New Wholly Owned Subsidiary, MecklerWeb Corporation, Created INTERNET WORLD, SAN JOSE, Calif., June 1, 1994 -- Mecklermedia Corporation, publisher of Internet World magazine and host of the semi-annual Internet World conference, today introduced MecklerWeb, a very large Internet-based corporate communication and marketing system serving the needs of business and commerce worldwide. MecklerWeb will enable companies across all industries to achieve a powerful presence with respect to fast-emerging global online markets.
Mecklermedia also announced the formation of MecklerWeb Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary that will launch and manage the MecklerWeb initiative.
"We believe that MecklerWeb offers a compelling vision of a major new business-enabling infrastructure," said Peter Meekin, Director, New Technology Strategy at The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. "Our early participation in this launch demonstrates our belief in the strategic importance of electronic commerce. We expect to gain valuable insight and experience, and to offer a broad range of business information services via MecklerWeb."
Because of the growing availability of multimedia resources, as well as higher bandwidth options and falling prices for connectivity, the Internet is rapidly transitioning from an inner-sanctum enclave of Unix-proficient users to a heterogeneous community more closely resembling the general population. At this critical juncture in the Internet's evolution, MecklerWeb will serve as a crucial bridge between an exploding global market and companies attentive to its new-found voice.
"The Internet in general, and MecklerWeb in particular, represent a tremendous opportunity for organizations to engage in a deeper level of participation in substantive issues affecting their primary prospects, customers and stakeholders," said Christopher Locke, president of MecklerWeb Corporation. "The real opportunity here is not traditional advertising, but rather a new method of building business relationships and achieving powerful market presence."
Unlike proprietary commercial services, MecklerWeb resides on a truly open platform that imposes no artificial boundaries on fast-emerging online communities. Internet users, ranking in the tens of millions, will access MecklerWeb via widely available open systems, such as the World Wide Web (WWW) and Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS). Information will be available in a multimedia environment through innovative point-and-click software tools, such as Mosaic and Cello, that enable the retrieval and presentation of typeset documents, full-color graphics, sound files, and even video clips.
MecklerWeb content will be partitioned into topical areas of interest, such as arts, technology, finance, entertainment, manufacturing, medicine, sports, law, environment and education. These large domains will then be organized into increasingly specialized sub-topics. For instance, the medical area will be divided into sub-domains such as cardiology, gerontology and pharmacology. Each MecklerWeb domain will be hosted by a professional association or institution non-competitive with the corporate sponsors likely to opt for representation there.
As robust encryption and client authentication technologies become available, MecklerWeb plans to support an environment for direct online monetary transactions over the Internet.
The introduction of MecklerWeb follows April's announcement of CommerceNet, an Internet-based consortium of Silicon Valley companies whose aim is to facilitate electronic funds transfer, streamline procurement, cut costs, shrink development cycles, and communicate more effectively. MecklerWeb is a member of CommerceNet, which has also become a charter partner in the MecklerWeb initiative.
AlterNet will provide the Internet connectivity needed to serve MecklerWeb's audiences and clients. AlterNet is among the first entrants in this industry and has considerable experience satisfying large-scale requirements. Digital Equipment Corporation is supplying Alpha AXP servers and disk drives, as well as on-site support and system integration resources. EIT, which is the official program manager and technology developer for CommerceNet, has agreed to contribute its Web server engine, which promises to enable secure monetary transactions and thus facilitate direct sales via the Internet. WAIS, Inc. will similarly contribute its commercial software tools for electronic publishing and information retrieval. WAIS has long worked with Dow Jones on related projects and is currently developing methods of distributing The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Encyclopedia Britannica over the Internet.
Dun & Bradstreet will provide key business information and services for business transactions. Discussions are underway to determine potential contributions from several of D&B's subsidiaries, possibly including A.C. Nielsen, Dataquest, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services, Moody's Investors Service, and the Reuben H. Donnelley company. Edelman Public Relations Worldwide will coordinate all of MecklerWeb's press relations, both online and through traditional media channels. Recently, Edelman Technology Communications managed the highly effective introduction of CommerceNet to the world business community. EDS will contribute management consulting talent to engineer the business processes involved in bringing MecklerWeb partners and clients online. And Ogilvy & Mather Direct will design MecklerWeb's "look and feel" in terms of on-screen art and typography.
http://www.mecklerweb.com/demo.htmlAlternatively, the same material can be accessed by specifying:
http://www.digital.com/demo.htmlPlease note that this is not MecklerWeb itself. Instead, it is information about the initiative, designed to provide further background for the Internet audience, potential domain hosts and corporate sponsors.
Mecklermedia Corporation is a leading provider of information on cutting edge technologies and produces magazines, newsletters, database directories, trade shows, and professional books on Virtual Reality, CD-ROM, Electronic Books, and the Internet. MecklerWeb is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mecklermedia Corporation.
Nancy Teater
Hamilton Communications
Phone: (415) 321-0252
Fax: (415) 327-4660
Internet: nrt@hamilton.com