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Knowing how to read a customer's mind, predicting his or her hot buttons and giving them what they want is good business for any e-commerce marketeer. But some say today's powerful customer-tracking tools invade the buyer's privacy, expose them to risk and reduce them to stereotypes The strong market for such "collaborative filtering" software was ...

Online network Go2Net (Nasdaq: GNET) strengthened its small business presence on Thursday by announcing the acquisition of Virtual Avenue The purchase of Virtual Avenue, which provides free Web hosting services for small and medium-sized businesses cost Go2Net approximately $23 million (US$) in stock. The deal is effective immediately.

Internet stocks have been "cracking," as they say on Wall Street, all this week. That means CMGI, Yahoo, and even America Online are falling in price. For most of them, this comes despite strong earnings reports On Wednesday, however, one of the Internet bellwethers came out with a weak earnings report. Amazon.Com lost $61.7 million for the quarter...

While the brouhaha continues in Houston, Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto is quietly facing the same challenges. Like Compaq, H-P sells PCs through distribution channels, as well as servers and legacy systems (mini-computers). What would it do about this new e-commerce thing? According to analysts, quite a lot. Zona Research of Mountain View, Californi...

NewChannel Inc., an e-commerce technology company, wants to put sales people back into e-commerce, and national shipping company Consolidated Freightways Inc. is ready to give it a try With NewChannel's new "targeted engagement" technology, companies engaging in e-commerce will be able to add personal interaction between online shoppers and sales r...

Online automobile buying service Autobytel.com (Nasdaq: ABTL) reinforced its leadership position in the industry on Thursday when it announced its first-quarter results. The company announced record first-quarter revenues of $8 million, 73 percent higher than the $4.6 million (US$) reported for the same quarter last year. Autobytel.com also reported a net loss of 68 per share, compared to 83 cents per share for the same quarter last year...

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Ranked among the top three e-commerce software firms in Europe, German-based Intershop Communications announced a 98 percent sales growth in Q1 1999, in comparison with the same period last year. The company also predicted that it will see rising profit for the remainder of the year. While U.S. market leadership has, thus far, eluded Intershop, the company has made significant inroads with large U.S. ISPs and Web hosting services like MindSpring , Concentric and PSINet...

James Barksdale, of Netscape fame, is now heading to e-commerce. The 56 year old former Microsoft nemesis has founded The Barksdale Group, an investment and advisory firm that focuses on Internet software and services start-ups. On Thursday, Barksdale's group announced that it would invest in e-commerce newbie, HomeGrocer.com, which sells groceries to consumers from its Web site...

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) announced mixed first-quarter results after the market closed on Wednesday, losing somewhat less than what Wall Street analysts had estimated. Amazon's losses reached US$36.4 million, or 23 cents per share in the quarter Also notable was Amazon.com's quick growth. Net sales for the first quarter were $293.6 million, an inc...

Looks like it's going to get crowded in the cyber-toy store this Christmas. Brick-and-mortar toy store chain Toys 'R' Us (NYSE: TOY) announced Tuesday that it plans to spend at least $80 million (US$) to create an e-commerce subsidiary Helping to bankroll the deal will be Benchmark Capital, the money-men who financed such hot Web offerings as eBay....

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) went on a major shopping spree on Monday, making deals to buy three separate companies for a combined $645 million (US$). The agreements will expand Amazon.com's presence in online book and music sales and also strengthen the company's technology The most significant deal was Amazon.com's purchase of Exchange.com, which of...

Online travel agent Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) ended the quiet period after its initial public offering with a thunderous roar on Monday that dazzled Wall Street. Priceline.com, which allows customers to name their price for travel arrangements, announced that more than one million users have tried their services in the company's first year of operation, with 300,000 new consumers using the services each quarter...

Michael Jordan collector card sets, beanie babies, meanie babies, and perhaps the odd antique curio. Such is the image of the burgeoning online auction market. But with that in mind, last Thursday's announcement that a body of Jerry Garcia's original artwork will be auctioned off to benefit the environment might seem a bit anomalous "Sign the Mona ...

Its trademark slogan can be seen across the country. In rural and urban America "NO FEAR" decorates windshields, surfboards, and t-shirts. The NO FEAR craze does not seem to be a passing fad, however. Last week, the manufacturer of performance, athletic and casual products launched itself into the brave new world of online commerce. NO FEAR and 1st Net Technologies, Inc. signed an Internet Marketing and Revenue Agreement that will develop an e-commerce Web site aimed at marketing the companies line of 500 products...

Lately, what Intel top dogs have been telling any analyst willing to listen, should send a shiver up the T-1 line of any e-commerce startup carving out a niche Intel, the microprocessor maker that corners about 85 percent of its market, is saying that within two to three years about 90 percent of its $26 billion plus revenue will be coming -- not f...

How would you like to see one company controlling the bulk of the Internet access market and the customers within that market? How would you like to see one company deciding where people will start their online sessions, how fast they'll be able to see your site, and whether they'll see it at all? You wouldn't? Then you should be very, very concern...

Verio (Nasdaq: VRIO), the world's largest domain-based Web-hosting company and a provider of e-commerce services for small businesses, is taking e-commerce global in a major way. Today, Verio announced an agreement with Cybersource, a leading supplier of e-commerce transaction services, to offer businesses the ability to process and settle online transactions in 29 currencies...

Online auction leader eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) made a major move into the high-end auction market today when it announced an agreement to purchase upscale brick-and-mortar auction house Butterfield & Butterfield. The $260 million (US$) deal is expected to close in the second quarter The acquisition seems somewhat surprising, because eBay and Butterfield...

Barnesandnoble.com (NYSE:BKS) announced on Friday the launch of a new small business and entrepreneurs area of its popular online book store The new section will be hosted by Terri Lonier, the site's "resident entrepreneur". Lonier is the author of several small business books and the president of Working Solo, Inc., a firm that advises high-tech a...