EUROPEAN INTERNET NETWORK
October 15, 1999
ALEXANDRE'S REVOLUTION
By Rod Pounsett,
Editor
Amid the gloom, doom and disaster which seems to dominate headlines about
Russia and the Russians it's heartening to spotlight a young Russian who's
instigating a universally beneficial revolution. Sadly this particular
revolutionary has had to make his latest pitch for fame under the protection
of political asylum in the United States.
By all standards Alexandre Konanykhine was a entrepreneurial wunderkind
in his teens. By his mid twenties he'd taken Russia's emerging market
economy by storm and made himself a cool $300 million. He even had enough
spare cash to donate $10 million to Boris Yeltsin's campaign to win the
presidency. That was while Alexandre was still a favoured son of mother
Russia and had faith in the Yeltsin establishment. Before dark forces
in Russia, including corrupt KGB officers, drummed up charges alleging
the young banking and property tycoon was guilty of a whole bagful of
wrong doings, including embezzlement from his own banks and illegally
gaining a visa to the United States. Allegations which so hoodwinked the
authorities in the United States, that they had the young Russian thrown
in jail. Alexandre used up what was left of his fortune, after the Russian
twighlight establishment had confiscated most of it, in legal battles
in a bid to prove he was innocent and that he'd been railroaded by corrupt
Russian officials and gullible authorities in the United States. Eventually,
in 1997, the verdicts against him were reversed and he and his wife, Elena,
were granted political asylum in the United States.
Now Alexandre, who was studying to become a rocket scientist before his
leap into big business, is bouncing back with vengeance. He's set up a
company in New York, called KMGI.com Inc, which has developed a bundle
of internet tools and skills which are set to revolutionize the way firms
sell themselves and their products on the internet. KMGI is producing
what they've called "Webmercials" - TV style animated commercials
which make banner ads seem as dated as wall posters. And they also produce
similarly dynamic Web Presentations. The magic comes from KMGI's imaginative
use of Flash technology from Macromedia. They've combined vector-based
graphics with streaming technology to deliver full screen, high impact,
animation and graphics along with audio and interactivity. The really
clever bit is the way their designers describe an image with succinct
mathematics rather than specifying each pixel. This means they can produce
miniature files-typically 25Kb- which deliver a punchy audio visual message
in just a few seconds.
The cost cutting implications for advertisers' budgets are impressive.
KMGI say Webmercials can be produced for a fraction of the cost of a full
blown conventionally produced TV commercial.
It also looks like being the long awaited answer for web site operators
who've been concerned about the relatively low impact attractiveness of
banner ads. "Banner ads are so boring," says KMGI president
Alexandre. The Webmercials are already attracting big buck advertising
spenders in the United States and KMGI is about to go global.
Whatever the truth about his past the now 33 year old Alexandre Konanykhine
looks as thought he's onto a legitimate business success with KMGI's products.
So I doubt, provided no more dirt is thrown his way, that it will be too
long before Alexandre has regained his fortune and accrued a lot more.
And I'm sure Alexandre also hopes the dark forces in Russia can keep their
jealousy and vindictiveness under wraps this time round.
Visit Alexandre's revolution at: http://kmgi.com
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