date -- written by the people who caused the accident.
"There's this small group of naysayers who try to tell you that the Internet culture doesn't want advertising." Siegel said. "That's hogwash."
The fracas began last April, when Canter and Siegel had
the
audacity to post the first advertisements to millions of computer users in
free Internet discussion groups. Specifically, the pair advertised
their counsel for an upcoming immigration lottery -- in no less than 6,000
of the Internet's free Usenet discussion groups."Usenet is the only way to reach the majority of people on the Internet." an unrepentant Canter said last week.
The ad turned out to be good business for Canter and Siegel. It brought $100,000 in business -- all from Internet users who sought the couple's legal immigration advice at $100 a pop.
Electronic Junk
"You've got to take a look at it from the other side," said Michael J. Walsh, president of Internet Info, a consulting firm in Falls Church, Va. "If this technique of advertising proliferated, I would be getting as many as 500 messages a day."
Walsh says electronic junk mail is more time-consuming to sift than paper-based, direct -mail solicitations because the electronic ads are not easily identifiable.
"If you send out 1,000 messages, you are likely to annoy at least 10 people who have nothing better to do than to make your life miserable," he said.
Both NetCom Online Communications Services Inc. and Internet Direct -- the two firms that sold the access accounts used by Canter and Siegel to post their advertisements -- were nearly incapacitated by the volume of E-mail complaints they received. Both firms canceled the lawyers' Internet accounts.
"Neither of the access providers canceled our account because they wanted to." Siegel said. "People threatened them."
Undeterred, Canter and Siegel set up their own network server and now have private, direct Internet access.
They haven't posted any more ads on any of the Usenet discussion groups. but they don't rule it out -- or discourage others from doing so.
A good hacker ultimately can undo the work of the advertisers on Internet discussion groups, however.
In Canter's and Siegel's case, a Norwegian hacker finally erased their message almost entirely from the Internet. Using a program called a "cancel-bot" -- an electronic robot designed to let message creators cancel their own missives -- sophisticated computer users can cancel others' messages as well.
"Censorship is going to be the kiss of death on the Internet," Siegel said.
But there is a new part of the Internet that accommodates advertisers like Canter and Siegel -- as well as ad-hostile network surfers.
The World Wide Web offers a forum for unobtrusive advertising. Even Canter and Siegel say using the Web soon will become the best means of advertising on the Internet, as more people become equipped to log on to the Web.
In a nutshell, the Web is an area of the network where users can "jump" among databases devoted to various topics and companies. Unlike advertisements in discussion groups, those posted on the World Wide Web aren't mailed out indiscriminately.
Only users interested in a particular company or topic will see an entry -- also called a "home page" -- for that topic.
To decide where to go on the Web, users simply check an index. The index lists content on the Web by company, category of information and date the information was posted. Users who are interested in downloading a particular Web posting need only type a command -- each Web posting has its own.
Advertising Suggestions
Hundreds of companies have set themselves up on the world Wide Web in the past few months alone. They range from global giants like AT&T Corp, to small publishers like Lonely Planet, which sells travel guides.
Siegel and Canter offer these suggestions for those interested in advertising on the Internet:
● Think globally. Remember that the Internet reaches people all over the world.
● Exploit the network in every way possible. Use Usenet, the Web and electronic mail, and don't worry about ranking some network users.
● Don't try to go it alone. Enlist the aid of a commercial on-line-service.
● Be patient. Although the potential is great, the Internet is still undeveloped as a marketing avenue.