The consequences of this debacle are not only financial: It could lead to a cyberlibertarian's nightmare, a place where large corporate interests define the online experience for the vast majority of the public. That, in turn, raises the specter of a new kind of digital divide that splits society into multiple classes depending on their ability to pay--a system that severely restricts the free flow of information as we know it today.
Empires pay billions for more visitors
The unprecedented speed, number and price of Internet combinations formed to boost traffic has redefined the corporate merger, which critics from Washington to Silicon Valley now say contributed mightily to the decline of the overall industry.
Were underwriters really undertakers?
The practice of underwriting--taking a company through the maze of Wall Street to sell its shares on public markets--has fallen under increased scrutiny since so many investors lost their money in the free fall of Internet stock prices.
Executives benefit from Street smarts
Despite investor criticism and sour-grape griping, financial planners say the Internet CEOs who sold their companies and cashed out were simply following standard investment advice. And in retrospect, they look like geniuses.
