Remember the time (1995-96) when people started creating home pages to defame companies when they could not resolve disputes of a business transaction? They were mostly consumers, and the world-wide audience for their complaints was a potent weapon against the big companies.
Then there was a company called RealNames that tried to monopolize popular names and keywords and influence what people will find when they searched the World-wide-web. It had a lucrative contract from Microsoft, and together they milked the MSN and IE users.
Case in focus is Keith "Crybaby" Teare. This dude used to run the company RealNames, which has recently been shutdown because Microsoft did not renew their contract. As far as I am concerned, his company added no value to the web, and only diluted my web experience while profiting from it. In the dot-com bust we've lost so many gems that I have no tears left for RealNames and I am happy to see them go.
What is interesting is that Teare resorted
to a blog 
, to
avenge his anger at Microsoft, and the facts of his case have
gotten unprecedented publicity. This morning he even got a cease and desist notice from Microsoft lawyers.
I find the ugly fight of two monopolistic, former business partners, very amusing.
- The Pulp Patriotism -- editorial in Times of India, and the furore it has caused.
- Lost and Found: Nizam's Fortune -- An old, but interesting article from Guardian.
