But only some. The fact is, AT&T has repeated its discredited strategy for Interchange—i.e., cobble together other people's divergent content and claim you've added value—with the new Business Network. There is very little here that is original.

(Editor's Note: the site did not survive. AT&T has distributed some of its features and services elsewhere.)

The "Lead Story" feature is probably the site's chief attraction (it is at least topical), but it too suffers from the lack of any particular effort or expertise. Lead Story simply takes a current business news item and, with minimal introduction, "places it in context" by linking to other sites. This is something almost every online news organization does as a matter of course—and they actually report the story while they're at it.

Some effort has gone into compiling and organizing the site's numerous business directories, although once again AT&T has added little in the way of commentary or guidance. However, the sheer number of links on offer (organized along the traditional lines of companies, industries, et al.) does make the Business Network a decent starting point for business information searches. AT&T promises a specialized business search tool, based on Digital's AltaVista technology, this summer.

AT&T also promises that a number of other enhancements and special features will be rolled out over the coming months. They will be needed if the Business Network is to stand any chance of living up to the company's hubristic "home page for business" slogan.

(Reviewed June 23, 1996)