anatomy of a soon-to-fail internet venture
1. build search-centric site with lofty statements pronouncing that anonymous private searching is as important to you as mom, god and apple pie:
“Protect the disclosure of your personal search profiles to on-line search engines by using our excellent Search the Web Service, that guarantees your personal privacy at our site.
Our Private Search Engine will never deliver an unsolicited banner advertisement to you. It will also never use cookies or other invasive Personal Profiling technologies to build any personal profiles on your search requests. ”
2. reveal in sec filing that you really don’t think private searches are as important as being an overblown amazon affiliate:
“The Company has developed a substantial privacy-based information site with thousands of links to privacy issues, news, books and organizations. The company is constantly updating and improving this site and when it is ready for proper launch it will replace the existing search-based site as the home page and central focus of the web site in February, 2000. At such time, the existing search-based web site will be retired from service.”