* Scarlet pimpernel Andy Mitchell, UK boss of AltaVista, came back tanned and relaxed from his holiday last Monday only to find various factions of the press baying for his blood. Taking it all in his stride, he blamed everything on BT, expecting the lynch mob to join in. Only things didn't work out as expected, and instead the hacks called for his head. AltaVistagate ensued and Mitchell took on the enemy number one mantle from last week's public hate figure, Nasty Nick. Not that he seemed at all bothered by this. Cynics would say this was all part of the greater plan - to get AltaVista all over the news and Mitchell's mugshot plastered everywhere.
* Staying with AltaVista, it seems the portal is fast becoming a dirty word over at the FT. Having completely missed the story back in March when even the tabloids managed to splash with it, this time around it took the FT until Wednesday to get something in the paper, a whole two days after the news of the phantom unmetered service broke. Is the business bible slipping or has its erudite e-business correspondent taken his finger off the pulse?
* Champagne corks were popping over at beeb.com last week - no, not for boss Drew Kaza's sixth child (although that has to be applauded), but for the £32.5m deal that BBC Worldwide managed to pull off. Cries of amazement were heard throughout the industry, with many people staggered that an unknown company from the US could waltz in and accept a 13.5% stake of what is now Beeb Ventures for such a princely sum. TH Lee Global Internet Managers was clearly shopping for a trophy wife, but perhaps didn't realise she was mutton dressed as lamb. While the investment should set beeb.com back on track, it's worth noting that the site has already had a reputed £17m spent on it by ICL - its original funding partner, which somehow managed to negotiate a contract three years ago that didn't even give it a stake in the venture. At least THL had the foresight to demand a stake.
* After more than a year-and-a-half of planning and heaven knows how many millions spent, BT has canned Uprush, its attempt to talk to the youth market. In hindsight, the writing was on the wall three weeks ago when invites were sent out for a glamorous Uprush party - only for the party to be cancelled, forcing the organisers to ring 500 people to let them know. Playing down the closure, BT said Uprush was always going to be a "pilot" and that it now conflicted with its new broadband and mobile strategies - which BT has in fact been planning for years. Not surprisingly, staff are hacked off, blaming BT bosses for taking 16 months to get Uprush off the ground.
