Killers Making Killings
From the early days of the Web, obsessives have tried to create the ultimate, authoritative site for their chosen preoccupation. Assemble a critical mass of information on, say, Wayne Gretzky ( www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~beej/.www/gretzkys.html) and any Netties interested in Wayne may well wend their way to it. A couple of years ago, the reward for all this effort was simple: you became a star among the people who cared about the same thing you did, the Grandee of Gretzky. Today, however, people who care a lot about money have come to be obsessive in their own right. Be it born of love or just greed, Web sites that tell you all you could ever possibly need to know about a given subject can draw a large, self-selecting, highly targeted audience. Enter the Web's version of the "category killer".A variety of sites are now looking at ways to make money by adopting such a category-killer strategy. But all are struggling with a basic question: assuming you get the large, self-selecting, highly targeted audience of your dreams, what do you do with it ? Different sites are trying different approaches.
Yahoo! ( www.yahoo.com) is following the classic advertising model. Easily the most popular Web site directory, Yahoo! generates income by flogging banner webverts on its pages at a premium rate. But, fully aware there is no guarantee that webvert revenue will continue to grow at its current pace, Yahoo! also recently entered into a partnership with Visa to develop an online marketplace for goods and services on the back of the main site's popularity.
Transactions are the life-blood of the Sabre airline reservations network, which has for decades been a near category-killer off the Web. It's now offered on the Web via the huge Travelocity travel information site ( www.travelocity.com). As people begin to feel more at ease performing online transactions, Travelocity hopes to generate the bulk of its income from flight, car hire and hotel bookings. That said, the site's burgeoning reputation as a travel information resource ensures that it can also expect a healthy income from the numerous revolving webverts already littering the site. Killer sites can also generate income by providing a service. LawInfo ( www.lawinfo.com) looks well set to forge a dominant online niche producing a comprehensive, international directory of lawyers. The site is financed on a Yellow Pages model, with law firms charged an annual fee for having their listing appear on the site, while the public get the service for free.
Amidst all the money-making, it now seems a tad retro to come across a genuine killer site that insists on remaining a pure, unsullied public good. The astonishingly comprehensive CineMedia site ( www.gu.edu.au/gwis/cinemedia /CineMedia.home.html) claims to be the Net's largest film and media directory. Given the volume of film, TV and radio-related information on tap (over 4,000 links), I see no reason to disbelieve them! The site was initially set up as a labour of love by one Danny Harries, but the government-funded American Film Institute has since adopted it, and offers it as a gift to the world at large. But then again, CineMedia's altruistic view of the world has an important lesson for the growing hordes of more commercially inclined category killers: impartiality. Editorial integrity is paramount for any would-be killer. Quirky they can be; opinionated is almost mandatory. But the day a killer gains a reputation for hidden, commercially-motivated bias (why do they always plug that brand ?) is the day it begins to die. It takes a lot of trust to make a living as a killer.
- Tom Loosemore
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CyberMom Dot Competition
Inventing an unambiguous URL is tantamount to finding a gold nugget on the electronic frontier. But woe betide you if - like The CyberMom Dot Com ( www.thecybermom.com) - there's already someone with a claim on it. A webzine for moms with modems, TCDC attracts upward of 2,000 women a week. Laid out like a giant suburban American home, it's a women's mag with a sense of humour. The Powder Room - a "lovely, intimate space with just the faintest scent of talc" - has a Medicine Cabinet containing health info, while the Bedroom has Mom's nightstand, with book reviews and fellow CyberMom's views on sex and relationships. And try the Back Porch, where you drink coffee and "vent".The site provides a way into Net culture for women who might be put off by the many feisty WebGrrrl e-zines. More importantly, it doesn't patronise a special subgroup of Net culture: home-makers and child raisers.
But a little snippet at the bottom of TCDC's home page reveals a potential threat to its continuing prosperity: "We're THE one, THE only ... don't forget our THE". Guess what ? The Mom's not alone: there's also CyberMom Dot Com ( www.cybermom.com) - but it's puerile cyberchick bullshit. When TCDC went live in December '95, the obvious CyberMom name had already been registered by CDC, though it was not in use. So the 'moms swallowed the "THE" awkwardness and went ahead. After that, CDC started up for real, effectively producing a "parasite" to siphon off unsuspecting surfers. Who says it's not a jungle out there ?
- Liz Bailey
Hypernational Natter
After a hard day's surfing, it can be a daunting task finding a friendly place to relax and chat among like-minded friends. Thankfully, Hyperchat UK ( hyperchat.co.uk) provides a serendipitous sanctuary, tucked well away from the bustle of the virtual village. If IRC is a city centre bar full of beered-up lads out on the pull, then HUK is a cosy country pub full of old friends.Despite the efforts of MSN and AOL, vibrant online communities can't simply be conjured out of the ether. It's the punters who create the community, and their temperament dictates the atmosphere. And as MSN seem to have realised, hosting your online community on the Web - rather than limiting connections to the reach of your proprietary network infrastructure - can both attract a more diverse mix of members and, conversely, allow them to band together in like-minded little groups.
The fledgling Hyperchat UK is already bustling in a most amiable fashion, with the number of messages posted per day quadrupling to 24,000 over the course of its first month. The Net's lack of borders can be a wondrous thing, but there comes a times when you feel the need to have a good chinwag with fellow Brits without having to translate your every utterance into lowest-common-denominator AOL vernacular. Where on AOL could you find a boisterous thread discussing the breed of sheep featured in "A Close Shave" ? Hyperchat is defiantly unkewl, and delightfully British. Now then, where's my Pimms ?
- Phil Gyford