May 31, 2000 - You don't need a weatherman to tell you where the Web goes

You don't need a weatherman
to tell you where the Web goes

Analysis/Commentary
The lure of instant fame on the Web is a promise dangled at the eager masses to make them feel they matter. And certainly, their enthusiasm and their dollars matter, but unless their Web pages garner the lists of Nielson's, Media Metrix, Gomez, or Forrester -- in other words, the top 2,000 to 4,000 sites -- they count for little in the tally of talents.
To get to the top of the lists, websites need a brand like Amazon, eBay, or Yahoo! -- or at least they need a crowd pleaser, a bait that packs 'em in. Look at the websites that have climbed steadily over the past few months and you will discover the secret to demagoguery. Panem et cirquem, the Romans called bread and games. Some sites offer bread, such as coupons, free certificates, and one-hour delivery; others offer games, like the loyalty site Iwon.com, that offers a $10 million prize once a year and $10,000 each month.
Still, there's another attention-getter that's more interesting, more satisfying intellectually. This is the sleight of hand of redirection, the coding that alters the plumbing of the Web to draw surfers to sites they wouldn't otherwise visit. Here's how it works: the Web exploits a client-host relationship. The client is the computer asking for entry to a host (usually a Web page). When a computer user clicks on a link or a bookmark, or types a URL address in the address-bar of a browser, he or she in fact sends out a request to process a Web page. The ".com," ".net," and ".org" are locations on the Net, collections of Web pages, and the complete request -- which usually begins with http and ends with .html -- makes a call to a domain (a com, net, or org) to process a page request. The computer translates the letters into numbers which are processed first by a domain name server, then a Web server. And presto!
Now here the plot thickens. Some enterprising commercial interests on the Web have learned to pull and push requests between clients and hosts. RealNames, for example, has devised a way to convert plain language requests into requests that its proprietary routers and databases understand, allowing users who type "Coke" in the address line of a browser to go directly to http://www.coke.com/ gateway.html. This remarkable foreshortening of the computer code falls under the general name of redirection. RealNames charges large corporations a percentage fee on impressions generated by their keywords "convergence service."
Re-engineering basic Internet code isn't illegal, but it can be. Some Internet site builders draw traffic from the Net by packing their pages with metatags (identification codes) that contain common services or products. When a search engine catalogs the Web to identify common services or products, it may inadvertently catalog rogue sites so that they get more traffic than their original content would otherwise attract. Large Website owners hire analysis software experts to ferret out fraudulent "redirects" and send the rogues bluntly worded cease-and-desist letters.
But redirection remains far from illegal when used properly. Companies such as Nethop.com and Goto.com use redirection as a vehicle for advertising by attaching a redirection prefix or suffix to their domains. A user with a URL of IceAngels.com/ community/ users/ jackfrost/ index.html might adopt a new name like goto.com/ jackfrost. Users of the service get a free redirect and the redirection services get an opportunity to co-sponsor a third party, much like advertising on TV. In exchange for a 15-second "spot" -- a pop-up or delay page -- websites obtain the attention of users hard put to visit a site using its actual domain name and Internet directory location.
May 31, 2000