AskMe.com and Go2Net Launch Co-Branded Q&A Service; Seamless Integration Links AskMe Q&A Service With Go2Net Properties
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SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2000--AskMe.com(TM)
(www.AskMe.com), the world's largest free expert advice site, today
announced the availability of person-to-person Q&A throughout the
Go2Net (NASDAQ:GNET) Network, (http://www.go2net.com), one of the
Internet's leading networks.
Provided by the AskMe Network(TM), a back-end technology for
integrating person-to-person Q&A into third-party Web sites, the AskMe
Q&A service gives Go2Net's users access to more than 80,000 online
experts and enthusiasts, who can answer questions in more than 2,000
categories, ranging from computers and technology, to travel and
entertainment.
Go2Net users can ask questions of AskMe.com experts directly from
any Go2Net Network site, including Dogpile, HyperMart, 100hot, and
MetaCrawler. Users can simply click the "Ask an Expert" button, select
a subject category, choose an expert, and type a question. When the
expert answers, an email directs the user back to Go2Net to retrieve
the answer. Users have an opportunity to ask follow-up questions, rate
the answer, and automatically store answers received.
"We think the addition of our person-to-person Q&A service is a
perfect complement to the search functions already available on
Go2Net," said Udai Shekawat, a founding partner of AskMe.com. "Now
users on all Go2Net sites can easily access thousands of experts who
provide free, detailed answers to even the most complicated questions;
that's a degree of personalization that, until now, no search engine
has offered."
The AskMe Network provides organizations like Go2Net with the
ultimate "sticky application," where users can ask questions of
AskMe.com experts without having to leave the partner site. The AskMe
Network provides the back-end technology that allows Web sites to
quickly set-up, customize, and transparently integrate the AskMe.com
Q&A service to resemble the look and feel of their own Web sites or
networks. By joining the AskMe Network, third party Web sites such as
Go2Net gain access to the world's largest online directory of experts
and to a knowledgebase of more than 800,000 previously answered
questions, and in the very near future, the opportunity to drive
e-commerce transactions as experts recommend products and services. To
date, more than 25 other leading Internet companies, including
Infonautics Electric Library and Encyclopedia.com, GameZone.com,
AutoWorld.com, and Hardware.com, have joined the AskMe Network to
power their Web sites with person-to-person Q&A.
Thomas M. Camp, Go2Net's vice president of business development
said, "By collaborating with AskMe.com, Go2Net offers a level of
personalization and relevancy in Q&A services that was not previously
available to our user base."
Recently identified by Media Metrix as one of the top five fastest
growing sites on the Internet, AskMe.com currently attracts more than
3 million unique visitors, and has experienced over 300 percent
traffic growth in the past three months. The company has earned
accolades from both users and industry publications, including a
5-star rating from PC Magazine, a 91 percent user satisfaction level,
and an average rating for AskMe.com's experts of 4.2 on a 5.0 scale.
About AskMe.com
AskMe.com is the industry leader in the rapidly growing field of
online, person-to-person advice. The AskMe service, which is available
on both AskMe.com and AskMe Network partner sites, allows people to
ask questions of real people in more than 2,000 subject categories.
Founded by former Microsoft employees, the privately held company is
based in Seattle, Washington and is backed by a who's who of industry
professionals, including second-generation Internet entrepreneurs,
venture capitalists, and former executives from industry leading
companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.com. For more information,
please visit askme.com. For partnership inquiries send
email to bizdev@askme.com.
AskMe.com and the AskMe Network are trademarks of AskMe.com.
CONTACT: Connect Public Relations
Holly Hagerman, 415/222-9691
hollyh@ConnectPR.com
or
AskMe.com
Walter Conner, 206/937-9972 x9002
walterc@AskMe.com
KEYWORD: WASHINGTON
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERNET ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA
MARKETING AGREEMENTS
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