Dec. 15, 1997
To: The Picks Staff
From: Management
Hi, folks! Loved your work on last week's Picks! You really outdid yourselves. One eency-beency bit o' feedback - can you tone down the "high-tech" stuff? The bean-counters in accounting aren't convinced that all that computer stuff plays in Peoria. Capiche? That's all we'll say about it. Subject closed. By the by, check out Variety.com, the online version of the world-famous show-biz daily. Variety features gossip columns, box-office numbers, and capsule reviews for film, TV, theater, and music. Let's not forget the stellar Awards Watch section. Variety is what we need, kids. Big names. Big stars. That's what John Q. Website wants to see. Madonna. Not Dilbert. Star Trek sequels. Not search engines. Okey Doke? Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reachin' for the stars!
Dec. 17, 1997
To: Management
From: The Picks Staff
Thanks for the input. We're totally down with the Hollywood thing. That's why we're definitely not pitching net.wars, Wendy M. Grossman's new book about Internet culture. Sure, you can read the entire text of Grossman's book, which includes chapters on Spam (unwanted marketing email), Hacking (breaking into computer systems), and Privacy (um, never mind). But all of that stuff is really geeky. Have a good one. (If you get a minute, please reconsider that last purchase order we put in for a new dot-matrix printer. Can we also get Christmas off? Thanks.)
Dec. 24, 1997
To: The Picks Staff
From: Management
Gang -- Thoughtful suggestion re: giving everybody tomorrow off, but as of now the official word is "Nyet." Gotta watch the bottom line! Exciting news, though - we found a real winner of a web site - Mr. Blackwell's Worst Dressed List. Plenty of juicy gossip, celebrity photos, and fashion advice. It's got that jazzy glammy Hollywood thing in buckets. Here's a word we'd like the Picks team to think about this week: sassy. It's all about sass. All sass, all the time!
Dec. 25, 1997
To: Management
From: The Picks Staff
Thanks for the heads up on the sassy thing. Is biology sassy? We found this great site called The Biology Project, "an online interactive resource for learning biology" from the University of Arizona. It's got everything: biochemistry, Mendelian genetics, immunology, and developmental biology. The site also offers charts, quizzes, and helpful tutorials. We think it appeals not only to students and scientists, but to everyone. And it's sassy, too, sort of. What do you think?
Jan. 3, 1998
To: The Picks Staff
From: Management
Nope. Negatory. No go. School is NOT where we want to be. We're also going to deep six the ABC Nightline archive. HQ says ixnay on the Oppelkay. Granted, the site's got a week's worth of RealVideo news reports and interview transcripts, but Around the World Balloon Trips? The Unabomber? Human Cloning? Booorrrring! Eyeballs, kids, eyeballs! (FYI - Your dot-matrix printer is almost a 100% bona-fide reality! Complete enclosed forms Y!345-L, Y!349-K, the Yahoo! Credit Check, this form detailing your immigration status, and you're good to go, baby!)
Jan. 7, 1998
To: Management
From: Picks Staff
Thanks for the memo. You're right about the Koppel site - consider it gone. How about Super Bowl.com instead? Visitors can chat with football greats like Fred Biletnikoff and James Lofton, hear archived press conferences with Reggie White and John Elway, and watch NFL Blast, a music-accompanied RealVideo highlight clip of the season. And of course, there's an abundance of information on the Broncos and Packers. The Super Bowl is a fairly popular sports event, so we're hoping that lots of people will really like it. What do you guys think?
Jan. 12, 1998
To: The Picks Staff
From: Management
Looks like someone put their thinking cap on! Football is GREAT, and do you want to know why? Because it's a sport, and sports are incredibly popular! Have you guys checked out Yahoo! Internet Life's Wire and Ice, an online guide to the Winter Olympics? It's got loads of statistics, race schedules, and athlete bios. You might also check out 1998 Winter Olympics Predictions, which is chock-full of articles and information on the ice skating events. This is an incredibly popular form of entertainment and we're interested in aggressively pursuing the global sports watching audience. You guys are seriously on fire!
Jan. 14, 1998
To: Management
From: The Picks Staff
Hi there - thanks for the positive feedback. We're pretty excited the sports thing. What do you guys feel about history and politics and stuff like that? We've been spending a lot of time at the PBS site, The Presidents, learning scads about the careers, policies, and decisions of the featured U.S. leaders. There's information on Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, and Truman, and in February they're adding Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, and Reagan. What do you think?
Jan. 17, 1998
To: The Picks Staff
From: Management
Kids - Gonna have to give you the big negatory on the history angle. It's done. It's over. Kaput. Got anything on the Spicy Girls?
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