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Tuesday roundup: Earth Class Mail's new hire, Expedia gains, Lawyers discuss Avvo

  • Earth Class Mail, which allows businesses and consumers to receive postal mail over the Internet, continues to bulk up in the executive ranks. The Seattle company has named Donald Bloodworth -- a former senior financial executive at PacifiCorp, 3Com and AirTouch Communications -- as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. The company, formerly Document Command, appointed former Entellium executive Natalee Roan as chief marketing officer last month.

  • Shares of Expedia were up 14 percent today on news that the Bellevue online travel company plans to spend up to $3.5 billion buying back as much as 42 percent of its common stock, with Chairman Barry Diller denying reports that the company planned to cut staff and go private.

  • LegalTalkNetwork's Lawyer 2 Lawyer program discusses Avvo, with Seattle attorney John Henry Browne and legal bloggers Carolyn Elefant and Denise Howell as guests. Browne, a named plaintiff in the class action suit against Avvo who has been quoted in recent P-I stories, said that Avvo's system has "blatant inconsistencies" and noted that his antenna went off when he learned that a dead, disbarred attorney ranked higher than him.

    Elefant, who writes the MyShingle.com blog, comes across as the biggest supporter of what Avvo is trying to do. But even she found problems with the site, saying that Avvo is "sloppy" and there are "definitely problems." "The ranking system has become so controversial that it has become a Red Herring obscuring the potential value of the site," she said in the podcast. "...If the site is going to fail, I would prefer to see it fail through market forces and not be killed by bar association or class action because I think we are setting a dangerous precedent for future sites that might crop up."

    Howell, who writes the Bag and Baggage blog, said there is potential for Avvo to create a worthwhile consumer resource. But she suggested that the rating portion of the site should only be available through an "opt-in" basis, something that Elefant agreed with.

    • Posted by at June 19, 2007 5:34 p.m.
    Categories: ,
    Comments
    #37644

    Posted by unregistered user at 6/19/07 11:23 p.m.

    The opt-in system still leaves far too many obvious holes. This is one of the most poorly conceived and implemented sites in the history of the web. Funny what greed can do to individuals who clearly should have known what the result would be.

    Report violation
    #37714

    Posted by unregistered user at 6/20/07 9:31 a.m.

    What would be the value in taking Expedia private and cutting employees? Aren't they planning a move to downtown Bellevue?

    Report violation
    #42920

    Posted by unregistered user at 7/25/07 8:02 p.m.

    Earth Class Mail / Remote Control Mail - Why drive to a post office box when you can manage your postal mail online?

    http://www.daddyodeals.com/phpBB/about20332.html

    Report violation
    #44645

    Posted by unregistered user at 8/5/07 4:58 a.m.

    Earth Class Mail 1 FREE Month Coupon Code

    http://www.daddyodeals.com/phpBB/DEAL-Earth_Class_Mail_1_FREE_Month_Coupon_Code_HOT-23996.html

    Earth Class Mail 1 FREE Month Coupon Code

    Report violation
    #46116

    Posted by unregistered user at 8/13/07 5:24 p.m.

    I love how the Earth Class Mail people spam their crap everywhere.

    This is an investor's nightmare. I wish John Cook would get below the most superficial level when pumping companies like this - the costs to do this are astronomical for the value presented. Doesn't anyone remember the pre bubble days when there were dozens of these companies doing the same thing? This is just a pump and run by the founders IMO. Their spam - priceless!

    Report violation

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