ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270026
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Computer Bits
DON'T WANT SIMPLICITY? If you like the lab coats, you'll love the Web site; Clinique goes on line. Find gardening advice by the gigabyte. Virginia offers a whole lotto info.
Computers promise to help you control such things as schedules and finances better, but in reality they produce information overload. Here are some tips on how to avoid that from John M. Moran of The Hartford Courant:
Learn to love your delete key. Nothing solves the problem of information overload faster than erasing the whole mess.
Throw out your old floppies.
Start over. Get off those Internet mailing lists, forget about entering your videotape collection in your spreadsheet, clear out your hard drive and reinstall only the programs you really need.
Get ruthless. Take a hard look at what data you're getting and what data you're keeping. Do you really need that on-line service you're paying for? Are you really ever going to play those old games? How many Web sites do you want to keep up with?
Computer cosmetics
Clinique, the No.2 vendor of women's cosmetics in department stores, has gone to cyberspace to jazz up its image. In March, the company introduced a Web site (clinique.com) that offers personalized product consultations and is written in the friendliest site language yet.
Now, Clinique is distributing special Internet Netcom starter kits to customers at 1,500 retailers nationwide, including Leggett stores in Western Virginia. The kits arrived this week.
Clinique, a unit of the Estee Lauder Cos., is using the Internet to educate people about its products and also to reach consumers aged 16 to 25. People in that age group do not go to department stores - where most of Clinique's 350-plus products are sold - as often as their older sisters and mothers.
Surfers who register at the site can call up customized data about products suited to their needs and stores where they can be purchased. The site also offers information on Clinique products for men, a list of other sites useful to women, and discussion of issues such as aging and personal finance
An attractive element is a section of tips on how to navigate the site and even change the type size. The instructions are so good that they're worth reading even if you don't care about cosmetics
Another feature is a regularly updated list of "Cool sites for women."
This week's include herspace.com, which has information on resume writing and sexual harassment; leggs.com, which is about pantyhose but also includes a daily horoscope and time line focusing on women's achievements throughout history; and fashion.net, a series of links to fashion and beauty sites.
Clinique's Web and kit venture is a relatively inexpensive supplement to its hefty print and broadcast advertising campaigns, which cost $20.7 million in 1994 and $15.6 million in 1995 according to estimates by Competitive Media Reporting. The company is spending less than $250,000 on cyberpromotion and expects to spend another $150,000 to $200,000 annually to maintain the site.
Hose & Garden
As more and more consumers become involved in the lawn and garden adventure, marketers of the products they need are trying to get known on line. Gilmour Group, a Somerset, Pa., maker of gardening equipment, has designed "Shades of Green," (gilmour.com), which offers consumer tips on pruning, watering and spraying as well as information about selection and use of lawn and garden products.
Visitors to the site will find answers to questions such as: How many types of hoses are there and how do you know which one is right for you? What's the difference between anvil and bypass loppers? How do you water your yard efficiently when its shaped like an amoeba? What are some different uses for tank sprayers? When and how should you prune various trees and shrubs?
Lottery on line
As of Tuesday, the Virginia lottery has a home page, valottery.com, where you can get the latest information about the odds for games and the winning numbers as well as winning ticket sales sites.
Players can e-mail comments without leaving the page.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart. color. KEYWORDS: MGRby CNB