Here's a little Net Shepherd news ..
CALGARY, June 14 /CNW/ - Net Shepherd Inc. (ASE: WEB), today announced
its strategy to commercialise the Answers.com Web site which it is acquiring
from idealab!. The purchase is being financed through the issuance of 400,000
common shares of Net Shepherd. As a result of this transaction, idealab! will
become a significant Net Shepherd shareholder.
Operating from Pasadena, California, Answers.com answers questions and
collects information for a wide range of business and consumer applications.
Answers.com is unique in that it provides answers, often from experts, to
questions, not just referrals to other Web sites. Answers.com will be able to
use Net Shepherd's Internet community to improve the quality and speed of its
service while reducing the cost of the responses generated.
''The use of our proprietary technology will enable Answers.com's
customers to radically reduce their costs, improve quality, and increase the
speed of responses. It shows the commercial potential of our virtual
community. The members of our Internet community provide a trained,
dispersed, low-overhead approach which can provide a quality-controlled
response service for companies at a far lower cost than traditional customer
service centres,'' explained Don Sandford, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Net Shepherd.
''Further development of the technology will enable us to identify and
channel tasks to people within this community who are knowledgeable or expert
in particular areas,'' continued Sandford. ''A 'closed system' variation of
this approach will mean that the service can also be used on companies'
intranets.''
''The business model we're deploying will also provide revenue by
distributing the Answers.com service to other companies' sites, branded under
their own logos,'' said Sandford. ''Answers.com will receive revenue from the
installation work, 'per click' transaction fees and a share of resultant
advertising and e-business revenue.''
''Examples of markets where this service could be used include
'medicalanswers,' 'kidsanswers,' 'shoppinganswers' and many more,'' concluded
Sandford.
ABOUT IDEALAB!
idealab! is an integrated incubator for starting and growing Internet
businesses. Founded in March of 1996, the Company has more than 20 businesses
in various stages of development. In addition to seed capital, idealab!
provides creative capital resources to infuse startup companies with the
development strategies and financial support needed to rapidly introduce
innovative products and services. idealab! itself currently employs just 25
people, while idealab! companies employ more than 1000. idealab! is located in
historic Old Town Pasadena, California and draws many of its creative people
from Caltech, the Art Center College of Design and Hollywood.
ABOUT NET SHEPHERD
Net Shepherd is a leading provider of virtual community software, tools,
services and information for companies that want to transform the way they do
business. The Corporation offers a full line of virtual community software
solutions, and systems integration services. Additional information on Net
Shepherd is available on the 'Net at netshepherd.com. Net Shepherd
Inc. is traded on The Alberta Stock Exchange under the symbol WEB.
''THE ALBERTA STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.''
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