Ever since he left CMP Media last year to freelance, Seidman has been conducting a very public search for a business plan. He rejected the idea of placing advertising on his website or his e-mail newsletter, and also decided against charging a subscription fee.
That didn't leave too many options. Internet business-plan theory says if you don't have advertising or subscriptions, you need a product to sell. Seidman joined with Mark Hurst to form a market-research company called Good Reports to sell market-research reports on the Web. The pair's first report is In Search of E-Commerce, which carries a price tag of $1,295 purchased online ($1,195 with the special discount code "Seidman"). Try to buy it by phone, fax, or mail, and it costs $1,495. Seidman says the price differential is justified by two things: the increased cost of handling non-electronic orders, and his desire to practice what he preaches, by giving people an incentive to buy online.
Seidman spoke with Paul Schindler in our San Francisco studio. The highlight of the interview was his recitation of the five most common errors made on e-commerce sites, reproduced here in both audio and transcript form.
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Job
Home
Family
College/Degree
Career
First Computer
Optimistic Statement About The Internet
Pessimistic Statement About The Internet
How And Why I Got On The Internet
Editor/publisher, Seidman's Online Insider
San Francisco, Calif.
Nope
Nope
Same as above, self-employed
Timex Sinclair 1,000
It may change the way you buy your socks. Seriously, the Internet empowers people in new ways to make better decisions and choices.
It won't change the way you put on your socks!
I got online with BBS's way before the Internet was popular. I thought it was a great new communications medium and it really interested me. I first got on the Internet in 1988 because I liked the thought of being able to communicate
with others around the world, [not] just a local BBS or national -- but
proprietary online services.