Internal memos online

The inside scoop on infamous corporations

Of the 800 memos found at internalmemos.com, about half of them are free.

(CNN) -- You've seen the media reports of the ongoing corporate scandals, accountants losing count and executives getting rich while their companies go bust. Now you can get inside information from the source, thanks to InternalMemos, a new site dedicated to leaked corporate communications.

The site is run by Philip Kaplan, the founder of sites like Luckedcompany.com, a feel-good site about rarely publicized corporate deals done right; its ever-popular, if vulgar, antithesis, with an unmentionable name, a site that reveled with each new economy failure; and Yahotties.com, which Kaplan says is "good news about attractive young women."

Kaplan says he's made a lot of money with sites like these. He says one of his sites "grossed over $1 million dollars in 2001 and (he) had one employee." He expects InternalMemos to continue that tradition, explaining, "InternalMemos (has) 800 memos, half of which are free and half of which require a $45 per month subscription. I believe there are probably around 100 subscribers which is great, for only being up for a couple of weeks."

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Much in the same way the unmentionable site used member postings to document the "dotcom bomb," InternalMemos shows a willingness of employees to betray the very companies they work for. Kaplan sees himself as sort of a watchdog for the people. "The best part about running the sites -- it forces managers and executives to really think about what they are saying, to put it simply -- to be nice to your employees. If they're not nice to their employees, they let me know about it," he says.

Blown out of proportion

One notable example on InternalMemos is from an outspoken manager at the IT firm EDS to his chief executive Richard Brown. The letter reads, "Your memos are a laughing matter for 90% of the employees (the 10% are your 'yes-men' you have surrounding you). Paydays are so stressful and tense, it is pathetic - the backstabbing of employees to climb over each other is cannibalistic in nature. Is this your new corporate culture?"

So what do the companies in question think of these leaks? An EDS response to the posted letter states in part, "A single individual's comments have been blown out of proportion by the distribution capability of the Web. The Web site in question gives voice to one person - one of 140,000 - while not recognizing the voices of the thousands of EDSers who send the chairman positive messages."

Such comebacks don't seem to bother the site's founder one bit. Kaplan maintains, "The only people who are ever dismayed or ticked off about my Web sites are generally people who I'm writing about who oftentimes are... scandalous accountants and lying CEOs. They generally deserve what they get."