PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
November 7, 1994

HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE ON THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

 

Laurence A. Canter and Martha S. Siegel, HarperCollins, $20(208p)
ISBN 0-06-270131-2

Phoenix-based lawyers Canter and Siegel recently made national headlines after advertising their services on the Internet, a global network linking millions of company, academic, institutional and governmental computers as well a commercial online services.  Critics charge that commercial messages are intrusive and violate "Netiquette,", the research-only tradition on which the Internet was built.  This practice manual, which is bound to raise hackles in some quarters, explains how anyone, equipped with a personal computer, telephone line, software and an Internet account, can market their products or services on the Internet, as thousands of vendors have already done.  In a witty, user-friendly style, the authors cover the basics of structuring ads and promotions and disseminating them via the Internet's electronic mail, discussion groups, electronic bulletin boards, opening "stores" (data sites) online and other techniques. One chapter surveys the array of sexual material and pornography available on the Internet.  The authors also outline ways to cope with forged messages, abuse and vandalism by entrenched Netters who are opposed to cyberselling.  Author Tour. (Jan.)

FYI:  Wired magazine rejected an ad for this title because of the techniques for marketing products and services on the Internet advocated by the authors in their book.  for the story of the controversy, see News (Oct 31).