Last night, I was reading Newsweek, minding my own business and there it was. A big picture of Mark Breier, former CEO of beyond, in an article about failing Internet companies. When he started there, I didn't know much about the exciting world of startups, I blindly assumed that since he was from Amazon, he knew what he was doing. Nobody can pinpoint the exact cause of beyond's slide (although I therorize that it started with the aquisition of buydirect in Feb. 99) but now that Breier's gone, everyone feels comfortable pinning it on him. Is that fair? Is it true? The stock remains in the toilet.

This article quotes some former employees. It's weird to think that having worked there somehow makes us newsworthy (not that the author talked to me). At times, it felt like a family, now here's our family business in a national magazine. It's odd, very odd, and sad.