More than a search engineIn the world of search engines, is there any room for a hand-made site that employs thousands of self-proclaimed experts? About is betting on it. UnlikeYahoo!, for example, which employs a stable of full-time web surfers to update its many links, About hires independent contractors (called consultants or guides) to put up and maintain individual channels. About's guides are required to update their picks at least once a week, but truly obsessed web-keepers update their sites daily. Such diligence is not surprising given About's competitive policies. CEO Scott Kurnit once half-joked to Business 2.0 that the company tells new guides "they have to be better than Yahoo! in 90 days or we'll terminate them."
Rapid expansion
Early in its history, About (then known as about.com) obtained most of its revenue from advertising and business partners such Bigstar.com, a video retailer, and CBS Sportsline. The company introduced "guide stores" in 1998, its first stab at e-commerce. Among other things, the guide stores offer videos, books, and music CDs recommended by consultants. In October of that year, About made a deal with the major ISP Earthlink. As part of the agreement, Earthlink would put About on its default browser, giving the company approximately 8.5 million page views per month. In 1999 About further increased its brand and "buzz" through agreements with Broadcast.com and HotJobs. And that was only the beginning.
1999: a remarkable year
Stage one: the I.P.O.
1999 was About's year to shine. The most luminous point came early. In March 1999, the company (still going by its original name, Miningco.com) went public, trading on the Nasdaq as BOUT. Two months later it changed its name to About.com and launched an ambitious print, TV, and online advertising campaign. The three-week, $15 million spree of About mania helped the company evolve from "primarily a portal" into a "network of destinations." Despite all the changes, however, About retained a focus on "mining" information. Fortunately for its viewers, the dig simply became easier.
Stage two: partnering with the top players
In August, About and CNN.com announced a distribution agreement that gave About a fixed position on all of CNN's pages. CNN, in return, reaped the benefits of having About's Guides throughout its site, including such sections as World News, U.S. News, Weather, Health, Travel and Entertainment, Science and Technology, Space, Style, Books, Local, Travel, and All Politics. In October 1999, About announced another public offering, this one involving 3,500,000 shares of common stock. A month later, it partnered with Cars.com, hoping to fuel that site's online auto sales.
Stage three: becoming a top player
By December 1999, About was flying high. Media Metrix ranked it the Web's ninth-largest property, putting in the company of such giants as AOL, Lycos, and Go Network. Media Metrix also declared About the fastest-growing web property among the 20 largest on the Internet. December also brought fresh agreements to About's already impressive list. Ask Jeeves, the plain-English question-and-answer service best known for its snooty butler mascot, entered into a strategic distribution agreement with About that broadens the reach of both sites. Meanwhile, About acquired North Sky, Inc., a site known for providing web site development tools. Movin' On Up
In the new millennium, About shows no signs of slowing its rapid growth rate. In January, it acquired ExpertCentral.com for $30.7 million in stock. ExpertCentral.com provides both free and paid "on-target advice" from a team of nearly 6,000 specialists and experts. To manage all of its new traffic, About engaged the help of SiteSmith, a leader in operation services support, in February 2000. The company's Media Matrix ranking for the largest web properties has surged to seventh, and its revenues, page views, and number of advertisers have all been steadily growing.
About has recently added some extra punch to the site with an array of acquisitions, additions, and enhancements. In March 2000, it announced the creation of Luna Network, a marketing program that links About's topic sites with premier independent web sites. To join the program, invited web sites must have at least 150,000 hits a month and meet certain criteria measuring "stickiness," user loyalty, and managerial structure. The company also announced the acquisition of Sombasa Media, Inc., a personalized direct-marketing company that will provide newsletter and personalized advertising to the site.
About acquired
In October 2000, Primedia, owner of magazines including Seventeen and New York, announced an agreement to acquire About for $690 million. The all-stock deal will combine Primedia's traditional media holdings with About's Internet capabilities. Scott Kurnit will continue in his role as CEO of About, but will report to Primedia chairman Tom Rogers.
